EPA investigating how California manages its water following complaints from tribes

Associated Press – August 14

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it would investigate the California State Water Resources Control Board (Board) after some Native American tribes and environmental groups complained the state's policies are "rooted in white supremacy." The Board, whose members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate, sets rules for how to use much of the state's water, including 211,000 miles of rivers and streams. Federal law requires the Board to review those rules every three years, but the Board hasn't kept up with that timeline for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Estuary. The estuary is one of the largest in the country and is home to threatened species of fish. It also irrigates California's powerful agriculture industry while providing drinking water to 25 million people. The tribes say the state is relying on outdated rules that have led to overgrowths of toxic algae and cyanobacteria, which prevent two tribes from performing their cultural, religious and subsistence practices.

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Environmentalists, legislators slam plan to expand Aliso Canyon gas storage facility

Los Angeles Daily News – August 17

At a State Water Resources Control Board meeting on Tuesday, elected officials and environmental groups urged Governor Gavin Newsom not to back the Board's plan to dramatically boost the capacity of SoCalGas' controversial Aliso Canyon underground gas storage facility near Porter Ranch in Southern California, the source of the largest methane gas leak in history. They opposed the proposal to increase the underground gas field’s limits during a contentious hearing at which the Board voted to extend operations at three other controversial sites — natural gas plants in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, and Oxnard. The California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees operations at Aliso Canyon, is expected to vote on the future of that facility on Aug. 31.

Thermal's Oasis Mobile Home Park didn't maintain safe drinking, waste water, lawsuit alleges

Desert Sun – August 14

EPA sued the operator of Thermal's Oasis Mobile Home Park on Monday, alleging the park has failed for years to maintain safe drinking and waste water systems for as many as 1,500 residents. The civil complaint asks a federal judge to order the park's management to address the unsafe conditions, comply with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and pay a monetary penalty. The risks posed to the residents by the unsafe water systems has for years plagued the park, which is located on land owned by the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, spurring several responses from local, state, and federal officials looking to address it. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, follows the Riverside County Board of Supervisors' decision in April to dedicate $15 million from a state grant to a program to help residents move out of the park.

Air pollution agency to require Castaic landfill to reduce its odors

CBS News – August 16

A surge in community odor complaints has prompted the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to take action to require the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic to reduce odors from the waste disposal site. After the agency received hundreds of complaints in May, its investigation found the odors emanated from the landfill site and correlated with high levels of sulfur, specifically dimethyl sulfide, in its landfill gas. Since the start of its investigation, SCAQMD has received more than 1,200 odor complaints. The underlying cause of the odor has been linked to a subsurface chemical reaction.

EPA is rejecting calls for tougher regulation of large livestock farms, promises more study

PBS – August 15

EPA this Tuesday rejected pleas to strengthen regulation of large livestock farms that release manure and other pollutants into waterways, promising more study instead. The agency said it had denied two petitions from environmental and community groups seeking revision of rules dealing with the nation's biggest animal operations, which hold thousands of hogs, chickens, and cattle. In a letter to advocacy groups, Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox said EPA will look closely at its program overseeing the farms as well as existing pollution limits. Under the Clean Water Act, EPA regulates large farms — known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs — covered by federal pollution permits.