Focus
CDC to lead investigation into health impacts of sewer crisis on San Diego County community
The San Diego Union-Tribune – September 5
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lead an investigation into the Tijuana-U.S. cross-border sewage crisis, measuring the potential health impacts on people who live and work near where millions of gallons of sewage spill over the U.S.-Mexico border from Tijuana, county officials said on Thursday. In cooperation with the county, state, and San Diego State University, the investigation by the federal public health agency will involve door-to-door interviews with several hundred households in South San Diego County to assess how exposure to polluted water and air in the region is affecting people’s health.
News
Californians to face steep fines for violating water orders under new legislation
CalMatters – August 31
California lawmakers last Friday approved a massive increase in fines for water order violations after ranchers intentionally defied state orders and pumped water from the drought-plagued Shasta River, vital habitat for salmon, for eight days. Two years ago, state officials imposed the maximum fine allowed under law — $4,000, or roughly $50 per rancher, causing outrage among tribes and conservationists. Assembly Bill 460, which awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature, would double daily fines for water rights holders who commit minor violations. Those violating curtailment orders could face fines of up to $10,000 per day plus $2,500 for every acre-foot of water taken.
Biden administration partially restores stricter air pollution standards
The Hill – September 4
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Friday tightened air emissions standards that were rolled back by the Trump administration in 2020 for facilities once considered to be “major” pollution sources. Prior to the 2020 rule change, those facilities were required to meet stringent pollution requirements even if they reduced their emissions under a policy known as “once in, always in.” Following the 2020 rollback, EPA allowed such facilities to reclassify as smaller “area” polluters and follow less stringent pollution control and reporting requirements. EPA’s latest rule restores the pre-2020 requirements but only as to facilities that are significant sources of seven types of harmful and persistent pollution, including mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. The new rule leaves in place the more flexible standard for other types of facilities.
Nine years after closure, Exide plant in Vernon proposed as Superfund site by EPA
San Gabriel Valley Tribune – September 5
EPA announced on Wednesday that the shuttered Exide Technologies in Vernon, responsible for a swath of lead and arsenic contamination stretching 1.7 miles in southeast Los Angeles County, is proposed to become a federal Superfund site. Listing the heavily-polluted, former lead-acid battery recycling plant on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites would prioritize federal funds for permanent cleanup of the abandoned facility, as well as continued removal of toxic chemicals from thousands of nearby properties, authorities said. On Wednesday, EPA also added the Afterthought Mine, located in Shasta County, to the Superfund National Priorities List.
Contaminated sediment proposed for burial in Newport Harbor could go to Port of Long Beach instead
The Orange County Register – August 30
A plan to bury contaminated sand and debris dredged up from main navigational channels in Newport Harbor in a pit at the harbor’s floor appears to be off the table, with the material instead to be repurposed by the Port of Long Beach. Roughly 10% of the estimated 1.2 million cubic yards of material to be cleared is ineligible for disposal into the open ocean under federal law because it contains elevated levels of mercury and industrial chemicals such as DDT. A proposed agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Long Beach revealed in a new planning document indicates the contaminated sediment can be repurposed at a port pier project.
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