Clean Water Act

 

Permits & Certifications

 

Split Decision In Michigan Pipeline Case. According to Politico, “Enbridge must keep shut the eastern leg of its Line 5 oil and propane pipeline in Michigan but can resume deliveries on the western leg, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo ruled late Wednesday. The ruling was a win of sorts for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who requested the restraining order on Line 5 after Enbridge reported damage to the eastern leg last month. That segment of the dual pipeline must remain closed until the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration completes its investigation of the accident, Jamo ruled. The judge also ruled that Enbridge could reopen the western leg for now, but only so the company can inspect if that section of the 540,000 barrel-a-day pipeline was damaged as well. Nessel in a statement took the ruling as a win in the state’s fight to revoke the decades-old easement allowing the line to traverse the Strait of Mackinac. ‘The Court based its decision on the grounds argued by the Attorney General — the requirements of the 1953 easement mandating that Enbridge at all times exercise the ‘due care’ of a reasonably prudent person for the safety and welfare of all persons and of all public and private property,’ Nessel said in a statement.” [Politico, 7/2/20 (=)]

 

Water Pollution

 

Drinking Water

 

House Oks Democratic Plan To Reduce Lead In Drinking Water. According to Bloomberg Law, “House lawmakers on Wednesday approved a significant amendment to the infrastructure package that would devote billions of dollars over the next five years to help reduce lead in water, particularly in environmental justice communities. The Democratic standalone measure would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act by authorizing $4.5 billion per fiscal year through fiscal 2025 for comprehensive lead service line replacement projects, with priority given to communities of color who are especially exposed to environmental pollution. The language would shift the cost burden from low-income communities to the federal government to help clean up contaminated water lines.” [Bloomberg Law, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

SAB Says Draft EPA Lead Model ‘Major Step Forward’ But Cites Weaknesses. According to Inside EPA, “EPA advisors reviewing the agency’s draft model for predicting lead concentrations across all ages are generally praising the agency’s effort as a major technical and public policy step forward, although some are cautioning there are significant weaknesses in the model’s software and structure and are calling for other improvements to the model. EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) June 23 critiqued a June 2 draft report developed by an SAB peer review panel that reviewed EPA’s All Ages Lead Model (AALM) -- a new model EPA has developed to predict lead concentrations in the body tissues and organs of hypothetical individuals, based on estimated lifetime lead exposure. EPA developed the model to provide ‘risk assessors and researchers with a tool for rapidly evaluating the impact of possible sources of lead in a specific human setting where there is a concern for potential or real human exposure to lead,’ according to EPA’s website. During the June 23 SAB meeting, John Guckenheimer, interim director for the Center for Applied Mathematics at Cornell University and one of the SAB members who critiqued the peer review panel’s draft report, voiced the most significant criticism over the model, particularly its software and structure. ‘From a software point of view, the model is a mess,’ Guckenheimer said during the meeting, noting the various programming languages used in its development. He said he believes few people have successfully run the software. Further, he argued that both the scientific foundations of the software and the numerical methods in the model are also weak.” [Inside EPA, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

AP | Tough Drinking Water Standards Clear Hurdle In N.H. According to E&E News, “The New Hampshire House passed a bill yesterday that would put into law some of country’s toughest drinking water standards for a group of toxic chemicals and provides tens of millions of dollars to help communities in the state meet the rules. The state House voted 210 to 116 on the standards put forth last year by the state Department of Environmental Services for potentially harmful chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known collectively as PFAS. The standards limit one chemical to a maximum of 12 parts per trillion and another to 15 parts per trillion, far lower than the 70 parts per trillion EPA has advised for the chemicals. The bill was crafted in response to a lawsuit filed last year by 3M, a farmer and several others who are trying to block the standards from taking effect. A judge in the case issued a temporary injunction in December that prevents the standards from being enforced. If the bill becomes law, it will sidestep that injunction and allow the standards to be enforced — just as they are for lead and arsenic. ‘We’re talking about cleaning up drinking water,’ state Rep. Renny Cushing, a Hampton Democrat, told lawmakers. ‘I think we need to realize we can’t wait any longer. There’s nothing more precious than having the ability to drink clean water.’ State Rep. Kathryn Stack, one of several Democrats from Merrimack who co-sponsored the bill, said action was necessary to combat the threat posed by PFAS in communities like hers.” [E&E News, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

PFAS

 

Added To The House NDAA. According to Politico, “The House Armed Services Committee added several measures related to PFAS contamination to its annual defense reauthorization bill, H.R. 6395 (116), during a marathon markup that stretched late into last night. The biggest debate related to the toxic chemicals emerged over an amendment from Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin that would require the Defense Department to follow the most stringent standard in cleaning up PFAS contamination from defense facilities, whether at the state or federal level. The committee ultimately adopted the amendment by a 31-25 vote. The panel also adopted an en bloc package of amendments by voice vote that included an amendment by Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) ensuring periodic health testing of military members for PFAS exposure and another en bloc package that included an amendment from Slotkin expressing support for DoD research and development to identify an alternative to firefighting foam with PFAS.” [Politico, 7/2/20 (=)]

 

Plastic Pollution

 

Activists Roll Up Their Sleeves For 'Plastic Free July'. According to E&E News, “Today starts a month in which conservation activists plan to bang the drum for eradicating global plastic pollution. Welcome to ‘Plastic Free July.’ The goal is get people to shun single-use plastic, and — more important — to get industry and lawmakers to step up. ‘Consumers alone can’t fix the plastic pollution crisis,’ said Christy Leavitt, plastics campaign director for Oceana. With 17.6 billion pounds of plastic entering the ocean every year, a load expected to double by 2025, Leavitt said turning the tide on plastics will require companies to reduce production of single-use plastic and to provide plastic-free choices. Lawmakers can help by enacting policies to ensure corporate action. ‘It is only with public support that lawmakers will be convinced to finally address this growing problem. Plastic Free July is one effective way to do that,’ said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and a former EPA regional administrator. The plastic recycling rate, she said, is an ‘anemic’ 8%.” [E&E News, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

Western Water

 

Trump's Fence Sparks Fear Of 'Catastrophic' Flooding. According to E&E News, “Federal officials laid out long-anticipated plans to build President Trump’s border wall through the San Pedro River in Arizona — the last undammed desert river in the Southwest — in a private webcast presentation obtained by E&E News. Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection told environmental groups and congressional staffers during a June 12 webinar, which was first reported by the Arizona Daily Star, that they are planning to build 30-foot-tall posts or ‘bollards’ across the river with anti-climb steel plates fixed to the top. Swing gates would then be constructed under the posts to accommodate the river’s flow, the officials said. And a little over 9 feet north of those posts, a 550-foot-long bridge would span the river. Conservationists who viewed the webinar said they worry the current plan could have ‘catastrophic’ consequences if the 140-mile-long river, which dramatically rises during monsoons, swells too high, damages the wall and creates a sort of dam that floods the region. The wall will ‘render all water crossings in this part of the state impermeable, and the risk of flooding damage and erosion is going to be enormous because there’s no secondary backup plan if that system fails,’ said Myles Traphagen, a science coordinator for the Wildlands Network. While the San Pedro River may appear to be a mere ditch in dry seasons, the water body drains more than 4,700 square miles of land — four times the size of Rhode Island — and swells high and large when summer storms arrive, Traphagen said. The river, which flows north, can be fueled by storms in Mexico (Greenwire, July 9, 2019).” [E&E News, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

AP | Water Diversions Paused To Ensure River Keeps Flowing. According to E&E News, “One of New Mexico’s largest drinking water providers will stop diverting water from the Rio Grande to help prevent the stretch of the river that runs through Albuquerque from going dry this summer, officials said yesterday. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority said the curtailment is expected to last until the fall as the utility switches to using groundwater exclusively over the summer to provide drinking water to customers in the metro area. While the river’s dwindling levels aren’t expected to force mandatory restrictions on water use in the Albuquerque area, officials are urging people to conserve to limit the strain on the aquifer. Carlos Bustos, the authority’s conservation manager, said water use is up by more than 1 billion gallons over last year. He said that’s not unexpected because 2019 was a wet year and demands were lower. ‘Usage has been creeping up, and with river conditions as dry as they are, it’s a good time for folks to start tapping the brakes on outdoor consumption,’ he said. The conservation goal set for this year is 127 gallons per person daily. Officials are blaming poor runoff for the river conditions. While the snowpack was decent going into April, it was essentially gone the next month and very little had made its way down the tributaries and to the river.” [E&E News, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: More Western Water Conservation And Resilient Systems Needed Now. According to The Hill, “This weekend, families around the country are adapting plans to celebrate the Fourth of July. Campgrounds, lakes, riverbanks and beaches that teemed with activity last summer will remain bare, as Americans attempt to maintain social distance. In grocery stores, some summer staples are less available due to the crisis. These changes — big and small — underscore how natural resources affect every aspect of our lives. Few things are more important to our economy and way of life than access to clean water. Across America, our aging water infrastructure is failing to meet the challenges we face. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that Colorado alone needs $10.2 billion in drinking water infrastructure improvements over the next two decades. This threat is made more urgent by the fact that the American Southwest is currently in the midst of a historic megadrought brought on by climate change. Fortunately, Congress has the tools needed to strengthen our infrastructure and is beginning to take the steps necessary to do so. This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Moving Forward Act, a broad infrastructure bill which, if passed, will shore up precarious water infrastructure. The bill sets out a balanced approach and includes measures to expand water recycling and reuse projects, create additional water storage and use a natural infrastructure approach through resiliency and water conservation alongside traditional surface and groundwater approaches.” [The Hill, 7/1/20 (+)]

 

Flooding

 

Virginia’s Blue Wave Climate, Pollution Laws Kick In Wednesday. According to Bloomberg Law, “The RGGI bill also provides that 45% of the money generated from in-state carbon allowance auctions will be put into a community flood preparedness fund. That fund will make loans and grants to local governments for communities to use to protect themselves from flooding, prevent future flooding, or study flooding. At least 25% of the money must be used in low-income areas, with priority given to projects that use nature-based solutions, such as reconnecting flood plains and rivers. State programs such as Virginia’s could be helpful in mitigating flood risks because the National Flood Insurance Program remains in trouble. The Government Accountability Office warned Congress in a June report that the National Flood Insurance Program is at risk because premium rates don’t fully reflect the flood risk of insured properties. ‘We’re not going to buy our way out of it by buying up the properties that are most at risk,’ said Alicia Cackley, director of the GAO’s financial markets and community investment group. ‘That isn’t going to solve it.’ Sullivan sponsored another bill (H.B. 1526) taking effect on Wednesday that creates timelines for Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power to retire their fossil fuel plants by 2045 and 2050, respectively.” [Bloomberg Law, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Lawsuit Challenges DeSantis' Rights-Of-Nature Veto. According to Politico, “An Orange County environmental group said it had sued to block a state ban on local rights-of-nature ordinances. Details: The 31-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Orlando by Speak Up Wekiva seeks to bar the state from enforcing the preemption, FL SB712 (20R), which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Tuesday. Background: The nonprofit group, which claims to represent 2,200 members, has backed an Orange County ballot measure that would allow lawsuits to be filed on behalf of the Wekiva and Econlockhatchee rivers and other local waterways. The state legislation, which contained the governor’s water policy recommendations, passed with support from agriculture and industry groups who said granting rights to nature could cause economic harm by creating legal uncertainty and restricting property rights. What’s Next: The state could file a response in federal court.” [Politico, 7/1/20 (=)]

 

 

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