Focus

San Francisco isn’t doing enough to protect residents from sewage pollution, Ninth Circuit rules

San Francisco Chronicle – July 31

In the nation’s first appellate case on the issue, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that the City and County of San Francisco (City) must meet limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for discharges from its wastewater treatment facility into waters of the United States, and not the local limits set in advance long ago. State water regulators filed arguments in support of the EPA, while state and national organizations overseeing wastewater treatment plants backed the City. The EPA’s requirements could be added to hundreds of permits, “threatening to upend decades of careful planning and coordination with regulators and billions in infrastructure investments,” they told the court. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the EPA can go further and require the City — particularly during heavy rains — to prevent dangerous water pollution by bacteria and other contaminants that flow through its Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant.

News

Sonoma, Mendocino County grape growers battling new rules designed to reduce sediment, pesticides in local waterways

The Press Democrat – August 2

A new program designed to improve water quality in local creeks and rivers, targeting 1,500 commercial grape growers in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, is drawing criticism from certain members of the agricultural community. The draft rules from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) include reporting requirements, annual fees, well and groundwater monitoring, ground cover requirements, and restrictions on wintertime operations that growers deem excessive. Vineyard operators and agricultural representatives say the costs and mandates are overkill for an industry that is already working to reduce sediment runoff into waterways and protect fish habitats. But Regional Board staff say the soil disturbance and chemical use in many vineyards, as well as potential disruption of riparian plants needed to shade fish habitat, can degrade water quality in creeks and rivers.

California firm to pay $1 million for selling devices to thwart diesel truck smog controls

Associated Press – August 1

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Sinister Manufacturing Co., Inc. of Roseville, doing business as Sinister Diesel, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and defraud the United States by making and selling devices designed to defeat smog controls on diesel trucks. The company agreed to pay $500,000 in criminal fines under a plea agreement, though the ultimate criminal fine will be determined by the court, and an additional $500,000 in civil penalties pursuant to a consent decree. In the statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that, for nearly a decade, Sinister sold products referred to as “delete devices” or “defeat devices” that were designed to bypass diesel truck emissions controls, along with software that could alter a truck’s on-board computer so that it appeared to run normally, and also counseled customers on how to evade state emissions tests.

California orders tiremakers to find alternative for chemical that kills endangered salmon

KTLA – July 31

California regulators have added 6PPD, a chemical that helps reduce tire cracking and extends the life of tires, to the state’s list of Priority Products, which identifies consumer products that contain chemicals that are potentially dangerous to people or to the environment. Its inclusion means tire manufacturers will have until November 30 to notify state regulators if they currently make tires that contain the chemical. According to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), 6PPD reacts with ozone in the air to form another chemical called 6PPD-quinone, which was found to kill coho salmon as they migrate upstream for their yearly spawn. The chemical has been detected in streams at a level that has been shown to kill the salmon in laboratory studies.

Three decades later, chemical-plume cleanup in Palo Alto's Barron Park shows success

Palo Alto Weekly – July 28

After nearly 30 years of groundwater extraction, treatment, and monitoring of an underground toxic-chemical plume beneath Palo Alto's Barron Park neighborhood, the California DTSC is shutting down most of the chemical-extraction wells in the area, saying the cleanup program's goals largely have been met. Groundwater quality in the neighborhood was contaminated by hazardous chemicals from the Hillview-Porter Plume, which migrated underground from decades of industrial dumping at the Stanford Research Park. The plume has significantly reduced in size since remediation efforts started in the 1990s, but some areas still have not met the goals of the cleanup plan, according to agency spokesperson Devin Hutchings.