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Opinion: No One is Actually in Charge of Solving the Border Sewage Crisis

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Dianne Feinstein

For more than two decades, cleaning up the Tijuana River has been one of my top priorities. The wastewater, trash and sediment that continues to flow into San Diego County are a danger to public health and our economy and it must be addressed.

Over the past year we’ve made real strides to fix the problem of cross-border pollution. And last week’s introduction of the Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act is another step toward achieving that goal.

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House, Senate DOD Bills Have Only Modest Impact on PFAS Chemicals

/in , , /by /Engineering News-Recordby Pam McFarland

Each of the differing $740-billion defense authorization bills that the House and Senate passed during the week of July 20 includes several provisions that would address pollution caused by per- and polyfluoralkyl substances at Dept.of Defense facilities. But neither would classify the chemicals as hazardous materials eligible for Superfund cleanup.

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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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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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Washington Sues to Protect Clean Water Act from Rollback

/in , /by /Patch (Seattle)by Charles Woodman

Washington has joined New York, California, and 17 other states plus the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump Administration’s proposal to change the Clean Water Act.

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El Cajon To Use About $2 Million to Save Local Waterway

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union Tribuneby Karen Pearlman

A largely ignored waterway in El Cajon is about to get some much-needed TLC through $2 million in grant money.

Broadway Creek, a sliver in the 52-mile San Diego River watershed, runs behind businesses along Broadway. Much of the creek and its wetland habitat sit between homes and an apartment complex near Magnolia Avenue, in the heart of the city. 

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White House Loosens Environmental Law to Speed Up Infrastructure Projects

/in , , /by /Construction Diveby Kim Slowey

The White House’s Council on Environmental Quality today published its final rule to update the National Environmental Policy Act. The effective date is Sep. 14; however, it is subject to congressional review, which could delay or even prevent its implementation.

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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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California’s Pollution Regulators Go Toe-To-Toe With Trump. Watchdog Says They Come Up Short

/in , /by /The Sacramento Beeby Mackenzie Hawkins

A California environmental advocacy group urged the state’s air pollution regulator and agriculture department to do more for minority communities in an annual report card it published last week.

That report card, compiled by the California Environmental Justice Alliance, issued environmental justice grades to eight agencies, with a statewide C average.

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