Focus
EPA unveils strategy to regulate PFAS
Associated Press – October 18
Michael Regan, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced on Monday that the agency is launching a broad strategy to regulate a cluster of long-lasting chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are increasingly turning up in public drinking water systems, private wells, and elsewhere. The chemicals, used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams, have been linked to serious health conditions. Under the new strategy, the EPA will move to set aggressive drinking water limits for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act and will require PFAS manufacturers to report on the toxicity of their products. The agency also will designate PFAS as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund law, thereby broadening EPA’s authority to compel PFAS cleanups and establishing a basis for private claims for PFAS cleanup costs.
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News
California proposes buffer between oil drilling, homes
The San Diego Union-Tribune – October 21
Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration on Thursday announced a proposal to ban new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of sites such as schools and residences. If adopted, the buffer zone between new drilling and such sensitive community sites would be the largest in the nation. Wells already operating within that zone would have to comply with new pollution controls, including leak detection and response plans that would require operators to detect chemicals such as methane or hydrogen sulfide with an alarm system. The proposed regulation, put forward by the California Geologic Energy Management Division, the state’s oil regulator, is still in draft form. A final rule will not take effect until at least 2023.
Court: Parts of pesticide program violate California law
U.S. News & World Report – October 18
California’s Third District Court of Appeal ruled last Friday that a pest prevention and management program run by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, challenged by the City of Berkeley and certain environmental groups, partly violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with regard to its approach for spraying pesticides. The court found that adoption of the program violated CEQA because the program fails to require site-specific environmental reviews and omits a requirement for notification of the public before spraying operations. The ruling also found the program does not appropriately require consideration of potential contamination of water bodies or mitigation of harm to bees, and that it understated the extent of existing pesticide use.
Laguna and Huntington Beach both pass anti-drilling resolutions
The Orange County Register – October 20
Still reeling from the recent oil spill that fouled local waters and coated wildlife, the Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach city councils on Tuesday each passed resolutions calling for limits on offshore drilling. The Huntington Beach declaration advocates for “a permanent ban on new offshore oil, gas drilling and similar exploration activities off our coasts,” while Laguna Beach’s goes even further, beefing up its 2017 resolution with a new demand to end all drilling, current and future. The resolutions are largely symbolic, as cities in California do not control the use of state or federal waters.
Study finds radioactive contamination migrated off field lab site during Woolsey Fire
Ventura County Star – October 17
A new peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity has found that radioactive contamination released during the 2018 Woolsey Fire migrated from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site into Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and other neighboring communities. The study contradicts a report by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control which concluded that the devastating blaze, which broke out on the field lab site, did not cause contaminants to be released into nearby areas. The 2,850-acre site outside Simi Valley served as a premiere research facility for the United States during the Cold War and experienced a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959.
Governor Newsom declares statewide drought emergency, urges California to conserve water
Los Angeles Times – October 19
Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday declared a statewide drought emergency. While most of California’s 58 counties have been in a state of drought emergency since July, Newsom’s proclamation brought the last eight remaining counties into a drought declaration, and further bolstered his call for everyone to voluntarily reduce water use by 15%. The proclamation notes that the State Water Resources Control Board may adopt emergency regulations to prohibit wasting water.
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