Clean Water Act & WOTUS

 

Now Is Your Chance To Protect The Clean Water Act. According to Outside, “The Trump administration is trying to remove Clean Water Act protections for at least 60 percent of streams and up to 110 million acres of wetlands across the entire country. That’s bad, but before they can pull it off, the Environmental Protection Agency has to solicit and consider public comment. So you should go tell them what you think of the plan right now. To repeat: This redefinition of what are considered Waters of the United States (WOTUS) would strip Clean Water Act protections from 60 percent of streams and 110 million acres of wetlands. In the end, that’s really all you need to know. The majority of Americans could lose access to clean drinking water. Much of the protections wetlands offer against flooding could be lost. Fish and animal habitat would be devastated, as would the recreational hunting and fishing and commercial fishing industries. Recreating in and on clean water would become a relic of the past. This is by far the most environmentally harmful proposal put forward by the Trump administration to date. ‘Big polluters could not have crafted a bigger free pass to dump if they wrote it themselves,’ says Blan Holman, of the Southern Environmental Law Center.” [Outside, 3/6/19 (+)]

 

CWA Guidance Launches Series Of EPA ‘Actions’ To Promote Water Trading. According to Inside EPA, “A top EPA water official says the agency is working on more ways to boost water quality trading under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in addition to last month’s release of an updated guidance for such programs, calling the guide one of several ‘actions’ to promote trading that include pending steps for modeling and financing programs. Crafting a new guidance was ‘the most effective near-term action’ that staff could take to bolster trading programs while they work on longer-term efforts, said EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Anna Wildeman on a March 5 agency webinar. In addition to the guidance, released Feb. 6, she said the agency is working on measures to boost financing for state and local CWA trading programs, and plans to boost regional offices’ role aiding those programs on subjects from regulatory development to scientific modeling and other technical assistance. That work includes a stakeholder meeting on financing options for trading programs expected in ‘May or June of this year,’ and designating regional EPA officials to work on trading issues. Wildeman said this will ‘provide the same sort of responsiveness and access to information that you would get from headquarters.’” [Inside EPA, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

PFAS

 

Democrats Launch Broad Inter-Agency Inquiry Into EPA's PFAS Policies. According to Inside EPA, “House and Senate Democrats are launching a broad investigation into the role EPA and other agencies played in development of its policies to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), renewing concerns that the Defense Department (DOD) and other officials may have blocked strict regulatory plans. In similar letters sent to EPA, DOD, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) March 6, ranking Democrats on the Senate environment, health, armed services and homeland security and government affairs committees sought inter-agency correspondence and documents exchanged between EPA and other federal agencies on the agency’s just-released action plan as well as a stalled EPA groundwater cleanup guidance. OMB, HHS, and DOD ‘all participated in the inter-agency review of EPA’s PFAS Action plan,’ the senators note. ‘It is also our understanding that the groundwater cleanup guidelines for [perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)] and [perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)] have been held up at OMB since August 2018 due to an inter-agency dispute related to how stringent the guidelines should be.’ And House lawmakers during a March 6 hearing on PFAS similarly pressed EPA on whether Trump administration officials have pressured the agency to back off from regulating PFAS.” [Inside EPA, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Lawmakers Demand Faster Action On PFAS. According to E&E News, “EPA and the Defense Department need to act faster on a family of chemicals contaminating drinking water, Oversight and Reform Committee Democrats said yesterday. Members were examining per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are often called ‘forever chemicals’ because of their persistence in the environment. The chemicals can be found in nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing and firefighting foam used during training exercises on military bases. ‘We should all be angry that those who are willing to pay the ultimate price for our country have to worry about exposure to toxic chemicals,’ Environment Subcommittee Chairman Harley Rouda (D-Calif.) said during a hearing. The Environmental Working Group, in anticipation, released a map of PFAS contamination at 106 military sites at levels above EPA’s nonbinding health advisory of 70 parts per trillion. The chemicals have been linked to cancer, low fertility and thyroid disease. ‘The information available is sufficiently alarming to trigger immediate action from this administration,’ Rouda said.” [E&E News, 3/7/19 (=)]

 

EPA Downplays Former Koch Official's Role In PFAS Plan. According to Politico, “EPA water chief David Ross this morning downplayed a former Koch Industry official’s role in EPA’s Action Plan for toxic PFAS chemicals. During a House Oversight subcommittee hearing on the chemicals, Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) pressed Ross on EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Research and Development David Dunlap’s involvement with the plan, pointing to a POLITICO report about his work on the chemicals for EPA at a time when his former employer is facing at least one class-action lawsuit over contamination from the chemicals. ‘This raises serious questions regarding Mr. Dunlap’s potential conflict of interest and any influence he may have had to delay regulations of these chemicals,’ she said. Ross responded by underscoring that he served as the political leader for the effort. ‘Mr. Dunlap, just like every other political appointee in the program offices has participated together with our career deputies in this overall holistic effort. But I have been running point for the past year,’ Ross said. He said he has not taken a meeting with regulated entities on the topic. Pressed by Hill on why Dunlap was not recused from the issue under his ethics agreement, Ross said he did not have knowledge of the issue. ‘I do not know the scope of his recusals. I know mine,’ he said.” [Politico, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Senate Democrats Demand PFAS Plan Documents. According to Politico, “Senate Democrats are demanding documents that could shed light on the behind the scenes conversations between EPA, the Defense Department and the CDC over EPA’s recently released PFAS management plan and related groundwater cleanup guidance. In a lettter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler sent this morning, the lawmakers pointed to the fact that the PFAS management plan ‘did not include a commitment to promulgate a drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS’ and that the groundwater cleanup guidance, which has been stuck in interagency review at the White House since August, was not released in tandem with the plan. The senators requested all documents and communications related to the two PFAS documents’ interagency review to ‘better understand the views of the Agencies involved in the finalization of the PFAS Action plan and the groundwater cleanup guidelines.’ The letter was sent by Sens. Tom Carper (Del.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Patty Murray (Wash.) and Jack Reed (R.I.), the top Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Armed Services committees respectively.” [Politico, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Coal Ash

 

Rural Well Owners Encouraged To Test Drinking Water, Especially Those Living Near Coal-Fired Power Plants. According to Portage Daily Register, “The onus is on rural homeowners with private wells to check their water supplies, and local experts encourage people to test for possible contaminants in their drinking water sooner rather than later. The Environmental Integrity Project released a report Monday that found a majority of coal-fired power plants nationwide — including at the Columbia Energy Center outside Portage — have caused contaminants such as arsenic to leak into groundwater. Whether near or far from industrial facilities, local agriculture and water safety experts say the water supplies for rural homes and businesses can pose a health hazard and should be tested. ‘They’re kind of their own water utility manager,’ said University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Groundwater Outreach Specialist Kevin Masarik. ‘Testing really is the only way to evaluate whether the water they’re pulling from their well is safe to drink.’” [Portage Daily Register, 3/7/19 (=)]

 

Mayor Says Time To Be Concerned About Memphis Water Safety. According to WATN, “Memphis drinking water was once considered untouchable. Nothing was ever going to happen to it. No way it could ever get polluted. It’s still not polluted, but it’s not as untouchable as it used to be. Here’s why. We first told you about this coal ash dump at the TVA plant near Presidents Island, which is one of the most polluted in the country, according to some studies. The trouble is underground. Shelby County Health Department Director Dr. Alisa Haushalter says following tests, ‘They were able to show there was movement in some of those layers which could potentially result in contamination.’ Big stuff says Mayor Jim Strickland. ‘For the first time ever,’ the mayor says, ‘we’re embarking on a comprehensive study of the quality of water underground.’ Mayor Strickland says Memphis water is still good. He says preliminary studies done at the two Tennessee Valley Authority wells have him concerned. They sit beneath the big coal ash dump at the plant. In fact, the mayor says, everybody should be concerned. ‘We know there are breaches in the aquifer, meaning things from the surface, contamination, have a potential adverse effect on the drinking water.’” [WATN, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Wyoming Coal Ash Ponds Rank Among Worst In Study. According to WRAL, “A report published by environmental groups says Wyoming has two coal-fired power plants that rank high nationally in producing ash that is polluting groundwater with toxins. The Casper Star-Tribune reports that the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice report ranks PacifiCorp’s Jim Bridger plant near Rock Springs and its Naughton plant outside Kemmerer third and fourth worst, respectively. PacifiCorp acknowledged that contaminants have tested at unsafe levels and that remediation is in progress at the Wyoming sites. But PacifiCorp spokesman Dave Eskelsen says that the utility’s power plants cited in the report have at no time posed a hazard to drinking water sources for Wyoming residents. Eskelsen also notes that the report holds the sites to an unfair water quality standard: the standard for drinking water.” [WRAL, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Duke Energy Settles With Dozens Of Homeowners Over Dan River Coal Ash Spill. According to WRAL, “More than five years after 39,000 tons of coal ash washed into the Dan River from a Duke Energy plant in Rockingham County, the utility has settled with dozens of families who live along the river. Terms of the settlement, which covers 33 property owners, weren’t disclosed. A breach in a containment pond at the Dan River Steam Station in Eden dumped ash and millions of gallons of toxic pond water into the river on Feb. 2, 2014, coating the riverbanks with gray sludge. Coal ash was found in the river as far as 70 miles downstream. The ash is what’s left over after coal is burned to generate electricity, and it contains mercury, lead, arsenic and other elements toxic to humans. ‘The despoliation of the Dan River as a result of Duke’s negligence caused significant hardship for these 33 individuals and their families,’ attorney Bryan Brice said in a statement. ‘It was a tragedy that should never have occurred.’ ‘Years of scientific research demonstrates that the Dan River environment, ecosystem and neighboring agricultural lands were not impacted by the 2014 incident, and recreational enjoyment of the river and surrounding area continues to grow, so we are pleased to put this issue behind us,’ Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan said in a statement.” [WRAL, 3/7/19 (=)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Bureau Balks At Calif. District's Demands. According to E&E News, “Days after a California water district blocking Colorado River drought plans signaled an apparent agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation, the agency appeared to contradict the district and further imperil already overdue negotiations. The Imperial Irrigation District, California’s largest Colorado River water user, has impounded the seven-state drought contingency plan (DCP) for the river because of concerns about the rapidly shrinking and toxic Salton Sea. IID is seeking $200 million in federal funding for mitigation projects on the lake, which would match a state commitment. The district has insisted that Salton Sea mitigation be directly connected to the Colorado River plan. On Friday, an IID attorney said the Bureau of Reclamation was working on a letter that would be an ‘endorsement’ of the request. The attorney, Charles DuMars, said Reclamation’s letter ‘will say that it’s the Bureau of Reclamation’s position that they consider that the restoration of the Salton Sea is a critical ingredient of the DCP and cannot be ignored’.” [E&E News, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Colorado River Drought Deal In Limbo As Interior's Ultimatum Looms. According to Politico, “A historic effort by seven Western states to head off a catastrophic drop in Colorado River water supplies has turned into a game of political chicken. California and Arizona have not yet fully committed to the deal that has been in the works for the last three years, and the Interior Department has threatened to step in if the impasse continues. But the federal government’s authority to intervene is murky, and water managers in the region must soon decide whether to withdraw water that they are storing in Lake Mead — a move that would protect their supplies if the deal doesn’t come together, but that would make a crisis on the river more likely. ‘The time has come that we can’t keep waiting to make decisions. They’re starting to impact our operations, they’re starting to impact the river,’ said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which delivers water for 19 million people across Southern California, including the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego. After the seven states missed a Jan. 31 deadline set by the Interior Department for finalizing the Drought Contingency Plan, the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees deliveries on the river, asked states to weigh in on how it should intervene to protect the river’s supplies. Those recommendations are due to Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman by March 19 — unless a deal is reached first — but it is unclear what would happen after that.” [Politico, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

Could Weakened Environmental Rules Put Memphis At Risk For More Toxic Water? According to Commercial Appeal, “Is arsenic threatening to spike Memphians’ drinking water? Perhaps not right now. But it’s hard not to worry — especially since the non-partisan Environmental Integrity Project recently found that the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Allen Fossil Plant was among the nation’s top ten coal ash-contaminated sites. It found that the groundwater beneath it contained arsenic levels 350 times higher than what is considered safe. Then, there’s the concern that revamped U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules on how power plants dispose of coal ash waste could lead to more lax enforcement. Such concerns aren’t far-fetched. Among other ailments, arsenic exposure can lead to cancer and liver disease. And the groundwater it has contaminated sits atop the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which supplies Memphis’ drinking water. But while the city draws its water from deeper levels of the aquifer, a thin layer of clay separates the shallow, contaminated water from the pure, uncontaminated water. While the TVA claims that the arsenic plume is not moving into the deep aquifer, it also found that the clay barrier was missing from one site. Hmm.” [Commercial Appeal, 3/6/19 (=)]

 

 

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