Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
September 19, 2008
4. Water Quality -
EPA must limit builders' water pollution: U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a California suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council
The
Dirty Water: Environmental group lists trashiest streams that flow into the San Francisco Bay
San Jose
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EPA must limit builders' water pollution: U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a California suit by the Natural Resources Defense Council
The
By Carol J. Williams, Staff Writer
The Environmental Protection Agency is obliged by the Clean Water Act to protect the nation's waterways, beaches and drinking water from pollution caused by real estate development and should set standards for limiting construction runoff by the end of next year, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
The ruling from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals requires the EPA to create consistent federal standards to control water pollution, supplanting a patchwork of state and local protections now in place, said Melanie Shepherdson, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sued the federal government for shirking its responsibility to protect public waters.
A further appeal is possible, but environmentalists applauded the decision, saying it was likely to spur the EPA to take steps to ensure that development of shopping malls, housing subdivisions and other construction doesn't lead to beach closures, waterborne diseases, flooding, fish deaths or contaminated drinking water.
The EPA began work nine years ago on setting limits for building-site runoff after conceding that it can carry high levels of nutrients and metals into rivers and streams. But the agency then reversed course, eliminating construction from the list of activities it regulates to protect surface waters for consumption, navigation and recreation.
Congress enacted the Clean Water Act in 1977 "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's waterways." The law required the EPA to establish goals for eliminating additional pollution by 1985.
In 2004, the Natural Resources Defense Council sued the EPA for failing to set effluent limits for builders. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of the environmental group in 2006 and ordered the EPA to establish standards for the construction industry by December 2009.
In upholding the district court ruling, the appeals court noted that there is nothing in the Clean Water Act allowing the EPA to remove a category of polluter from the federal law's application.
Neither the Justice Department lawyers who represented the EPA nor those for the National Assn. of Homebuilders and the Assn. of General Contractors would say whether they planned to appeal.
"We are reviewing the decision and no determination has been made yet as to our next course of action," said Justice Department spokesman Andrew Ames.
The EPA, which was represented in the case by the Justice Department, did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Jeffrey Longsworth, attorney for the home builders association, said he hadn't had the opportunity to review the ruling or to consult with his construction industry clients.#
Dirty Water: Environmental group lists trashiest streams that flow into the San Francisco Bay
San Jose
Vast amounts of trash — from Styrofoam cups to old tires — pollute nearly all of the streams that flow into
In a new report released Wednesday, Save the Bay highlighted nearly two dozen clogged streams where the environmental group says debris endangers wildlife and human health.
Among the Top 10 "Bay Trash Hot Spots" most choked with litter:
"These are the worst spots around the bay. People would be shocked to see the photos,'' said Jessica Castelli, a spokeswoman for Save the Bay.
"They don't realize that a candy wrapper that fell out of their hand or a plastic grocery bag that blew out of their car can very easily make it to the bay. And when you think that there are 7 million of us who live around the bay, all of our impacts really can add up.''
The group, which ranked the streams based on photos from its volunteers and surveys by state water quality officials, is pushing for three reforms.
First, it is urging Bay Area residents to volunteer for the annual California Coastal Cleanup, which takes place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Last year, more than 61,000 people statewide collected more than 903,000 pounds of trash and recyclables along coastal beaches, but also along inland streams and bayfront marshes.
In the 2007 cleanup,
"I think people do see it as more of an ocean beach cleanup, but there's a big need along the bay, if not more than along the beach,'' Castelli said.
Oakland-based Save the Bay also is pushing for state water regulators to name 23 streams and creeks around San Francisco Bay as "impaired'' for trash pollution under the Clean Water Act. Such designations, which have historically been for pollutants like mercury or pesticides, require the state to draw up a plan to bring the water bodies affected back to environmental health.
In the case of trash, that could mean requiring Bay Area cities to put trash-catching devices over storm drain pipes, to crack down more on businesses that pollute — like supermarkets whose dumpsters cause litter to blow into the streets — and to provide more garbage cans at public parks.
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board is scheduled to make a decision on the designations by the end of next month. In 2001, state water officials in
Finally, Save the Bay also is pushing the San Francisco regional water board to impose tough new trash rules for storm drain permits for Bay Area cities, since nearly all garbage on the street washes into storm drains and is flushed into the bay, where it harms wildlife and can drift into the ocean.
"Trash is harming water quality,'' Castelli said. "It's killing animals in the bay.''#
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_10490472?nclick_check=1
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