CDP: Waterways Clips: November 1, 2022
New Report Highlights PFAS Contamination In West Virginia. According to Public News Service, “A new report finds concerning levels of PFAS contamination in waterways near Martinsburg and Parkersburg. Environmental groups say the findings are more proof state policymakers should consider implementing stricter drinking water regulations. Jenna Dodson, data scientist for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said the analysis by the Waterkeeper Alliance found 27 detections at four sites where nine different types of the man-made so-called "forever" chemicals were found in waterways in the Mountain State, along the Ohio River and Opequon Creek. She pointed out in some locations, PFAS were detected at a concentration of 14.6 parts per trillion.” [Public News Service, 10/31/22 (=)]
More PFAS Lawsuits Likely with Monitoring, Two Coming EPA Rules. According to Bloomberg Law, “A wave of PFAS litigation shows no sign of cresting with increased drinking water monitoring starting next year and two anticipated EPA regulations, attorneys and a chemical testing specialist said Monday. Two rules the Environmental Protection Agency expects to finalize in 2023 will prompt even more parties to join the thousands who already have filed lawsuits claiming harm from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), said Stephanie Biehl, a partner with Sher Edling LLP. Those rules are federal drinking water limits for two PFAS—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)—and designation of both chemicals as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental ...” [Bloomberg Law, 10/31/22 (=)]
Massachusetts Project Tests EJ Metric For Prioritizing LSL Replacements. According to Inside EPA, “A Massachusetts city is using “childhood harm reduction” as a metric for prioritizing lead service line (LSL) replacements, piloting an approach that could serve as a mechanism for EPA to prioritize future line replacements and incorporate environmental justice (EJ) considerations into its lead and copper rule improvements (LCRI). During an Oct. 25 EPA public meeting on incorporating EJ considerations in the LCRI, Steve Winslow, a city councilor in Malden, MA, said his city adopted childhood harm reduction as a metric for prioritizing LSLRs after officials initially focused on low-pressure areas. He said childhood harm reduction has been an effective mechanism to help not only prioritize replacements based on health, but in a way that accounts for EJ considerations as well.” [Inside EPA, 10/31/22 (=)]
Kentucky Readies $200M For Water, Sewer Projects. According to Politico, “More than $200 million will be spent on 408 projects that will help provide clean drinking water in communities across Kentucky, officials said. The projects will provide clean drinking water and improve water and sewer infrastructure in 102 counties, Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said in a statement last week. That includes water and sewer line projects that will benefit 1,500 unserved homes and 38,000 underserved homes, officials said. Along with projects that expand service, the funding will go toward several other additions and improvements.” [Politico, 10/31/22 (=)]
Could Threats To Cut Colorado River Scare States Into Action? According to Politico, “Western water managers are praising the Interior Department for taking an aggressive step to address drought in the Colorado River but warned that executive action wouldn't derail state-led efforts to reduce water demand from the shrinking basin. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Friday the department's first steps to overhaul its operation of the Glen Canyon and Hoover dams, including potentially reducing water deliveries to California, Arizona and Nevada (E&E News PM, Oct. 28).” [Politico, 10/31/22 (=)]
Major Flood Would Hit Los Angeles Black Communities Disproportionately Hard, Study Finds. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Flooding from a storm event so severe that it occurs only once every 100 years would cause far greater damage to life and property in the Los Angeles Basin than federal emergency officials have forecast, according to UC Irvine researchers who warn also that Black and low-income communities would be hardest hit by the disaster. “We found that nearly 1 million people are living within areas that could be threatened by a 100-year flood,” said Brett Sanders, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. “That’s roughly 30 times more people at risk than what the Federal Emergency Management Agency suggests.” The study, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Sustainability, does not predict when the next 100-year flood will occur. However, the paper is among the first to examine how whiplashing weather extremes due to climate change may impact the Los Angeles Basin — a region whose development was guided by deep social and racial divisions that favored white residents.” [Los Angeles Times, 10/31/22 (=)]
Aging Infrastructure May Create Higher Flood Risk In L.A., Study Finds. According to the News York Times, “Hundreds of thousands of people in Los Angeles could experience at least a foot of flooding during a 100-year disaster, a new scientific study has found, highlighting the hazards of aging infrastructure in America’s second-largest city. This is a much higher estimate of flood exposure in Los Angeles than the one produced by the federal government. That estimate classifies areas of the city containing about 23,000 residents as being at high risk in a 100-year event, or an event with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year.” [New York Times, 10/31/22 (=)]
Mississippi Governor Extends Jackson Water Emergency Order. “Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has extended the state of emergency over the water crisis in the capital city of Jackson. On the same day the emergency declaration was set to expire, Reeves said the state of emergency he declared Aug. 30 would remain in place until Nov. 22. The Republican governor and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba have traded barbs over how much control the state and city will have to decide on a private firm to operate Jackson's water system over the long term. City officials say an operator will be in place by Nov. 17, although a plan has yet to be finalized.” [Politico, 10/31/22 (=)]
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