Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 2, 2009
4. Water Quality –
Sacramento County sues Aerojet and Boeing over water contamination
Sacramento Bee
EPA ready to settle Bay Area pesticide suit
S.F. Chronicle
Senators announce money for city water project
The Oakland Tribune
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Sacramento County sues Aerojet and Boeing over water contamination
Sacramento Bee-7/1/09
By Robert Lewis
Sacramento County on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Aerojet-General and the Boeing Corporations over water contamination. The county alleges that years of pollution by Aerojet and McDonnell-Douglas -- which has since merged with Boeing -- led to groundwater contamination in a large portion of eastern Sacramento County.
The suit seeks damages that could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, said Herb Niederberger, division chief of the Sacramento County Department of Water Resources. The county has been in settlement agreements for the past nine years with the companies, but the corporate giants have yet to replace the water supply or "make us whole," he added.
"After nine years of discussion, Aerojet and Boeing have yet to take responsibility," Niederberger said. "We needed to do something."
The lawsuit is seeking a jury trial and enough money to cover "past, current and future costs associated with the County's groundwater contamination."
The lawsuit alleges that "the contamination resulting from Defendants' disposal and release of hazardous substances continues to expand, presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment, and threatens to contaminate additional County water supply wells."
"We are disappointed that the county has taken this step, especially in light of the fact that in 2003 we reached a landmark water agreement with them that they unilaterally terminated in 2008," said Aerojet spokeswoman Linda Cutler. "Despite this unilateral action, Aerojet and Boeing have continued to negotiate in good faith to resolve the county's demands.
Boeing was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.#
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1994299.html?mi_rss=Our%2520Region
EPA ready to settle Bay Area pesticide suit
S.F. Chronicle-7/2/09
By Jane Kay
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday a proposed settlement of a lawsuit that could result in scrutiny of how dozens of dangerous pesticides affect threatened and endangered species living around San Francisco Bay.
If the EPA decides to settle the suit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, it would require reviewing the health effects of 74 pesticides on 11 imperiled species by June 2014.
The pesticides can endanger wildlife by direct contact or by destroying the animals' habitat or food supply.
Some of the problem pesticides, the suit said, are malathion, an insecticide suspected of harming the delta smelt and the California tiger salamander, and sodium nitrate, a hazard to the San Joaquin kit fox, the Alameda whipsnake and San Francisco garter snake.
Other species that would receive review under the proposed settlement are the salt marsh harvest mouse, California clapper rail and California freshwater shrimp. Insects are the bay checkerspot butterfly and the valley elderberry longhorn beetle. A fish is the tidewater goby.
Scientists say methyl bromide, an agricultural fumigant used on strawberries and tomatoes, can poison small mammals and reptiles. Permethrin, a common insecticide used in homes and croplands, can run into waterways and hurt crustaceans and insects at the base of the aquatic food chain, they say. Chlorpyrifos, an insecticide banned in households but available to apple and grape growers, threatens a broad range of species.
The environmental group filed the lawsuit in 2007 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, where the group has offices.
The suit alleges that the EPA failed to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The act requires federal agencies to ensure that their decisions don't hurt imperiled species by consulting with scientists at government wildlife agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Yet, according to the suit, the EPA hadn't sought review of the pesticides that it registers, and some of the pesticides already registered by the EPA did, indeed, damage 11 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects in the Bay Area.
The EPA made the announcement Wednesday through publication in the Federal Register. The EPA's public affairs office in San Francisco referred comments on the matter to the headquarters in Washington, where no one was available for comment.
The EPA is accepting comments on the proposed settlement agreement for 15 days, and then will make a decision whether to agree. To become final, the settlement must be signed by a judge in the court where the suit was filed.
Environmental groups are expected to favor the agreement while chemical manufacturers are expected to oppose it.
The Bush administration had eliminated the section of the Endangered Species Act that requires that federal government agencies consult with wildlife scientists on pertinent decisions. But the Obama administration reinstated the rule.#
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/01/BAO518HNC9.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Senators announce money for city water project
The Oakland Tribune-7/1/09
Federal funds are heading to New Mexico for a water treatment plant in the Albuquerque-area.
Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall announced Wednesday that the federal government is releasing $2.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the construction of the first phase of a water reclamation project turning wastewater into reusable effluent.
The treated water will be used for irrigation and industrial demands in the Southeast Heights and South Valley in Albuquerque.
The project is expected to reclaim and reuse approximately 2,500 acre-feet per year when construction is completed in 2010.
Udall said the funds will help make better use of a limited water resource along with creating jobs in New Mexico.
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