EPA and New Mexico Partner to Prevent Water Pollution; EPA Awards $217,660 to New Mexico Environment Department.
DALLAS – (May 12, 2017) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $217,660 to the New Mexico Environment Department to support the state’s water pollution control program.
The grant will help prevent, reduce and eliminate water pollution through monitoring, standard setting, enforcement and compliance activities.
“New Mexico has some of Nation’s most important environmental resources, and its citizens know and value those resources better than anyone,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
“That’s why grants that empower states to protect their environment are so important.” “This grant will help New Mexico protect its waterways from water pollution,” said Acting Regional Administrator Sam Coleman.
“Ensuring clean water is fundamental to not only our mission at EPA, but our state partners as well.” The Clean Water Act provides funding to water pollution control programs to build and sustain effective water quality programs that ensure the health of our nation’s water bodies.
The funds are awarded under section 106 of the Clean Water Act.
The objective of the Clean Water Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.
Programs under the act support monitoring, assessment, protection, and prevention of polluted runoff in waterways.
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Navy releases OLF water test results, sets meetings.
The Navy drilled 27 test wells at OLF Coupeville earlier this year and tested water samples from the 25 that contained water.
The wells with the exceedances were centralized, she said, which appears to be consistent with potential releases on the runway.
The impetus was the EPA’s decision last year to set a lifetime advisory level for the chemicals, followed by a directive from top Navy leaders that called for all Navy bases to look into the possibility that the chemicals had contaminated drinking water.
So far, the Navy received 112 results from properties near OLF Coupeville and seven are above the advisory level.
The Navy has 99 results from properties near Ault Field; two samples are above the advisory level.
Officials have started looking into longer-term solutions for people with contaminated wells.
Officials will first have to evaluate the filters to determine how well they would work and long they would be effective.
The drilling of test wells on Navy property at OLF Coupeville is the beginning of a process to determine the source of the chemicals.
The test results, Leibman said, point to the complexity of hydrogeology in the Central Whidbey area.

Students at Humboldt Public School will be learning how to preserve safe drinking water and keeping the environment clean.
The Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery Corporation was at the school on Thursday, presenting a cheque for $10,000 for the Safe Drinking Water Foundation.
"We have a tag line that says one litre of used oil can contaminate one million litres of fresh water," he explained.
"Working with students and working with schools through the Safe Water Foundation is a good way to work with students and tell them how they can protect the environment."
HPS received four water drop kits and one water pollution kit from the SDWF, which will be used in science class by Grade 8 students.
"Our program involves recycling used oil, antifreeze, filters and oil, antifreeze and DEF containers so we can keep these materials out of the environment and help keep our water safe."
Wrubleski added that for those in the Humboldt area, there is an easy option to recycle oil and antifreeze.
"There is an eco centre at the transfer station at the landfill south of town," he said.
"People can bring small quantities of their used oil, antifreeze, filters and oil, antifreeze and DEF containers."
He says that for those looking for extra information, you can visit their website.

Marking 500 days of water contamination in Hoosick Falls, residents gathered at the state capitol on Thursday to pressure state leaders to find a new, uncontaminated source. Organized by Environmental Advocates of New York, residents of the Rensselaer County community of Hoosick Falls traveled to Albany Thursday to demand drinking water free of the chemical PFOA, a carcinogen. They’d like to see the newly created $2.5 billion clean water fund in the state budget used to restore clean water now. Pressuring the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, EANY’s Water and Natural Resources Associate Liz Moran said every day that Hoosick Falls residents are relying on filtered water, they’re still afraid. “I think the DEC and the state have done some good work in response to Hoosick Falls. But the clock is ticking,” said Moran. The Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health have faced tough criticism over the past year-and-a-half for what many perceived as a delayed response to the contamination crisis. To date, the state has installed more than 800 point-of-entry treatment systems on private wells to remove PFOA from contaminated groundwater. A permanent filtration system has been installed on the Hoosick Falls municipal water supply, paid for by company Saint-Gobain, under…

chandigarh, May 12 The northern states today unanimously agreed to jointly tackle the problem of water pollution as per the guidance of the central pollution control board. This was decided at a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC), chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh and attended by chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab, deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, several ministers of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi. There are interstate problem of effluents generated from industrial areas as well as from sewage from towns draining in rivers Yamuna and Ghaggar as well as canals of Rajasthan. In a major step forward, all member states unanimously agreed to jointly tackle the problem of water pollution under the guidance of central pollution control board, an official statement said. For export promotion of fruits, flowers and vegetables, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has sanctioned projects to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. The states were urged to try to settle the contentious…

Chandigarh, May 12 (PTI) The northern states today unanimously agreed to jointly tackle the problem of water pollution as per the guidance of the central pollution control board. This was decided at a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC), chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh and attended by chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab, deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, several ministers of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi. There are interstate problem of effluents generated from industrial areas as well as from sewage from towns draining in rivers Yamuna and Ghaggar as well as canals of Rajasthan. In a major step forward, all member states unanimously agreed to jointly tackle the problem of water pollution under the guidance of central pollution control board, an official statement said. For export promotion of fruits, flowers and vegetables, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has sanctioned projects to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. The states were urged to try to settle the contentious matters…

Nation should treat Kashmiris decently: Rajnath.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that students and youth of Kashmir wherever they are in the country should be treated nicely and decently and provided comfortable environment.
Rajnath said this while attending the Northern Zonal Council meeting here on Friday.
The 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council consisted of the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh under the chairmanship of Rajnath.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Ministers of Haryana and Punjab, Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh, Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Ministers of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi as well as the senior officers from Central and state Governments.
The Zonal Council discussed and deliberated upon 18 items of common interest among the member states.
The major items discussed were ‘Need for fiscal and infrastructural harmony in Northern States, Joint efforts for export of fruits, flowers and vegetables from the states, sharing of water of various rivers of the region and also hydropower among states, controlling pollution in the region by setting up Common Effluent Treatment Plants and Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) for disposal of hazardous waste, contamination of water in canals of Rajasthan off-taking from Harike Barrage and setting up of mini hydel projects on Bhakra Main Line Canal at 27 Sites with total 63.75 MW of power in Punjab.
The five Zonal Councils were set up under the States Reorganization Act, 1956 to foster Inter-state cooperation and coordination among the states.
Nine meetings of various zonal councils and 11 meetings of their Standing Committees have been held since 2015.
Overall 699 issues were discussed in these meetings and 345 have been resolved.

Chandigarh, May 12 (PTI) The Centre will soon hold a meeting of the states, including Punjab and Haryana, to resolve the contentious issue of sharing of river water between them.
"The Ministry of Water Resources will soon call a meeting of the affected states, including Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, to discuss river water issue," Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh said here today.
During the meeting, he said that the states concerned reached a consensus that the issue of sharing of river water, which has been pending for several years, needs to be resolved.
"There is consensus among all the states and they want it (river water issue) to be resolved.
As there are a lot of nitty gritty involved, the Ministry of Water Resources has called a meeting of the states concerned to resolve it following a detailed discussion," Secretary of Inter-state council Secretariat, Sanjeevani Kutty said.
On April 20, in a meeting of Chief Secretaries of both Punjab and Haryana with Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Punjab had expressed inability to share water with its neighbouring states and sought a realistic solution while Haryana demanded completion of construction of incomplete parts of the SYL canal at the earliest.
In todays meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged Singh and the chief ministers of Haryana and Rajasthan to settle this issue out of court through discussion with the intervention of Ministry of Water Resources.
Punjab CS said Amarinder also sought sharing of intelligence among neighbouring states and fast prosecution to deal with drug problem in the state.
"Amarinder also sought time bound action plan to deal with problem of pollution in Ghaggar and Sutlej rivers," said Punjab CS.
Out of 18 issues discussed today, seven issues were resolved, said a PIB release.

City Council votes 5-2 to keep ordinance, continuing ban of motor boats on Teal Lake.
NEGAUNEE — The public came out in droves Thursday night to voice their opinions on what the City of Negaunee should do regarding motorized boats on Teal Lake.
The Negaunee City Council meeting was filled to the brim as locals gathered for agenda item seven; a public hearing to repeal a city ordinance that bans the use of motorized boats on Teal Lake.
Thursday night was the second reading and residents had mixed comments about the issue.
“That’s one boat every 4.8 minutes and that’s just putting them in the water.
We might as well latch them altogether and just walk from one to the next.
Or, better yet, pave the whole thing.
Not to mention there are only like six parking spots and maybe two vacant lots for sale.” “We allow snowmobiles, ice fishermen, four-wheelers, not to mention garbage that is left from those ice fishermen,” said Rhonda Gravedoni, a citizen for repealing the ordinance.
“I’ve witnessed, I have pictures of the garbage that melts on the ice and sinks to the bottom.
After two and half hours of public comment and an hour discussion between council members, the council voted 5-2 to keep the ordinance in place, continuing the ban of motor boats on Teal Lake.

After Gretchen and I built our home in the town of Onalaska some 26 years ago, we learned, to our surprise, that the town was embroiled in a dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on how to deal with water pollution from a town landfill on Brice Prairie.
The landfill had been dug close to the Black River decades earlier and residues from discarded solvents and pesticides — included in the trash that filled the pit before it was closed — seeped through the porous soils into the groundwater.
Eventually the landfill was declared a Superfund site and all of the landowners in the town paid a surcharge (we paid $200 a year for 10 years) on our tax bills to pay our share of the cleanup costs.
This news came to some 2,000 property owners in the western part of the towns of Onalaska and Holland who depend on private wells for their water in the form of a warning from the La Crosse County Health Department.
Nitrate and coliform contamination can be caused by malfunctioning septic systems, manure and human waste spreading and excess fertilizer use.
Both nitrate and coliform contamination constitute a human health risk at levels in excess of levels set as safe by regulators.
The warning was triggered after the county received data it demanded from the DNR last August following the report by the Legislative Audit Bureau critical of DNR’s enforcement of pollution discharge permits.
Why, the county is left to wonder, didn’t the DNR alert the county and the home owners of the risk?
Without the aggressive county response to the audit, we’d still be in the dark about the risk.
DNR bears much of the responsibility for fixing Wisconsin’s water issues.