More details being made public in WV water crisis settlement
Kanawha Valley residents, businesses and workers will be able to easily obtain millions of dollars in payments from West Virginia American Water Co. and Eastman Chemical for the contamination of the region’s drinking water supply, according to detailed class-action settlement documents made public in federal court for the first time late Thursday night.
Lawyers for companies and for the victims of the water crisis that followed the January 2014 chemical spill at Freedom Industries filed detailed descriptions of the complex terms of the $151 million settlement.
The 220-page settlement document outlines the ability of residents and businesses to obtain uniform settlement payments by filing simple claim forms or potentially receive larger distributions by providing receipts or other proof of money spent for things like replacing hot water tanks or buying bottled water.
The settlement also provides additional payments to women who were pregnant at the time of the spill, residents who had medical expenses, and hourly-wage earners who lost money when businesses they worked in closed during the water crisis.
Other businesses, those that didn’t have to close, can receive flat payments of $1,850.
Copenhaver had ordered that the detailed settlement documents be filed by Thursday, following a long series of closed-door meetings that the judge has held with lawyers in the case since the tentative settlement was reached and broad terms of the related agreements with West Virginia American and Eastman were made public in late October 2016.
In the case, lawyers for residents and businesses alleged that West Virginia American did not adequately prepare for or respond to the spill and that MCHM-maker Eastman did not properly warn Freedom of the dangers of its chemical or take any action when Eastman officials learned that the Freedom facility was in disrepair.
Under federal court rules, once the settlement documents are filed, the judge will determine whether to preliminarily approve the deal, a move that would then trigger public notice of the terms and the ability for residents to object or opt-out of the settlement.
“What we did today was take an important step forward in the process of getting people paid,” said Kevin Thompson, another of the lawyers for residents and victims.
“And that process is going to result in $151 million being distributed to the people as soon as it can be.” Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter.
Water Pollution Control Center Sludge Processing Improvements
Water Pollution Control Center Sludge Processing Improvements.
Bid Date & Time:
Prebid:
Solicitation Title: Water Pollution Control Center Sludge Processing Improvements Status: bidding Report: 7739040 Country : United States State: NY County: Niagara Location: Lewiston Scope: The project consists of various equipment, site, process, and electrical upgrades at the Town Water Pollution Control Center.
Notes: There is a pre-bid meeting scheduled for May 10, 2017, at 10:00 AM in the Administration Building of the Water Pollution Control Center.
One half of the full amount of deposit for one set of Contract Documents is refundable.
Bond: 5% bid bond Owner Type: Public Buyer: Lewiston, Town of Address: 1375 Ridge Rd PO Box 330 City: Lewiston State: NY Zip/Postal Code: 14092
Website: http://www.townoflewiston.us/ Contact: Donna R. Garfinkel Contact Title: Town Clerk Designer: GHD Consulting Services, Inc.
Address: 285 Delaware Avenue, Suite 500 City: Buffalo State: NY Zip/Postal Code: 14202
Website: http://www.ghd.com Bid Pkg Source: GHD Consulting Services, Inc.
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EPA Provides Two Universities with $4 Million for Drinking Water Quality Research;Environmental Pollution is an international journal that seeks to publish papers that water, and soil pollution and climate • Full research papers: International Refereed Research ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION: ITS EFFECTS ON the affects of environment pollution in the perspective of air pollution, water and Water Research Welcome to the online submission and editorial system for Water Research.
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Adopt or Adapt: Sanitation Technology Choices in Urbanizing Malawi
Adopt or Adapt: Sanitation Technology Choices in Urbanizing Malawi.
Adopt or Adapt: Sanitation Technology Choices in Urbanizing Malawi.
PLoS ONE 11(8): 2016.
Authors: Richard M. Chunga1, Jeroen H. J. Ensink, Marion W. Jenkins, Joe Brown This paper presents the results of a mixed-methods study examining adaptation strategies that property owners in low-income, rapidly urbanizing areas in Malawi adopt to address the limitations of pit latrines, the most common method of disposing human excreta.
A particular challenge is lack of space for constructing new latrines as population density increases: traditional practice has been to cap full pits and simply move to a new site, but increasing demands on space require new approaches to extend the service life of latrines.
In this context, we collected data on sanitation technology choices from January to September 2013 through 48 in-depth interviews and a stated preference survey targeting 1,300 property owners from 27 low-income urban areas.
Results showed that property owners with concern about space for replacing pit latrines were 1.8 times more likely to select pit emptying service over the construction of new pit latrines with a slab floor (p = 0.02) but there was no significant association between concern about space for replacing pit latrines and intention to adopt locally promoted, novel sanitation technology known as ecological sanitation (ecosan).
Property owners preferred to adapt existing, known technology by constructing replacement pit latrines on old pit latrine locations, reducing the frequency of replacing pit latrines, or via emptying pit latrines when full.
This study highlights potential challenges to adoption of wholly new sanitation technologies, even when they present clear advantages to end users.
To scale, alternative sanitation technologies for rapidly urbanising cities should offer clear advantages, be affordable, be easy to use when shared among multiple households, and their design should be informed by existing adaptation strategies and local knowledge.
Hays County Commissioners Court Promotes Local Soil & Water Stewardship
Hays County Commissioners Court Promotes Local Soil & Water Stewardship.
Left to right, County Judge Bert Cobb, M.D., Precinct 2 Commissioner Mark Jones, Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, Josh Storm, President of the Hays County Soil & Water Conservation District; Kathryn Brady, District Conservationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Rich Steinbrink, Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Directors; Precinct 3 Commissioner Will Conley and Precinct 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant.
The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) is the state agency that administers Texas’ soil and water conservation law and coordinates conservation and nonpoint source water pollution abatement programs throughout the State.
Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – The Hays County Commissioners Court proclaimed the week of April 30-May 7 as Soil & Water Stewardship Week in Hays County.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe reminded the Court that “soil and water are vital to our safety; they are the things that sustain us.” Josh Storm, president of the Hays County Soil and Water Conservation District, thanked the Commissioners Court members for their focus on soil and water stewardship “as we work toward the future to preserve our natural habitat and ecosystem here in Hays County, and mitigation of problem areas that are subject to flooding.” The proclamation points out that “stewardship calls for each person to help conserve these precious resources, as effective conservation practices have helped provide us a rich standard of living.” The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) is the state agency that administers Texas’ soil and water conservation law and coordinates conservation and nonpoint source water pollution abatement programs throughout the State.
For more information about the Soil & Water Conservation District, visit http://www.tsswcb.texas.gov/en/swcds/351.
Duke study finds no water well contamination from fracking
Duke study finds no water well contamination from fracking.
Opponents of natural gas drilling have consistently spread fear by alleging that hydraulic fracturing contaminates groundwater and releases methane, saline and arsenic into water wells.
(Remember the “documentary” Gasland?)
Duke geochemistry and water quality professor Avner Vengosh and his team examined 112 drinking wells over a three year period in the heavily-drilled area of northwestern West Virginia.
The researchers were able to sample 20 water wells before drilling began to establish a baseline for comparison.
Vengosh reached this unambiguous conclusion: “We did not find any evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas development.” Yes, the researchers did find varying levels of methane and arsenic, but through the use of special geochemical “tracers,” they determined the substances were naturally occurring or a result of old wells or coal mines from years ago.
Their presence in aquifers “was found to be a widespread phenomenon and likely a result of natural migration of deep brine and natural gas-rich fluids combined with shallow water rock interactions.” In some cases, arsenic concentrations exceeding national drinking water standards were found in water wells before shale gas development.
However, the peer-reviewed study does not let the gas drilling industry off the hook.
The researchers concluded that accidental spills of fracking wastewater at drilling and disposal sites may pose a threat to surface water.
The Agency took so much heat from environmentalists that it struck that that conclusion from its final report.
“Changing Currents” documentary has East Coast premiere Saturday in Clayton
CLAYTON — The award-winning documentary “Changing Currents: Protecting North America’s Rivers” will have its East Coast premiere here Saturday when the film is hosted by the Save the River organization.
The film was produced by MediaLab, the applied research and media services program at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash.
In November, the film received six awards at the Accolade Global Film Competition in California.
“Changing Currents” was produced by a team of seven PLU undergraduate students.
Rachel Lovrovich, the film’s creative director, said filmmakers traveled to about 20 cities and visited 14 rivers across North America for research, including the St. Lawrence, which she said is “great importance” to the film.
Save the River will have three guests at the event, who will be included with filmmakers in a question and answer session after the film: ■ Jeff J. Ridal, executive director and chief research scientist of the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Science in Cornwall.
The “Changing Currents” research and production team consisted of Pacific Lutheran University students Ms. Lovrovich, the film’s creative director; John Struzenberg, director of photography and chief editor; Chris Boettcher, social media associate; Kelly Lavelle, publicity designer and photographer; and Joshua Wiersma, assistant editor.
Attending the film’s screening Saturday in Clayton from PLU will be Ms. Lovrovich, Mr. Struzenberg, Mr. Wiersma and Ms. Lavelle.
The details: ‘Changing Currents’ n WHAT: The documentary “Changing Currents: Protecting North America’s Rivers” hosted by Save the River.
n WHEN/WHERE: 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Clayton Opera House, 403 Riverside Drive.
Arsenic-polluted water linked to cancer in India
(CNN)Millions of people in Bihar, India, are showing symptoms of arsenic poisoning, which can be linked to cancer, due to consumption of contaminated drinking water.
The state of Bihar, in eastern India, is one of the country’s most impoverished states.
World Health Organization guidelines state that the permissible limit of arsenic in drinking water is 10 ppb, while the Indian government states it to be 50 ppb, five times higher.
Since 2004, Ghosh has tested 44,000 tubewells in Bihar and found that about 30% have water with arsenic concentration higher than 10 ppb.
In 2016, the Mahavir Cancer Institute registered as many as 23,000 new cancer patients, and Ghosh found that many, though not all, of these cases were linked to exposure to this toxin.
"When I joined the cancer hospital, I started checking blood, hair and nail samples of cancer patients and found they have very clear-cut symptoms of arsenic poisoning," Ghosh said.
Arsenic has been linked to various forms of cancer in India, the most common being skin cancer, followed by cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, says Majumdar.
But since then, millions of tubewells were installed in the Ganges delta, the International Agency for Research on Cancer says, to prevent gastrointestinal diseases such as diarrhea from surface water.
People soon became dependent on groundwater.
These changes mean arsenic — which previously occurred in a relatively harmless insoluble conjugate with iron called arsenopyrite — then split due to overuse, contaminating the groundwater with a soluble ionic form of arsenic that has since been consumed by millions of people for decades.
Here’s How To Make Money From The Clothes You Never Wear
Here’s How To Make Money From The Clothes You Never Wear.
Ladies, I hope you all have two hands up.
For most of you, this paradox is all too familiar.
You’re acutely aware of the devastating effect it has on your wallet—and storage problems—but do you ever stop to consider what it’s doing to the environment?
But did you know fashion is the third most polluting industry in the world and the second largest consumer of water?
To put it in perspective, it takes 20,000L of water to make 1kg of cotton and 1kg of cotton will make one t-shirt and jeans.
Launched earlier this year, The Volte is an online apparel rental that introduces the shared economy to the fashion industry.
While designer dress rental is nothing new, The Volte is different.
Rather than renting from a business, The Volte creates a platform for users to both rent and lease their garments.
Sellers can make cash from their rentals and buyers can save cash by renting the garment for a fraction of the cost.
WVSU files lawsuit against Dow Chemical for water pollution
WVSU files lawsuit against Dow Chemical for water pollution.
INSTITUTE, W.Va. — West Virginia State University announced Thursday it has filed a lawsuit against Dow Chemical Company and other former owners of Dow’s Institute plant for underground water contamination on the university’s campus.
“While there is no threat to the health, wellness or safety to the students, faculty and staff, Dow contamination of our campus has potentially adversely impacted the brand, reputation, use of future property, the cost of future construction and potential enrollment growth here at the institution,” Jenkins said during a Thursday press conference at the university.
The discovery was made about four years ago.
He said Enviroprobe and Dow collected about 150 samples of groundwater, soil gas, surface soil and air on campus.
Moore said the chemicals have moved beyond the rehab center property.
“Groundwater has been shown to extend eastward from their facility across and onto the rehab property and onto the main campus,” he said.
Jenkins said the rehab property represented the future of the university because it was the only land available for significant growth, such as the construction of residential units or the rebuilding of a new rehab center.
In a letter to university students, faculty and staff, Jenkins said groundwater is not used at the university and that all of their water comes from the municipal water supplied by West Virginia American Water Company.
More information about court documents and testing data can be found here.