Clean Water Act

 

NWPR & WOTUS

 

Supreme Court Water Ruling Still Vexes EPA, State Regulators. According to Bloomberg Law, “State regulators are still searching for clarity on how to apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the scope of the Clean Water Act after Trump-era guidance left many questions unanswered. The high court last spring ruled that the Clean Water Act’s permitting program extends to indirect pollution that’s the ‘functional equivalent’ of a direct discharge. The language in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund created headaches for regulators and companies trying to determine what’s covered.” [Bloomberg Law, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Look Out Iowa! Here Come The Puddle Police. According to an op-ed by Todd Dorman in The Gazette, “Bureaucrats are coming for Iowa’s farm puddles again. OK, not really. But as the Biden administration surveys the environmental wreckage left by our previous occupant, we’re starting to see the same old dishonest sludge being spread by Republican members of Congress from Iowa. They’re trying to muddy the waters on dirty water. In 2014, when the Obama administration introduced its ‘Waters of the United States’ rules, or WOTUS, the sludge machine swiftly kicked into its highest gear. Regulators who were basically trying to clarify the Clean Water Act to reflect new science on the consequential water quality connections between small streams, groundwater, wetlands and larger bodies of water were painted as an existential threat. Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst declared that WOTUS would allow ‘a tire track that collects rain water’ to be regulated by the federal government. Ernst and others insisted the rules would allow the feds to regulate 97 percent of Iowa land, a figure cooked up by the Iowa Farm Bureau. Truth is, the vast array of Clean Water Act exemptions for agriculture that existed before WOTUS were included in the new rules. The specter of regulators probing farm puddles was a lie for political effect. And, of course, it worked. Farm groups, big business and development interests found in Donald Trump a candidate more than happy to peddle their nonsense about WOTUS, along with his personal brand of dishonesty. As president, his Environmental Protection Agency scrapped WOTUS and rolled out the far narrower Navigable Waters Protection Rule.” [The Gazette, 5/1/21 (-)]

 

Permits & Certifications

 

Dakota Access To Ask Supreme Court To Hear Pipeline Case. According to The Hill, “The operators of the Dakota Access Pipeline on Thursday said in a filing that it will ask the Supreme Court to take up lower court rulings that found the pipeline is operating without a necessary permit. A Washington appeals court had previously backed the plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by Native American groups, agreeing the project required a full-scale environmental review. In the Thursday filing in the lower court, lawyers for the energy company asked for the pipeline to be allowed to operate while the nation’s highest court considers it. ‘A stay would preserve the status quo, retaining jurisdiction in this Court to consider a potential request for relief from vacatur while the Supreme Court considers the forthcoming petition,’ lawyers said in the filing obtained by Bloomberg Law. In the filing, Dakota Access lawyers argued that the high court could disagree with lower court opinions on both the need for a more thorough review and the risk of oil spills to indigenous communities in the area. Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman, one of the lawyers representing the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the case, accused the company of attempting to circumvent environmental reviews. ‘The courts have agreed that the pipeline requires a full, careful environmental impact statement,’ Hasselman said in a statement obtained by The Hill ‘The pipeline’s increasingly desperate efforts to avoid this review speaks volumes.’” [The Hill, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

Senators Worry About Mine Project Near Okefenokee. According to E&E News, “Georgia’s senators want the federal government to get involved in the state’s review of a mine proposed at the doorstep of the East Coast’s largest wildlife refuge. The Army Corps of Engineers was analyzing Twin Pines Minerals LLC’s project planned on a ridge adjacent to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. But the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule removed the project from federal jurisdiction, the Army Corps determined last fall (Greenwire, Oct. 21, 2020). Now the Georgia Environmental Protection Division is conducting the environmental review for the mine’s 740-acre ‘demonstration area’ about 3 miles from the Okefenokee Swamp. Alabama-based Twin Pines hopes to dig up heavy mineral sands containing titanium dioxide, commonly used to whiten paint, toothpaste and other consumer products (Greenwire, May 12, 2020). On Wednesday, Georgia Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff called on the Fish and Wildlife Service — which manages Okefenokee — to support the Georgia agency’s review. ‘We ask FWS to specifically analyze whether the applicant is able to prove that operations will not harm the refuge,’ the senators wrote to FWS Principal Deputy Director Martha Williams. Democratic Sens. Tom Carper of Delaware and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island also signed the letter. The 700-square-mile haven for alligators is ‘unparalleled in beauty and wildlife biodiversity,’ the senators said.” [E&E News, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

TMDL

 

Industrial Ag Runoff Seen As Major Threat To Lake Erie. According to Public News Service, “Groups advocating for clean water say they’re facing an uphill battle trying to prevent animal manure and other pollution from industrial farms from seeping into Lake Erie. Despite what they say is the lake’s poor overall condition, the groups claim Ohio continues to issue more permits for large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations. Sandy Bihn, executive director, Lake Erie Waterkeeper, noted nearly one-third of the Great Lakes area population resides in the Lake Erie watershed, which supplies drinking water for more than 11 million people. ‘You cannot put excess phosphorus and nitrogen into the lake and fuel the algae, and not have severe consequences,’ Bihn asserted. Bihn cited a study, which showed between 2005 and 2018, the number of factory farms in the watershed ballooned from 545 to 775, and the amount of phosphorus draining into Lake Erie jumped 67%. Ohio officials, including Gov. Mike DeWine, have said they’re committed to reducing phosphorous in the lake by 40% by 2025. Bihn pointed out massive amounts of untreated animal manure are applied on farmland and end up running into the Lake, especially after heavy rains. Bihn argued it is more than what is needed to grow crops, and she believes animal manure should be regulated like other chemical fertilizers.” [Public News Service, 4/30/21 (+)]

 

Water Pollution

 

Drinking Water

 

New Infrastructure Bill Seeks To Eliminate Lead-Contaminated School Water Fountains. According to WGCL-TV, “Public school water fountains contaminated with lead are an untested problem in Georgia, but a new infrastructure repair bill passing the U.S. Senate could change that. Senator Jon Ossoff is behind the successful addition of money specifically planned to help schools resolve this serious issue. Many schools across the country have too much lead in their tap water, but most are not even testing for it. In Fulton County, every public school’s water system tested positive for lead in 2016. Some of the highest levels of the toxin were found at Brookview Elementary, Webb Bridge Middle, and Chattahoochee High Schools. No word yet on whether Fulton County Schools improved those systems delivering lead into the water fountains. DeKalb County schools also tested in 2016, but no results are readily available from those five year old tests. Lead in school drinking water is a well-known poison, with no amount safe for young children. The problem has been even more in public view ever since the water crisis in Flint, Michigan seven years ago. Little has changed since then, until now.” [WGCL-TV, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

Toxic Algae

 

Lake O’s Algae Bloom And Possible Impacts On Southwest Florida. According to WINK-TV, “If you’re heading out on the water, you’ll want to watch out for areas with algae blooms this weekend. On Friday, the Florida Department of Health issued a health advisory for Davis Boat Ramp, which is on Davis Boulevard in Fort Myers Shores. The alert for Franklin Locks is still active for now. WINK News reporter Gail Levy went to Davis Boat Ramp and didn’t see any algae. But, experts say, that we should still be cautious. The green you see in Lake Okeechobee right now is a bloom of Cyanobacteria. ‘It’s a little early to have such a massive bloom, or what it appears to be,’ said Barry Rosen, Ph.D., a professor at The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University. Rosen said right now, the conditions in Lake O are perfect for that bloom to grow quickly. Could it get to us here in Southwest Florida? ‘We don’t know how it’s going to be consumed or utilized by all the other organisms in the water on its way out there. The system is too soon to tell,’ Rosen said. We’re already having to heed the warnings from the health department about Davis Boat Ramp and Franklin Lock. Although WINK News didn’t see any algae, Rosen says that doesn’t mean you should jump in. ‘Lot of times these things are moving up and down with a waterfall. So they could be just below the surface,’ he said. ‘And that’s the scum that we tend to see. But certain times of the day they sink down.’” [WINK-TV, 5/1/21 (=)]

 

U.S. Army Corps Eyes High Water Levels On Lake Okeechobee Amid Algae Issues. According to WPTV-TV, “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a telephone conference call with reporters Friday regarding water management for Lake Okeechobee and South Florida. The briefing comes after a health alert was issued Wednesday for high levels of toxic algae at the Pahokee Marina. Crews wearing hazmat suits have been busy this week removing the algae from the marina. Phase two of the cleanup is occurring Friday, which entails sucking up the algae, separating it, treating the water and putting the water back into Lake Okeechobee. Col. Andrew Kelly called the algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee ‘typical’ for this time of year. Only 10% of U.S. employees want to return to office full-time, study finds In a conference call with reporters, Kelly called the Pahokee situation a localized bloom that is something to watch, but his eyes are more on all of Lake Okeechobee. The lake is 2.5 feet higher than at this time last year. At this point, Kelly said he is taking a cautious approach and not releasing any water to the east. Concerns have been raised in Stuart and Martin County about releasing any water contaminated with algae into the St. Lucie River to ease the lake level. The Army Corps said the lake level will keep decreasing, and so will the chances of any water releases to the east.” [WPTV-TV, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Time For Bold Action To Protect Lake Erie From Toxic Algal Blooms. According to an op-ed by George A. Elmaraghy in Plain Dealer, “Like clockwork for more than a decade, the western Lake Erie basin has experienced horrific summer recurrences of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Over that time, we have achieved progress in understanding why we have these outbreaks and their impacts. Now, we know that HABs are mainly fueled by excessive phosphorus load to the western Lake Erie basin from agricultural runoff. However, we have failed to achieve any real progress in reducing the amount of phosphorus runoff into waterways or in reducing the severity of HABs. A major source of the excessive phosphorus load are animal feeding operations that generate vast amounts of manure that is spread on nearby land, ostensibly as fertilizer. But there is so much manure, it is applied even when the phosphorus in the manure is not needed for plant growth. This excessive application has resulted in an increase in the nutrient concentration in soil beyond what crops can utilize. Excess nutrients then run off or are discharged through field drainage tiles into our creeks, rivers and lakes. The way to truly solve this persistent problem is to attack its source: Stop contaminating the runoff and drainage in the first place. This can be accomplished by establishing and enforcing requirements that end excessive land application of manure and fertilizer on soils that are already saturated with nutrients. Reducing the nutrient concentration in the soil to an acceptable level is an essential first step towards controlling HABs.” [Plain Dealer, 5/2/21 (+)]

 

Wastewater

 

Biden Administration Embraces Trump-Era Water Reuse Action Plan. According to InsideEPA, “The Biden administration is embracing a multi-agency and multi-stakeholder effort spearheaded by the Trump EPA to encourage water reuse for a variety of purposes, emphasizing the effort’s several applications, including stormwater management, and noting the role of government in ensuring water recycling is done safely. EPA and its partners released an updated version of the Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) April 29, noting accomplishments over the past year and outlining new milestones to be met in 2021. The announcement includes the launch of an online compilation of existing fit-for-purpose specifications for different sources of water for potential reuse and end-use applications, which is expected by the end of the year. Among other steps, the compilation will provide information on the scientific and technical basis for the existing reuse specifications, create a foundation for other tools that may be developed, and create a baseline for future risk analysis, the WRAP says. ‘I see the critical role government can play to ensure reuse is done safely,’ Sharon Nappier, EPA National Program Leader for Water Reuse, said during an April 29 virtual event sponsored by the WateReuse Association on WRAP accomplishments.” [InsideEPA, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

DOE: Underground Tank In Wash. State May Be Leaking. According to E&E News, “An underground nuclear waste storage tank in Washington state that dates to World War II appears to be leaking contaminated liquid into the ground, the Department of Energy said yesterday. It’s the second tank believed to be leaking waste left from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons at the Hanford Site. The first was discovered in 2013. Many more of the 149 single-walled storage tanks at the site are suspected of leaking. Tank B-109, the latest suspected of leaking, holds 123,000 gallons of radioactive waste. The giant tank was constructed during the Manhattan Project that built the first atomic bombs and received waste from Hanford operations from 1946 to 1976. The Hanford site near Richland in the southeastern part of the state produced about two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear arsenal, including the bomb dropped in 1945 on Nagasaki, Japan, and now is the most contaminated radioactive waste site in the nation. A multibillion-dollar environmental cleanup has been underway for decades at the sprawling Hanford site. The Washington state Department of Ecology and U.S. EPA were notified yesterday that the tank was likely leaking. ‘There is no increased health or safety risk to the Hanford workforce or the public,’ said Geoff Tyree, a spokesperson for the Energy Department. ‘Contamination in this area is not new and mitigation actions have been in place for decades to protect workers, the public and the environment.’” [E&E News, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

Environmental Justice

 

Memphis Pipeline Faces Environmental Justice Reckoning. According to E&E News, “Brad Robinson’s eyes roll upward in thought as he counts them out — his mother, father, grandmother, his father-in-law and more. ‘All of ‘em,’ he said. ‘Died of cancer, and we never knew why.’ At 63, he thinks he knows why: the smokestacks near where he grew up in Riverside, a blue-collar Black part of southwest Memphis. He lived there for years in the shadow of a refinery now owned by Valero Energy Corp. ‘Over there, you can get away with anything,’ Robinson said. ‘Companies like Valero have gotten away with murder.’ That’s why he’s come down on a cool but sunny April afternoon to City Hall to see a protest against the Byhalia Connection pipeline, a 50-mile oil conduit planned to run from the refinery through and around Memphis. The project, a joint venture of Valero and Plains All American Pipeline LP, has come under fire from environmental groups that say it endangers the prized aquifer Memphis relies on for drinking water, and from community activists for cutting through Black neighborhoods. But opponents are also seeking to harness resentment from years of pollution from the heavy industry that flanks the city’s heavily Black southwest corner. They point to the 17 sites nearby reporting to EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, and the studies showing the area has a cancer risk at least four times higher than the national average. Robinson points to lung damage he said came from his job cleaning industrial barrels for a local company.” [E&E News, 5/3/21 (=)]

 

Western Water

 

Facing A Colorado River Shortage, Arizona Prepares For The Pain Of Water Cutbacks. According to Arizona Republic, “With the Colorado River’s largest reservoir just 38% full and declining toward the threshold of a first-ever shortage, Arizona water officials convened an online meeting this week to outline how the state will deal with water cutbacks, saying the reductions will be ‘painful’ but plans are in place to lessen the blow for affected farmers next year. Lake Mead’s decline is expected to trigger substantial reductions in water deliveries in 2022 for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. The largest of those cuts will affect Arizona, slashing its Colorado River supplies by 512,000 acre-feet, about a fifth of its total entitlement. While that will shrink the amount of water flowing to farmlands through the Central Arizona Project Canal, the state’s water managers said during Thursday’s meeting that they’re prepared and have plans ready to handle shortages over the next five years, even if Lake Mead continues to drop to levels that would bring larger cutbacks. ‘There is a shortage, but we have a plan,’ said Ted Cooke, general manager of the Central Arizona Project. ‘It’s called the Drought Contingency Plan. We’re implementing that plan.’ Two years ago, representatives of the seven states that depend on the Colorado met at Hoover Dam to sign the set of agreements called the Drought Contingency Plan, which laid out measures to take less water from Lake Mead and share in reductions during a shortage to reduce the risks of a damaging crash.” [Arizona Republic, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

Flooding

 

Financial Services To Discuss Flood Insurance, Disaster Bills. According to E&E News, “A House Financial Services subcommittee is taking up legislation this week it says would address housing resilience in the face of climate change. On the agenda for the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance, chaired by Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), is the ‘National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act,’ led by full committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). The legislation would extend the NFIP for five years and also limit the government’s ability to raise premiums. The bill marks the return of the always-contentious flood insurance debate on Capitol Hill, with the Senate Banking Committee expected to release an offering soon (E&E Daily, April 27). The Financial Services subcommittee hearing this week will also discuss the ‘Reforming Disaster Recovery Act’ from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to reauthorize the Community Development Block Grant Program’s disaster recovery grants. The House passed the legislation during the previous Congress, but the Senate did not take up the bill, which also aims to simplify and expedite aid. The ‘Green Neighborhoods Act,’ from Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), would enact new energy efficiency standards and incentives in construction, and aims to make sure underwriting for federally backed mortgages accounts for energy efficiency savings.” [E&E News, 5/3/21 (=)]

 

Misc. Waterways

 

In WI, There's Plenty Of Room For Riverkeepers. According to Public News Service, “A volunteer-driven effort to patrol and clean up three primary rivers in Milwaukee hopes to inspire similar movements across the state. Organizers say Wisconsin needs more ‘riverkeepers.’ The state’s only current waterkeeper has led work along the Milwaukee River Basin since the 1990s. Goals include improving flood management, water quality and wildlife. Cheryl Nenn, riverkeeper for the Milwaukee River Basin, said there are a host of non-profits and agencies keeping an eye out, but in the broader region, there are few citizen-style efforts driven by science and advocacy. She noted a lack of public awareness leaves gaps in monitoring natural resources, which could harm the state’s water-tourism industry. ‘Arguably, one of our biggest industries in Wisconsin,’ Nenn observed. ‘And we’re not going to be able to sustain that if we don’t have enough clean water that people are attracted to.’ The movement not only strives for clean water for consumption, but to make rivers accessible for swimmers and those who fish. Nenn acknowledged the three rivers in the basin continue to deal with pollution issues, but her efforts have seen success, including a forced removal of a deteriorating dam in 2018. The Milwaukee group is one of eight in the Great Lakes region that operate under the Waterkeeper Alliance.” [Public News Service, 5/3/21 (+)]

 

$1M Federal Grant Will Help Salt Marsh Restoration Project. According to Associated Press, “A widescale effort to restore hundreds of acres of salt marsh north of Boston has received a $1 million federal grant. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant to the Trustees of Reservations announced this week will fund restoration of an additional 916 acres of the Great Marsh in Ipswich and Essex. With a total funded scope of 1,274 acres, it represents the largest coastal or ecological restoration project in the 130-year history of the Trustees, and one of the largest restoration projects of its type in Massachusetts, the organization said in a statement. The project’s goal is to repair what is called ‘ditching,’ an agricultural practice dating to Colonial times that leaves the ecosystem vulnerable to floods. ‘Using nature-based solutions, the restoration aims to rebuild marsh peat naturally over time, ultimately restoring the health and natural function of the marsh and allowing it to keep pace with sea-level rise,’ the Trustees said in a statement. The marsh protects shorelines from rising sea levels, serves as a buffer to adjacent uplands from storm surge and is a critical habitat for multiple species. The project is expected to take three to five years.” [Associated Press, 5/1/21 (=)]

 

Aerial View Of South Louisiana Oil Fields Offers Glimpse Of Nationwide Orphaned Well Issue. According to DeSmog, “In his spare time, David Levy, owner of Petrotechnologies, a company that makes specialty parts for the oil and gas industry, monitors the fossil fuel industry across southwest Louisiana from the sky. He transformed his flying hobby into an act of stewardship by surveying oil and gas industry sites to check for environmental hazards, like oil spills and toppled storage tanks. Following back-to-back hurricanes last year, Levy took me up with him so I could photograph the storms’ aftermath. We found oil slicks from oil and gas wells scattered throughout the wetlands. Now, Levy is focusing his flights on surveying orphaned well sites to document the severity of the situation. When regulators can no longer locate a well’s responsible owner, or if the owner is known but bankrupt, a well is classified as orphaned. Once officially classified as orphaned, the site becomes the state’s responsibly and is added to a list of sites that need to be plugged and cleaned up. The number of orphaned wells in oil and gas producing states nationwide continues to increase, as does the amount of planet warming methane emissions leaking from them. To deal with the issue, a series of bills have been introduced to grant federal funding to states, giving them the resources to tackle the problem. ‘I love Louisiana’s wetlands. There is no other place like it in the world,’ Levy said, a few hundred feet off the ground, the last time he took me up to photograph well sites in Vermillion Parish, near the border with Texas on the Gulf Coast. A few seconds later after we circled a well site with toppled rusty tanks he added: ‘It is criminal what we are allowing to be done to it.’” [DeSmog, 4/29/21 (+)]

 

Why Is It Raining So Hard? Global Warming Is Delivering Heavier Downpours. According to Yale Climate Connections, “When it rains, it pours. Today’s rainstorms give new meaning to this age-old expression. Extreme precipitation has increased in nearly every region of the mainland United States since the start of the 20th century, according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive scientific report about climate change in the U.S. The Southwest is the only region experiencing a decrease in heavy precipitation events. But even there, the intensity of rainfall during the region’s monsoon season has increased since the 1960s, according to a study in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters. One such intense monsoonal event occurred on July 15, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona, when 1.45 inches of rain fell in just one hour, an impressive total given that Tucson normally sees 2.25 inches of rainfall for the entire month of July. The same day, flash flooding caused by torrential rainfall north of Phoenix killed 10 members of a family celebrating a birthday at a swimming hole. Climate scientists attribute increasingly extreme precipitation events to warmer air and its ability to ‘hold’ more water vapor than cooler air. Since 1901, the average temperature of the U.S. has warmed by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) as a result of the release of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Higher temperatures cause more liquid water to evaporate from soils, plants, oceans, and waterways, becoming water vapor. This additional water vapor means there’s more moisture available to condense into raindrops when conditions are right for precipitation to form. And more moisture spells heavier rain, or heavier snow during winter.” [Yale Climate Connections, 4/30/21 (=)]

 

 

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