Clean Water Act & WOTUS

 

Judge Faults Implementation Of Landmark Montana Nutrient Variance. According to Inside EPA, “In a closely watched case, a federal judge has found that EPA improperly approved Montana’s plan to allow dischargers 17 years to meet a controversial variance from strict water quality standards (WQS) for nutrients rather than requiring immediate compliance with the variance and working toward attainment of the WQS. But in his March 26 decision, Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana asks the parties for guidance on a remedy. ‘The Court directs counsel for all parties to confer in good faith to attempt to reach agreement as to potential remedies that include a timeline to achieve prompt compliance with the Current Variance Standard,’ Morris says. If the parties cannot reach agreement, Morris directs them to submit additional briefing on possible remedies within 60 days of the decision. The long-awaited decision in Upper Missouri Waterkeeeper v. EPA endorses the use of variances to WQS under the Clean Water Act (CWA), alleviating a concern of municipal wastewater utilities nationwide. But at the same time, Morris says the implementation of Montana’s variance was arbitrary and capricious. ‘EPA’s approval of the relaxed Current Variance Standard itself does not violate the CWA. EPA’s approval of the current seventeen-year timeline to allow dischargers to meet the relaxed Current Variance Standards runs counter to the CWA’s requirements and cannot stand,’ the ruling says.” [Inside EPA, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

PFAS

 

Bipartisan Senate Group Readies New Bill To Address PFAS Concerns. According to Inside EPA, “A bipartisan group of senators will soon unveil legislation to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) suggesting support for both technical assistance and an enforceable drinking water standard that takes into account the costs and challenges of sampling and mitigating the chemicals. During a March 28 hearing before the Senate Environment & Public Works (EPW) Committee, Capito and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said they are collaborating on the legislation, along with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the committee’s ranking Democrat. Their legislation marks the latest sign of concern from Congress that EPA is not adequately addressing the contamination. Bipartisan groups of lawmakers in the House and Senate have already introduced measures seeking to require EPA to list two of the most common PFAS as ‘hazardous substances’ under the Superfund law. For example, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers from Michigan earlier this year introduced H.R. 535, a bill dubbed the ‘PFAS Action Act’ which would designate all PFAS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA), an action that would ease regulators’ ability to bring enforcement actions against responsible parties.” [Inside EPA, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Lawmakers Urge Feds To Act Faster On PFAS. According to E&E News, “Lawmakers on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee yesterday urged federal officials to move more quickly to address toxic nonstick chemicals. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the panel’s ranking member, repeatedly criticized EPA’s response to concerns about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, saying the agency didn’t seem to be acting with urgency. The persistent synthetic chemicals used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial products, including firefighting foam, have earned the moniker ‘forever chemicals,’ and some have been linked to health problems such as certain cancers and liver disease. ‘I hope the witnesses before us today will commit to moving forward with a range of measures to protect Americans with an appropriate amount of urgency to befit a problem that Administrator [Andrew] Wheeler himself says is part of the biggest environmental threat that we face in this country,’ Carper said. Panel Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) had pledged after EPA released its PFAS action plan last month that he would hold a hearing on the plan. He also said the agency needed to ‘speak clearly’ about the risks posed by PFAS (Greenwire, Feb. 14).” [E&E News, 3/29/19 (=)]

 

Top Federal Scientist Calls For Handling PFAS As A Class. According to Politico, “A top federal scientist today raised alarm about the health effects of PFAS and argued the thousands of chemicals in the group should be handled as a class — an approach the chemicals industry has fiercely opposed. National Institutes of Environmental Health Director Linda Birnbaum told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee the pervasive chemicals affect ‘almost every [bodily] system that you can think of.’ But understanding those effects is difficult because most studies look only at one or a small handful of chemicals, she said, whereas ‘current human exposures to PFAS involve complex mixtures, not individual chemicals.’ ‘Approaching PFAS as a class, rather than as thousands of individual compounds, is the best approach for assessing exposure and biological impact, and for protecting public health,’ Birnbaum said. Communities and public health advocates have also argued for handling PFAS as a class, saying it would take centuries to develop the science necessary for regulations if the thousands of chemicals are handled individually. EPA’s PFAS Action Plan makes no commitment to do so. The American Chemistry Council has staunchly opposed efforts to regulate the chemicals as a group, a plan that was included in a bill, S. 638 (116), introduced earlier this month by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) to designate all PFAS as hazardous for the purposes of Superfund.” [Politico, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

AP | N.J. Sues 3 Firms Over PFAS Pollution. According to E&E News, “Two days after ordering them to clean up chemical contamination in various spots, New Jersey is suing three companies over pollution issues. The state Attorney General’s Office filed four lawsuits yesterday against DuPont, Chemours and 3M. They were among firms targeted by the state Monday to clean up contamination from chemicals used to stain-proof clothing and make nonstick cookware, called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS (E&E News PM, March 25). Some of the firms said they are already addressing the situation and pledged cooperation with the state, while others did not comment. The suits each focus on a manufacturing sites in Pennsville and Carneys Point Township; Sayreville; Greenwich Township; and Pompton Lakes. Two of them focus on contamination of groundwater, surface water and other natural resources.” [E&E News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Coal Ash

 

AP | Federal Utility Eyes Removal At Memphis Plant. According to E&E News, “A federal utility is eyeing options to unearth and move toxin-laden coal ash from a Memphis power plant to an off-site landfill. A new Tennessee Valley Authority report rules out options at the Allen Fossil Plant that would leave coal ash totaling 3.5 million cubic yards where it is now. The authority wrote that the land, which is owned by local governments; Memphis Light, Gas and Water; and the International Port of Memphis, could be used for future economic development. At Allen, high levels of arsenic and other toxins were found in monitoring wells in 2017, spurring fears that an aquifer that supplies Memphis’ drinking water could become tainted. Testing has since deemed the public water supply unaffected, but a report last spring by the utility also showed a connection between the shallow aquifer where toxins were found and the deeper Memphis Sand Aquifer, which provides the city’s drinking water. Attorney Amanda Garcia, with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said removing the coal ash at the Allen plant is the only right and responsible decision. ‘It really should have been a no-brainer from the outset, given what TVA knows about the risk of coal ash contamination reaching the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the city’s drinking water source,’ Garcia said.” [E&E News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Toxic Algae

 

In The Sunshine State. According to Politico, “President Donald Trump will tour the troubled Lake Okeechobee by air today. The president will meet with state and local officials to highlight the administration’s work with Florida on dike repairs, while stressing state-federal partnerships on environmental funding, POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie reports.” [Politico, 3/29/19 (=)]

 

Lake O To Be Major Focus Of Trump's Visit To South Florida. According to WPEC, “A late night landing for Air Force One as it touches down at West Palm Beach International Airport just after 11 p.m. Thursday night. After a day of criss-crossing parts of the country, the president arrived at Mar-a-Lago, focused on Lake Okeechobee and the deadly blue green algae emergency on the Treasure Coast and the red tide blooms on Southwest Florida’s coast. President Trump is expected to get on Marine One tomorrow in the early afternoon and tour Lake Okeechobee by air and then is expected to meet with Gov.Ron DeSantis as well as Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. The president will see the Everglades Restoration Project that Florida lawmakers and environmentalists are urging him to increase funding for. The Treasure Coast was filled with blue green algae year after year. In 2018, it had the worst bloom in the state’s history. On the west coast, beaches were full of dead animals and red tide. The water mostly came from Lake Okeechobee. The repeated recurrences leaving residents and tourists wondering if and when the beaches will be safe again. This, while communities are forced to pay million of dollars of their own money as the environmental emergencies rage on year after year.” [WPEC, 3/29/19 (=)]

 

Trump Visit Comes As Floridians Ask, How Much Water Should Lake Okeechobee Hold? According to WMFE, “President Donald Trump is visiting Lake Okeechobee on Friday. The trip to the troubled lake comes as top Republican leaders in the state say the president’s proposed spending on Everglades restoration is not enough. Lake Okeechobee is among the state’s most significant natural resources, and there’s debate after last year’s toxic algae over just how much water the lake should hold. Paul Gray steps into ankle-deep water lapping the sandy beach on Lake Okeechobee’s north shore. But he says the beach shouldn’t be here. It should be grassy marsh. ‘We’re walking in open water. Well, there are a couple of little tiny plants here. They’re three inches tall. They should be everywhere, and so this is what we’re trying to regrow.’ High water since Hurricane Irma in 2017 has wiped out the marshes of the state’s largest lake. ‘Basically we’ve lost about 60 square miles of plants in Lake Okeechobee just due to deep water.’ Gray of Audubon Florida says the marshes sustain game fish and wading birds. They also filter the water of nutrients that feed harmful algae blooms.” [WMFE, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

SWFL Water Expert Say A Bloom Is Coming, And It's "Not Looking Good". According to WFTX, “We all remember how bad the blue-green algae was throughout SWFL last year, it had its impacts on so many things across the area. President Trump is set to make a trip to Lake Okeechobee, to check things out for himself, and to analyze how the Army Corps of Engineers is planning to decrease the number of algae into freshwater waterways. It’s no what we want to hear, but the ACE says a bloom is coming. Something that generally happens every year, but it’s too early to say how much algae will be present. The ACE is working stop large algae blooms from happening. They’re doing something different this year - lowering the water levels in Lake Okeechobee, from where it currently stands at 11.9 feet to 11 feet. A spokesperson says they hope the vegetation that was lost can help flush out the toxin. ‘The vegetation is helpful in clearing the lake so that’s one reason that we’re trying to bring the lake levels down,’ said Erica Skotle, the Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Specialist.” [WFTX, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Scientists, Governments Agree: Collaboration Is Key To Battling Red Tide. According to WTVT, “Although Bay Area beaches seem to be back to normal after almost a year of red tide, Pinellas County hosted a special summit to discuss the toxic algae bloom and concerns that continue to loom. A panel of both and county officials spoke in front of a packed house Thursday about the history of red tide, and its effects on marine life, public health, and the economy. ‘I feel like it’s a sticky situation that we don’t know [much about],’ said Yeni Fernandez, an environmentalist who attended the summit. Like dozens of others, Fernandez was eager to learn what scientists and public agencies are doing to mitigate future red tide blooms. However, environmental experts warn there’s no clear-cut answer on how to prevent it from coming back. ‘What we don’t know: Do humans exacerbate red tide blooms? Perhaps, but we really don’t know that,’ said Dr. Robert Weisberg. ‘What determines bloom termination? Why does it go away? We don’t fully understand that.’ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission researcher Dr. Kate Hubbard says the best way to predict the future is usually to look at the past. Red tide occurs each year in the Gulf of Mexico, however, last year was one of the worst on record, Hubbard said.” [WTVT, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Editorial: President Trump, Show Us The Money For Lake O And The Everglades! According to The Palm Beach Post, “Today, President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Lake Okeechobee to promote the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ work on the Herbert Hoover Dike and a reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area. But two weeks ago, environmentalists and Trump supporters -- U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, and U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Naples -- wavered between frustration and disappointment when the president’s proposed 2019-20 budget included just $63.3 million for Everglades restoration rather than the $200 million they had requested. Politically, this was not a good look for these high-profile Florida Republicans; especially since Scott, DeSantis and Mast had all run successfully in 2018 on their cozy relationships with the president. This may explain why, as of Thursday afternoon, that none of them had publicly committed to being with Trump in Canal Point on the lake’s southeastern shore to ‘highlight the work’. We wouldn’t blame them. This federal money, part of the $1.6 billion allocated for Everglades restoration in the omnibus Water Resources Development Act Trump signed in October, is crucial to helping reduce the number of damaging discharges from Lake O to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by 63 percent. Thus, when the White House budget request ‘failed to include sufficient funding for Everglades restoration’ efforts -- a month after all-but assuring Floridians that it would -- the GOP lawmakers were a bit disheartened.” [The Palm Beach Post, 3/29/19 (+)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Trump Contradicts His Own Budget Proposal, Tells Rally Crowd He’ll Give More Money For Great Lakes Restoration. According to The Hill, “President Trump said at rally on Thursday that he backed the ‘full funding’ for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative his 2020 budget proposal calls to cut funding for the initiative by 90 percent. ‘I support the Great Lakes. Always have. They’re beautiful. They’re big. Very deep. Record deepness,’ Trump said during his rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday night. ‘And I’m going to get, in honor of my friends, full funding of $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative,’ he continued. In the president’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which was unveiled earlier this month, the Trump administration proposed a $270 million cut to the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative according to The Detroit Free Press. The proposed spending cut marks the third year in a row the president has proposed making cuts to the program, which was launched in 2010 to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Many journalists were quick to point out the apparent budget reversal during Trump’s rally on social media.” [The Hill, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Trump Backs Off Budget Slash, Backs Full $300M For Great Lakes Cleanup. According to The Detroit News, “President Donald Trump said Thursday he is backing off plans to slash funding for a popular Great Lakes cleanup program as he campaigned in a key Michigan battle ground. Tailoring his message to Michigan voters, Trump said he would support fully funding the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and dump proposals his administration has made for three straight years to make a 90 percent cut in the program. ‘I support the Great Lakes,’ Trump said. ‘They’re beautiful. They’re big, very deep. Record deepness, right?’ Trump was met at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids by Republican U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga of Zeeland, John Moolenaar of Midland and Jack Bergman of Watersmeet, state Rep. Matt Hall and former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.” [The Detroit News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Udall Leads Senate Effort To Ban Widely Used Pesticide. According to E&E News, “Congressional critics of the widely used farm pesticide chlorpyrifos reintroduced legislation today to ban it, even as a federal court weighs whether to block its use on legal grounds. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and 12 other senators proposed the ‘Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act,’ legislation that mirrors a measure from 2017 that didn’t advance in committee. At issue is a pesticide often used on apples and other fruit. It’s a vital and extensively researched tool against bugs that damage crops, farm groups say, but advocates for its prohibition say residue on fruit poses a potentially serious threat to children who eat it. ‘The science on chlorpyrifos is clear and unambiguous: this is a dangerous nerve agent and toxic pesticide that damages the developing brains of children and causes serious health problems in those who have been exposed to it, whether it’s on the job, on fruits and vegetables, or in drinking water,’ Udall said in a news release.” [E&E News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

House Drought Bill On Tap. According to Politico, “House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva committed to introducing a bill to enact the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan by early next week during a subcommittee hearing Thursday.” [Politico, 3/29/19 (=)]

 

Drought Plan Meets Enviro Laws — Reclamation. According to E&E News, “The Bureau of Reclamation and Colorado River states today sought to reassure Congress that their drought plan for the waterway would comply with environmental laws. Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said the drought contingency plan, or DCP, was ‘designed specifically to fit within existing environmental compliance.’ Burman was appearing at a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife hearing on the DCP, which the seven basin states finalized last week. The plan for the river, which provides water to 40 million people, now requires legislation to be finalized (Greenwire, March 20). Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said they will introduce a bill imminently to enable Reclamation and the states to move forward. The Colorado River is experiencing a nearly two-decade-long historic drought, and the DCP is intended as an ‘overlay’ on existing operations guidelines from 2007. Its goal is to safeguard — and prop up — its two primary reservoirs, Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border and Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border, with conservation, cutbacks and pledges to store more water in those reservoirs.” [E&E News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

AP | Groups Sue Iowa Over Farm Runoff In Raccoon River. According to E&E News, “An Iowa-based community activist organization and a Washington-based environmental group filed a lawsuit yesterday against the state of Iowa and several state agencies alleging they have deprived residents of their right to clean water by failing to adequately regulate pollution from hog operations and crop farms. Iowa Citizens For Community Improvement and Food & Water Watch filed the lawsuit in Polk County District Court in Des Moines. It claims the state has violated the rights of residents who have a constitutionally protected property interest in clean water in the Raccoon River for recreational and drinking water uses. The river is a primary source of drinking water for about 500,000 central Iowa customers of Des Moines Water Works. Emma Schmitt, an organizer for Food & Water Watch who lives in a northwest Iowa county with 180 hog confinement operations, called the lawsuit a ‘momentous step in taking back our water for the people of Iowa.’” [E&E News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

Fukushima Radiation Reaches Bering Sea. According to E&E News, “Traces of radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster have now reached the Bering Sea off Alaska, according to sampling conducted by Native villages and academic researchers. The March 2011 tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan sent a plume of radiation that’s been carried by currents to waters off the northwestern United States. Water sampling in 2018 found trace amounts of elevated cesium-137 off the coast of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, according to Gay Sheffield, an Alaska Sea Grant agent based in Nome and a professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. In a newly released report, Sheffield and other researchers note that the levels of cesium-137 they uncovered barely rise above normal background levels, but the radiation’s source can be traced back to the Fukushima disaster. She emphasized, however, that the small amounts of radiation detected are thousands of times below levels considered safe by EPA. Normally, cesium-137 is detected in the Pacific Ocean at concentrations of 2.0 becquerels per cubic meter (Bq/m3) or less, the study notes. Though Bering Sea testing began in 2014, radiation originating from Fukushima was only detected in samples collected last year, and at concentrations of 2.4 Bq/m3. The radioactive isotope cesium-134 was not detected in any sampling years.” [E&E News, 3/28/19 (=)]

 

 

 

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