“I see the trucks that go in and out every day now,” Badback said.
And state regulators, Clow said, don’t appear to share the tribe’s interest in addressing the pollution.
Instead of answers, Kerr received a letter from Geosyntec’s attorneys objecting to his use of the request for information process and asking him to “revise or rescind” his questions.
Kerr’s company walked off the job a few months after the dispute began, leaving at least 4 acres of the cell covered in loose rock.
Division engineers, he hoped, would have documentation to prove that the mill had made significant changes to his original job specs.
The pollution predates the construction of the new tailings cells — including the cell Kerr excavated, which is not currently in use.
But the contamination is spreading toward the White Mesa community, Clow said, and concentrations of some pollutants are increasing.
And the overall increase of acidity in the water below White Mesa — that’s not coming from the waste cells, either, Goble said, because it occurs in groundwater both uphill and downhill from the cells.
A 2013 letter to Energy Fuels shows the Division of Radiation Control agreed to revise several background levels for groundwater at the site, including the benchmark for uranium.
State officials have repeatedly argued that the contaminated water is not used by the tribe — that the community of White Mesa draws its drinking water from a deeper source that remains clean.

Drinking water hasn’t been a huge issue in the race for governor, but it’s everything for people in Kewaunee County.
Federal, state and local leaders have been working with researchers to address contamination.
Progress is being made to protect drinking water, and candidates have shared their thoughts on what should be done to address water contamination.
Balza pays $30 a month for six water coolers and buys 24-packs of bottled water because she doesn’t trust her well water is safe to drink.
Walker’s DNR formed a work group to address water contamination several years ago.
The research led to new state standards for manure spreading in eastern Wisconsin that were approved by Walker.
Farmers don’t want wells contaminated because it could be their own well.
“Farmers in general do not want groundwater contamination.” Don Niles co-owns Dairy Dreams, a 2,950-cow dairy farm, and he works with the farmer-led nonprofit Peninsula Pride Farms.
The problem, Muldoon said, is that spreading restrictions and soil depth don’t provide the most protection for groundwater.
Kewaunee County conservationist Davina Bonness supports the new state standards and is working to implement recommendations from the DNR’s work group.

Drinking water hasn’t been a huge issue in the race for governor, but it’s everything for people in Kewaunee County.
Federal, state and local leaders have been working with researchers to address contamination.
Progress is being made to protect drinking water, and candidates have shared their thoughts on what should be done to address water contamination.
Balza pays $30 a month for six water coolers and buys 24-packs of bottled water because she doesn’t trust her well water is safe to drink.
Walker’s DNR formed a work group to address water contamination several years ago.
The research led to new state standards for manure spreading in eastern Wisconsin that were approved by Walker.
Farms with less than two feet of soil won’t be able to spread manure because it’s more likely contaminants will pass through thin soil into the region’s fractured bedrock, ultimately reaching groundwater.
Farmers don’t want wells contaminated because it could be their own well.
The problem, Muldoon said, is that spreading restrictions and soil depth don’t provide the most protection for groundwater.
Erika Balza says her well in Kewaunee County has been contaminated with nitrates, bacteria and manure because of farming practices and the region’s fractured bedrock.

Thirty two photographers are displaying 100 photographs at the show that has been organised by Development Organisation of the Rural Poor.
‘Bangladesh is a land of many rivers.
There are 700 rivers in the country.
However, clean drinking water is scarce and the majority of the people living in villages lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation’, the organisers said in a written statement.
The displayed photographs address issues like drought, arsenic pollution, importance of safe drinking water and others.
Peal Dutt’s photograph, titled ‘Fishing Life and River’ shows a man catching fish in a polluted river.
Chairman of National Human Rights Commission Kazi Reazul Hoque inaugurated the photo exhibition as the chief guest.
DROP president Md Azhar Ali Talukder presided over the inauguration ceremony.
‘The displayed photographs portray plight of the people who lack access to safe drinking water.
The exhibition will be end today.

In a letter, Attorney General Steve Marshall told the West Morgan-East Lawrence Water Authority that Minnesota’s successful $850 million lawsuit against 3M over drinking water contamination followed different laws than exist in Alabama.
Marshall also writes that he’s glad to meet with the water authority to discuss the issue, but he says that from the time he took office in February 2017 until now, “I am not aware of any effort by the West Morgan – East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority or any other plaintiff to contact or meet with me about litigation regarding PFOA and PFOS contamination of the Tennessee River.” The AG’s letter follows the water authority’s request to Marshall and Gov.
Ivey responded Wednesday.
“I understand the concerns of the residents in the Morgan/Lawrence County area,” Ivey wrote.
We will also be working with the Attorney General’s Office to research the request of the West Morgan/East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority.
Marshall said his office is diligently studying the issue, but there are challenges.
“I will note that the State of Minnesota, which your letter references, was able to proceed in litigation under specific theories of liability found in Minnesota state law,” Marshall wrote.
The water authority says it needs a reverse osmosis system which was estimated to cost about $25 million to install, but WMEL officials now say that number will be much higher.
Marshall’s letter Thursday, contending the water authority had not contacted him, follows up on a point raised by the authority in its letter last week.
“We simply requested that the Alabama Attorney General intervene in our case on behalf of Alabamians in the same way that the Attorney General of Minnesota, 3M’s home state, intervened on behalf of his citizens.” But, the letter contends, after Strange’s appointment to the U.S. Senate replacing Jeff Sessions, “the process stalled completely.” Marshall’s letter to the authority says, “It has been the longstanding policy of this office to refrain from publicly commenting on potential litigation, but I would welcome a private discussion of your request.”

Although the hurricanes may have compounded this problem, having access to clean water is not a new worry for Puerto Rico’s residents, as the territory’s drinkable water was already deemed to be the worst of all the US states and territories.
A 2017 report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDF) reveals that in 2015, 99.5% of Puerto Rico’s population was served by community water systems in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and between 2005 to 2015, more than 33,000 SDWA violations were reported.
The report also states that a total of 201 out of 406 water systems committed 545 health-based violations in 2015.
Before Hurricane Maria, PRASA stated that it would need to invest $2.4 billion over the next decade to fix these ongoing issues, and since the majority of its water and wastewater treatment infrastructure was damaged by the storms, that number is surely much higher now.
Concerning the issue of transparency, in spring of 2017, the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank (GDB), received a hotline complaint from the EPA regarding financial irregularities with Puerto Rico’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, and therefore the OIG conducted an audit based on a reported complaint that the revolving funds had a combined balance of approximately $188 million at the Puerto Rico Government Development Bank.
Although the audit did state that the agencies investigated did not intentionally misuse government funds, much like the citizens of Flint, Michigan who were deliberately misled by state government officials about the safety of the city’s drinking water, with little trust in the government’s ability to protect its citizens health and safety, the people of Puerto Rico have learned to look to their fellow citizens and scientists for help.
Rivera states:“The water comes out of the tap white, and sometimes dark and dirty, with particles in it… Me, my son, my aunt and even the doctor here have got sick in some way.
It’s made me a little paranoid.
Traumatized.” Arecibo became a Superfund site in the summer of 2017, as it is in close proximity to a former battery processing facility that contained corrosive acids.
Rosario-Ortiz and his team went door to door gathering bottles of water from people’s bathroom sinks to test for bacteria, and the results indicated something else– possible lead contamination significant enough to warrant further study.

The Ohio EPA issued the warning after finding manganese present in the village water system.
The warning dictates that "sensitive populations" should not drink the water including: Infants and children and nursing or pregnant women Bottled water is available at the Windham Fire Station.
Anyone unable to pick up water can call the fire station at (330) 326-2225.
Guidelines for water usage include: • INFANTS (less than 1 year) AND NURSING OR PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD NOT DRINK THE WATER; An alternative water should be used for drinking, making infant formula, making ice, and preparing food.
• Healthy adults may continue to drink the water, use the water for bathing, washing hands and washing dishes.
The water may be used for flushing toilets.
Boiling the water will not destroy manganese.
• Consuming water containing manganese may result in damage to the central nervous system.
According to a post on the village Facebook page, steps are being taken to correct the problem as soon as possible.
For more information, the Village Utility Clerk at (330) – 326-2633.

The Ohio EPA issued the warning after finding manganese present in the village water system.
The warning dictates that "sensitive populations" should not drink the water including: Infants and children and nursing or pregnant women Bottled water is available at the Windham Fire Station.
Anyone unable to pick up water can call the fire station at (330) 326-2225.
Guidelines for water usage include: • INFANTS (less than 1 year) AND NURSING OR PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD NOT DRINK THE WATER; An alternative water should be used for drinking, making infant formula, making ice, and preparing food.
• Healthy adults may continue to drink the water, use the water for bathing, washing hands and washing dishes.
The water may be used for flushing toilets.
Boiling the water will not destroy manganese.
• Consuming water containing manganese may result in damage to the central nervous system.
According to a post on the village Facebook page, steps are being taken to correct the problem as soon as possible.
For more information, the Village Utility Clerk at (330) – 326-2633.

Small water districts serving about 15,500 Oregonians could be focus or new fee, inspections SALEM — Under a proposal from state health officials, most public water systems — from small housing developments to bigger cities serving thousands of residents — may have to pay higher monitoring fees to the state.
State health officials are asking for a $1.8 million bump in fees in the state’s next two-year budget to cover costs of monitoring public water systems, an area they say has long been underfunded at a risk to public health and public trust in the safety of drinking water.
Lacking staff to help The state regulates the roughly 900 public water systems that fall between small, private systems with fewer than 10 customers and larger systems subject to more stringent federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards.
"The problem with state-regulated systems is that we don’t have staff to adequately enforce the regulations when a system stops submitting required monitoring data," Modie wrote in an email to the Oregon Capital Bureau.
The state also monitors systems subject to federal Safe Drinking Water Act standards, and inspects those every three or five years; those systems would also face fee increases under the health authority’s proposal.
Sustainable base program Even before the Salem water crisis unfolded in May, the state’s health agency has been saying that the drinking water services program doesn’t have enough money.
The program lost a third of its staff since 2009 due to a lack of money, Emme wrote.
Buckhorn’s system, which serves 11 people, is regulated by the state but isn’t inspected, according to state data.
The agency has already received some additional money for drinking water issues in the current budget.
Withycombe is a reporter for the East Oregonian working for the Oregon Capital Bureau, a collaboration of EO Media Group, Pamplin Media Group and Salem Reporter.

Customer said her water “tasted funny” in San Francisco San Francisco water officials said they are testing drinking water in the city’s Sunset District after a report from a customer who said her water “tasted funny.” According to the San Francisco Chronicle, officials with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission said the tests are “out of an abundance of caution” and they have no evidence of water quality issues.
Scardina posted a notice to alert her community to water contamination on social networking site Nextdoor.
City water officials confirmed to her they discovered pesticides in her water to be in excess of water safety guidelines.
“When I asked them about my area, they said that ‘yours tested positive as well but in lower concentrations (than other parts of the Sunset),’” Scardina said to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tyler Gamble, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, denied the city’s confirmation to Scardina of unsafe drinking water.
“From all the testing that we do, we have no evidence that the water isn’t safe,” he said.
Gamble said it is possible there are isolated issues of contamination due to private piping in individual homes.
Last year, the agency did 101,900 drinking water tests on its delivery systems according to city records.
More than 80% of the city’s water comes from reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada, smaller portions coming from local reservoirs and groundwater supplies.
Water to the Sunset District is a blend of surface water and groundwater, though some is purely surface water, according to city records.