Clean Water Act

 

NWPR & WOTUS

 

Army Corps Banks On Wetland Data EPA Deemed 'Unreliable'. According to E&E News, “When the Trump administration finalized a key Clean Water Act rule last year, it slammed media outlets for citing federal data showing it would erase protections for more than half the nation’s wetlands and 18% of streams. The National Wetlands Inventory, EPA wrote in a press release at the time, was so unreliable that it ‘doesn’t map wetlands that are there and maps wetlands that are no longer there.’ ‘Most importantly, it doesn’t map the jurisdictional waters,’ EPA wrote in a press release specifically criticizing articles from E&E News, Politico, the Los Angeles Times and The Guardian. Ten months later, it appears the Army Corps of Engineers didn’t get that memo. The Army Corps conducted more than 1,000 jurisdictional determinations between June and mid-September to decide whether specific wetlands or streams are protected by the new Navigable Waters Protection Rule. For roughly two-thirds of the 1,011 documents reviewed by E&E News, the Army Corps relied on the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) to help make those decisions. In other words, the Trump administration is determining whether federal law protects specific wetlands using what it previously called ‘an inherently unreliable system.’ ‘And so, we do not use it,’ EPA wrote in a January press release.” [E&E News, 10/28/20 (=)]

 

Editorial: Barrett High Court Confirmation Marks End Of Environmental Status Quo. According to InsideEPA, “When we started Environment Next in 2019, we said it was because the next 50 years of environmental protection would be very different from the last 50. We didn’t know how right that was. This week’s confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett creates a solid conservative majority on the high court that could last for generations. At a minimum, that means the Trump EPA’s rollbacks of past regulations are now significantly more likely to survive judicial review, and future efforts to reverse them -- whether from a Biden administration or a future president in 2025 or beyond -- will face resistance from the majority. … One likely target for a revived non-delegation doctrine would be the Clean Water Act (CWA). Days before he retired in 2018, Justice Anthony Kennedy suggested in a concurrence that the law’s grant of federal jurisdiction over ‘waters of the United States’ -- a term that has sparked decades of legal battles -- might be so vague that courts should overturn it. Litigation over the law’s scope is now running in district courts across the country and could reach the justices as soon as 2022, setting the stage for a decision on just that question. An expanded non-delegation doctrine could also upend the Clean Air Act or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, if the justices decide that ordering EPA to decide when pollution levels respectively protect public health ‘within a reasonable margin of safety’ or pose ‘no reasonable probability’ of harm to human health or the environment gives regulators too much discretion to set limits based on their own judgment.” [InsideEPA, 10/28/20 (+)]

 

Water Pollution

 

Toxic Algae

 

Scientists Concerned About Chemicals Used To Keep Lake O Algae Out Of St. Lucie River. According to Treasure Coast Palm, “An Israeli firm hired to prevent algae in Lake Okeechobee water from reaching the St. Lucie River hasn’t had to use its algicide yet, but some environmental scientists are concerned about the chemicals and how the company got the job. Under a $945,000 state contract, BlueGreen Water Technologies deployed at the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam, where discharged lake water enters the C-44 Canal and heads toward the estuary, soon after the Army Corps of Engineers began discharges Oct. 14. Although satellite images show a significant bloom of cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, in the lake, no algae-laden water has been discharged through the dam’s gate — yet. None of the recent water samples taken in the lake near Port Mayaca contained any visible blue-green algae or tested positive for toxins. A South Florida Water Management crew reported seeing low-density clumps of algae Oct. 21 in the northwest part of the lake. One sample contained the toxin microcystin at a level of 5 parts per billion. A district crew reported bright green algae in a ‘medium to high density’ bloom Oct. 22 along the western shore north of Clewiston. One bloom contained microcystin at a level of 13 parts per billion.” [Treasure Coast Palm, 10/28/20 (=)]

 

Cape Cod Water Quality In Decline, Report Says. According to WBUR-Radio, “The water quality on Cape Cod’s ponds and bays is bad and getting worse, according to the second annual State of the Waters report from the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (AAPC), a regional environmental advocacy and education organization. While the report says that public drinking water is ‘excellent’ overall, the percentage of surface water with ‘unacceptable’ quality increased from last year. ‘The estuaries and bays of Cape Cod are largely in terrible shape,’ said AAPC executive director Andrew Gottlieb. ‘The Cape has experienced fairly wide scale decline in the quality of its surface waters, and yet there’s a real lack of public understanding about both the scope of the problem and the causes of it.’ The report blames the poor water quality on nutrient pollution from stormwater runoff, fertilizers, and septic systems. Septic systems are a widely-acknowledged source of water pollution on Cape Cod, where a majority of homes use them. ‘What you put down the drain ends up in a body of water somewhere,’ Gottlieb said. ‘As owners of septic systems and manicured yards, we all have some share of the burden and some share the responsibility.’ ‘These problems have been emerging for years,’ said Christopher Killian, vice president for Strategic Litigation at Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), which has sued a number Cape Cod towns, as well as individual beach clubs and resorts, in an effort to stem the nutrient pollution.” [WBUR-Radio, 10/28/20 (=)]

 

Wastewater

 

Trump Considers Ordering Government Analysis On Fracking Economics: Report. According to The Hill, “President Trump is weighing whether to issue an executive order requiring an economic analysis of fracking, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed senior administration officials. Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, is a method of extracting oil and gas from rocks. It’s controversial because it has been linked to water contamination. Trump has been a vocal supporter of fracking and has attempted to make it part of his campaign messaging in states like Pennsylvania where it’s used by industry. According to the Journal, he’s now considering telling government agencies to analyze the effects of fracking on trade and the economy and what would happen if it was outlawed. The potential order would also reportedly have the agencies determine what else they can do to bolster fracking. Sources told the Journal that a decision hasn’t been made on whether to issue it. One official told the paper that a goal of the potential order would be to highlight the impact of fracking, including in swing states. White House spokesperson Judd Deere in an email declined to ‘speculate or comment on potential executive action.’” [The Hill, 10/27/20 (=)]

 

Brouillette: Trump 'Developing' Fracking Order. According to E&E News, “‘We appreciate the president’s support for hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling — technologies that are responsible for the environmental progress this country has achieved over the last decade,’ said Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration & Production Council, which represents the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the U.S. Environmentalists panned the move, with Food & Water Action policy director Mitch Jones calling it ‘just one more desperate attempt by this White House to make fracking into a winning campaign issue.’ Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes make it the most valuable battleground state that proved critical to Trump’s 2016 win, and both campaigns have put considerable time and money into the state. In addition to Trump’s three stops Monday, first lady Melania Trump marked her return to the campaign trail with a trip Tuesday. And Brouillette, who has spent much of the past two months in swing states critical to Trump’s reelection, spent Tuesday and yesterday in Pennsylvania, visiting a natural gas well site outside Pittsburgh. There he told local reporters that production in the state is ‘important to the nation. We all depend upon the production of this natural gas.’ He also dismissed concerns from critics who fear fracking’s effects on water and air: ‘There are no credible studies that show fracking harms the environment in a significant way,’ he said.” [E&E News, 10/29/20 (=)]

 

Plastic Pollution

 

Brand Commitments, Legislation And Pandemic All Influencing Plastic Recycling. According to Miami Herald, “The pandemic’s impacts on the recycling industry were evident during the annual Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference — both through its virtual format and the frequency with which coronavirus-related discussions seeped into sessions. But speakers said pre-existing factors apart from the pandemic, like the proliferation of brand sustainability commitments and new legislation, will also affect markets for the foreseeable future. Early pandemic-induced bottle bill program suspensions in the United States significantly cut into the recycled PET (rPET) market by depressing supply. ‘But at the same time, demand for rPET also fell quite considerably. This was led by, predominantly, cheaper virgin PET being available in the market,’ said Benjamin Brooks, global lead of recycled plastics at S&P Global Platts. Prices for rPET bales dropped, especially premium bales. Europe was not as deeply affected by program suspensions because governments there moved more quickly to designate recycling as essential and kept services going, he said. European recyclers did still experience decreased capacity due to social distancing regulations, and commodity prices fell. Despite pandemic-linked complications, PET remains the most in-demand plastic for fulfilling companies’ post-consumer resin commitments, said Hendrik Dullinger, vice president of business development at PreZero U.S. That sector has seen a spike in demand for natural HDPE over the last year.” [Miami Herald, 10/28/20 (=)]

 

Western Water

 

A Test Of Trump's Water Play. According to Politico, “California isn’t in play in the presidential race, but key House races in the agriculture-heavy Central Valley are, and in those Trump has repeatedly sought to fan the flames on the state’s decades-long water wars in hopes of tilting the balance toward Republicans. It didn’t do the trick in 2018, when Trump issued a late October Executive Order setting a lightning-swift pace for changing the endangered species protections that limit pumping in the state’s water hub. In that cycle, voters rejected Republicans Jeff Denham and David Valadao, two of California’s staunchest water warriors, who’d stood alongside Trump as he signed that order. Valadao’s back this year, challenging incumbent Democrat T.J. Cox for his old seat in one of House Democrats’ most fiercely contested races of the year — and so is the Trump administration’s water strategy. During an Oct. 9 interview with Sean Hannity, the president returned to his argument that the Golden State would soon ‘have to ration water’ because of protections for ‘tiny little fish,’ referring to the endangered Delta smelt. And during a February speech in Bakersfield where Trump discussed water policy, he called Valadao an ‘incredible guy,’ saying, ‘We really need him badly in Washington.’” [Politico, 10/29/20 (=)]

 

Environmental Justice

 

Op-Ed: Enforcing Environmental Laws Is A Key To Environmental Justice. According to The Hill, “Now that the nation’s eye is on racial justice, the Environmental and Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler has discovered that he wants ‘to solve the environmental justice issues we face today.’ As a whopper, this may not quite match President Trump’s claim to be America’s ‘number one environmental president,’ but it is a remarkably strange way to describe the Trump-Wheeler team’s record of attacking environmental protections for low-income communities, communities of color and indigenous people. Those attacks include reduced enforcement of laws protecting clean air and water and proposals for drastic cuts to programs that protect our most vulnerable communities. The attacks began while Wheeler was still lobbying for the coal industry, when the Trump administration’s first EPA budget proposed to eliminate funding for EPA’s environmental justice program. When that proved politically unpalatable, the administration contented itself with starving the program, cutting its staff nearly in half, and funding it with a minuscule 1/1500th of the agency’s budget. Evidently, that still provides too much support for environmental justice. So the 2021 Trump-Wheeler budget proposes to shrink spending for the environmental justice program to its lowest level ever, eliminate the Superfund environmental justice program and cut $240 million from programs serving low-income communities and people of color. These cuts would virtually wipe out water infrastructure programs for poor and disadvantaged communities, and slash grants to control deadly air pollution, reduce diesel emissions and support tribal environmental programs.” [The Hill, 10/28/20 (+)]

 

Op-Ed: Climate Change, Environmental Justice In NC Is On The Ballot. According to The Fayetteville Observer, “As North Carolinians head to the polls, there is much to consider as to what kind of state we want to be. We should be concerned about environmental justice — or the meaningful involvement of all peoples in environmental decisions regardless of race, color, culture, national origin or income. Some people may ask why we should take that into account. The answer is quite clear, and no one has said it better than Dr. Martin L. King Jr. His mantra, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’ speaks plainly. Although climate chaos has disproportionate impacts on environmental justice communities, these impacts are not confined to overburdened communities. They exacerbate the overall impact of climate change on the economy and stability of the entire state of North Carolina. In the past four years, eastern North Carolina has been significantly impacted by Hurricanes Matthew, Florence and Dorian. Now called North Carolina’s ‘Hurricane Alley,’ the 10 North Carolina counties classified as suffering the most from persistent poverty are also those in this zone of climate chaos. Indeed, of the 40 most distressed counties, 29 are in eastern North Carolina. And this region — already home to communities that suffer disproportionate amounts of land, air and water pollution, and poor health outcomes — is one of the most racially diverse regions of the United States, as well as one of the poorest.” [The Fayetteville Observer, 10/28/20 (+)]

 

Op-Ed: Trump Does Not Know What Environmental Injustice Looks Like. According to The Hill, “In last week’s presidential debate, when asked what he would say to families living near oil refineries and chemical plants, President Trump said, ‘I have not heard the numbers or the statistics that you’re saying, but they’re making a tremendous amount of money.’ Based on this response, his record of cutting essential environmental protections and his seeming indifference to communities on the fencelines of polluting industries, Trump clearly does not understand the true costs of pollution. Last week’s presidential debate questions on race, public health and climate may have been separated into separate segments, but these issues are inextricably linked. Whether it’s increased risks of cancer and higher health care costs, poor school performance or lower home values, communities in close proximity to our nation’s toxic waste and pollution have suffered for far too long. From Cancer Alley in Louisiana, to Houston’s East End and Detroit’s 48217 zip code, environmental justice communities throughout our nation deserve a president who understands why fighting for clean air and water for all communities is so important.” [The Hill, 10/28/20 (+)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

Rights Of Nature Are On The Ballot In Florida, In Defiance Of The State Legislature. According to Politico, “Voters in Florida’s Orange County are being asked to grant legal rights to rivers, lakes and other players in the ecosystem. If they approve the charter amendment, the county could become the largest municipality in the nation to join the budding rights of nature movement. But even if the central Florida county unites behind the ballot measure, it has a long road to becoming law, thanks to a defensive move pushed by GOP state lawmakers earlier this year. ‘The Legislature can think they have done their job to kill this nascent effort,’ said Chuck O’Neal, chair of the Right to Clean Water, a political committee that pushed the ballot initiative, and president of an environmental group suing the state. ‘They can think that, and just mind their own business,’ he said, ‘and we’ll do our thing locally.’ With nearly 1.4 million people, Orange County is larger than Pittsburgh or Toledo, two cities that have adopted rights-of-nature laws. The county’s Charter Review Commission voted 9-5 in March to put rights of nature on the Nov. 3 ballot. Just months earlier, lawmakers in Tallahassee moved to block the effort, inserting into a comprehensive water bill language that preempts local governments from granting rights to the environment, including plants, animals or bodies of water. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law in June.” [Politico, 10/28/20 (=)]

 

Trump's EPA Rewrote The Rules On Air, Water Energy. Now Voters Face A Choice On Climate Change Issues. According to USA Today, “Perhaps the rule with the largest implications across states are the revisions to the Clean Water Act. In 2015, the Obama administration expanded the federal government’s authority to regulate wetlands and washes when it adopted the regulation called the Waters of the United States rule, or WOTUS. By scrapping that rule and adopting its new Navigable Waters Protection Rule, the administration dramatically narrowed the definition of streams and wetlands that fall under federal regulation. Omitted were ephemeral streams that flow seasonally, select intermittent streams that flow after heavy rainfall and wetlands that are not adjacent to bodies of water. ‘Almost every single state has their own protections on waterways,’ the EPA’s Wheeler said. ‘So even if it’s not a federal waterway, it doesn’t mean it’s not protected by the states.’ The administration’s changes to the waters rule leaves 18% of streams and 51% of wetlands unprotected, according to an EPA staff analysis that used data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s national hydrography database. … In other parts of the country, like the arid West, the rates of unprotected waterways are closer to 80% or 90%, Southerland said. When asked about the percentages of waterways across the country left unprotected, Wheeler questioned the figures. ‘We’ve never completely mapped all the waterways,’ Wheeler said. ‘It’s just something that can’t be quantified at this point in time. … We are mapping waters across the country, but it had never been done before for regulatory purposes. So the numbers are just estimates.’” [USA Today, 10/28/20 (+)]

 

These Wetlands Helped Stop Flooding From Sandy. Now A BJ’s May Move In. According to The New York Times, “It is an unlikely centerpiece for a save-the-wetlands campaign: a patch of woods and swamps surrounded by strip malls and service roads on the densely populated, industrial northern shore of Staten Island. To nearby residents fighting to preserve it, the parcel is a bulwark against disaster. The 28 acres are part of a network of wetlands that in 2012 helped protect the area from the deadliest floods of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated New York City and killed 43 residents, more than half of them in Staten Island. But the land’s developer has a different vision: a giant BJ’s Wholesale Club. His company has said the project will create at least 200 local jobs, protect 11 acres of the wetlands and include rain gardens and holding tanks to curb flooding. State and city authorities agree, having approved plans for the membership-only warehouse club chain and an 800-car parking lot on the site, part of the Graniteville Swamp. The decision has set off new wrangling over how best to handle development on Staten Island’s diverse, working-class northern tip. The fight has also taken on wider resonance as record-setting hurricane and wildfire seasons raise doubts that decades-old environmental, zoning and building rules can produce safe, farsighted decisions. ‘Where does it stop? It’s like Manifest Destiny for developers,’ said Gabriella Velardi-Ward, who lives in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood surrounding the site and leads a group of residents challenging the project in court. ‘In torrential rains, the water moves through our condo community to the wetlands.’” [The New York Times, 10/28/20 (=)]

 

 

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