By Kathy Hedberg; The Lewiston Tribune OROFINO — The city of Orofino will begin a long-range planning project to upgrade the city’s water distribution system following the recent award of a $110,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The grant is part of a $2 million fund from the American Rescue Plan Act directed to DEQ from Gov. Brad Little. “It’s old infrastructure on the water side,” said Orofino Mayor Sean Simmons. “These funds will be going to inflow and infiltration studies on our collection system. Orofino is fairly old … so we work on it a little bit each year and do what we can.” Simmons said part of the problem is that when it rains in the spring, there is so much additional water that goes…
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…
By Meredith Spelbring; East Idaho News TWIN FALLS (KIVI) – After a near “perfect” start to the season, officials with the Idaho Water Supply Committee said a record-dry January and dry forecasts are not ideal for the widespread drought across Idaho. Nearly 50% of Idaho is in drought conditions, with the remaining half of the state approaching drought conditions, according to David Hoekema with the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The fall of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 were “perfect” conditions from a water supply standpoint, but one of the driest 30-day streaks in January is causing concern. “We are getting to a point we are probably going to start recommending an expansion of drought in Idaho if we don’t see the needed precipitation coming in,” said Hoekema. As…
Register Here For more information on this event, visit the U.S. EPA Water Research webpage. Among the many questions surrounding per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are their potential effects on aquatic communities. While much of the initial research effort has focused on ecological effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), there is a much wider range of PFAS that can occur in the environment―both as a result of more recently developed compounds and the breakdown products of other PFAS. Effective management of PFAS in aquatic systems requires understanding of the potential effects of a more complete range of PFAS chemicals. EPA is working to explore the relationships between PFAS toxicity and chemical structure for several aquatic species to help identify and predict the toxicity of PFAS and PFAS…
By Betsy Z. Russell; Idaho Press BOISE — The proposed budget for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for next year shows something unusual: A 100.7% increase in total funds from this year. The reason: A “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make investments in infrastructure projects that will have an impact for generations to come,” according to state DEQ Director Jess Byrne. Byrne presented the budget to the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday, including proposals from Gov. Brad Little to spend hundreds of millions in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds over the next five years for major upgrades to city drinking and wastewater systems; closing old landfills; addressing contaminated, abandoned mine sites across the state; and more. “When the ARPA dollars arrived, the first thing the governor said was, ‘I…
[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.
Feb. 2, 12-2 p.m. MST Register Here State Revolving Funds offer numerous ways to support and encourage the implementation of projects aimed at the protection of source waters. Kara Goodwin, US EPA, will open the session with a national overview of SRF-related tools currently available to environmental entities interested in source water protection. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program (DWSRF) funds Source Water Protection through two different optional set-asides: State Program Management (10%) and Local Assistance and Other State Programs (15%). April Byrne, US EPA ORISE Fellow, will showcase recent source water protection project eligibility and spending trends within these two set-asides. Potential increases to the DWSRF capitalization grants in the future would in turn increase opportunities to fund source water protection efforts. Learn how to maximize these two…
By Joseph Zaleski and Samuel Boxerman; Sidley Energy Blog As part of its continued focus on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added four PFAS substances to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list, including PFBS (perfluorobutane sulfonic acid) and potassium perfluorobutane sulfonate as well as two compounds listed at by their chemical identifier numbers — CASRN 65104-45-2 and CASRN 203743-03-7. EPA’s decision to add these PFAS to the TRI requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use these PFAS chemicals to include them in annual reports made to EPA pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act starting this reporting year. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) immediately added 172 PFAS chemicals to the TRI and required annual facility reporting. The NDAA also provided…
By Matthew Daly, AP News WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of enforcement actions Wednesday to address air pollution, unsafe drinking water and other problems afflicting minority communities in three Gulf Coast states, following a “Journey to Justice” tour by Administrator Michael Regan last fall. The agency will conduct unannounced inspections of chemical plants, refineries and other industrial sites suspected of polluting air and water and causing health problems to nearby residents, Regan said. And it will install air monitoring equipment in Louisiana’s “chemical corridor” to enhance enforcement at chemical and plastics plants between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The region contains several hotspots where cancer risks are far above national levels. The EPA also issued a notice to the city of Jackson, Mississippi, saying its…
