All,
Apologies for cross-posting (always wanted to write that).
This
Bay Journal clip from March 3 highlights the Trump administration’s plans to roll back stream and wetland protections, and features our (Environmental Advocates of New York) Senior Director for Clean Water Maureen Cunningham
discussing critical
wetland legislation that passed the New York State Assembly.
New Wetlands Rule Imperils Bay Cleanup, groups say.
According to the Bay Journal, “New York only protects streams that are used for drinking water or designated clean enough for swimming. It regulates the disturbance
of wetlands, but only those that are at least 12.4 acres in size — and only if they have been officially mapped.
Legislation moving through New York’s legislature would expand the stream protection to cover those waters that support fisheries or are clean enough for boating or wading. That measure
recently passed the State Assembly. It still needs the approval of the Senate, but passage is considered likely, said Maureen Cunningham, clean water director with Environmental Advocates of New York.
Bills have also been introduced in the state legislature that would greatly expand protection to all wetlands of at least one acre. But lawmakers have yet to act on those, Cunningham
said.
In the meantime, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed regulating all wetlands larger than 12.4 acres, not just those identified on outdated maps. That alone would protect an additional
1 million acres, according to the governor’s office.” [Bay Journal,
3/3/20]
--
Max Oppen
Communications Associate
Environmental Advocates of New York
O: 518-462-5526 x245
M: 518-698-7447
www.eany.org
From: <cdp@groups.b-team.org> on behalf of Mitch Dunn <mitch@beehivedc.com>
Reply-To: Mitch Dunn <mitch@beehivedc.com>
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 8:23 AM
To: Mitch Dunn <mitch@beehivedc.com>
Subject: [cdp] CDP: Waterways Clips 3/5/20
CDP Waterways Clips: March 5, 2020
Science Advisory Board Slams Trump's WOTUS Rewrite.
According to E&E News, “An EPA advisory panel has finalized a striking rebuke of the Trump administration’s revamped Clean Water Act rule, saying critical elements are not adequately based on
science. Trump’s EPA in January issued its Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which revises the definition of ‘waters of the United States,’ or WOTUS, clarifying which streams, wetlands and marshes warrant federal protections. The rule is significantly narrower
in scope than one issued by the Obama administration, and it is sure to be met with lawsuits once published. EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) said some of the changes are not sufficiently based in science. In a commentary, the board took issue with, for
example, the rule’s exclusion of groundwater, ephemeral streams and wetlands that connect to bodies of water below the surface. ‘The proposed Rule,’ the board wrote, ‘does not present new science to support this definition, thus the SAB finds that the proposed
Rule lacks a scientific justification, while potentially introducing new risks to human and environmental health.’ EPA spokeswoman Molly Block said the agency ‘appreciates and respects the work and advice of the SAB’ and that its concerns were raised during
the public comment period on the rule. She added, however, that the SAB is not limited by congressional authority or muddled Supreme Court decisions on the jurisdictional issue.” [E&E News,
3/4/20 (=)]
Senators Mull How To Curb Invasive Mussels, Plants.
According to E&E News, “The Interior Department must closely coordinate with state and local governments if it hopes to stamp out invasive species like saltcedar and quagga mussels, but ‘well-intentioned
laws’ often stymy those efforts, a top agency official told Senate lawmakers. Scott Cameron, Interior’s principal deputy assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, made the remarks at a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee
on Water and Power. The panel spent more than an hour reviewing the impact of invasive species on Bureau of Reclamation facilities and other resources across states including Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Nevada. During the hearing, witnesses from state and
local governments urged Senate lawmakers to fund research and other programs to address invasive plants such as the saltcedar, which can choke local rivers and absorb precipitation required for the growth of native species. The panel also focused on the spread
of zebra mussel and quagga mussels, which can disable water systems and compete with other aquatic species for nutrition. ‘This is a very urgent matter, right up there with wildfires in the West,’ said Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Deputy Director Julie Regan,
whose work focuses on Lake Tahoe. According to data compiled by the National Invasive Species Council, invasive species cost the United States approximately $120 billion annually (E&E Daily, March 2).” [E&E News,
3/5/20 (=)]
Man Vs. Mussel: Buckeye Mayor Testifies On Threat From Invasive Species.
According to Cronkite News, “Buckeye Mayor Jackie A. Meck said drinking water is scarce enough for cities in the West – they don’t need to be competing with invasive species for it, too. Meck
was one of several witnesses Wednesday at a Senate hearing on the impact of nonnative species – mostly quagga and zebra mussels that clog water intake pipes and force out native species, but also salt cedar that line the region’s riverbanks. The mussels, native
to Europe, were discovered in the Great Lakes in the 1980s and had spread to Lake Mead, Lake Mojave and Lake Havasu by 2007. The fast-breeding freshwater mussels can quickly take over boat hulls, intake pipes, hydroelectric dams – anything under water, as
evidenced by the mussel-encrusted shoe displayed on the desk at the hearing. ‘It’s been a problem since 2007 and it hasn’t gotten any better,’ said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., during the hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee.
‘We need to make this a priority.’ Scott Cameron, principal deputy assistant Interior secretary for policy management and budget, testified that the Bureau of Reclamation’s fiscal 2021 budget request includes $5.6 million to deal with finding and controlling
mussels on its facilities. ‘The last thing Nevada or Arizona needs are more endangered species because these things are smothering them, or sucking up their food or otherwise occupying their habitat,’ Cameron said. Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., said these
invaders can be ‘devastating’ to U.S. waters and that they are ‘a huge and growing problem in the Southwest.’” [Cronkite News,
3/5/20 (=)]
Panel Approves Ozone, Climate And Algae Bloom Bills.
According to E&E News, “After agreeing to a handful of changes, a House Science, Space and Technology panel gave rapid-fire approval to three bills aimed at furthering air, water and climate geoengineering
research. On successive voice votes with no audible dissent, the Environment Subcommittee this afternoon waved through: … H.R. 3297, sponsored by Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), for NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to continue ‘harmful algae
bloom’ monitoring and forecasting during a federal government shutdown. The bill includes an amendment to expand the range of monitoring activities deemed necessary for property protection or human safety and are thus exempted from government shutdowns stemming
from a breakdown in the congressional appropriations process.” [E&E News,
3/4/20 (=)]
Democrats Launch Investigation Into Nestlé Bottling.
According to E&E News, “Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee have started investigating potential environmental and public health risks of Nestlé Waters North America’s bottling
operations. On Tuesday, Environment Subcommittee Chairman Harley Rouda (D-Calif.) and Vice Chairwoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) wrote a letter to Nestlé requesting documents related to its groundwater pumping, plastic particles in its bottled water and its contributions
to climate change through mass production of plastic. ‘The subcommittee is concerned that Nestlé is taking a critical public resource from communities in need without equitably reinvesting in those communities and ensuring long-term environmental sustainability,’
the lawmakers wrote. Rouda and Tlaib took particular issue with Nestlé’s activities in Michigan, Florida and California. In Michigan, the lawmakers wrote, Nestlé pumped 3.4 billion gallons of groundwater from 2005 to 2015. The company continued to extract
spring water from Evart, Mich., and sold it out of state while neighboring Flint was undergoing a lead contamination crisis in 2014. … ‘It would make absolutely no sense for Nestle Waters to invest millions of dollars into local operations just to deplete
the natural resources on which our business relies,’ a spokesperson for Nestlé Waters said in a statement. … ‘At a time when serious, immediate action to address climate change is needed, your company’s continued reliance on the plastic industry is of great
concern,’ Tlaib and Rouda wrote. … ‘We recognize the significant responsibility we have as a bottled water company to operate responsibly and sustainably today, and well into the future,’ it said. ‘We operate under the principles of putting our communities
first, being good stewards of water and the environment, and promoting healthy hydration.’” [E&E News,
3/5/20 (=)]
AP | Michigan Supreme Court Hears Case Over Flint Water Liability.
According to The New York Times, “Lawyers urged the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday to clear the way for Flint residents to sue state officials over lead-contaminated water. The case at the
state’s highest court is one of many in state and federal courts over the scandal. What’s unique, however, is that it could break ground in exposing public officials to liability over alleged violations of the state constitution. Justice Stephen Markman peppered
lawyers on both sides with questions, acknowledging that the Flint water crisis was a ‘terrible harm.’ But not every harm, he added, violates the constitution and deserves a remedy. The attorney general’s office is appealing a 2018 decision by the state appeals
court, which said that Flint residents could pursue a violation of their right to ‘bodily integrity.’ Julie Hurwitz, an attorney for a large potential class of Flint residents, said the case involves tainted water but the issue is much broader: a right to
have government tell citizens the truth. ‘If we cannot hold this state accountable for its role in perpetuating an ongoing invasion of poison in our communities, I would suggest our constitution would not be worth the paper it’s written on,’ Hurwitz said.
… ‘There is no policy maker who authorized or mandated that low-level staffers go out and expose the plaintiffs to toxic water,’ Gambill argued. He also said Flint residents had a six-month window to file notice of a lawsuit and waited too long. Justice Richard
Bernstein said the case will determine if Flint residents can at least get a foot in the courthouse. ‘That’s the only thing before us,’ Bernstein said.” [The New York Times,
3/4/20 (=)]
My Quest For Pure Water.
According to The New York Times, “I live with my family in an almost 200-year-old house on the coast of Maine. Down a steep, wooded bank behind our house is an Audubon sanctuary and two vulnerable
ecosystems: a saltwater marsh surrounding a tidal salt river, and a freshwater stream that travels through trees, over big granite rocks and finally through muddy banks covered with cattails and spartina grass to meet the river. This wild land was the main
reason my husband, Dan, and I bought the house: We wanted those trees, waters and grasses to be our sons’ church. Our water comes from a well under an old, grandmotherly spruce tree that presides over our front lawn. But all is not as pristine as it initially
appeared. I have been preoccupied with water for several years now. From 2012 to 2016, I was researching a book on chemicals in agriculture. That brought me, unsurprisingly, to water. Chemical pesticides, fertilizers and industrial chemicals — whole cocktails
of them — are making their way into sloughs, rivers, lakes, streams, aquifers, wells and even rain. These chemicals are affecting wildlife and human health. And then, in 2014, Flint, Mich., was thrown into a water crisis. The more I learned, the more I worried
about my own family’s water quality and future water security. Across the globe, the contamination of water through human carelessness, lack of knowledge or the insatiable desire to take more than the earth can provide, is a new frontier of concern.” [The
New York Times,
3/5/20 (+)]
`Forever Chemicals’ Cleanup Cost To Air Force Nears $500 Million.
According to Bloomberg Law, “The Air Force says it’s spent almost $500 million on cleaning up a family of toxic ‘forever chemicals’ that have polluted bases across the country. Senators pointed
to mixed results in some communities. The cost for clearing chemicals such as perfluorinated carboxylic acid, or PFAS, used in firefighting foam was cited by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett as senators peppered her with questions during an Armed Services
Committee hearing. Efforts to develop an alternative foam that is equally effective have failed so far, Barrett said. ‘We have spent almost a half billion dollars in clean up to date and we’ll continue,’ Barrett said. ‘I don’t know what that exact number for
this year is but we will continue that cleanup effort and work with the communities for cleanup.’ Details of the public health problem are trickling out as top defense officials give budget testimony. The Pentagon also is preparing to report to Congress this
month on work by its PFAS task force, formed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper to manage potential pollution at 401 facilities with a cost estimated earlier at $2 billion. The Navy said last week it has a $60 million budget for PFAS cleanup in fiscal 2020 and
2021. It is also taking the lead on finding foam alternatives as the military faces a 2024 deadline to phase out all use of the firefighting materials that contain the chemical. 3M Co. and DuPont were the original companies developing and producing PFAS, dating
to the 1940s. The chemicals have been used by hundreds of companies such as Wolverine World Wide Inc. and W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. to make thousands of products, including semiconductors, sticky notes, and shoes. The original PFAS manufacturers, Chemours
Co., and some companies using the chemicals are the subject of several lawsuits.” [Bloomberg Law,
3/4/20 (=)]
New York PFAS Sampling Protocols Prompt Industry Fears Over Cleanups.
According to Inside EPA, “A New York state guidance setting protocols and screening limits to sample per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at cleanup sites includes a novel mandate to test
imported soil used in caps or covers, prompting fears from industry about reopening cleanups while hiking the cost of site investigation and remediation in the state. ‘The soil cap sampling is something I personally haven’t seen before,’ says one industry
attorney expert on Superfund issues. ‘It will be interesting to see if it’s really warranted,’ the source adds, referring to the question of how frequent PFAS will show up in clean fill. ‘Depending on the project and the required frequency of sampling, that
requirement could be a large hurdle from a cost and logistical perspective,’ the source adds. The ‘Guidelines for Sampling and Analysis of PFAS,’ released in January, follows the state’s issuance last year of a memo requiring sampling of PFAS under its remedial
programs. The guidance goes a step further than the memo by laying out specific protocols for sampling PFAS in various media under its cleanup programs and establishing screening limits. The state’s action also potentially establishes precedence among state
cleanup programs in requiring testing of imported soil used for soil caps. A risk assessor familiar with PFAS issues says the soil capping testing is likely the most significant change for sites and likely will have the greatest impact among the measures.
The source says it is unclear when the testing for imported soil will occur, noting that hopefully that would take place before it is placed on-site.” [Inside EPA,
3/4/20 (=)]
Amidst Utility Concern, EPA Faces Calls For PFAS Biosolids Standard.
According to Inside EPA, “As rural and other water utilities increasingly worry that farmers will be unable to land-apply biosolids because of concerns about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS) contamination, they and their supporters are pressing EPA to craft a safety standard and take other steps under the Clean Water Act (CWA) that will ameliorate their concerns. At a March 4 hearing before the House appropriations subcommittee overseeing
EPA, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) pressed EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to develop CWA PFAS standards for biosolids and effluent from wastewater treatment plants. The lawmaker’s request is drawing praise from rural water utilities that say the current lack
of federal standards is prompting states to prohibit land application of biosolids. ‘Right now there are no EPA standards for concentrations of PFAS in biosolids, and land application can lead to contamination in land and crops and water if it’s used on agricultural
land,’ Pingree said. ‘What is EPA doing at this moment in time to understand PFAS in biosolids?’ she asked Wheeler, citing the case of a Maine dairy farmer who is unable to sell his milk containing high PFAS levels that may be tied to his years of land applying
biosolids.” [Inside EPA,
3/4/20 (=)]
New Water, Sewage System Coming To Detroit Neighborhood.
According to The Detroit News, “Residents in a Detroit neighborhood say it’s been a long time coming, but they are finally getting a brand new water and sewer system, and this is just the beginning.
Glenn Fenderson has lived in the Cornerstone Village neighborhood for 27 years. He says this combined neighborhood-wide upgrade to his water and sewer system is a welcoming sight. ‘Every time it rains we get nervous, because the basement floods, we start going
down taking stuff off the floor because the sewage comes back in,’ said Fenderson. Fenderson is hoping basement flooding will be a thing of the past, now that an upgraded water and sewer system will be in the future. At a press conference Wednesday, city leaders
announced the Cornerstone Villiage neighborhood is one of two receiving the upgrades this year. ‘Our water and sewerage department will knock on your door, and if you turn that pipe over to us, at the same time we come down your street and tear up your street
for the water main we will put in a new copper pipe at our expense, and your lead pipe will be gone for good,’ Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. The water department says the city’s water and sewer infrastructure has been aging, and maintenance to the system has
been deferred for decades. They say the upgrades will take time, as they assess conditions of other neighborhoods. But for now, the process is starting for the Cornerstone Village as well as North Rosedale Park neighborhoods. ‘Wow, all I can say is wow, that’s
great,’ said Fenderson.” [The Detroit News,
3/4/20 (=)]
Detroit's Water Department Kicks Off Neighborhood Water, Sewer Upgrades.
According to The Detroit News, “The city’s water department on Wednesday kicked off a $44 million project that will upgrade water infrastructure in two city neighborhoods as part of a five-year
effort to rejuvenate the aging water system. The effort — leading off in the Cornerstone Village and North Rosedale Park neighborhoods — is the first by the city’s Water and Sewerage Department to both the water and sewer systems, officials announced at a
groundbreaking convened on the city’s east side. Duggan said the effort is the latest moving ahead to invest in Detroit neighborhoods and residents. ‘This is a different day in Detroit,’ the mayor said during a news conference on Hillcrest Street, noting broken
fire hydrants, water main breaks and sinkholes that have long plagued the city. ‘Things have changed. Now we’re progressing to what a professionally run city does, which is take an entire area at once, replace the water and sewer systems at the same time.’
The city’s Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity department, he added, will be monitoring the replacement projects to ensure contractors are hiring at least 51% Detroit residents. If they are unable to meet those requirements, he said they will be contributing
to Detroit’s workforce training fund. The two city communities, officials said, have had water and sewer system condition assessments completed within the past two years. The two-year project in Cornerstone Village and North Rosedale Park is part of an overall
five-year capital program that will sink $500 million into water main, lead service line and hydrant replacements as well as stormwater infrastructure improvements.” [The Detroit News,
3/4/20 (=)]
Lawmakers Blast Wheeler's Stance On Restoration Program.
According to E&E News, “Lawmakers today denounced EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler for describing the Chesapeake Bay Program as a ‘tremendous success’ while backing a budget proposal to slash
funding for the watershed. During testimony today before a House Appropriations subcommittee on EPA’s fiscal 2021 budget request, Wheeler made glowing remarks about the accomplishments of the program in response to a question from Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio)
about funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. ‘There’s a lot of years of abuse on the Great Lakes that we need to turn around, but we see some healthy signs, and we’re also looking at programs such as our Chesapeake Bay Program, which is showing
tremendous success over the years, to see what lessons learned in that estuary that can be applied to the Great Lakes,’ Wheeler said. The administration is proposing spending $320 million on the Great Lakes. Only $7.9 million in fiscal 2021, a 91% decrease
from current funding, was proposed for the Chesapeake Bay. ‘It’s hard to miss the irony that this administration has repeatedly slashed funds for what Administrator Wheeler is now touting as a national model for restoration efforts,’ said Sen. Chris Van Hollen
(D-Md.). ‘The Chesapeake Bay Program is certainly a model for other restoration projects, and it’s unfortunate that the Trump administration has repeatedly underfunded the program in their budget requests,’ said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), whose
district is surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who opposes the proposed cuts, expects the Trump administration to continue attempts to diminish the Chesapeake Bay recovery effort.” [E&E News,
3/4/20 (=)]
Please do not respond to this email.
If you have questions or comments please contact
mitch@beehivedc.com
To unsubscribe from this list please go to
http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=C9GQ8OoKJCW5BrEKB5Ip0ujoxmU8CtC7