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Utilities Want to Use EPA Chemicals Law to Protect Drinking Water

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Pat Rizzuto

A pair of water associations are teaming up to urge the EPA to use all its regulatory tools to safeguard drinking water as it decides whether to allow new chemicals into U.S. commerce.

The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), which represents state, tribal, and territorial water agency officials, recently joined the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, which represents publicly owned metropolitan drinking water suppliers, to routinely flag their concerns about new chemicals to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Opinion: President Trump Takes a Step Backward on Protecting Our Environment

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby Georgette Gómez

On July 15, President Trump’s Council on Environmental Quality issued its long-dreaded “final rule,” a comprehensive weakening of the National Environmental Protection Act. NEPA is not only the nation’s most important federal protection against projects that threaten our environment and climate, it is also a cornerstone of our efforts to promote environmental justice, ensuring that projects assess and mitigate the disproportionate adverse impacts that minority and low-income communities often suffer.

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House FY21 Spending Bill Includes No New Direct WIFIA Appropriations

/in , , /by /Water Finance & Managementby Andrew Farr

As the start of the federal Fiscal Year 2021 rapidly approaches on October 1st, the U.S. House has begun working to advance its annual Appropriations (funding) bills through their committee process. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee passed its Interior and Environment bill to fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and core clean water programs.

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EPA Challenged on Limiting State Veto Power Under Water Act

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Amena H. Saiyid

The EPA is facing two separate challenges from environmental groups over its water rule that narrows the ability of states to veto energy infrastructure projects such as oil and gas pipelines if they adversely affect water quality.

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350 Facilities Skip Reporting Water Pollution Under Temporary EPA Rule

/in , /by /The Hillby Rachel Frazin

More than 350 facilities nationwide have taken advantage of a temporary Environmental Protection Agency rule that lets companies forgo monitoring their water pollution during the pandemic.

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$100,000 in CalEPA Grants Going to San Diego Environmental Justice Projects

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Ken Stone

The California Environmental Protection Agency announced nearly $100,000 in grants Friday going toward two San Diego-area projects as part of the agency’s Environmental Justice Small Grants program. The agency gave $50,000 to the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association to identify the watersheds within in the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board’s jurisdiction where Native American cultural uses are occurring and where appropriate water quality standards are needed to ensure vulnerable populations are protected.

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Local Groups Pause Tijuana Sewage Lawsuits, But Solutions Are Still Far Off

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

Californians are pushing pause on federal lawsuits against the International Boundary Water Commission, the agency that’s supposed to deal with sewage-filled stormwater rolling into the U.S. from the Tijuana cliffs under a treaty between the two countries.

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House Rejects Trump Cuts, Proposes Boost for Environmental Agencies

/in , , /by /The Hillby Rachel Frazin

The Democratic-led House Appropriations Committee on Monday proposed a funding bump for the Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency, soundly rejecting cuts proposed by President Trump.

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Nevada Mulls EPA Reversal of Obama Era Drinking Water Rules

/in , /by /The San Diego Union Tribune

The Trump administration has decided a chemical with a notorious legacy in Nevada will not be regulated in drinking water, but state officials say the reversal of the Obama-era policy shouldn’t result in any decline in drinking water standards across the state.

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Tribes, Environmentalists Sue to Stop Rollback of Clean Water Act Protections

/in , , /by /AZ Centralby Debra Utacia Krol and Ian James

A coalition of tribal governments, environmentalists and labor advocates has sued to stop implementation of a new federal rule that weakens protections for streams and wetlands. The Environmental Protection Agency’s new Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which which took effect on Monday, rolls back clean-water regulation of intermittent waterways, arroyos and washes.

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