Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 20, 2008
1. Top Items -
Mussels’ last meal: Scientists want to add bacteria that are lethal to invasive mollusks to water at Hoover or Davis
Las Vegas
Schwarzenegger says drilling ban not to blame for high gas prices
Associated Press- 6/20/08
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Mussels’ last meal: Scientists want to add bacteria that are lethal to invasive mollusks to water at Hoover or Davis
Las Vegas
By Phoebe Sweet
Quagga mussels, here clinging to a water intake structure, can clog and damage machinery and were found infesting
They are so common they’re swimming in your spoiled milk, growing on the cheese left too long in the back of the fridge.
But if bacteria were about to be released into your drinking water supply, would you worry?
The Bureau of Reclamation says you shouldn’t. Its scientists want to set Pseudomonas fluorescens loose at either Hoover Dam or Davis Dam (near Laughlin) this fall as a cavalry charge in what has so far been a losing battle against the invasive quagga mussel. Quaggas, which can clog water intakes and damage pumps and other machinery, hitched a ride from their native
Water authorities and power plants now use chlorine and other chemicals to rid pipes of the clinging critters. But the quaggas can recognize the chemical as bad for them, and when they do, they close up and often avoid ingesting enough of it to kill them, according to Pam Marrone, founder of the
There are other drawbacks to using chemicals against quaggas, including the detrimental effects on the environment. Chlorine and similar chemicals also can form cancer-causing carcinogens when combined with organic matter in the water supply, according to Peggy Roefer, regional water quality program manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Enter the bacterium that guards against root rot in the typical garden plot. Turns out it produces a toxin that kills the quagga, and its equally troublesome cousin, the zebra mussel. Mussels feed on the bacterium and don’t realize it’s deadly until it’s too late.
Even dead Pseudomonas fluorescens kill the quagga, according to Dan Malloy, a research scientist at the
He found the quagga killer to be harmless to several native fish and shellfish species tested, as well as to humans, Malloy said.
“We have been working with this bacterium for well over a decade. It’s everywhere. It’s already in the drinking water,” Malloy said, adding that his job is to work to preserve the environment, not pollute it. “I am a tree-hugger devoted to reducing the use of poisonous pesticides.”
In tests performed at
Malloy and Marrone hope to begin testing the bacteria’s ability to kill quaggas in the region’s hydroelectric dam pipes this year, the next step toward developing a product that could be used commercially by power plants and water treatment facilities as soon as late 2009 or early 2010.
Marrone said tests wouldn’t begin on the
But Marrone admitted there are still several hurdles to overcome before testing could begin, including Environmental Protection Agency permitting.
The EPA extensively evaluates biopesticides before their approval to ensure safety for people and the environment, according to spokesman Dale Kemery. He said the process usually takes years and requires extensive scientific data for approval.
The EPA does issue experimental use permits. Officials met in March with representatives of Marrone Organic Innovations to discuss those regulations. The company has yet to apply for registration of its product, however, Kemery said.
Marrone’s company is still perfecting the recipe. The bacteria are grown in stainless steel vats, fermented like beer, for two days. The company will test different formulas, including pellets, liquids and powders. Marrone said it’s important that it not only be safe and effective, but also organic, because it will go into water that could be used at organic farms.
Marrone’s company is paying for development of the bacteria pesticide in part with a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that it’s splitting with Malloy’s lab.
Marrone’s half of the grant will pay for tests on rats necessary for EPA registration. Her company will test the effects of the pesticide when inhaled, ingested and exposed to skin.
She said the company may ask states where it plans to test to apply for emergency exemptions, which would let Marrone to test the formula outside the lab sooner than would normally be allowed.
Exemptions are granted by the EPA, Kemery said, when another pesticide isn’t available to control a problem that is both sudden and poses “an imminent threat.”
Marrone said the tests might also be subject to state environmental protection laws.
Spokesman Dante Pisonte said the Nevada Environmental Protection Division would issue a letter of approval, rather than a permit, after consulting with state and federal wildlife officials and determining that the pesticide would not harm
Malloy will use his half of the National Science Foundation grant, plus $100,000 this year from the Bureau of Reclamation, to determine whether the bacteria are also deadly to quagga and zebra mussel larvae, called veligers. The bureau expects to contribute $600,000 to $700,000 over three years to complete those tests, according to Dr. Kevin Kelly, a bureau scientist coordinating the laboratory tests with Malloy.
Fred Nibbling, an invasive species researcher with the bureau, said his agency’s first priority is getting quagga mussels out of its power plants. But he hopes Marrone and Malloy can come up with a formula that would kill quagga mussel veligers swimming free in Lake Mead and other parts of the
And although some scientists say Malloy’s work is the most promising fix they’ve seen yet for the quagga, he’s not the only one searching for the perfect killer.
Roefer, water quality manager with the Water Authority, said the authority hosted a quagga mussel conference with 32 people, including 12 quagga experts, in April to discuss ongoing and needed research. Roefer said more funding is needed, though.#
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jun/20/mussels-last-meal/
Schwarzenegger says drilling ban not to blame for high gas prices
Associated Press- 6/20/08
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he opposes lifting a ban on new oil drilling in coastal waters, breaking with President Bush and Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
He called
"We're serious about that, and we're not going to change that," he told reporters and business executives at BIO International, an annual biotechnology industry conference in
Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed McCain's presidential bid, said the federal offshore drilling ban was not to blame for soaring gas prices. In a statement issued earlier in the day, the governor said technological innovations and expanded fuel choices for consumers ultimately will lead the way to reduced fuel costs.
"We are in this situation because of our dependence on traditional petroleum-based oil," Schwarzenegger said in the statement, which referred only to Bush's call for lifting the ban and did not mention McCain.
Bush on Wednesday urged Congress to lift the federal ban on offshore oil and gas drilling as a way to boost domestic energy production. His call followed a statement earlier in the week by McCain, who said removing the ban would be a key part of his energy plan.
He said states should be allowed to receive some of the royalty revenue from energy taken from their coastal waters.
McCain's proposal was endorsed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, considered a possible running mate for the
McCain's position puts him at odds with Schwarzenegger, only the latest issue on which the two Republicans differ. While both have expressed a sense of urgency in dealing with global warming, they disagree on how to provide health care reform, setting timelines for troop withdrawal in
Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor continues to support McCain even though they occasionally disagree.
At the biotech conference in
"I'm very happy that both are strong in this area," he said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said lifting the drilling moratorium is an unnecessary risk that could allow unreliable oil rigs to be as close as three miles to
"Californians are all too familiar with the consequences of offshore drilling," Feinstein said in a statement issued Tuesday.
She cited the 1969 spill off the coast of
"And we know this could happen again," Feinstein said.
There are 79 active oil and gas leases off
An estimated 10 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and nearly 17 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas lie three miles from
McCain wants to allow states to decide whether to explore their coastal waters for those undiscovered reserves, something Californians would be unlikely to support, said state Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.
"The idea of increasing offshore drilling off the coast of
Schwarzenegger does not have the support of all his fellow Republicans in
The minority leader in the state Senate said he supports lifting restrictions on offshore oil drilling.
"Personally, yes, I believe we need to be drilling in our own reserves," Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, said Wednesday during a news conference related to the state budget. "We need to use the resources available to us in this country."
He said it would reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and would help drive down the cost of gasoline.
"So I am a very strong supporter, as I think most of my caucus is, in the catch phase 'Drill here, drill now, pay less,'" Cogdill said. "It's certainly a better energy policy relating to the needs of the citizens of the
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-drill19-2008jun19,0,6270920.story
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