EPA Press Office WASHINGTON – Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) announced the FY 2022 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results report, highlighting increased inspections in the aftermath of the pandemic, reductions in significant noncompliance under the Clean Water Act, and aggressive actions to target the most serious water, air, land, and chemical violations that impact communities across the countryTaken together, OECA’s criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement cases reduced, treated or eliminated pollutants by 95 million pounds and required violators to pay over $300 million in penalties, fines and restitution. In keeping with EPA’s Strategic Plan, OECA focused on working to mitigate the effects of climate change and advance environmental justice in the enforcement program.“In FY 2022, EPA’s enforcement and compliance program used a…
The fourth in a series of five, free webinars for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (water sector) utility owners and operators, as well as other water sector stakeholders in the Northwest climate region of the U.S. CREAT is a web-based risk assessment application for water sector utilities to assess and address current and potential future climate change impacts. This free training will help utilities incorporate climate change considerations into their decision-making, identify adaptation projects to build long-term resilience, and learn about federal and local resources for financing utility resilience projects. To learn more about CREAT success stories visit our Case Study and Information Exchange Map and to view other trainings visit the CRWU Training Center. You can register for the free Northwest CREAT training sessions here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7819112488816651792
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative is providing a series of five, free webinars for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (water sector) utility owners and operators, as well as other water sector stakeholders in the Northwest climate region of the U.S. This webinar training series titled “Building Resilience and Adapting to Climate Change Impacts for Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities” begins with an Introductory webinar concentrating on the impacts of climate change in the Northwest, the identification of adaptation options, and a utility climate change risk assessment case study. The following four webinars focus on conducting a climate change risk assessment using EPA’s Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT), developing resilience and adaptation projects, and identifying financing programs to pay for infrastructure projects.…
Idaho Statesman Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, Boise, ID. Much of Southern Idaho, cut through in scythe like fashion by the Snake River Plain, relies on the frozen water stored in the state’s mountains to fill its rivers. When winter ends and summer’s broiling heat arrives, it is these snowy peaks that serve as the state’s reservoir, filling the Salmon, Snake, Big Lost, Boise and other tributaries with cold, clear water. But as the amount of snowfall declines, with scientists citing the effects of climate change as a key contributor, major problems arise for the state’s ecosystems, residents and agriculture industry. And that erosion is already underway. By the turn of the century, Idaho could see reductions of 35%-65% of its snowpack, according to a study published in Nature Reviews…
By Hanalei Potempa; The Arbiter In Idaho, the negative impacts of the changing climate are becoming more apparent. Climate change is not just one problem. The issue represents how the earth’s climate system is acting differently than how it has been operating for a very long time. It is a complete systemic change resulting from problems happening all over the world, and it affects each place in a different way. “What climate change has done is it has thrown a really big wrench into our ability to predict what’s going to happen in the future given how things have looked in the past,” said Dr. Chris Torres, an environmental studies professor at Boise State. In Idaho, changing climate conditions have caused rising concerns for consistent water sources for residential and…
[United Nations] World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about focusing attention on the importance of water. This year’s theme ‘groundwater’, draws attention to the hidden water resource that has always been critically important but not fully recognized in sustainable development policymaking. Under the title ‘Groundwater – Making the invisible visible’, this year’s campaign will explain groundwater’s vital role in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems and climate change adaptation. The overarching message of the campaign is that exploring, protecting and sustainably using groundwater will be central to surviving and adapting to climate change and meeting the needs of a growing population. Learn more about the World Water Day 2022 campaign here.
