Trump Administration

 

Trump Touts Environmental Record In Florida. According to Politico, “The president will visit Jupiter, Fla., on the edge of the Everglades today to discuss his administration’s ‘continued conservation and environmental protection efforts in the region,’ a White House spokesperson tells ME. Expect a special emphasis on his record $250 million request for Everglades restoration in his 2020 budget blueprint. In the crucial swing state, Everglades restoration isn’t just an issue for environmentalists, it’s a daily concern for residents, especially in the summer when the wetlands system that was drained and replumbed nearly a century ago sends polluted runoff from Lake Okeechobee into the mansion-lined estuaries, spawning algae blooms and beach closures. Trump’s 2020 funding request was aimed at accelerating construction of projects that would increase regional water storage capacity and reduce polluted discharges from Lake Okeechobee. The trip comes as Trump has shifted his messaging on the environment in the lead-up to Nov. 3, glossing over his numerous deregulatory actions and instead touting moves like the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act, H.R. 1957 (116), which provides permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The administration sees that achievement as key not just for itself, but for vulnerable Republican senators in the West. And last week, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler delivered a speech, where he tried to cast a more moderate, traditional Republican vision of the Trump EPA.” [Politico, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Clean Water Act

 

Permits & Certifications

 

Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction Won't Jeopardize Protected Species, Federal Review Says. According to The Roanoke Times, “Construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, should it continue, is not likely to jeopardize five endangered or threatened species of fish, bats and plants, a long-awaited federal authorization has concluded. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday issued a revised biological opinion, which was essentially a rewrite of its finding in 2017. After a legal challenge was filed by Wild Virginia and six other environmental groups last August, a federal appeals court stayed the original opinion. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission then issued a stop-work order in October. Following a nearly year-long reconsideration, the Fish and Wildlife Service released a 226-page opinion that found the massive project — which has run into repeated problems with erosion on steep mountain slopes — would not jeopardize protected species. The finding applies to the Roanoke logperch, the candy darter — a second kind of fish that has been added to the endangered species list since 2017 — the Indiana bat, the northern long-eared bat and the Virginia spiraea, a flowering shrub native to southern Appalachia. With the renewed permit in hand, Mountain Valley says it will resume work once the stop-work order is lifted.” [The Roanoke Times, 9/4/20 (=)]

 

Mountain Valley Project Gets Boost From FWS. According to E&E News, “The contested Mountain Valley pipeline project was bolstered Friday by a Fish and Wildlife Service report that says construction and operation of the 300-mile pipeline is not likely to jeopardize the ‘continued existence’ of multiple species across the affected area. The agency report said authorization to build and operate the project ‘as proposed’ is not expected to endanger the survival of animals such as the Roanoke logperch, candy darter and northern long-eared bat. In addition to addressing five species, the agency’s report replaces a 2017 biological opinion for the project, according to Brian Hires, an FWS spokesperson. While the project still faces other permitting obstacles, analysts said the biological opinion marks a step forward for the pipeline. But even with the favorable opinion, green groups repeated past calls for developers to walk away from the project and said the pipeline is still waiting on needed authorizations. The pipeline is set to run from West Virginia to Virginia, and work is already more than 90% complete, a project spokeswoman told E&E News last month. The release of the biological opinion comes less than two weeks after developers asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an additional two years to complete the pipeline and place it into service, a precaution that Mountain Valley said was taken out of ‘an abundance of caution’ following legal challenges (Energywire, Aug. 26).” [E&E News, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Corps Urges No Immediate Remedy During Appeal Of Dakota Pipeline Ruling. According to InsideEPA, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is arguing against any immediate remedy after a federal district judge found that it violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in approving a waterway crossing for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a decision that the agency is appealing. The Corps made that argument to Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia district court in an Aug. 31 status report in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, et al. v. Corps, et al., after it persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to temporarily stay the lower court’s order that the pipeline cease operation and be drained of oil. However, the appellate court declined to stay Boasberg’s vacatur of the Corps’ easement for the pipeline’s crossing under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe, meaning the crossing now constitutes an ‘encroachment’ on federal property. Even so, the Corps is arguing that pipeline operations can proceed normally while the agency considers options to ‘cure’ the encroachment, including by publishing a notice of intent (NOI) to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS) in the Federal Register by Sept. 4, a step Boasberg ordered in March. Litigation over the high-profile project is being closely watched in part because of Boasberg’s order that the pipeline be shut down three years into its operation over a NEPA violation -- a rare remedy under that statute.” [InsideEPA, 9/4/20 (=)]

 

Judge Seeks Judicial Precedent To Guide ‘Special Case’ CWA Exclusion. According to InsideEPA, “A federal district court judge pressed attorneys for environmentalists and EPA at a Sept. 3 hearing to identify appellate or Supreme Court rulings that support their opposing positions on whether the agency properly excluded 1,365 acres of salt ponds adjacent to San Francisco Bay from Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. But Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California appeared frustrated at times with the attorneys’ answers, telling Eric Buescher, representing Save the Bay, ‘This is not helpful.’ In the consolidated case San Francisco Baykeeper, et al. v. EPA, California and several environmental groups argue that under the Obama administration, EPA was poised to find the salt ponds were ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS) but that the Trump administration at the request of developers found the area was excluded from the CWA. Additionally, California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra (D) charges the EPA decision deprives California of the ability to conduct review of potential projects on the site as required by CWA Section 401 and undermines California’s interests in wetlands restoration. But EPA and the developer say the agency looked at a number of facts that ‘are sufficient to support EPA’s conclusion that the Salt Plant had, prior to 1972, been converted to fast land within the meaning of the doctrine. Since well before the passage of the CWA, the site has functioned and been operated as entirely industrial and not as an aquatic system,’ according to a joint brief filed earlier this year.” [InsideEPA, 9/4/20 (=)]

 

Judge Mostly OKs Regulators’ Handling Of Mine Water Permit. According to Associated Press, “A judge ruled the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency did not deviate from most of its procedures when it issued a key water quality permit for the proposed PolyMet mine project. The ruling is a victory for supporters of the state’s first copper-nickel mine and the agency, which mine opponents accused of ‘procedural irregularities’ in how it developed and eventually approved the water permit needed to build the $1 billion mine on the Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota. Chief Ramsey County District Court Judge John Guthmann oversaw a seven-day hearing on the case in January. ‘The court finds no overarching effort by the MPCA to keep evidence out of the administrative record,’ Guthmann wrote in his 104-page decision. The judge however, did not completely exonerate the agency, saying it improperly deleted emails from former Commissioner John Linc Stine and Assistant Commissioner Shannon Lotthammer that showed the two negotiating with the Environmental Protection Agency to delay the federal agency from submitting comments critical of the project until after a public comment period was over, the Star Tribune reported.” [Associated Press, 9/5/20 (=)]

 

Judge Questions Motivation Behind NEPA Overhaul. According to E&E News, “A federal judge last week told government attorneys to stay in ‘political reality’ during arguments over whether conservation groups will be irreparably harmed once new implementing rules for a bedrock environmental statute go into effect. Judge James Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia heard arguments Friday on a request by green groups to stall the Trump administration’s new National Environmental Policy Act regulations. The changes to the bedrock environmental law by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, led by Mary Neumayr, are set to go into effect Sept. 14, but environmental groups like Wild Virginia and Defenders of Wildlife insist that setting the new rules into motion this month would cause irreversible and immediate harm to the lands their organizations protect. Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Kym Hunter, arguing for the groups, acknowledged that freezing the rule seems like an ‘extraordinary’ remedy, but said a delay is necessary to allow the courts to decide if the government had cut corners on the rulemaking. ‘This case is as ripe as it will ever get,’ she said. NEPA governs the permitting process for federal projects ranging from highways to pipelines. CEQ’s revised implementing regulations set shorter deadlines for agency analyses and limit examination of factors like cumulative environmental and climate impacts of projects, among other changes.” [E&E News, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Water Pollution

 

Drinking Water

 

Critics Fault Major Wheeler Speech For Sidestepping Climate Change. According to InsideEPA, “Coupled with that is the message that climate threats are ‘way into the future, we care about you today,’ Southerland adds, citing prior remarks by Wheeler. Wheeler in a March 2019 interview with CBS called climate change important but argued that ‘most of the threats from climate change are 50 to 75 years out,’ while unsafe drinking water is killing people now. Wheeler at his January 2019 Senate confirmation hearing also defended a lack of reference to climate change in his opening statement. ‘I would not call it the greatest crisis. . . . I consider it a huge issue that has to be addressed globally,’ Wheeler said. But Southerland argues that not placing a major priority focus on climate change in a speech EPA is touting in part as a look at the agency’s next 50 years is a major omission given what she sees as the increasing relevance of the issue in policy debates. She adds that framing of climate and other environmental issues as a zero-sum game also misrepresents the Trump administration’s record of rolling back numerous air, water and waste requirements, including power plant wastewater treatment standards and coal ash controls. ‘They have transferred the cost of pollution control from these coal-fired power plants to the downstream drinking water utilities,’ she says, arguing EPA’s eased rules for the power sector on the wastewater and coal ash ponds are a detriment to local communities. ‘You and I have to pay a much higher monthly bill every month’ as a result, she says.” [InsideEPA, 9/4/20 (=)]

 

EPA Sued For Not Regulating Rocket Fuel Chemical In Drinking Water. According to Newsweek, “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was sued Thursday by environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) over failing to regulate a toxic chemical used in rocket fuel that is present in drinking water. NRDC asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review a recent decision made by the EPA to not regulate the chemical perchlorate in drinking water, despite concerns that it can cause birth defects and a host of medical ailments. Perchlorate is a key component of rocket fuel, explosives and matches. The chemical interferes with the functions of the thyroid, causing birth defects in developing fetuses and developmental issues for infants and young children. Adults exposed to unsafe levels of the chemical can suffer thyroid-related issues, while lung damage and more short-term effects like vomiting, eye irritation and chemical burns are also possible. In addition, it has been tied to cases of aplastic anemia, a potentially fatal blood disorder. The EPA had decided in 2011 to regulate perchlorate in drinking water in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. They changed their position in June, insisting the chemical is not a ‘public health concern’ because it is not found in enough drinking water or at high enough levels to be a threat. The reversal was made after a court had ordered the agency to set a standard for the chemical in drinking water by June 2020 due to a 2016 NRDC lawsuit over delays in implementing regulations.” [Newsweek, 8/18/20 (=)]

 

Local Utilities Keep An Eye On Lead, Copper. According to Englewood Sun, “Lead-tainted water isn’t limited to Flint, Michigan. According to various reports, Florida water supplies aren’t immune from unacceptable concentrations of lead. USA Today reported how Florida ranked ninth in the country for the number of water systems with excessive lead levels. Fortunately, Englewood Water District, Charlotte County Utilities and other local utilities water sources and water distribution systems are lead- and copper-free. However, older homes — those built in the early 1980s or older — can have lead leech into the water from the solder plumbing connections, and brass and other metal plumbing fixtures.” [Englewood Sun, 9/7/20 (=)]

 

GOP Ex-Gov. Snyder's Blessing Could Cost Biden Michigan, Flint Dems Warn. According to Newsmax, “On Friday, Michigan’s former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder made headlines by endorsing Democrat Joe Biden for president. But the blessings of Snyder, who served as governor from 2010-2018, could well cost Biden a significant number of Black voters and the 16 electoral votes of Michigan — a critical, up-for-grabs state, which Donald Trump carried by only 10,704 votes (or 47.50% to Hillary Clinton’s 47.23%) in 2016. That was the opinion of two prominent Black Democrats in Flint, Michigan, which experienced a nationally-watched water crisis from 2015 to 2016 that exposed between 6,000 and 12,000 children to lead poisoning. A report by the University of Michigan School of Public Health concluded that then-Gov. Snyder ‘bears significant responsibility’ for the still-discussed water crisis in Flint, which has a population of roughly 99,000 and is 57% Black. ‘Look what happened to Flint!’ the city’s former Mayor Karen Weaver told Newsmax, recalling how a lawsuit was filed against Snyder and other officials charging that they acted negligently, which led to autoimmune disorders and ‘brain fog’ among those experiencing the lead poisoning.” [Newsmax, 9/7/20 (=)]

 

Joe Biden Touts Endorsement From The Guy Who Poisoned Flint, Michigan. According to Earther, “Joe Biden can, once again, fuck off. After spending months making overtures to environmental organizers about how he’s listening to them, creating a task force with Green New Deal-backing Sanders supporters and strengthening some parts of his climate plan, the Democratic presidential nominee seems to be taking that support for granted. Earlier this week, Biden reiterated that he doesn’t plan to ban fracking. Then on Thursday, dude’s campaign publicized the endorsement of environmental villain, Rick Snyder. I know Biden is trying to win an election. But to do so, he’s going to have to win over many skeptics who would have preferred a candidate farther to the left. By not only accepting former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s pledged vote but also amplifying Snyder’s endorsement by emailing supporters to check out his op-ed, his campaign seems to be signaling to those voters that he doesn’t care about them at all, and is willing to jeopardize their support for an infamous also-ran Republican. As a reminder, Snyder is the former Republican governor of Michigan who had a massive role in the majority Black city of Flint’s lead-poisoned water crisis. In 2013, he appointed an emergency manager who prioritized profits over Flint residents’ safety, allowing their water supply to be privatized and switched to a tainted source.” [Earther, 9/7/20 (+)]

 

Democrats Are Way Too Excited About Biden's Snyder Endorsement. According to Detroit Metro Times, “Since he left office in 2019, former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has largely kept a low profile. But on Thursday, the Republican broke his silence to to announce in a USA Today op-ed that he was bucking his party and endorsing Democratic candidate Joe Biden for president. In the op-ed, Snyder called President Donald Trump a ‘bully’ who ‘lacks a moral compass’ and ‘ignores the truth.’ ‘As a proud nerd, I had to deal with bullies over many years; it is tragedy watching our world suffer from one,’ Snyder wrote. The thing about tragedies, though, is that they can be wrought even by nerds like Snyder. His greatest claim to infamy, of course, is his administration’s handling of the Flint water crisis, which was a direct result of Michigan’s emergency manager law. The people of Michigan rejected a similar law at the ballot in 2012; when that happened, Snyder and the Republican-led Congress just rammed through a new version that couldn’t be rejected by voters. Then, while under emergency management, the city of Flint made the disastrous decision to switch its water supply — which led to its drinking water being poisoned with lead, harming thousands.” [Detroit Metro Times, 9/4/20 (+)]

 

Flint Mayor: $600M Water Crisis Settlement Is 'The Floor, Not The Ceiling'. According to Yahoo! Finance, “Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley believes the $600 million to be awarded to Flint residents as part of a class action lawsuit against state and local governments is ‘the floor, not the ceiling’ when it comes to compensation for those impacted. ‘The $600 million is the floor, not the ceiling,’ Neeley told Yahoo Finance (video above). ‘We still have probably another 12 defendants in the case. So that number is going to go up. And so we’re not at the final total of the dollar amount that’s going to be furnished to the residents of the city of Flint.’ The water pollution crisis began in 2014 after city officials, looking to save money, switched their water source to the Flint river. The water was never properly treated, causing chemicals from the pipes to seep into the water delivered straight to residents’ homes and buildings. In early 2016, officials declared a state of emergency in the city of roughly 100,000 — more than half of whom are Black — and wider Genesee County. In 2017, criminal charges were filed against many government officials. (The charges were dropped in 2019, though the Michigan attorney general’s office said it had plans to keep investigating.) Many people in the city continue to rely on bottled water, and the elevated levels of lead in some children’s blood caused many to worry about the long term complications such as potential irreversible damage to their developing brains.” [Yahoo! Finance, 9/5/20 (=)]

 

PFAS

 

District Court Denies New Mexico’s Bid To Force Air Force PFAS Cleanup. According to InsideEPA, “A federal district court overseeing a massive multi-district case over contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is rejecting, on procedural grounds, an attempt by New Mexico to force the Air Force to implement interim cleanup measures to address releases of PFAS at two military bases in the state. The Sept. 3 order from the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina in the consolidated multi-district litigation (MDL) In Re: Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products (AFFF) Liability Litigation is a blow to New Mexico, which earlier this year feared the transfer of its suit against the Air Force to the MDL could lead to it getting sidelined. The state had sought a preliminary injunction under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act from the South Carolina district court, which is overseeing the MDL, comprised of 750 consolidated cases. New Mexico sought to force the Air Force to determine the extent of PFAS water contamination stemming from Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases in the state and undertake interim measures to mitigate the contamination and protect public health. Specifically, the state sought to require a quarterly sampling plan of certain water wells for the two bases, medical surveillance such as blood testing of nearby residents, surveying for PFAS in wildlife in certain locations, disclosure to the state and public of sampling results, closure of Lake Holloman, and the provision of an alternative drinking water source to residents where PFAS was detected in their water supplies.” [InsideEPA, 9/4/20 (=)]

 

Toxic Algae

 

Clean Water Risks Of Toxic Algal Blooms. According to Public News Service, “Water is the lifeblood of the West, but a warming climate and other factors have put Colorado’s lakes, reservoirs and ponds at greater risk for toxic algal outbreaks. Brian Kurzel, regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation’s Rocky Mountain Regional Center, said a recent rash of blue-green cyanobacteria blooms in Colorado are more than just an eyesore; they’re dangerous for people, pets and wildlife. He said leaders at all levels of government need to confront the outbreaks’ root causes. ‘Whether that be climate change, whether that be nutrient pollution,’ Kurzel said. ‘And we need them to have the clarity of purpose that is on par with the clarity that we want in our drinking water.’ Algal blooms thrive in warmer waters, and Colorado’s health department launched a monitoring program two years ago to find out if toxic blooms are on the rise. Nutrient runoff from agriculture and residential fertilizers act as a kind of super-food that can enable blooms to take over entire lakes. Algal outbreaks disproportionately impact Black and Latino populations, and Kurzel said until climate change and nutrient pollution are addressed, health disparities in Colorado are likely to increase. Expanding blooms also will make it harder for low-income people and communities of color to access safe outdoor green spaces.” [Public News Service, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

CT Lakes Take A Break From Toxic Blue-Green Algae. According to The News-Times, “Toxic blue-green algae in local lakes popped up as normal this summer, but fewer blooms in recent years have left researchers searching for answers. Blooms of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, were reported on a number of lakes, though Candlewood Lake continues to be relatively clear. The blooms have become a concern in recent years as more research is uncovered about the potential toxicity and dangers the cyanobacteria can pose to animals and people, ranging from skin irritation to death.” [The News-Times, 9/7/20 (=)]

 

Wastewater

 

New Mexico Finalizes Oil And Gas Wastewater Regulations, Lawmakers Hear Testimony . According to Carlsbad Current Argus, “The State of New Mexico finalized changes to its produced water regulations on the oil and gas industry after months of adjustments and debate between state regulator, environmentalists and oil and gas industry leaders. The Oil Conservation Commission unanimously approved of the changes during a Thursday special meeting without discussion following a work session last month that included a two days of testimony from environmental groups and industry leaders. The new rules sought to clarify the Oil Conservation Division’s (OCD), an arm of New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), role in regulating the management of produced water within the industry while the New Mexico Environment Department would oversee any future uses of the water outside of the industry in sectors such as agriculture. Produced water results from oil and gas extraction, a combination of flowback from drilling fluid and formation water brought up to the surface along with crude oil and natural gas. The water is often recycled and reused within the industry for future drilling operations such as hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. It can also be reinjected back into the underground formations it came from.” [Carlsbad Current Argus, 9/3/20 (=)]

 

Group Wants State To Keep Wastewater In The Oil Field. According to E&E News, “An environmental group is urging New Mexico’s legislators and regulators to clamp down on oil field wastewater, as industry pushes oil-patch states to allow new uses for the fluid. Dealing with the waste, also known as brine or produced water, has historically been a huge, expensive problem for oil companies, making industry in New Mexico and beyond interested in other solutions. In Texas and Oklahoma, for instance, regulators are considering changes that could allow companies to recycle the fluid for use in farming and other industries or perhaps dispose of it in surface water (Energywire, Nov. 13, 2019). In a legislative hearing last week, the nonprofit WildEarth Guardians told New Mexico lawmakers that it’s not safe to allow oil field wastewater to be transferred out of the oil field. Separately, the group filed a rulemaking petition with the state Oil Conservation Commission to tighten the rules on wastewater spills. ‘We must recognize that produced water is fundamentally fracking waste, not water,’ Daniel Timmons, an attorney for the group, told the Water and Natural Resources Committee. New Mexico passed a law in 2019 aimed at increasing the amount of recycling the industry uses. The provision could allow treated wastewater to be used outside the oil field, but state regulators told the committee they won’t allow it until research shows it’s safe, which could take years. The state’s oil industry produced 1.26 billion barrels — almost 53 billion gallons — of waste in 2019, an increase of about 40% since 2016, Bill Brancard, general counsel for the state Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, told the committee.” [E&E News, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Lawmakers Want Bigger Share Of EPA Grants For Sewage Outflows To N.H. Rivers. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, “New Hampshire’s federal lawmakers want a bigger cut of a new national grant program to address sewage discharges in local rivers. The new Environmental Protection Agency grants aim to help local governments prevent what are called Combined Sewer Overflows – systems that can put untreated stormwater and sewage directly into rivers at times of heavy precipitation. It’s a problem in places like Lowell, Mass., and Manchester, which recently agreed to spend $231 million reducing its sewage overflows into the Merrimack River – a source of drinking water for cities downstream. U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas joined other Democratic colleagues from Massachusetts in sending comments to the EPA on the new grant program. They argue states like theirs should get a bigger share, since they’ve shown they need more infrastructure upgrades at a higher cost per person in their populations. Right now, the EPA’s formula says bigger populations should be the ones to get larger grants. The grant program has been authorized since the 1990s, according to the delegation, but received its first-ever funding of $28 million total in the last fiscal year.” [New Hampshire Public Radio, 9/7/20 (=)]

 

Something Smells: ID Wastewater Treatment Violations Widespread. According to Public News Service, “Wastewater facilities in Idaho are flush with pollution violations. The Idaho Conservation League’s fourth annual wastewater treatment report found more than three-quarters of plants violated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discharge permits between 2017 and 2019. Austin Walkins, climate campaign coordinator with the group, said ICL focuses on these facilities because almost every Idaho city has one that empties into rivers and lakes. ‘And as our reports have highlighted over a number of years now,’ said Walkins, ‘a lot of facilities are struggling to meet the permit requirements that they need to meet to protect water quality, to protect fish, to protect human health.’ Violations included excessive amounts of chemicals, toxic metals and bacteria like E. coli. But the infractions weren’t distributed equally. Ten of the 112 facilities accounted for nearly half of all violations. Walkins said all ten are working toward compliance in agreements with the EPA or other agencies. He said ICL takes any violation seriously. ‘A facility that only violates their permit once but that happens to be at the most critical time when humans and fish and everyone’s in close contact with that water,’ said Walkins, ‘that could still have some pretty serious consequences.’” [Public News Service, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Plastic Pollution

 

'War On Plastic' Could Strand Oil Industry's £300bn Investment. According to The Guardian, “The war on plastic waste could scupper the oil industry’s multi-billion dollar bet that the world will continue to need more fossil fuels to help make the petrochemicals used in plastics, according to a new report. Major oil companies, including Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell, plan to spend about $400bn (£300bn) to help grow the supply of virgin plastics by a quarter over the next five years, to compensate for the impact of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies on demand for fossil fuels. Industry data has predicted that plastics will be the largest driver of oil demand growth in the coming years but new figures suggest these investments may be left stranded as global governments push through plans to cut single-use plastics and increase recycling to help tackle plastic pollution. The report by thinktank Carbon Tracker found that demand for virgin plastics may peak in 2027, as its growth slows from 4% a year to 1%, strengthening the theory that global oil demand may already have reached its peak in 2019. ‘Remove the plastic pillar holding up the future of the oil industry, and the whole narrative of rising oil demand collapses,’ Kingsmill Bond, energy strategist at Carbon Tracker, said.” [The Guardian, 9/7/20 (+)]

 

Water Infrastructure

 

4 Issues To Watch As Congress Returns. According to E&E News, “House and Senate staff have begun early discussions on what will make its way into a final water projects and infrastructure bill, with hopes of getting a bill passed before the election. Aides are focused on two bills in particular: the ‘Water Resources Development Act of 2020,’ H.R. 7575, which passed the House in July, and S. 3591, which passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in May. ‘The House hopes to soon begin conversations with the Senate to combine these bipartisan proposals with the House-passed WRDA bill and send a proposal to the president for his signature this fall,’ said a Democratic House aide. The water projects bills have moved forward easily because of bipartisan commitments to leave out controversial provisions. Sources said they expect the final compromise to include significantly more money for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, EPA grants for sewer overflow and stormwater reuse, and EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act funding, as well as other grants. Also expected to be included is new money for clean water resiliency and watershed-based projects, and language that calls upon the Army Corps of Engineers to consider natural formations and features when boosting coastal resiliency and restoration from the threat of climate change.” [E&E News, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Schumer, Gillibrand Demand Feds Disclose What Is Being Done To Shore Up The Nearly 2,000 Dams In New York. According to WENY-TV, “Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are responding after incidents of dam failures in Michigan. According to a release, dam failure events in Michigan forced 10,000 people to evacuate their homes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing at least $175 million in damage. The two Senators are making an effort to prevent incidents like this in New York. Yesterday, they wrote a letter urging the Army Corps of Engineers to reveal what’s currently being done to give federal support to the entities responsible for maintaining almost 2,000 dams in the Empire State. The Senators say that over half of New York’s dams are either high or significant hazard, which would result in loss of life, property destruction, economic loss, or more.” [WENY-TV, 9/5/20 (=)]

 

Western Water

 

Calif. Dem Introduces $800M Bill For Storage, Canals. According to E&E News, “California Democrat T.J. Cox introduced legislation Friday to boost funding for groundwater and water conveyance projects in his agriculture-heavy Central Valley district. The ‘Western Water Storage Infrastructure Act’ would provide $800 million for increased storage, as well as funding to repair key canals that have been damaged due to land subsidence from farmers overpumping the local groundwater aquifers. ‘Even during this difficult time, we can’t stop our work to bring everyone in the Valley the water they need,’ Cox said in a statement. ‘Water supply reliability is incredibly important to the lives of Central Valley working families and for the entire world’s economy and food system.’ Water is a major political issue in Cox’s district. The Democrat is in a close rematch with former Rep. David Valadao (R), who introduced several water-related bills during his tenure in the House. Cox’s office noted that H.R. 8166 has broad support, including from the California Farm Bureau Federation and the politically connected Westlands Water District, the country’s largest agriculture irrigation provider. Westlands gets water from the federal Central Valley Project, which, like the State Water Project, shuttles water from the state’s wet north to its drier south. ‘Enactment of this legislation,’ Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham said in a statement, ‘would promote crucial storage projects, enhance environmental monitoring, and preserve operational flexibility for the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) to maximize water deliveries to CVP and SWP contractors while providing the needed protections for listed fish species.’” [E&E News, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

New Study Finds Climate Change Will Dry Colorado River Even More Than Previously Thought. According to The Spectrum, “Harnessing ever-increasing computing capabilities, a new study has analyzed streamflow in the Colorado River Basin at a finer, more zoomed-in scale than has previously been possible. And what they found is not great news for the 40 million people who currently rely on Colorado River water. About 85 percent of Colorado River water originates from snowpack and rainfall in the river’s headwaters region on the west slope of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. From there, it continues downstream to quench the thirst of cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix and, if the Lake Powell Pipeline is built, St. George. But before it trickles down the mountainous slopes and ends up in the river, some of that water is slurped up by high-alpine evergreen forests. The scientists found that, by shrinking the size of the map grid used to understand and summarize water dynamics in the Colorado’s headwaters region, they were able to capture more of the environmental nuance of how a mountainous landscape influences the amount of water that ends up flowing downstream. Their findings, published online in late July in the journal Environmental Research Letters, suggest that previous models using coarser map grids may have oversimplified the role of evergreen forests on high alpine slopes and underestimated how they will respond to climate change.” [The Spectrum, 9/7/20 (+)]

 

Flooding

 

Americans Back Tough Limits On Building In Fire And Flood Zones. According to The New York Times, “Americans support far more aggressive government regulation to fight the effects of climate change than elected officials have been willing to pursue so far, new research shows, including outright bans on building in flood- or fire-prone areas — a level of restrictiveness almost unheard-of in the United States. The findings suggest that the public’s appetite for government action to prepare for global warming is shifting as natural disasters worsen. Eighty-four percent of respondents, including 73 percent of Republicans, supported mandatory building codes in risky areas, and 57 percent supported making it illegal to build in those areas. More than half of respondents favored paying people to move, including three-quarters of Democrats. But while the findings show bipartisan support, more stringent restrictions have been generally opposed by local officials, who cite the cost they would impose on the economy. ‘There’s a disconnect between public preference and public policy,’ said Jon A. Krosnick, a professor of communication, political science and psychology at Stanford University who led the project. As global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, decisions about where and how to build have become increasingly important. If local governments continue to allow homes to go up in places most exposed to climate change, such as coastlines, floodplains or fire-prone wilderness, experts say, it will make generations of current and future residents more vulnerable to worsening hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other disasters.” [The New York Times, 9/4/20 (+)]

 

Bloomberg | Worsening Water Woes To Play Bigger Role In Sovereign Ratings. According to E&E News, “Intensifying risks related to water such as its scarcity and extreme events like droughts and floods are set to become a more crucial factor in determining sovereign ratings, adding pressure on countries to work on climate change. ‘While disruptions from climate change are likely to manifest themselves only gradually over the coming decades, water risks already materialize on a sufficiently regular basis and large scale,’ analysts Mahmoud Harb and Kathleen Chen at Fitch Ratings said in a note. ‘The relevance of water risks for sovereign rating is set to rise.’ As water is a vital raw material for manufacturing and agriculture, the water woes are set to hurt the economic growth of several countries. Some regions could see their growth rates decline by as much as 6% of gross domestic product by 2050 as a result of water-related losses, according to the World Bank. The pain is likely to worsen in currently affected regions while expanding to new areas, according to Fitch. Kuwait, the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah and Egypt are the most exposed sovereigns to water stress and drought risk while Bangladesh, Rwanda and Vietnam face the most flood risk.” [E&E News, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

The Boy Scouts Can Do Better Than Teaming Up With Trump’s EPA. According to Grist, “A bond between the BSA and this EPA, however, rips apart the Scout Oath. Scouts famously pledge to be trustworthy. Wheeler last year earned ‘Two Pinocchios’ from the Washington Post Fact Checker for defending the Trump administration’s attack on the Endangered Species Act. Wheeler claimed the legislation ‘hasn’t really been successful,’ when in fact, the 1973 law has saved nearly 300 species from extinction. Scouts also pledge to be thrifty, clean, and kind — which includes using natural resources ‘wisely,’ keeping their communities clean, and never harming or killing ‘any living thing without good reason.’ Wheeler and Trump replaced President Obama’s Clean Power Plan with one that would allow the fossil fuel industry to pump out more carbon pollution and soot into the air. Their own data said the relaxed rules could result in up to 1,400 deaths. (Obama’s EPA said its rules would prevent up to 3,600 deaths a year – so the rollback and replacement actually sacrifices as many as 5,000 people). In the outdoors, scouts follow ‘leave no trace’ principles to pack up and carry out trash from campsites and to not contaminate natural water sources with dishwater and human waste. Wheeler is letting industry contaminate at will. He has removed wetlands, streams, and tributaries from federal pollution protection and relaxed rules on power plant wastewater and coal ash –which is notorious for leaking carcinogenic and neurotoxic chemicals into groundwater. On Monday, Wheeler issued a final roll back of coal plant wastewater rules, risking the release of more mercury and arsenic into the environment.” [Grist, 9/5/20 (+)]

 

DNR Seeks Input On Surface Water Quality Standards; Chance For Public To Name Priorities. According to Wisconsin State Journal, “Wisconsin officials are looking for advice on how to keep the state’s lakes, rivers and streams clean and safe for swimming, fishing and drinking. The state Department of Natural Resources is evaluating surface water quality standards as part of a review done every three years as required by the federal Clean Water Act. Known as the Triennial Standards Review, the process allows the public to weigh in on how the agency should focus its resources to best protect public waters. ‘There are lots of topics out there that we could work on,’ said Kristi Minahan, water quality standards specialist with the DNR. ‘This lets us narrow down which are the most important.’ Scott Laeser, water program director for Clean Wisconsin, said in a state with 15,000 lakes it’s easy to become complacent, but there are still problems — like toxic algae blooms — that make some of those waters unsafe. ‘People feel like our water resources are so abundant that we don’t have to worry about them. We take it for granted,’ Laeser said. ‘At the end of the day, we still have a lot of rivers, lakes and streams that are polluted.’ ... Though not required by the Clean Water Act, Minahan said, ‘we like to involve the public in the process.’ While the process may seem daunting, Laeser said it’s important for people to have a voice, especially when special interest groups are pushing for less regulation.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 9/8/20 (+)]

 

New Study Aims To See If Big Waves Harm MN Lakes. According to Public News Service, “This fall, University of Minnesota researchers will study how regional lakes are being affected by large waves from recreational boating. Groups like Minnesota Lakes & Rivers Advocates have voiced concerns about eroding shorelines and damaged vegetation, and they believe it’s connected to larger boats operating in sections of waterways that aren’t suited for them. Jeff Marr, associate director of engineering and facilities at the university’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, said there is no comprehensive research in this area, and his team wants to produce unbiased data. Marr explained they’ll measure the size and force of the waves, using sensors and cameras, ‘Not really focusing on a watercraft specifically, but looking at how waves, and waves of different magnitude, what their impacts are.’ Some of the concern stems from the boats used for wakesurfing, although a variety of wave sources will be studied. The Water Sports Industry Association supports more research, but has voiced concern that this study won’t include its direct input. However, Marr said initial outreach was made to the water sports industry and other stakeholders, but the work will be independent. He added that the lab hopes the findings will provide reliable information to inform policy decisions. The water sports industry has been lukewarm about enhancing regulations on lakes, but it does promote educating boaters about responsible behavior.” [Public News Service, 9/8/20 (=)]

 

 

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