U.S. Federal and Regulatory Developments
New proposal would loosen restrictions on drinking water, April 2, 2006, Washington Post
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to allow higher levels of contaminants such as arsenic in the drinking water used by small rural communities, in response to complaints that they cannot afford to comply with recently imposed limits. The proposal would roll back a rule that went into effect earlier this year and make it permissible for water systems serving 10,000 or fewer residents to have three times the level of contaminants allowed under that regulation.
Wetlands Reverse Long Decline -- If Golf Course Ponds Count, March 31, 2006, Associated Press
More people building ponds for golf courses and subdivisions or to retain stormwater and wastewater helped create the nation's first net gain in wetlands in a half-century of government record-keeping. About 5 percent of the contiguous United States, or almost 108 million acres, was covered with wetlands as of 2004. It found a net gain of 191,800 acres of wetlands since the last report in 1997. The lower 48 states had an estimated 220 million acres of wetlands and streams in pre-colonial times, but 115 million acres of them had been destroyed by 1997.
Fewer Marshes + More Man-Made Ponds = Increased Wetlands, March 31, 2006, The New York Times
In the bog of the federal regulatory code, a wetland is defined as a marshy area of saturated soils and plants whose roots spend part of their lives immersed in water. And so, even at a time of continued marsh depletion, pond inflation permitted Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to announce proudly the first net increase in wetlands since the Fish and Wildlife Service started measuring them in 1954.
State Developments
Water pollution is rife, report finds, March 30, 2006, St. Paul Pioneer-Press
U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a report that found nearly 40 percent of industrial and municipal facilities in Minnesota discharged more pollution into waterways than their federal water permits allow. The group used Freedom of Information Act requests to look at violations between July 2003 and December 2004 and found 160 Minnesota violations averaging more than double the legal permit levels.
Water war takes new turn, March 29, 2006, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In a new skirmish in a long-running water war, Missouri is challenging the latest campaign by thirsty North Dakota to tap into the Missouri River. Missouri officials strongly object to a federal study that proposes tapping the Missouri among several options if serious drought strikes the Great Plains. A public comment period on the study was extended last week until April 14 and the Interior Department will make a final decision later this year.
Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Biennial Report to the Minnesota Legislature, January 2006, Minn. Board of Water and Soil Resources.
Mandated Report.
Mercury down 32% in fish near Mass. incinerators, April 3, 2006, Boston Globe
Seven years after Massachusetts enacted the nation's toughest mercury emission laws for incinerators, amounts of the toxic metal have declined by 32 percent in a signature freshwater fish caught near some of those facilities. A significant amount of the state's inland fish remain unsafe for a large portion of the population, but state officials and environmental advocates say they are stunned by the dramatic turnaround in yellow perch from lakes near a cluster of incinerators in the northeast corner of the state.
River May Flow Again, Full of Salmon, April 2, 2006, Washington Post
Big rivers in the West are reliable sources of bad news. Dammed for electricity and drained for irrigation, they have pushed salmon into extinction, fishermen into bankruptcy and Indians into despair. This dismal pattern, though, may be ending on the Klamath, which straddles the Oregon-California border and has long been one of the nation's most thoroughly fouled-up rivers. Its woes include massive fish kills, blooms of poisonous algae, diabetic Indians, fuming irrigators, litigious environmentalists and aging dams that produce little power while squatting stolidly in the way of reviving the river.
Washington Wetlands Protection To Be Improved, March 28, 2006, Washington State Department of Ecology
State and federal agencies have developed new guidance on how to restore, replace and enhance wetlands for fish, wildlife, clean water and flood control as land is converted for road building and commercial and residential expansion. The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have developed joint guidance that will improve wetland "mitigation" and help applicants save time and money by clearly outlining what information needs to be provided to the agencies that need to decide whether a permit can be issued.
Inmates sue over St. Louis water, March 31, 2006, Morning Sun (MI)
Recent headlines about contaminants in the drinking water have given the prison inmates in St. Louis one more item to add to their list of complaints in a suit against the prisons. Filed by 18 inmates at St. Louis and Mid Michigan Correctional Facilities along with one Carson City inmate and seven John Does, the suit also alleges that the inmates are forced to drink contaminated water.
Mont. city cashing in on Toxic water pit, March 30, 2006, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Turning lemons into tourist lemonade, the Butte Chamber of Commerce in this mining city is charging admission to see one of America's largest bodies of toxic water. And people are paying. Admission fees brought in about $18,600 between June 15 and Sept. 30 last year. Some of the proceeds will go toward improvements intended to make the site even more attractive to tourists.
Lake Powell may never be full again, April 2, 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune
A nearly finalized agreement between the seven Colorado River Basin states regarding future management of the river calls for the joint, coordinated operation of Lake Powell in the upper basin and its sister reservoir, Lake Mead, downstream in the lower basin. The thrust of the idea is to ensure, as much as possible, that neither reservoir suffers at the expense of the other during future dry periods.
Advocacy group says Clean Water Act violations are widespread, April 4, 2006, Sioux City Journal
A study by a public interest group says more than two-thirds of the major industrial and municipal facilities in Iowa violated their Clean Water Act permits by discharging too much pollution into the state's waterways. According to the report, 128 Iowa facilities reported more than 775 exceedances of their permits during the 18-month period. The state ranked 13th in the country for most exceedances. Nationwide, about 62 percent of the facilities discharged more pollution than their permit allowed during that time, the report said.
Nebraska receives EPA grant to fund watershed project, April 3, 2006, BrownfieldNetwork.com
A grant for $810,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Targeted Watersheds Grant program was awarded to Governor Dave Heineman to help support a cooperative water quality protection project in the Big Blue River/Tuttle Creek Lake watershed. The watershed area extends across southeast Nebraska and parts of northeast Kansas. The lead agency in applying for the grant was the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) on behalf of more than 30 state and local partners in the two state area.
Church cashes in on water, March 27, 2006, Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Southern Nevada Water Authority has struck a $7.2 million deal to lease water on the Muddy River from what might seem an unlikely source: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon church owns land and water rights all over the region and the country. The water authority's lease with the church is for 2,001 acre-feet of water a year for 20 years, with an option for two 10-year extensions.
Aurora OKs plan to buy water, April 4, 2006, Rocky Mountain News
With a simple vote, city leaders ended years of tension with their Denver counterparts by adopting a resolution that allows them to buy water from the neighboring city if there's a need and if Denver has it to spare. Under the agreement with the Denver Water Board that evolved over the last three years, the cities would also link a portion of their water delivery systems. a move that will give them more security in case of disasters.
Industry News
One-step process removes chromium from wastewater, March 29, 2006, Environmental Science & Technology Online
A simple and inexpensive new method developed in China for removing chromium from industrial wastewater could prove useful throughout the world. The technology uses naturally occurring clino-pyrrhotite, a common iron sulfide mineral. Industrial uses of chromium are usually linked with tanneries, dye and pigment factories, and electroplating industries. Serious contamination around some of these sites has been reported worldwide.
Tiny water purification packet helps save lives worldwide, March 29, 2006, Newswise
Chemists have developed a powerful household water purification system that puts the cleansing power of an industrial water treatment plant into a container the size of a ketchup packet. The researchers have shown that the tiny packet, which acts as a chemical filter, can be added to highly contaminated water to dramatically reduce pathogen-induced diarrhea, the top killer of children in much of the developing world. Procter & Gamble's Children's Safe Drinking Water program manufactures the packets in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Better use must be made of water, March 29, 2006, Siemens press release
Experts anticipate that by 2025, demand for fresh water will be around 40 percent higher than in 1995; if this happens, then the annual quantity of precipitation will no longer be sufficient to meet humanity's needs. Industries and municipalities should look at wastewater treatment, water reclamation, and seawater desalination to reduce water supply shortages.
Is the bottled water market going to the dogs?, March 26, 2006, United Press International
A Valencia, Calif.-based company, K9 Water Co., is selling a line of vitamin-enriched bottled waters for dogs over the Internet in several flavors. The company offers: Toilet Water, with chicken flavor; Gutter Water with beef flavor; Puddle Water with liver flavor and Hose Water with lamb flavor.
Ashland to Buy Water Treatment Business, March 30, 2006, Associated Press
Ashland Inc. has agreed to purchase the water treatment operations of Degussa AG in a $144 million cash deal that's subject to regulatory review. Earlier this month, Ashland acquired the assets of Nanjing Clear Environment Protection Co. Ltd. to create Ashland (Nanjing) Chemical Co. Ltd. With the Degussa acquisition, Ashland will operate facilities in Germany, China, Brazil, Russia and the United States, helping the company expand into municipal wastewater treatment.
Indian Water Issues
Federal agencies make Klamath suggestions, March 29, 2006, Associated Press
Federal fisheries agencies recommended four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River install fish ladders and turbine screens as a condition of getting a new operating license. If FERC adopts the proposal, it would restore access for salmon, steelhead, and lamprey to more than 300 miles of river for the first time since the early 1900s. The four Indian tribes on the river, Klamath, Karuk, Hoopa and Yurok, praised the recommendations, saying they could ultimately lead to a decision by FERC or PacifiCorp to remove the dams.
Port Williams irrigation reservoir ready to roll, March 29, 2006, The Sequim (WA) Gazette
Irrigators draw water from the Dungeness River from April 15-Sept. 15. The plan is to save water in the reservoir when the level in the river is high, to be used later when it's low. The project was paid for by state and federal salmon recovery grants and $465,700 in matching funds from the Sequim Prairie Tri-Irrigation Company, which sponsored the plan.
Manitoba Hydro, First Nation agree to build $1-billion hydroelectric dam, March 31, 2006, Brandon Sun
A decade after a northern Cree community accepted a multimillion-dollar compensation package for flooding from Manitoba Hydro projects, the two sides cemented a partnership they say reflects the lessons learned from the past. The Wuskwatim deal must still be ratified by the community in a June vote before the six-year construction project can begin. Chief Jerry Primrose and lead negotiator Elvis Thomas say the deal would give residents training, jobs and up to a one-third share in the venture. The community’s share of revenues could reach $100 million in 25 years.
Ute irrigation project needs $20M in repairs, April 2, 2006, Durango Herald
An irrigation project serving the Southern Ute Indian Tribe needs $20 million in repairs, according to a Congressional audit released last week. Nationwide, irrigation projects run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs need perhaps $850 million, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress' nonpartisan research office. The report also criticizes some BIA projects for poor management. The BIA runs 16 irrigation projects, a program that began in the 1880s as part of the American Indian assimilation policy.
Taos Pueblo water-rights case reaches draft settlement, April 1, 2006, The New Mexican
Negotiators for Taos Pueblo, the Taos Valley Acequia Association, the Town of Taos and a dozen mutual domestic water associations reached a draft settlement agreement in a long-standing water-rights case, according to the state Engineer's Office. However, the parties still must get approval and funding for a final agreement from the federal government, which is not a party to the settlement.
Tribe plans dike to preserve sites, April 3, 2006, Rapid City Journal
The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe plans a project on the Missouri River that it hopes will preserve buried cultural sites and restore some habitat. A shallow-water dike on Lake Sharpe, a Missouri River reservoir, would run parallel to the shore and prevent erosion. When Lake Sharpe was created in the early 1960s, about 7,000 acres of the tribe's best land was lost.
Secretary Norton Signs Water Rights Agreement for Tohono O'odham Nation, March 30, 2006, U.S. Department of the Interior press release
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has signed the Southern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement, which resolves water rights claims of the San Xavier and Shuk Toak Districts of the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona and allows for the full and final implementation of the Southern Arizona Water Rights Settlement Act. Under the agreement, the two districts would receive 37,000 acre-feet annually of water from the Central Arizona Project, a federally-developed system that delivers Colorado River water to central Arizona.
Proposed settlement reached on Taos Pueblo water rights, April 3, 2006, Free New Mexican
A proposed settlement has been reached in a Taos Pueblo water rights dispute, but none of the parties has yet signed the agreement. The proposal represents a step toward ending a long-standing dispute between the pueblo and non-Indian irrigators in the Taos Valley. Once local parties review and approve the draft settlement agreement, they will seek to resolve related federal interests. Ultimately, congressional legislation will be sought to approve and fund a final agreement.