Clean Water Act & WOTUS

 

Council Committee Recommends Settling Injection Well Case. According to The Maui News, “A Maui County Council committee worked late into Friday night and approved a settlement in the long-standing Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility injection well case, which had made its way to the Supreme Court. Members of the council Government, Ethics and Transparency Committee voted 5 to 3 to recommend that the full council settle and remove the case from consideration by the high court. Those voting in favor were committee Chairman Mike Molina, Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, Shane Sinenci, Kelly King and Tamara Paltin. Those voting against were Alice Lee, Yuki Lei Sugimura and Tasha Kama. Riki Hokama was absent and excused. The committee action comes as Maui County is scheduled to have its appeal heard before the Supreme Court in November. The case, which will have national implications, deals with the reach of the Clean Water Act. The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 2012 by four environmental groups against the county over injection wells at the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility. Plaintiffs say the effluent is reaching the ocean and impacting coral reefs and sea life. The county argues that the discharge of the treated wastewater from injection wells does not require permits under the Clean Water Act because the pollutants do not flow directly into the ocean, but rather indirectly through groundwater.” [The Maui News, 9/7/19 (=)]

 

Mayor Responds To Committee Vote On Lahaina Injection Well Case. According to Maui Now, “Mayor Michael Victorino expressed his disappointment in a County Council committeeʻs decision to settle the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility injection well case. According to Victorino, the Governance, Ethics, and Transparency Committee did not consider his settlement proposal before voting to withdraw from the Supreme Courtʻs review on Friday. ‘Discussion of my proposed settlement offer needed to be in a closed executive session, outside of the hearing of opposing counsel in this case,’ Victorino said today in a press release. ‘I question the decision by some council members not to even consider my proposal.’ Victorino stated that the 9th Circuit Courtʻs ruling to expand the Clean Water Act could have ‘severe’ effects on Mauiʻs ‘already tight housing market.’ ‘For county and private projects, we are now looking at costly and possibly unattainable permits, adding expense and uncertainty. Our recycled water program, which uses this very same water on land, could be in jeopardy,’ Victorino added. ‘People already worried about the cost of cesspool conversion at some future date may now have to do that much sooner, and septic systems in certain areas will likely not be options because they violate the Clean Water Act under the 9th Circuit’s decision.’” [Maui Now, 9/8/19 (=)]

 

Coal Ash

 

Dike Breach At Grainger Site In Conway Fills Ash Pond With Water. According to WBTW-TV, “A dike breached overnight at one of the former ash ponds at the Grainger power station in Conway, causing water from the Waccamaw River to flow in. Crews monitoring the pond noticed the breach early Sunday morning, a press release from Santee Cooper says. They noticed water from the elevated Waccamaw flowing in, and notified the Department of Environmental Health and Environmental Control. The release continued by saying since the pond was cleared of ash, no environmental impacts are expected. Santee Cooper began excavating the two ash ponds at the Grainger side in 2014 after the coal plant was shut down. The ponds were used to store coal ash produced by the facility. Removal of ash and contact soil of the first pond was completed earlier this year.” [WBTW-TV, 9/8/19 (=)]

 

Touting TVA Pact, Environmentalists Aim To Drop High Court Coal Ash Suit. According to Inside EPA, “Environmentalists are asking the Supreme Court to dismiss their appeal of a ruling that rejected their suit seeking stricter closure mandates for a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash disposal site, saying they have reached a pact with TVA and state officials that sets strict cleanup requirements and could be a model for other ash site plaintiffs. Petitioners in Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN), et al., v. TVA filed a motion to dismiss their high court petition for certiorari on Sept. 4, telling the high court that reaching a settlement on a Tennessee-led enforcement action will give them the same result they tried and failed to win through a Clean Water Act (CWA) citizen suit. ‘As a result of this settlement, Conservation Groups have achieved the principal goals they sought through this Clean Water Act suit. For the reasons stated, Conservation Groups move to dismiss the Petition without any award of costs by this Court,’ the motion says. The settlement commits TVA to excavating all stored ash at its leaking Gallatin, TN, ash disposal site prior to closing the facility, rather than merely drying out the waste and capping it in place permanently as the power company originally planned.” [Inside EPA, 9/6/19 (=)]

 

Greens Ask Justices To Toss Coal Ash Contamination Case. According to E&E News, “Environmentalists this week dropped their plea for a high court review of a coal ash contamination dispute in Tennessee. Counsel for a pair of Volunteer State conservation groups Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that the Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed to shutter a storage compound and consider other remedial measures at its Gallatin power plant. The agreement stemmed from an order in state-level litigation. ‘As a result of this settlement, Conservation Groups have achieved the principal goals they sought through this Clean Water Act suit,’ Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Frank Holleman wrote in an unopposed request to dismiss the case. The Trump administration previously urged the Supreme Court to sideline Tennessee Clean Water Network v. TVA, arguing that the petition is ‘materially identical’ to another Clean Water Act dispute set for argument this fall (Greenwire, June 17). Both the TVA case and County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund question whether contamination that moves through groundwater on its way to federally regulated waterways is subject to Clean Water Act permitting requirements.” [E&E News, 9/6/19 (=)]

 

T.V.A. Board Member Would “Absolutely Not” Let Family Clean Up Coal Ash. According to Men’s Journal, “In June 2019, during a Senate committee hearing, a Tennessee businessman named Bill Kilbride told four lawmakers that he would ‘absolutely not’ allow a member of his family to clean up coal ash without a dust mask. He also agreed that coal ash can be dangerous if ingested or inhaled. Taken by themselves, these comments, first reported here by Men’s Journal, are not revelatory: It’s well known that coal ash, a by-product of burning coal to produce electricity, contains arsenic, lead, and a slew of other hazardous particles. But Kilbride was seeking Senate confirmation as a nominee for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors. Created as part of the New Deal, T.V.A. is the nation’s largest public utility, operating six coal-fired power plants, three nuclear plants, and nearly 30 hydroelectric dams. As detailed in a recent story in Men’s Journal, on December 22, 2008, one of T.V.A.’s coal-fired power plants spewed a billion gallons of coal ash over 300 acres outside Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s now considered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history, given its scale. Following the spill, T.V.A. and Jacobs Engineering Group, the firm contracted by T.V.A. to oversee the cleanup, told the 900 men and women who responded to the disaster that the coal ash was safe and, with few exceptions, refused or failed to supply them with dust masks or respirators. Now, 40 of those workers are dead and at least 300 are ill. In November 2018, a federal court ruled that Jacobs’s handling of the cleanup could have possibly sickened the workers with leukemia, lung cancer, and coronary artery disease, among other illnesses.” [Men’s Journal, 9/6/19 (+)]

 

Toxic Algae

 

NOAA Sends Nearly $2M For Red Tide Research To Mote Marine Laboratory. According to Florida Politics, “U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan on Friday announced funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ‘Mote Marine works tirelessly to counter red tide and improve Florida’s water quality,’ Buchanan said. ‘I will continue my push in Congress to deliver resources to fight the plague of red tide and protect Southwest Florida’s environment.’ Funding comes from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Competitive Research Program. Mote President Michael Crosby will oversee spending. Buchanan’s office touted the fact the Sarasota Republican pushed this year for $8 million more to be spent The money comes a year after red tide savaged Florida’s west coast. The Florida Legislature this year approved the Florida Red Tide Mitigation and Technology Development Initiative, a partnership between Mote Marine and the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed that into law in June. That state effort means $18 million will be spent over the next six years on combating red tide, with much of that being spent at the Sarasota laboratory. U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a Tampa Bay Democrat, in May announced $10 million in new funding to address harmful algal blooms, including red tide. Buchanan also pushed an amendment passed by the U.S. House directing the National Institutes of Health to designate $6.25 million to research the long-term health effects of red tide and harmful algal blooms.” [Florida Politics, 9/6/19 (+)]

 

Progress Slow In Expensive Fight Against Toxic Algae. According to KCRG-TV, “Peak season for algae blooms on the Great Lakes is coming to a close and this year’s bloom in Lake Erie is massive. It covers more than 620 square miles. That’s bigger than Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Columbus, and Dayton combined. Cities, states, and countries are pouring billions into addressing the problem, which temporarily poisoned Toledo’s public drinking water five years ago. But, will all that investment will pay off anytime soon? The problem can be seen from space, as blue-green algae coats the surface of huge swathes of Lake Erie. The scale speaks to the size of the problem. ‘Even if we do the right thing now, it may take a while before we see the result,’ said Dr. Tom Bridgeman, Director of the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center. Bridgeman is leading a group of scientists and students testing the largest-ever collection of samples taken from the lake. The goal: coping with reality as they work to find a way to predict whether any given year’s blooms will be dangerous or merely gross.” [KCRG-TV, 9/7/19 (=)]

 

Hawaii Scientists Discover Lava Caused Massive Algae Bloom. According to Associated Press, “Hawaii scientists say lava from the 2018 Kilauea volcanic eruption has triggered an algae bloom that could be seen from outer space, a newspaper said. NASA satellite images of the Big Island eruption showed water turned green around where the lava was entering the ocean, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Friday. University of Hawaii and University of Southern California scientists monitored and researched the phenomenon, scientists said. They discovered a phytoplankton bloom more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) long and 20 miles (32 kilometers) wide caused by higher levels of nutrients in the water. ‘Lava was heating up in deeper waters that have nutrients,’ co-lead author of the study Nick Hawko said. ‘And because (the nutrients) were heating up, they became really buoyant and floated back to the surface.’ … ‘When the lava started entering the ocean, we started seeing the presence of this high abundance of phytoplankton,’ said Sam Wilson, another co-lead author. ‘This new accumulation of nutrient being pushed up was enough for the phytoplankton to accumulate.’ … ‘I’m not sure we can say anything definitively, but generally, algae is sort of the base of the marine food chain, so all other life that we see in the ocean, whether it’s fish or whales or giant squids, are dependent upon this base of the marine food chain,’ Hawko said, indicating the team hopes to continue research. ‘The Kilauea 2018 eruption was devastating,’ Wilson said. ‘Yet at the same time, the lava going into the ocean fueled microscopic life, created new land and, while it was destructive, was also creative.’” [Associated Press, 9/7/19 (=)]

 

Drinking Water

 

Exclusive: Before Flint’s Water Crisis, One Man Warned That “People Are Gonna Die”. According to PBS, “After the state of Michigan switched Flint’s water supply in April 2014, thousands of children were poisoned by lead and at least a dozen adults died from one of the largest outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in U.S. history. It was exactly the sort of outcome that Matt McFarland, the operations supervisor at the water treatment plant, had tried to sound the alarm about, a new FRONTLINE documentary exclusively reveals. ‘I remember specifically, the day before they actually flipped the switch, he called me and he said, ‘Tonja, contact everyone that you know in Flint, anybody you care about, and tell them, do not drink the water,’ Tonja Petrella, his sister, told FRONTLINE. Petrella said that McFarland cautioned, ‘It’s not safe. We’re not ready,’ and finally warned: ‘People are gonna die.’ McFarland passed away in 2016. But in an exclusive interview for the upcoming FRONTLINE investigation Flint’s Deadly Water, Petrella spoke publicly for the first time about the concerns her brother shared in the run-up to the water switch. ‘He would call me and he would just be so upset … I mean, he knew that they weren’t ready for this,’ Petrella says in the above excerpt from the FRONTLINE film, which premieres Tuesday, Sept. 10.” [PBS, 9/5/19 (+)]

 

PFAS

 

Lawmakers To Question Executives Over PFAS Pollution. According to E&E News, “Protecting chemical facilities from terrorist attacks and companies with ties to toxic substances will be the focus of two separate hearings on Capitol Hill this week. The House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on the Environment will question executives tomorrow on the spread of toxic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. PFAS were once championed for their nonstick properties and companies such as DuPont and 3M Co. used those man-made chemicals for cookware, shoes and water-resistant products. Studies now link those chemicals to numerous health problems such as thyroid issues, birth defects and some cancers. The hearing, ‘The Devil They Knew: PFAS Contamination and the Need for Corporate Accountability,’ is the third meeting this year about the chemicals. The title is a reference to the documentary, ‘The Devil We Know,’ which follows West Virginian residents who discover a DuPont plant had been exposing them to toxic chemicals. Some of those residents gave their testimony in the previous PFAS hearing (Greenwire, July 25). The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change will hold a hearing Wednesday about a program that aims to protect chemical facilities from terrorist attacks.” [E&E News, 9/9/19 (=)]

 

PFAS Package In Limbo. According to Politico, “Provisions aimed at grappling with the PFAS contamination crisis remain a sticking point between the House and Senate as conference negotiations on the annual defense bill resume in earnest this week. Most controversial is an amendment that passed on the House bill to designate all PFAS as hazardous for the purposes of Superfund cleanups. White House weighs in: The White House detailed its concerns with the Senate bill last week, with the Trump administration saying it ‘strongly objects’ to the bipartisan PFAS package hammered out by EPW leaders that would require EPA to set a drinking water standard for at least PFOA and PFOS and force companies that release the chemicals to make public disclosures, among other steps. ‘Many of these provisions are neither grounded in science nor consistent with statutory requirements that provide for important consideration of scientific and technical information,’ acting White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vaught wrote in a letter to Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.). The administration also opposed provisions relating to the phase out of firefighting foam containing PFAS and authorizing the military to provide clean water to farms whose supplies have been contaminated — provisions it previously objected to in the House bill. Hot topic: Meanwhile, executives from major PFAS manufacturers will be on the Hill Tuesday, testifying before a House Oversight Committee subpanel about what they knew of the chemicals health dangers and how they responded.” [Politico, 9/9/19 (=)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Tipsters, PolyMet Probe Spur Broad Audit Of EPA Permitting. According to E&E News, “EPA’s Office of Inspector General is launching a nationwide review of the agency’s water quality permitting efforts, a move that suggests the internal watchdog may have already uncovered problems with oversight of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. ‘This audit is the result of hotline complaints and is based, in part, on work we initiated’ regarding EPA input on the controversial NPDES permit issued to PolyMet Mining Corp. in 2018, an IG official said yesterday in a letter to David Ross, EPA’s water chief. The IG’s ‘objective for this audit is to determine whether the EPA’s reviews of state-proposed NPDES permits verify that the permits adhere to Clean Water Act requirements,’ the letter said. Such permits are required for all point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the United States. EPA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the watchdog’s new review. PolyMet is seeking to build the first-ever copper-nickel mine in Minnesota. The Toronto-based company says the massive open-pit mine would create 360 full-time jobs and operate for 20 years. But environmentalists and some Democratic politicians have raised concerns about the PolyMet proposal because it would destroy nearly 1,000 acres of wetlands in the headwaters of the St. Louis River, the largest tributary of Lake Superior.” [E&E News, 9/6/19 (=)]