Federal Water Tap, October 21: Supreme Court Hears Another Clean Water Act Case

The Rundown

• NOAA releases winter outlook for U.S. weather, sees probable La Niña effects.
• GSA targets federal contractors for a voluntary climate risk survey.
• Army Corps holds a ceremony to inaugurate a flood-protection project to raise homes in southwest Louisiana.
• USGS researchers publish studies on produced water, pesticides in Alabama groundwater, and hurricane impacts on water quality.
• U.S.-Mexico commission awards contracts to monitor pollution in border rivers.

And lastly, the U.S. Supreme Court hears a Clean Water Act case centered on sewage pollution standards for San Francisco.

“I’m sorry, no one’s asking you to shift on a dime. What they’re asking you to do is to become responsible for doing what’s necessary, not on a dime, but — nothing in the EPA works on a dime – but to take the steps necessary to control situations that develop.” – Justice Sonia Sotomayor responding to Tara Steeley, deputy city attorney for San Francisco, during an oral hearing at the Supreme Court on October 16. The hearing regards San Francisco’s objections to EPA narrative water quality standards for the city’s wastewater discharges.

San Francisco is seeking pollution limits in numbers, not narratives. Numbers allow the city to hit a target, it argues, whereas with generic guidelines for the receiving waters – such as, that no algal bloom should form – other pollution sources could influence the outcome.

The case centers on San Francisco’s Oceanside treatment plant, which discharges treated wastewater to the Pacific Ocean via a 3.3 mile pipe. But during heavy rains, when the plant reaches capacity, untreated sewage is discharged at seven points closer to shore, leading to beach closures.

By the Numbers

75 Percent: Probability that La Niña conditions develop in November, December, or January, according to NOAA’s latest forecast. The agency also released its U.S. winter weather outlook. La Niña, even when weak, favors warmer and drier weather in the country’s southern latitudes and wetter and colder in the northern tier. Drought might develop in the Southwest but be alleviated in the Ohio River Valley and mid-Atlantic. Rain in the Ohio River Valley would help the lower Mississippi River, which is in a low-flow period.

1,000: Number of companies the General Services Administration, the federal government’s office supply manager, will ask to complete a voluntary survey about climate risks in supply chains. The survey is run by CDP, a group facilitating disclosure of those risks. GSA is interested in companies that contract with the federal government. It says that in past surveys it learned of flood risk for a data center that handled federal contracts and potential cost savings if a contractor adopted energy efficient practices. GSA estimates that only several hundred of the targeted companies will respond to the survey.

News Briefs

Raising Homes in Southwest Louisiana
The Army Corps and a state partner held a ceremony to inaugurate a project to elevate homes in southwest Louisiana to reduce flood risk.

The Southwest Louisiana Coastal Project identified nearly 3,500 homes in Calcasieu, Cameron, and Vermilion parishes that could be raised. Currently, funding is available to lift only about a fifth of those properties. Businesses and warehouses will also be eligible for flood-protection modifications.

The homes will be elevated to the projected 100-year flood risk in 2075.

The area has been struck repeatedly by hurricanes in the last four years and flood risk is expected to increase due to land subsidence, rising seas, and storm surges.

Border Water Quality
The binational commission that oversees water shared by the U.S. and Mexico took several steps to understand better the water pollution and health problems that stem from the region’s transboundary rivers.

The U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission awarded a contract for a year-long study of water and sediment samples in the New River basin. The highly polluted river crosses from Mexico into Imperial County, California.

The commission also awarded a contract for a five-year sampling study of water and sediment in the Tijuana River in order to determine the fate of bacteria, trash, and other pollutants that flow into the Pacific Ocean.

The CDC and local partners last week began a health survey in San Diego County near the Tijuana River due to noxious gases emitted by sewage in the water.

Studies and Reports

USGS on Produced Water, Hurricanes, Pesticides
The earth science agency published a number of compelling reports recently.

• An assessment of the chemistry of produced water in the Niobrara formation. Produced water is the chemical-laden brine that emerges in large volumes along with hydrocarbons from oil and gas wells. It’s expensive to dispose of but could yield valuable metals. Little is known about its composition in different geologic formations. Thus, the investigation into this shale play in eastern Colorado.
• Hurricanes damage not only physical structures, but water bodies too. The USGS notes that a regional understanding of how hurricanes degrade water quality in the Southeast is missing. This state of the science report identifies current knowledge and research gaps.
• An assessment of pesticide concentrations in shallow groundwater in three farming regions of Alabama. Over 11 years of sampling, metolachlor was the most frequently detected pesticide, but no trend line could be drawn.

On the Radar

Biodiversity and Climate Change Report
The U.S. Geological Survey is seeking public comment on a draft report about the links between biodiversity and climate change.

Comments are due December 16.

Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton