Tag Archive for: EPA

Carlsbad-Based Seacoast Science Awarded $300,000 by EPA

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by Chrisitine Huard

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it awarded $300,000 to Carlsbad-based Seacoast Science Inc. for the company’s efforts to develop environmentally sound technology.

The EPA awarded a total of $2.7 million to nine small businesses in six states, including three in California, as part of its Small Business Innovation Research program. The EPA previously awarded phase one grants of up to $100,000 to small businesses, including San Diego’s 2W iTech LLC, last July. Those recipients were also allowed to apply for the phase two funding announced Monday.

 

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City of Oceanside Invited to Apply for Water Infrastructure Loans

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The City of Oceanside was invited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to apply for two separate Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans. Oceanside submitted letters of interest in early summer 2019 for the Pure Water Oceanside and Lower Recycled Water Distribution System Expansion Project as well as the Buccaneer Sewer Lift Station and Force Main Project. Oceanside’s letters of interest were among 51 others received by the EPA from both public and private entities in response to its 2019 WIFIA Notice of Funding Availability. After a robust review process, the WIFIA Selection Committee chose 38 prospective borrowers’ projects to submit applications for loans, including both projects submitted by the City of Oceanside.

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EPA to Unveil New National Lead-in-Water Standards

/in , , /by /Bloombergby David Schultz

The EPA will unveil the first updates to its regulations on lead in drinking water in nearly three decades at an Oct. 10 event in Green Bay, Wis., according to a person invited to attend the event.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler is scheduled to attend the event, along with David Ross, the agency’s top water official, and Cathy Stepp, the head of its Midwestern regional office.

The agency’s lead regulations, officially known as the Lead and Copper Rule, went into effect in 1991 and haven’t been substantially updated since then.

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Credit Analysis Affirms Carlsbad Desalination Plant is Financially Strong

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Carlsbad, Calif. – The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant maintains an investment grade rating in the latest report from Fitch Ratings, affirming the plant’s sound financial management and its ability to provide a stable, reliable source of drinking water to the San Diego region.  As the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant’s revenue stability stems from an effective collaboration between Poseidon Water and the San Diego County Water Authority.

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Protecting California’s Clean Waters

/in , /by /San Gabriel Valley Tribuneby Grace Napolitano

Water is life. It is essential to the survival of all living things and has been at the center of my work for over three decades as a public servant. I did not select this cause arbitrarily, but because our communities were suffering, and no one was speaking out about safe, clean water supplies for residents of the San Gabriel Valley and greater east Los Angeles County.

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Coronado Represented On the San Diego Chamber’s Mission to DC 2019

/in , /by /The Eagle Weekenderby Bill Sandke

It was an honor to join over 160 business and political leaders from the San Diego Region for the 2019 Mission to DC. Sponsored by the San Diego Chamber, I was able to attend meetings with the EPA, State Department and several congress members as well as network with area leaders.

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EPA WaterSense Excellence Award to San Diego County Water Authority for QWEL program.

Water Authority Wins National 2019 WaterSense Excellence Award

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today recognized the San Diego County Water Authority with a 2019 WaterSense Excellence Award for advancing water efficiency through its Qualified Water Efficient Landscape program, known as QWEL.

The Water Authority received one of 25 WaterSense awards at the national WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.

Water Authority wins second consecutive EPA award for QWEL program

This is the second consecutive year the Water Authority has achieved the Excellence Award for the QWEL program, which is certified by EPA to significantly increase water management skills and knowledge among landscape professionals. Program curriculum includes 20 hours of classroom and hands-on training on principles of plant care, irrigation system design, maintenance, programming, operations and troubleshooting.

“Partnering with EPA has helped the Water Authority promote water efficiency by training hundreds of landscape professionals each year to adopt best practices,” said Jim Madaffer, chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “This approach helps to ensure that water-saving measures embraced by homes and businesses can be supported and sustained over the long term.”

San Diego County Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez accepted 2019 EPA WaterSense Excellence Award in Certification Program Growth.

San Diego County Water Authority Water Resources Specialist Efren Lopez (holding award) accepted the 2019 EPA WaterSense Excellence Award in Certification Program Growth on October 3 in Las Vegas. Photo: EPA

As one of the first QWEL providers in Southern California, the Water Authority has helped to expand the program’s branded outreach and educational outcomes. Since the January 2016 launch of QWEL, more than 1,000 San Diego landscape professionals have participated, making the region’s program one of the largest in the nation. More than 690 landscape professionals have earned QWEL certificates in the San Diego region over the past four years by passing a rigorous national test.

Water Authority Wins 2019 EPA WaterSense Excellence Award

The San Diego County Water Authority’s QWEL program is certified by the EPA and significantly increases water management skills among landscape professionals.

Water Authority’s landscape water efficiency classes

The Water Authority promotes English and Spanish QWEL training in collaboration with trade associations, faith-based organizations, English-as-a-Second-Language programs, community colleges and Master Gardeners associations. Nearly all (99%) program participants surveyed said the class would help them better manage landscape water efficiency, and 98% rated the class good or excellent.

San Diego County Water Authority Wins 2019 EPA WaterrSense Excellence Award

QWEL program curriculum includes 20 hours of classroom and hands-on training on principles of plant care, irrigation system design, maintenance, programming, operations and troubleshooting. Photo: Water Authority

Since 2006, the Water Authority and more than 2,000 other WaterSense partners nationwide have helped consumers save more than 3.4 trillion gallons of water. That’s enough water to supply the nation’s households for four months. In addition to water savings, WaterSense-labeled products and homes have helped reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, pump, and treat water by 462.5 billion kilowatt hours – enough to power more than 44.4 million homes for a year – and save $84.2 billion in water and energy bills, according to EPA.

“Our partners have made water-saving products, homes, and programs accessible across the nation and have educated millions on the importance of water conservation,” said Veronica Blette, chief of the EPA WaterSense branch. “These WaterSense award winners are leading the fight against water waste to save our most precious resource.”

The QWEL program is made possible in part from grants funds provided from voter-approved Proposition 84. The grant funds are administered by the California Department of Water Resources.

Bill to Blunt Trump Environment Policy Vetoed in California

/in , /by /Associated Pressby Adam Beam

Engaged in environmental battles with the Trump administration on multiple fronts, California Gov. Gavin Newsom angered some allies on Friday by vetoing a bill aimed at blunting federal rollbacks of clean air and endangered species regulations in the state.

The bill would have made it easier for state regulators to counter the Trump administration’s efforts to change enforcement of the federal Endangered Species Act and other environmental pillars — at least in California.

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EPA to California: You’re Also ‘Failing’ to Meet Water Pollution Standards

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alexa Diaz and Anna M. Phillips

The Trump administration warned California officials Thursday that the state is “failing” to meet federal water quality standards, the latest move in the president’s escalating political feud with the state’s liberal leaders.

In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler threatened possible enforcement action if the state did not improve the way it deals with lead, arsenic and human waste in its water.

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EPA Slams California Again, This Time On Raw Sewage Of Homeless

/in , , /by /Bloomberg by Jennifer A Dlouhy and David Schultz

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rapped California for allowing “piles of human feces” and other pollution tied to the state’s “homelessness crisis” to foul nearby waterways, opening a new front in a Trump administration battle with the nation’s most populous state.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanded California outline its plans for tackling the problem in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday.

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