Clean Water Act & WOTUS

 

EPA Won’t Extend WOTUS Comment Period. According to Politico, “EPA says it won’t extend the public comment period for its proposal to sharply restrict the number of streams and wetlands that receive Clean Water Act protections. EPA said in an email today to the groups that had sought an extension that the agency and the Army planned to stick to the 60-day comment period for the Waters of the U.S. rule. ‘Multiple preliminary injunctions of the 2015 rule have resulted in a confusing patchwork of federal regulations in place across the country,’ said Britt Carter, director of intergovernmental relations at EPA, in the email, which was obtained by POLITICO. ‘The agencies are committed to moving as expeditiously as possible to restore regulatory certainty and to craft a rule that is clearer and easier to understand and respects the authority that the executive branch has been given under the Constitution and the Clean Water Act to regulate navigable waters.’ Although the public comment period for the proposal is officially open for 60 days, Carter said the proposed rule and supporting documents will have been available for a total of 125 days by the time the comment period closes on April 15. The rule’s publication in the Federal Register was delayed by the partial government shutdown. A number of groups, ranging from sportsmen to beer brewers to organizations of state and local officials, have requested more time to weigh in on the rule. EPA did not respond to a request for comment.” [Politico, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Environmental Regulations Have Become Impossible To Follow. According to The Hill, “Although major federal environmental statutes haven’t changed substantially in decades, their implementation by the administrative agencies that enforce them has become almost whimsical. There is little consistency and predictability in the today’s environmental regulation because of a never-ending rewrite of the rules by which Americans must abide. For example, the Trump administration is revising environmental regulations imposed by the Obama administration. President Obama’s administration did the same with George Bush’s regulations, who did the same with Bill Clinton’s, and so on. This constant tinkering with regulations makes it difficult, if not impossible, for property owners and business owners to comply with the rules. … Congress writes laws such as the Clean Water Act with key terms left vague (i.e., what is a regulated ‘navigable water’), and then leaves it to agency bureaucrats to fill in the blanks. These blanks wind up being some of the key policy decisions in these laws. Then the courts tend to rubber-stamp these executive policy decisions, even when not clearly authorized by the actual statutes, under the controversial Chevron doctrine of judicial deference.” [The Hill, 3/18/19 (-)]

 

PFAS

 

Mark Your Calendars. According to Politico, “An EPW hearing set for March 28 will likely examine the behind-the-scenes battle between the Defense Department, EPA and the CDC over how strictly to regulate PFAS chemicals, Pro’s Annie Snider reports. The hearing will include top officials working on the chemicals from the three agencies, as well as the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The hearing also keeps up a pledge made by Chairman John Barrasso after the release of EPA’s PFAS action plan last month. Barrasso at the time said the committee would hold a hearing, ‘which will give the administration an opportunity to testify on its proposed course of action.’” [Politico, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Trump Budget Undercuts Wheeler, Chops Funds For PFAS, Lead. According to E&E News, “The Trump administration today sent a spending request to Congress that would make it harder for researchers and communities to combat toxic pollutants in drinking water. President Trump’s detailed budget calls for steep cuts to several research programs focused on a class of carcinogenic nonstick chemicals known as PFAS and the neurotoxin lead. While it also seeks to provide some new funding for polluted communities, that money would be offset by other spending cuts and could restrict their potential for future federal support. The proposal has little chance of getting past congressional appropriators, but it’s nevertheless a clear statement of administration priorities — one that seems to contrast with its other public statements on PFAS and lead. ‘EPA continues to take concrete steps, in cooperation with our federal and state partners, to address PFAS and ensure all Americans have access to clean and safe drinking water,’ EPA chief Andrew Wheeler told senators earlier this year (E&E News PM, Jan. 29). But EPA’s budget request would slash nearly $220.6 million from four research programs that work on PFAS and, in some cases, lead. It would also zero out a $14 million lead remediation grant program.” [E&E News, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Senate Environmental Committee Sets PFAS Hearing For Next Week. According to Politico, “The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing next week that’s likely to shine a spotlight on the behind-the-scenes battle between the Defense Department, EPA and the Centers for Disease Control over how strictly to regulate PFAS chemicals. The March 28 hearing will include top officials working on the chemicals from the three agencies, as well as the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. It comes after Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) the top Democrat on the committee, accused the Defense Department last week of seeking to weaken EPA guidance for cleaning up groundwater contaminated by the chemicals. POLITICO previously reported that EPA had proposed setting a cleanup standard of 70 parts per trillion for the chemicals PFOA and PFOS — the same level that the agency has said is safe in drinking water. Carper said he has been told that the Defense Department is seeking a limit nearly six times higher. It also follows the release of EPA’s PFAS Action Plan last month, which some state and community leaders have criticized as insufficient. Witnesses at next week’s hearing will include: Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Patrick Breysse, director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; David Ross, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water; and Maureen Sullivan, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for environment.” [Politico, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Coal Ash

 

Chemical Contamination From 7 Colorado Coal-Fired Power Plants Found During Groundwater Monitoring. According to The Colorado Sun, “When Platte River Power Authority checked the groundwater near its Rawhide power plant for coal-ash contamination last year, it found some. Levels of selenium, which can cause human hair loss and deformities in fish and wildlife, were higher than deemed safe by federal groundwater protection standards. The authority, which released the Rawhide report in January, was already working to reduce the potential for contamination at its Larimer County site. But the statistically significant increase was a surprise, said Chris Wood, Platte River’s environmental services manager. ‘The short answer is Platte River Power Authority sees no immediate harm or risk to human health or the environment,’ Wood said. ‘…We’ve monitored it in the past, and it was never an issue. It’s not a big change, but big enough change statistically that it’s pulled us into the regulatory process. The next steps are to continue to monitor and evaluate the different corrective actions.’” [The Colorado Sun, 3/19/19 (=)]

 

Toxic Algae

 

You Could Be Breathing In Airborne Bacteria From Blue-Green Algae. According to WBBH, “Even though blue-green algae isn’t popping up in canals or Lake Okeechobee right now doesn’t mean bacteria from it isn’t in the air. A Florida Gulf Coast University professor released a study that found Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, in Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, and Buckingham, locations both near and miles away from a body of water. ‘[It’s] capable of getting all the way down into our lungs and therefore into our bloodstream,’ Dr. Mike Parsons said. While he doesn’t think there’s a risk to people’s health right now, Parsons said he needs to continue his study to discover at what point inhaling the bacteria could become dangerous. Air filters set up before, during and after an algal bloom could help him measure how concentrations of the bacteria compare at each stage. ‘The next step... is to really see if the toxins are high enough to be of concern,’ Parsons said. ‘We can’t do human-based studies, so they’ll probably have to be animal-based studies to see which kinds of exposures to animals represent a risk.’ Parsons said he expects to meet with Cape Coral leaders in the next two weeks to come up with a game plan on how to better understand this bacteria and its impacts on human health.” [WBBH, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Ohio Governor Wants To Better Protect Ohio Waters. According to Avon-Avon Lake Patch, “Ohio Governor Mike DeWine wants to better protect the state’s bodies of water and water system infrastructure. To do that, he has proposed the creation of the H2Ohio Fund, which would protect Ohio’s water quality for a decade, and could amount to $900 million. ‘Water is vital to everyone, yet communities throughout the state face real and different challenges, such as algae blooms, failing septic tanks, nutrient pollution, and threats of lead contamination,’ DeWine said. ‘We cannot continue to lurch from water crisis to water crisis. I am proposing an H2Ohio initiative that would allow us to invest in targeted, long-term solutions to ensure safe and clean water across the state of Ohio.’ The H2Ohio initiative was part of DeWine’s 2020-2021 proposed budget. He outlined the program during an event in Toledo, a city all too familiar with water quality issues.” [Avon-Avon Lake Patch, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Deal Settles Yearslong Lawsuit Over PCB Cleanup. According to E&E News, “A federal judge has approved a settlement calling for three paper companies that polluted the Fox River and Green Bay with chemicals decades ago to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in remaining cleanup costs. The deal U.S. District Judge William Griesbach approved Thursday essentially ends a lawsuit over cleanup costs that has been lingering since 2010. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) said in a news release announcing the approval on Friday that the deal will spare taxpayers about $1.2 billion in remaining costs. ‘Generations of Wisconsinites have been affected by the contamination of the Fox River,’ Kaul said in the release. ‘This settlement ensures that final cleanup will be fully funded by those who contaminated the Fox River, and not taxpayers.’ Beginning in the mid-1950s and continuing until the early 1970s, paper companies that produced carbonless copy paper contaminated the river with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The chemicals have been shown to cause cancer in animals and neurological development problems in monkeys. Studies have shown they’re probable human carcinogens and could cause similar neurological deficits in humans, according to EPA.” [E&E News, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

POLITICO Pro California: State Panel Approves Colorado River Drought Plan. According to Politico, "California’s Colorado River users today approved a seven-state plan aimed at staving off supply restrictions in the lower Colorado basin, paving the way for Congressional consideration of the deal. At a special meeting this afternoon, the state’s Colorado River Board voted 8-1, with one abstention, to approve the drought contingency plan for the lower Colorado River and Nevada’s Lake Mead, which supplies seven Western states and is nearing levels that would prompt supply restrictions. The states faced a deadline ending today to notify the Bureau of Reclamation of alternatives to the plan, after missing an initial Jan. 31 deadline to approve it. The vote came after California’s largest drinking water supplier, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, voted to assume Imperial Irrigation District’s obligations to the basin in order to prevent the agricultural district from holding up the deal. IID is holding out for $200 million in federal farm bill funding to address the shrinking, toxic dust-laden Salton Sea, which it argues is connected because the reduction in runoff to the lake was prompted by the river’s supply problems. IID was the sole vote against the plan. The other members of the board, representing Los Angeles, San Diego, Coachella Valley and other Southern California users, voiced support for IID’s efforts to get the funding through the farm bill or other means." [Politico, 3/18/19 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Dustin White: Aren't We Tired Of Living In A Toxic State? According to Huntington Herald-Dispatch, “Like many readers of this paper, I love West Virginia. I love our forests, mountains and streams. I love the people here. I’ve lived my entire life here and would hate the idea of calling any other place home. But I find it increasingly hard to physically live here, and not just for social or economic reasons. I mean biologically. It seems like every time I turn around there is some kind of assault on the basic things we need for life - our air and water. It’s simple: We need clean water and air to live. Our Mountain State should have some of the cleanest air and water in the nation. But the powers that be allow those most vital resources to be destroyed for profit. What’s worse is that the majority of our elected officials seem to promote the idea of more toxins in our lives. This past legislative session, legislators shot down the Department of Environmental Protection’s recommendation for updating human health protections for our water quality. The DEP’s recommendation was based on that of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. This update would have brought our standards up from 1980s-era science criteria to that of 2015. Water quality experts, citizens and the DEP urged the Legislature to implement the updates.” [Huntington Herald-Dispatch, 3/18/19 (+)]

 

 

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