Focus
California judge issues first-of-its-kind ruling to rein in groundwater pumping
San Francisco Chronicle – August 23
A California Superior Court judge ruled last week that Sonoma County must do more to ensure responsible groundwater pumping under the state’s Public Trust Doctrine, which holds that rivers, creeks, and other waterways are resources that must be protected and maintained for the public benefit. Groundwater has only recently been considered part of the Public Trust Doctrine, as the hydrological connection between waterways and below-ground water supplies has become clear. The ruling will not only require Sonoma County to revisit and perhaps rewrite its ordinance for permitting groundwater wells, but also could set the stage for other counties to similarly step up regulation of groundwater pumping.
News
Coalition of states asks Supreme Court to block speedy methane reductions
Courthouse News Service – August 27
Two dozen states on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to curb the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methane reduction plan, framing the new rule as an attack on the oil and gas industry. Headed by Oklahoma, the states filed an emergency appeal to prevent the agency from enforcing the New Source Performance Standards — rules aimed at reducing smog-forming volatile compounds. Under the rule, oil and gas producers across the industry’s production, processing, transmission, and storage segments face new methane and volatile organic compound emission regulations. According to the EPA, the rule will reduce methane emissions by almost 80% over the next decade and avoid 16 million tons of smog-forming emissions and 590,000 tons of air toxics.
Chiquita Canyon Landfill gets over 20,000 odor complaints — and new orders to fix them
LAist – August 28
The Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic will have to take additional steps to mitigate the odors that have plagued nearby residents for years. On Tuesday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) hearing board issued an abatement order that includes more than two dozen conditions aimed at improving leachate collection, mitigating odors, and improving air monitoring. The odors stem from a rare reaction in the landfill. Temperatures are too high for the microbes that eat waste to function properly, which is causing the waste to decompose faster, releasing large amounts of heat, liquid, and landfill gas to the surrounding community. The SCAQMD has received more than 20,000 complaints from residents regarding the landfill, ranging from a rotten egg stench to burning eyes.
Sterigenics in Ontario, Vernon fined $587,800 for carcinogenic gas emissions
The Orange County Register – August 28
A company specializing in medical equipment sterilization will pay a $587,800 penalty to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to settle a series of violations resulting from the emission of excessive levels of a carcinogenic gas at its facilities in Vernon and Ontario, according to the SCAQMD. SCAQMD officials designated Sterigenics facilities as “potentially high risk” two years ago after air quality monitors in the area showed high amounts of a carcinogen called ethylene oxide.
Workers breach key Klamath dams, allowing salmon to swim freely for the first time in a century
Associated Press – August 28
Workers breached the final dams on a key section of the Klamath River on Wednesday, clearing the way for salmon to swim freely through a major watershed near the California-Oregon border for the first time in more than a century as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion. The work gives salmon a passageway to key swaths of habitat just in time for the fall Chinook, or king salmon, spawning season.
Los Angeles Mayor Bass calls for more tap water testing in Watts after lead findings
NBC Los Angeles – August 27
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has asked for more testing in Watts following a recent study that detected lead in tap water samples in the area. According to the study, conducted by the Better Watts Initiative, researchers discovered lead in 21 out of 530 samples collected from verified addresses. The samples were taken from both single-family homes and public housing units.
Berkeley will test for radiation at Cesar Chavez Park this fall
Berkeleyside – August 27
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) has approved the City of Berkeley’s plans to measure radiation levels in Cesar Chavez Park using a drone. The Regional Board rejected Berkeley’s initial proposal for radiation testing in May, citing concerns that its methodology was too lenient. The radiation testing follows revelations in January that the now-defunct Stauffer Chemical Company may have disposed of radioactive industrial waste in the landfill between 1960 and 1971. The city closed the landfill in the 1980s, covered it with soil and thick clay, and in the early 1990s reopened it as Cesar Chavez Park.
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