Officials investigate soil and water contamination of black ink in Scurry-area creek

SCURRY, Texas — Officials say a previously unknown black substance in a Scurry-area creek has been identified as non-toxic soybean ink and cleanup efforts are underway for an approximate 1.5-mile span of contamination.
On Wednesday, December 18, 2018, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a possible water contamination in the creek located in the 14000 block of County Road 4060 near Scurry, Texas, according to Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jolie Stewart.
Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who are assigned to the Environmental Enforcement Division, water in the creek was black and unnatural and traced the source to property upstream where 19 300-gallon containers of black liquid were discovered.
Deputies noted during the initial investigation that the ground appeared to be saturated with the black liquid and was contaminating the water in the nearby creek.
The investigation prompted officials from the Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to respond to the scene.
"The contamination was contained and testing of the black liquid was completed by TCEQ," stated Stewart.
"The tests revealed the liquid to be a non-toxic soybean ink that is used in several areas of manufacturing."
Stewart says the property owner has been cooperative during the investigation and will be responsible for the paying the environmental clean-up company which will use booms placed in the water for filtration and the removal of the saturated soil.
“After testing conducted by the TCEQ and Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, I feel confident there is no danger to the public or the environment," stated Kaufman County Sheriff Bryan Beavers.
"We are glad citizens reached out to us and encourage anyone with concerns to notify us.” No criminal charges will be filed, according to Stewart.

Lawsuit alleges Poway violated clean water regulations

A Poway landowner has filed a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the city for allegedly failing to adhere to water pollution control permits in the Lake Poway area along the trails leading to Mount Woodson and Potato Chip Rock.
Poway City Attorney Allen Fenstermacher on Tuesday said the city denies all claims made in the suit and will file a response next month.
He said the plaintiff, Kevin T. Kelly, filed the suit after the city rejected his request to purchase his property.
After the winter storms of 2017 caused the destruction of a series of dirt-backfilled culverts along the hiking trails and roads that cross over the seasonal stream feeding Lake Poway, city staff allegedly failed to obtain the proper permits from the Army Corp of Engineers and the San Diego Water Board for the rebuilding efforts, according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court.
The lawsuit alleges that the city failed to properly calculate the amount of water that can surge and flow through the creek during wetter years.
While in the process of setting up a mitigation bank to preserve the ecological values of his 43 acres in Warren Canyon in perpetuity, he said he discovered that that the city has been trying to remove Clean Water Act jurisdiction for Lake Poway and Warren Canyon as the Trump Administration redefines jurisdictional waters.
The suit asks, among other things, the city be ordered to purchase Kelly’s property.
Regarding the suit, Fenstermacher said “We analyzed it.
He said Kelly was asking $2.8 million for his property.
Email: editor@pomeradonews.com

Lack of drinkable water continues to threaten Florence victims

As North Carolina continues to recover from the devastation and flooding caused by Hurricane Florence, many residents lack access to clean drinking water.
He said even once the hurricane passes, the danger remains in the form of contaminated water.
Despite severe flooding, the city of New Bern’s official Twitter account announced the city and Craven County water systems did not suffer significantly and the water is safe to drink.
Unlike New Bern, road access to Wilmington is severely limited and, as of Wednesday, the city lacked a local and public source of clean water.
Local water utilities have been heavily affected, but so have private wells in rural areas.
“If you have a private well, be proactive and get your water tested.
Getting your water tested by the county is essential to keeping your family safe.” Locals offer help Using Facebook’s disaster relief feature, many people in North Carolina and surrounding states are offering help in the form of volunteer work, food, water, clothes and other supplies to those affected by Florence.
It’s all I can do to get to them and help them right now,” McCall said.
“The roads are already congested enough as it is and we are trying to keep the routes open for emergency vehicles and clean-up crews so we can get people the help they need as quickly as possible.” For more information North Carolina Department of Public Safety: https://www.ncdps.gov/ North Carolina Department of Transportation: https://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/ North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality: https://deq.nc.gov/ You can strengthen independent, in-depth and investigative news for all of North Carolina Carolina Public Press is transforming from a regionally focused nonprofit news organization to the go-to independent, in-depth and investigative news arm for North Carolina.
So, if you value in-depth and investigative reporting in North Carolina, please take a moment to make a tax-deductible contribution.

DPH Advises Customers of BroadKiln Beach, PrimeHook Water Companies to Boil Water After Samples Test Positive for E. coli Bacteria

Charges of Attempted Murder, Robbery, Assault, Burglary, Vehicle Death In Various Cases Result in Pleas, Convictions, Prison Date Posted: July 20, 2018 State champions in sportsmanship winners announced Date Posted: July 20, 2018 State Fair highlights Delaware’s agriculture industry Date Posted: July 20, 2018 Joint Statement from Governors Carney and Hogan on FERC Grants Rehearing for Cost Allocation on Artificial Island Transmission Line Date Posted: July 19, 2018 Online registration now open to volunteers for 31st annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup Date Posted: July 19, 2018 Dover Office of Child Support Services to Close July 30-31 to Facilitate Move to New Location Date Posted: July 19, 2018 Delaware Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish to meet Tuesday, July 31 in Dover to discuss deer seasons and Sunday deer hunting opportunities on public lands Date Posted: July 18, 2018 Delaware Health Officials Issue Warning for Sussex County after More than Half of Deaths from Suspected Overdoses This Month Have Occurred There Date Posted: July 18, 2018 Make an ‘ECOnnection’ with DNREC at this year’s Delaware State Fair Date Posted: July 18, 2018 Governor Carney, Commissioner Phelps Release Final Report of DOC Special Assistant Date Posted: July 17, 2018 DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal & Energy announces St. Jones Reserve Visitor Center closed until fall for renovations Date Posted: July 13, 2018 Witness Intimidation Leads to Lengthy Prison Term Date Posted: July 13, 2018 State of Delaware Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) Fund Trust Schedules of Employer Allocations and OPEB Amounts by Employer – June 30, 2017 and 2016 Date Posted: July 13, 2018 DNREC’s Mosquito Control Section announces year’s first finding of West Nile virus in wild birds Date Posted: July 13, 2018 Delaware students honored by SkillsUSA at national conference Date Posted: July 12, 2018 Delaware Department Of Justice and Delaware Police Chiefs Publish Model Policies For Custodial Interrogations and Eyewitness Identifications Date Posted: July 12, 2018 DNREC to hold public meeting July 16 on EPA’s proposed denial of Delaware’s Clean Air Act petitions to reduce air pollution originating elsewhere from coming into the state Date Posted: July 11, 2018 Highmark Requests 2019 Health Insurance Marketplace Rate Increase of 5.7% Date Posted: July 11, 2018 DNREC’s Fort Delaware State Park to host annual Civil War-era P.O.W.
weekends in July and August Date Posted: July 11, 2018 “An Immigrant Story: Crossing the Atlantic in a 17th Century Sailing Ship” at the New Castle Court House Museum on July 18, 2018 Date Posted: July 11, 2018 Delaware Forest Service announces new turkey permit for state forests Date Posted: July 10, 2018 DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation’s Delaware Seashore State Park to host 38th annual Sandcastle Contest July 14 Date Posted: July 9, 2018 DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Artificial Reef Program benefits from rock removed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during deepening of Delaware River’s navigation channel Date Posted: July 9, 2018 Delaware Cancer Mortality Continues to Decrease; Public Health Releases Annual Cancer Report Date Posted: July 9, 2018 Boat ramp and parking lot at Holts Landing State Park will be closed July 9 and 10 by DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation for final phase of construction upgrades Date Posted: July 9, 2018 Store, Bank Robberies Lead To Prison In Separate Cases Date Posted: July 6, 2018 Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Blotter: June 25-July 1 Date Posted: July 6, 2018 Fifth Annual Recycled Cardboard Boat Regatta, co-sponsored by DNREC’s Reclaim Our River program, set for Aug. 4 in Blades Date Posted: July 5, 2018 DNREC Division of Parks & Recreation to hold July 10 open house on buildings, infrastructure for White Clay Creek State Park Date Posted: July 5, 2018 Part of Castle Trail on C&D Canal Conservation Area to close for additional repairs July 9 Date Posted: July 5, 2018 DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announces wild turkey hunters harvested 571 birds in 2018 Date Posted: July 5, 2018 Delaware wildfire crew headed to Colorado Date Posted: July 3, 2018 DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife announces arrival of 2018-’19 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide Date Posted: July 3, 2018 “Blood Diamond: The Murder of Ebe Lynch” at Lewes, Del.’s Zwaanendael Museum on July 14, 2018 Date Posted: July 3, 2018 Delaware HOSA students place at national conference Date Posted: July 3, 2018 “Flying colors”: Delaware passes annual aerial forest health “check-up” Date Posted: July 3, 2018 Hall-Long Selected to Help Lead Nation’s Lieutenant Governor’s Association Date Posted: July 3, 2018 Deadline approaching for small business owners to apply for downtown Dover program Date Posted: July 3, 2018 DPH Provides Fourth of July Food and Pet Safety Tips Date Posted: July 3, 2018 Superior Court dismisses lawsuit against DNREC challenging Delaware’s participation in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Date Posted: July 3, 2018 Future Delaware STEM professionals honored at student conference Date Posted: July 3, 2018 DPH Advises Residents to Prepare for Dangerously High Temperatures This Week Date Posted: July 2, 2018 DPH Invites Public Comment on Delaware Statewide Health Assessment Date Posted: July 2, 2018 Free Events for the Fourth of July Date Posted: July 2, 2018 Nominations Open for Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Awards Date Posted: July 2, 2018 Governor Carney Signs 12-Week Paid Parental Leave Into Law Date Posted: June 30, 2018 Governor Carney Signs Executive Order on Budget Smoothing Date Posted: June 30, 2018 Fox in Angola Area Tests Positive for Rabies Date Posted: June 29, 2018 Wilmington Gang Member Faces Prison for 2015 Murder Date Posted: June 29, 2018 Developmental Disabilities Council Special Investigation Date Posted: June 29, 2018 Governor Carney Signs Fiscal Year 2019 Budget and Supplemental Appropriation Date Posted: June 28, 2018 Statements from Governor Carney and Secretary of State Bullock on the Completed Federal Review of Wilmington Port Agreement Date Posted: June 28, 2018 DART to the Rehoboth Beach Fireworks on Sunday, July 1 Date Posted: June 28, 2018 DNREC Secretary Garvin signs Emergency Order making changes in minimum size, limits and season dates for tautog Date Posted: June 28, 2018 Delmarva Power Rates to Decrease According to New Settlement Date Posted: June 28, 2018 Governor Carney’s Statement on General Assembly Passage of House Bill 346 – Student Loan Relief for Educators in High-Needs Areas Date Posted: June 27, 2018 DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police promoting Operation Dry Water June 29-July 1 Date Posted: June 27, 2018 Governor Carney Signs “Red Flag” Legislation Date Posted: June 27, 2018 Phase 4 of Route 141 Centre Road Project to Begin June 29, 2018 Date Posted: June 27, 2018 Governor Carney’s Statement on General Assembly Passage of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Date Posted: June 26, 2018 DelDOT Suspends Temporary Lane Closures for 4th of July Holiday Date Posted: June 26, 2018 DNREC’S Division of Parks & Recreation to join partnership in marking second annual Yorklyn Day Festival July 1 Date Posted: June 26, 2018 DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation’s Brandywine Zoo introduces two new red pandas to the public Date Posted: June 26, 2018 DPH Offering Free HIV Screening on National HIV Testing Day, June 27, 2018 Date Posted: June 26, 2018 Summer Food Service Program Meal Sites Available throughout Delaware Date Posted: June 26, 2018 The Mezzanine Gallery to Exhibit Jason Weaver: Works on Paper Date Posted: June 26, 2018 Police partnership key to reopening historic pavilion at Redden State Forest Date Posted: June 26, 2018 DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife asking public to report dumping, vandalism at Nanticoke Wildlife Area Date Posted: June 25, 2018 Delaware One of Eight States Chosen by the National Governors Association to Participate in Health Care Data Initiative Date Posted: June 25, 2018 DNREC’s First State Heritage Park’s “First Saturday in the First State” to feature patriotic traditions Date Posted: June 25, 2018 Delaware Senate passes concurrent resolution recognizing the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs’ accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums Date Posted: June 22, 2018 DelDOT and City of Dover Mark Completion of West Street Trail Date Posted: June 22, 2018 Office of the State Treasurer Bank Reconciliations Agreed-Upon Procedures Report – Quarter Ended March 31, 2018 Date Posted: June 22, 2018 Attempted Murder in Wilmington Leads to 40 Year Prison Sentence Date Posted: June 22, 2018 Delaware requests emergency declaration from USDA for crop damage due to recent storms Date Posted: June 22, 2018 Woodbridge FFA takes first in forestry career development event Date Posted: June 21, 2018 Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs to sponsor 19 special events during July 2018 Date Posted: June 21, 2018 Low-income seniors can receive vouchers to spend at Delaware farmers’ markets Date Posted: June 21, 2018 Governor Carney’s Statement on General Assembly Passage of Paid Parental Leave Date Posted: June 20, 2018 2019 District/Charter Teachers of the Year named Date Posted: June 20, 2018

Corps still working on Dakota Access review

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to complete a new environmental review of the Dakota Access Pipeline in the next two months, Kallanish Energy reports.
The federal agency intends to complete the report by Aug. 10.
That report was initially to be completed last April.
Last year, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, in Washington, D.C., allowed the pipeline developed by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners to begin moving oil from western North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois.
The judge also ordered the Corps of Engineers to further review the impact of the pipeline on the Standing Rock, Cheyenne, Yankton and Ogalala Sioux tribes.
That included looking at how a spill from the pipeline could impact drinking water for the tribes.
ETP has said the pipeline is safe and not a problem.
Last June 1, Dakota Access began moving crude.
It was the site of major protests in late 2016 and early 2017 in North Dakota, on an Indian reservation.
The 1,170-mile pipeline is moving 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Midwest and the Gulf Coast.

Savannah’s new reservoir to cost $300,000 annually

About the size of Forsyth Park, it will provide an additional resource of fresh water that may be needed when the Savannah River experiences drought conditions at extremely high tides in hot weather.
Savannah expects to spend $300,000 a year to operate and maintain it.
(Photo courtesy of the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.)
@MaryLandersSMN The City of Savannah is preparing to take ownership of a new reservoir built and funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in connection with the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project.
Savannah will be footing the $300,000 a year operations and maintenance bill.
The Corps of Engineers built the $43.5 million, 100-millon gallon reservoir at the urging of city water officials as a solution to potential drinking water issues that could result from the deepening of the Savannah Harbor.
“The reservoir creates a pool of water, approximately 100 million gallons, so if we were to have one of these extreme high tide events, we would be able to pull from that reservoir during the high tide event and not pull salt water into our distribution system.” But while federal and state dollars built the reservoir, the annual maintenance and operation bill, now estimated at $300,000 will be city funded.
And because water and sewer services in Savannah are self-funded, that means anyone who gets a water bill will be paying to keep the reservoir operating.
City spokeswoman Michelle Gavin offered no explanation for the 40 percent reduction.
“The City of Savannah is very much a part of everything that happens in this region, we want to be a partner, so in a partnership we understand that the Georgia Ports Authority is trying to get more cargo into the port, so it may seem that the city is taking on added responsibility, but it is important for this region that we support this project,” Lloyd said.

Jail closure puts halt to Bucks Harbor’s water pipeline plans

The sudden closure of the Downeast Correctional Facility has stopped plans to install a new pipeline providing a clean water supply in Bucks Harbor.
The pipeline was intended to remediate chemical contamination discovered at the jail site, which was formerly occupied by the U.S. Air Force.
The prison closed abruptly on Feb. 9 in a unilateral decision by Gov.
Paul LePage.
A judge’s ruling has since reopened it, but at minimal capacity, with official closure still set for June 2018 unless additional funding is approved by the Legislature.
Longstanding contamination problems According to a 2003 report on borehole studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey during the 1990s, the Federal Aviation Administration discovered numerous occurrences of ground-water contamination at the former Air Force Radar Tracking Station.
Because residential wells were contaminated with fuel and TCE, in 1997 the Maine Department of Environmental Protection ordered the Army Corps to clean up the site and provide an alternative water supply for local residents.
The plan made the Army Corps responsible for maintaining the water line from the Downeast Correctional Facility water supply.
In July 2017, the Army Corps awarded the design-build construction contract to install the water line, and the water line was anticipated to be installed this month.
However, the March report notes, due to the Downeast Correctional Facility’s closure, the design-build contract was suspended in February, "as the state of Maine determines the disposition of the Downeast Correctional Facility’s property."

Drought will mean tough decisions for New Mexico water managers

The Chama River Basin is at 18 percent of average, and the Upper Rio Grande is at 50 percent of average.
El Vado Reservoir could be nearly empty by July.
On the Rio Grande Project in southern New Mexico, the allocation to the two irrigation districts and Mexico is about 60 percent of a full allocation, the Bureau of Reclamation said.
Little inflow is expected to Elephant Butte Reservoir this spring, and it could be left holding less than 5 percent of its capacity at the end of the irrigation season.
(Photo: Susan Montoya Bryan/The Associated Press) Royce Fontenot, a senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said the drought has developed rather quickly thanks to a dry winter.
Overall, nearly half of New Mexico and Arizona are facing extreme drought or worse conditions while about 60 percent of Utah is under severe drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
The Bureau of Reclamation is working with its partners to implement a survival strategy for the Rio Grande silvery minnow, as outlined in the 2016 Middle Rio Grande Biological Opinion.
And, they are working with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, Albuquerque Water Utility Authority, and other stakeholders to facilitate silvery minnow egg collection efforts.
Drought is prevalant across the American Southwest as extreme conditions spread from Oklahoma to Utah, according to new federal data released Thursday.
About 20 percent of the state is facing exceptional drought conditions — the worst possible classification.

UPDATE 2-U.S. judge orders oil-spill response plan for Dakota Access Pipeline

(Adds details in paragraphs 4-6, comment from judge in paragraph 7) WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) – A federal judge ordered Energy Transfer Partners LP to coordinate with local tribes and the Army Corps of Engineers to create an oil-spill response plan for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline by next April, a decision he said will allow oil to keep flowing and prevent spills.
The order on Monday by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg came nearly six months after he ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers review of the project, which transports oil from North Dakota near Native American reservations to Illinois, was inadequate before it granted federal permits.
In October the judge ruled that crude oil can continue to flow through the 1,170-mile North Dakota-to-Illinois pipeline while the review is conducted.
He asked the company to begin submitting bi-monthly reports later this month on safety conditions at the Lake Oahe pipeline crossing, the center of months of anti-pipeline protests last year.
The order met the requests of the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to get an independent, third-party auditor to share data obtained during the review.
"Although the Court is not suggesting that a similar leak is imminent at Lake Oahe, the fact remains that there is an inherent risk with any pipeline," Boasberg wrote in his eight-page order.
The Native Indian tribes have said the pipeline would desecrate sacred grounds and a spill could contaminate drinking water.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc.
The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy.
It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments.

Environmental Experts Criticize Trump Administration for Repealing Water Protections

Environmental Experts Criticize Trump Administration for Repealing Water Protections.
Now, economists and regulatory experts are going public with their belief that the economic analysis contained in the proposal is deeply flawed.
“I am not normally this dismissive, but this is the worst regulatory analysis I have ever seen,” David Sunding, a University of California-Berkeley agricultural economist who conducted an industry-funded economic analysis of the rule in 2014, said in an article published Thursday (July 27) in Bloomberg BNA.
The rule, enacted by former President Barack Obama, was created to better define what bodies of water the Clean Water Act protects.
Its goal is to prevent pollution from entering smaller streams and rivers that feed into larger ones, in an effort to keep drinking water sources clean.
According to The Guardian, if the rule were allowed to go into effect, it would protect the water of a third of U.S. residents, or roughly 100 million people.
As Colorlines previously reported, “People of color, including tribal communities, border communities and many living in rural areas, already disproportionately lack access to clean drinking water.” Within five weeks of being in office, Trump signed a February 28 executive order directing the EPA to review the rule.
According to ThinkProgress, “Repealing the rule has been a priority for industry—including manufacturing, fossil fuel,and big agriculture — which has argued the rule constitutes government overreach that would result in higher costs and more regulatory red-tape for businesses.” In compliance, the Scott Pruitt-run agency issued the June proposal.
Others argue that the analysis only focuses on the costs—and not the benefits—of keeping the rule in place.
“The Trump Administration is saying that those studies that indicate the benefit of wetlands are not reliable, so we’re just going to basically not have any accounting for any economic benefit of protecting wetlands,” John Rumpler, senior attorney for Environment America, told ThinkProgress.