News
Wine giant E. & J. Gallo fined over wastewater discharge into California river
 Merced Sun-Star – February 7
A California water agency has ordered Modesto-based wine giant E. & J. Gallo Winery to pay $378,668 in fines for discharging irrigation and waste water into the Merced River. According to a news release from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, the 2021 discharge included more than 90,000 gallons of wastewater mixed with irrigation well water from a Livingston wine-making facility. A report from a concerned citizen led to the board initiating an investigation.
Referendum challenging setbacks for new oil wells qualifies for ballot
Spectrum News – February 14
An attempt to overturn Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137)—a law banning new oil and gas wells near “sensitive receptors,” including schools, hospitals, and businesses open to the public—has qualified for the November 2024 ballot. The qualification of the referendum blocks SB 1137 from going into effect. The law requires a minimum setback of 3,200 feet between the sensitive receptors and new or reworked oil and gas production wells. The law also requires existing wells in “health protection zones” to meet specified health, safety, and environmental requirements by Jan. 1, 2025.
Monsanto sued again as Contra Costa County and 17 cities seek damages over PCB contamination
The Mercury News – February 3
Contra Costa County and 17 of its cities are suing Monsanto Co. to force Monsanto to clean up pollution from polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a chemical the company produced for decades that seeped into bay waters and led state officials to advise against eating striped bass and other types of fish. Monsanto began using PCBs more than 50 years ago in a “wide range of commercial, household, and industrial products,” according to the lawsuit. The company produced 99 percent of all intentionally-manufactured PCBs in the U.S. until the chemicals were banned in 1976. A recent Monsanto settlement in a class-action claim by more than 2,500 cities and counties relating to PCB contamination totaled $648 million in payouts.
New Joshua Tree Protection Act would speed construction while protecting trees elsewhere
Desert Sun – February 9
California officials have proposed the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, which could streamline permitting for new housing, renewable energy developments, and other construction that would harm or destroy the iconic trees, in exchange for payment of funds to acquire broad-scale habitat for them elsewhere. Conservationists have been pushing the California Fish and Wildlife Commission since 2019 to list the western Joshua tree as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act, arguing that it is impacted by climate change as well as development, but the commission has repeatedly delayed or deadlocked on making a final decision.
Orange County Sanitation to demo technology that treats PFAS compounds, turning waste into water and clean energy
Daily Pilot – February 4
At a 110-acre plant in Fountain Valley and a similar site in Huntington Beach, the Orange County Sanitation District is treating 185 million gallons of sewage in a complex process that essentially digests biologic material into its basic components and, among other byproducts, produces about 130 million gallons of drinking water per day. Sanitation District officials are now partnering with 374Water to bring a water oxidation unit capable of treating up to 6 tons of wet sludge per day online at the Fountain Valley facility this summer as part of a demonstration project. Unlike the current process, which is extremely labor and machine intensive, the new technology would ultimately have a much smaller physical footprint and an undeniably cleaner output, namely clean water and, at a large enough scale, electricity. Under the new process, biosolids, bacteria, viruses, and even per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals would be transformed into benign minerals.
Environmental groups sue EPA over ballast water dumping rules
Courthouse News Service – February 6
Two environmental groups claim the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has failed to release new national standards that would protect U.S. waterways from harmful vessel discharges. The groups sued the agency in federal court on Monday, claiming discharges from boats and ships contaminate waters and threaten ecosystems, public health, and economies. Ships regularly take up ballast water at their origins to improve stability. The water is carried to different destinations and released, sending foreign species into new aquatic ecosystems.
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