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Big PFAS Bill Likely Off the Table. Advocates Say That’s OK

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Ariana Figueroa

This year’s National Defense Authorization Act will almost certainly not carry broad chemical cleanup and drinking water mandates. Now lawmakers focused on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are looking for alternative vehicles as the election nears and the congressional calendar shrinks. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and her allies did not convince the Rules Committee this month to allow a vote on the “PFAS Action Act,” H.R. 535 as an amendment to the House NDAA.

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Poseidon’s Desalination Plant Faces Day of Reckoning

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Martin Wisckol

After more than 20 years of developing plans for a Huntington Beach desalination plant and winding its way through a seemingly endless bureaucratic approval process, Poseidon Water comes to a key juncture as the Regional Water Quality Control Board votes on whether to grant a permit after hearings this week.

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Coronado Nonprofit Receives Prestigious ‘Keeling Curve’ Prize for Environmental Work

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein

Citizens’ Climate Education, a nonprofit in Coronado, was one of 10 environmental organizations around the world to receive the prestigious Keeling Curve Prize named for a groundbreaking scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The organization, which promotes bipartisan climate-change mitigation policies such as carbon fees, was awarded its prize at a ceremony in Aspen, CO, on Monday, joining environmental organizations from Indonesia to Iceland.

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DOJ Limits Clean Water Act Enforcement Overlap With States

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Ellen Gilmer

The Justice Department will avoid pursuing Clean Water Act civil enforcement cases that overlap with state actions, the agency’s top environment lawyer announced Monday.

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Migratory River Fish Populations Plunge 76% in Past 50 Years

/in , /by /The Guardianby Damian Carrington

Populations of migratory river fish around the world have plunged by a “catastrophic” 76% since 1970, an analysis has found. The fall was even greater in Europe at 93%, and for some groups of fish, with sturgeon and eel populations both down by more than 90%.

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Federal Agencies Warn Foreign Hackers Are Targeting Critical Infrastructure

/in , , /by /The Hillby Maggie Miller

The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Thursday warned that foreign hackers are attempting to target U.S. critical infrastructure.

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Environment Report: Why Your Water Bill Might Spike

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority
Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego’s water utility is preparing to absorb a five percent spike in rates this year despite cries from elected officials to freeze costs during a global pandemic.

Why? The blame often gets passed up the proverbial pipeline.

About three-quarters of San Diego’s drinking water comes from the Colorado River via pipes and aqueducts controlled by the Metropolitan Water District, based in Los Angeles. Since it controls much of the lifeline, it’s often blamed for an increase in rates and that’s partially what happened this year.

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Water Utility Hero of the Week, Sandra Louis, San Diego County Water Authority

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

This feature highlights water utility employees in the San Diego region working during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure a safe, reliable and plentiful water supply. The water industry is among the sectors that are classified as essential. Sandra Louis, San Diego County Water Authority Receptionist, is the Water Utility Hero of the Week.

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Water Desalination Report: SWRO and Conveyance Project RFQ Extended

/in , , /by /Global Water Intelligenceby Nathan Mein

Prospective bidders for the proposed Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project will now have until 11 August to submit qualification documents for the 25-year BOT project. In its initial phase, the facility will deliver 274,000 m3/d (72.4 MGD) of desalinated seawater and 82,000 m3/d (21.7 MGD) of abstracted groundwater 350km (220 mi) from Aqaba to Amman.

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California Had a Plan to Bring Clean Water to a Million People. Then the Pandemic Hit

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Alexei Koseff

The water is too contaminated to safely drink, but residents of this farmworker community in the Central Valley pay $74 a month just to be able to turn on the tap at home.

Their bills are even higher if they use more than 50 gallons a day, a fraction of daily water consumption for the average California household. And when Fresno County completes a new well that has been planned for years, the price will increase again to cover the cost of treating manganese-laced water pumped from hundreds of feet below.

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