Tuesday - Colorado Water Congress

Transcription

February 10, 2015
National Water Resources Association
Daily Report
In This Issue
ENDANGERED SPECIES:...Enviro suit claims EPA approval of herbicide violates
ESA
WATER POLLUTION:...EPA agrees to keep farm groups' info private during CAFO
suit
ENDANGERED SPECIES:...Forest Service finalizes plan for distinct grouse
population in Nev., Calif.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:...Army Corps downsizes bird cull aimed at saving
salmon
WATER POLICY:...Greens gird for battle as N.M. floats plan to divert Gila River
WETLANDS:...USDA payments linked to improved waterfowl habitat after Gulf spill
Upcoming NWRA
Meetings:
Federal Water Issues
Conference - April 13-15,
2015, Washington Court
Hotel, Washington, DC
Western Water Seminar
- August 4-6, 2015, Hyatt
Regency Monterey,
Monterey, California
84th Annual Conference
- November 4-6, 2015,
Westin Denver Hotel,
Denver, Colorado
CLIMATE:...House caucus vows to push back 'in the face of denial'
ENDANGERED SPECIES:...FWS commits $3M to restore monarch habitat, boost
private efforts
AIR POLLUTION:...Drought prevents Southern Calif. from curbing soot -- officials
CHESAPEAKE BAY:...Md. state senator takes aim at large poultry farms
NM startup ready to start treating oil-field water
Upcoming Member
Meetings:
2015
February 19-20, Family
Farm Alliance Annual
Meeting & Conference,
Las Vegas, NV
Florida's water worries prompt look at recycling
Mandatory water rationing could start July 1, water officials say
Denver aims lower, swaps DPS toilets, after hitting water use record
February 25-26,
Association of California
Water Agencies
Washington Conference,
Washington, DC
Comments Sought on Draft Literature Review and Scientific
The Scorching of California
Save the Date FWIC
March 4-6, Texas Water
Conservation
Association Annual
Convention, Austin, TX
Water committee: Buying wells may ease consumption
Stay Connected
Lawmakers balance keeping energy and the sage grouse alive and well in
Montana
California Pledges Changes in Protecting Underground Water
Endangered Species Act faces serious court challenge that could end with the
Supreme Court
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Enviro suit claims EPA approval of herbicide violates
ESA
Forward to a Friend
Tiffany Stecker, E&E reporter
Published: Monday, February 9, 2015
Environmental groups filed a motion in court Friday claiming that U.S. EPA's
recent approval of a controversial herbicide violated the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Food Safety said in its filing that EPA did not consult with the Fish
and Wildlife Service on the effect of Enlist Duo on the whooping crane and Indiana
bat, two endangered species.
"EPA is well aware that pesticides routinely drift and affect public health and
wildlife beyond the fields in which they are sprayed. To ignore this known risk and
avoid consultation with other expert agencies is unlawful and irresponsible," said
George Kimbrell, senior attorney for Center for Food Safety, in a statement.
The motion builds on a lawsuit filed late last year by the Natural Resources
Defense Council and the Center for Food Safety. Enlist Duo, which was developed
by Dow AgroSciences and includes the chemical defoliant 2,4-D, was approved for
use in six Midwestern states in October (Greenwire, Oct. 16, 2014).
In its final assessment, EPA determined that the pesticide would have no effect on
the bat or whooping crane, as well as the American burying beetle and Canada
lynx.
"Dow AgroSciences is confident that EPA thoroughly reviewed this long-awaited
new agricultural technology before registering it for use by American farmers. We
support EPA's registration decision and are confident that it will prevail," said
company spokesman Garry Hamlin in an email.
Click here to read the motion.
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC
- www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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WATER POLLUTION:
EPA agrees to keep farm groups' info private during CAFO suit
In a win for agribusiness groups, a U.S. District Court judge Friday approved an agreement they struck with U.S.
EPA that the agency keep information on large livestock farms confidential pending the final resolution of a lawsuit
on the issue.
The decision came after the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council asked
the court to keep information on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) out of the public eye while
litigation was active in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The groups had sued EPA for releasing
private information on CAFOs under the Freedom of Information Act.
Following the plaintiffs' motion, the Justice Department on behalf of EPA proposed an amended order stating that
EPA would not release sensitive information in response to FOIA requests. Judge Ann Montgomery approved the
order.
The move is a turnaround for the court. Just two weeks ago, Montgomery ruled that the Farm Bureau and Pork
Producers did not have standing to challenge EPA's distribution of the information (Greenwire, Jan. 28). The
plaintiffs swiftly appealed that decision to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (E&ENews PM, Jan. 29).
The case stems from at least two incidents in 2013, when EPA released hundreds of pages of documents on
CAFOs to Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Pew Charitable Trusts under a public records
request. These documents disclosed farmers' names, addresses and geographical coordinates, as well as
information on pollution discharges. Livestock trade groups and several members of Congress criticized EPA for
violating CAFO operators' privacy, saying the release of the information could make farms susceptible to trespass
and terrorism.
The government argued that the data provided in the released documents were readily available on the Internet.
Montgomery agreed in her earlier decision.
The Obama administration likely agreed to keep the information confidential in order to move on with the case, but
also because it seems to concur with the idea that private information should not be readily handed to the public,
said Michael Formica, chief environmental counsel for the National Pork Producers Council.
DOJ is "looking at the bigger picture," said Formica.
The fact that EPA asked the court to reconsider a ruling in the agency's favor is an indication of EPA bending in
industry's direction, said Scott Edwards, co-director of the Food and Water Justice project at the nonprofit Food and
Water Watch who intervened on behalf of EPA.
"Time and time again, when it comes to the agriculture industry, EPA does what they're told to do," he said.
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Forest Service finalizes plan for distinct grouse population in Nev., Calif.
Scott Streater, E&E reporter
The Forest Service has finalized a new plan designed to protect a subpopulation of greater sage grouse in and
around the largest national forest in the continental United States. The agency says the plan balances multiple
uses of public lands while conserving and restoring the imperiled bird's dwindling habitat.
But the final environmental impact statement (EIS) released Friday by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in
Nevada and a small portion of eastern California has drawn the ire of some conservation groups that say the plan
contains loopholes for energy development and other activities that they argue will harm the unique population of
sage grouse found only in southwest Nevada and central California.
The Forest Service on Friday also released a draft record of decision (ROD) approving amendments to the
Humboldt-Toiyabe forest's land-use plan to incorporate policies to protect the "bi-state" or Mono Basin population
of grouse and its habitat over nearly 1 million acres of forestland.
The Bureau of Land Management is also exploring amending the Carson City District and Tonopah Field Office
resource management plans (RMPs) to incorporate bi-state grouse protections, and will issue a separate final EIS
and ROD.
The bi-state population of sage grouse lives at the westernmost periphery of the greater sage grouse's 11-state
range in a fragile area of sagebrush steppe that is particularly vulnerable to landscape disturbances. An estimated
5,000 bi-state grouse remain from a historical population that probably exceeded twice that number, according to
Defenders of Wildlife.
The draft EIS, among other things, includes restrictions on livestock grazing in the forest and sets a "no net
unmitigated loss" of grouse habitat.
"This decision includes new Forest Plan standards and guidelines that will result in the conservation and restoration
of bi-state habitat," Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor Bill Dunkelberger said in a statement. "The
approved amendment will require the Forest to either avoid or mitigate disturbance to habitat from nearly every
authorized activity occurring in bi-state sage-grouse habitat.
"Where that is not possible the Forest is required to prepare a site-specific Forest Plan amendment that would
analyze the effects of the action and limit the amount of disturbance to the greatest extent possible," Dunkelberger
added.
The final plan for the forest comes as the Fish and Wildlife Service is evaluating whether to list the bi-state
population as threatened or endangered.
The service formally proposed in 2013 to list as threatened the genetically unique population of grouse, mostly
because of threats from invasive plant species and wildfires that destroy the sagebrush steppe habitat that the
grouse depend on for survival. The proposed threatened listing also included a proposal to designate 1.8 million
acres of mostly federal land as critical habitat for the bird, encompassing federal, state, tribal and private lands on
four separate units in Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Mineral and Esmeralda counties in Nevada, and in Alpine, Mono
and Inyo counties in California.
But Fish and Wildlife last spring agreed to revisit that threatened listing proposal and to delay making a final
determination on the status of the bi-state grouse population until this year (Greenwire, April 9, 2014).
The Forest Service states in the final EIS that the regulatory impacts of the land-use plan amendments "are
expected to be minor," in large part because for several years now "the Forest Service and BLM have been
incorporating conservation for the bi-state [population] in project design, so many of the changes in site-specific
activities are expected to be minimal."
The final EIS and draft ROD are now open for a formal 60-day public objection period. During this time, the Forest
Service will try to work out any conflicts to avoid any administrative, or legal, challenges.
WildEarth Guardians, which had offered faint praise to the draft plan released last July, issued a statement deriding
the final EIS as "a baffling mix of weak measures for certain types of industrial development and strong, sciencebased protections for some resource uses."
The result is a final plan that the group says is likely to reduce already stressed bi-state sage grouse populations
on the California-Nevada border.
"With the Mono Basin population teetering on the brink of extinction, we were expecting a sage grouse plan that
protects the small and isolated populations that remain in this area," said Erik Molvar, a wildlife biologist with
WildEarth Guardians. "Instead, the proposed plan includes a schizophrenic mix of politically driven compromises
and science-based standards."
For example, Molvar notes that while the final plan addresses livestock grazing, it also allows "the siting of tall
structures" that can scare away grouse and attract predators, and it authorizes energy development and some
mining activity near grouse nesting areas.
Mark Salvo, director of federal lands conservation for Defenders of Wildlife, also issued a statement saying the
group is "concerned that key management prescriptions are missing from the plan to ensure successful
conservation and recovery of the bi-state population."
But Dunkelberger in the draft ROD defended his decision to mix and match the best elements included in three
different alternatives the Forest Service analyzed for the final plan.
"My decision provides the opportunity for the best balance of management activities to respond to the purpose and
need, issues, and public comments," he wrote. "My decision seeks to balance interests of the public at large and
those with special interests in the resources of the area while providing standards and guidelines that will conserve,
enhance, or restore sagebrush and associated habitats for the long-term viability of the bi-state [population]."
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Army Corps downsizes bird cull aimed at saving salmon
The Army Corps of Engineers last week reduced by 5,000 the number of double-crested cormorants to be killed to
protect endangered salmon at the mouth of the Columbia River.
The final environmental impact statement detailed plans to shoot nearly 11,000 double-crested cormorants by 2018
and pour oil over 26,000 nests to eliminate hatchlings.
The revised plan aims to shrink the cormorant population on East Sand Island from about 13,000 pairs to 5,600
because the birds devour an estimated 11 million fish a year, including nearly 7 percent of all juvenile steelhead
headed out to sea.
Cormorants flourished on the flat, sandy island after dredging created ideal nesting conditions (Greenwire, Aug. 4).
The corps settled on shooting the birds as the preferred reduction method, but nearly all of the more than 152,000
public comments expressed disapproval of the plan.
"I can't believe in this day and age we can't come up with an alternative solution to killing things," said Oregon
resident Tommy Huntington. "You have to kill one to save the other one? It doesn't make any sense" (Kelly
House, Portland Oregonian, Feb. 6). -- DTB
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WATER POLICY:
Greens gird for battle as N.M. floats plan to divert Gila River
Jennifer Yachnin, E&E reporter
CLIFF, N.M. -- M.H. Dutch Salmon stood on a recent morning on the Iron Bridge, the distinctive red structure that
spans the Gila River here, and recalled his 220-mile journey along the waterway more than three decades ago.
At that time, state and federal officials were mulling the construction of the Conner Dam, and Salmon was planning
to ride the river in what was expected to be its final years of free-flowing water.
"The Conner Dam was a sure thing, so I thought, 'Well, I want to see the river before it's gone,'" recalled Salmon,
who arrived in New Mexico in 1982. He set out with his dog Rojo, added a cat for "comic relief" and later wrote
about it in the book "Gila Descending."
Salmon, who speaks in a slow and measured tone, jokes now that his trip was "premature." Within a decade, the
Conner Dam project would fall victim to environmental and budgetary worries, and a subsequent effort to create a
diversion project on Mangas Creek tributary failed in the 1990s.
But efforts to claim water from the river continue, and Salmon, who founded the Gila Conservation Coalition in
1984, now finds himself in opposition to the latest effort: a diversion project that by some estimates could cost as
much as $1 billion to build and maintain.
New Mexico's Interstate Stream Commission (ISC), an executive body appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez (R),
voted in November to pursue a new Gila River diversion project aimed at claiming another 14,000 acre-feet of
water a year. The proposed diversion would draw water from the river during high flows, store it in canyon
reservoirs and pipe it to communities as it's needed.
While no guarantee the project will be built -- it merely notifies the Interior Department the state intends to proceed
with planning -- the ISC vote did trigger a provision that will grant the state $62 million in federal funding for the
project.
New Mexico would have lost access to those funds, part of a $128 million pot Congress set aside in 2004, had
state officials failed to make a decision before the end of last year.
But the ISC vote, and discussions leading up to it, exposed sharp divisions in the state, as conservation and
sportsmen's groups citing concerns over the project's potential environmental impact and price tag run head-on into
state officials ready to press forward.
Project foes note that much of the federal funding now going to studies and consultants' fees for the diversion could
be used for conservation projects, water reuse and infrastructure in four drought-prone counties in southwestern
New Mexico.
Author and conservationist M.H. Dutch Salmon stands on the Iron Bridge in Cliff, N.M., overlooking the Gila River. Photo by
Jennifer Yachnin.
Salmon blames the repeated efforts to tap the Gila River on a mindset that sees "water is wasted in the stream"
whenever the resource is allotted but not consumed by so-called upstream users.
"That's the prevailing attitude, and you'll hear it at public meetings," said Salmon, an avid outdoorsman who served
on the ISC himself in the mid-1980s and spent six years on the state Game and Fish Commission beginning in
2005. He has also written numerous fiction and nonfiction books about the region, including "Gila Libre! New
Mexico's Last Wild River."
Lowering his voice to imitate a growl, he added: "People say, 'That's our water.'"
'Discovering gold'
The latest bid to divert water from the Gila River, which flows west into Arizona, is tied to the Arizona Water
Settlements Act, a 2004 federal law aimed at settling water rights disputes along the river.
The law gave New Mexico the right to pull an average of 14,000 acre-feet of water from the river annually over 10year periods, although it must ultimately "buy" any water it removes via payments to Arizona.
For comparison, an acre-foot of water is 326,700 gallons of water, and the average person uses between 80 and
100 gallons of water per day, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
New Mexico state Rep. Dianne Miller Hamilton (R), whose 38th District seat includes both Grant and Hidalgo
counties in the state's southwestern corner, is among the proponents of claiming those water rights, seeing billions
of gallons of water as a boon to her region.
"The water is better than oil in our state. It's like discovering gold," Hamilton enthused last month during the annual
Grant County Prospectors reception in Santa Fe, marking the end of Grant County Day at the state Legislature.
Like many of the advocates for building a new diversion, Hamilton, who has served in the state House since 1999,
believes the state would be remiss not to take advantage of additional water resources.
"We have so many more people on this Earth than we had before. It's important to take care of them," Hamilton
said.
Grant and Luna counties have grown in recent decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Grant County,
home to Silver City, increased to 29,000 residents in 2013, down from its peak of 32,000 in 1998 but still a 12
percent uptick since 1980.
Luna County, home to Deming, claimed a much larger increase from 1980 to 2013, growing from 16,000 residents
to nearly 25,000 in that time, but also down from its 2009 peak of 27,000.
That kind of steady growth is a key factor for the Gila San Francisco Water Commission, the authority for irrigation
and municipal water interests, which has likewise backed a new diversion.
Commission Chairman Anthony Gutierrez didn't return an interview request for this article, but he has publicly
endorsed the project as an investment in the region's future.
"If we need water 30 to 50 years from now, what would that cost be at that time?" Gutierrez said at a commission
meeting early last year, according to the Silver City Sun-News. "It could be multiplied by millions, billions even."
Gutierrez also disputed criticism that his agency -- which is vying to become the official entity charged with
recommending a final plan and serving as the contact for a series of federal studies -- has not considered
alternatives to a new diversion project, such as reuse and conservation efforts.
"We've always been a proponent of conservation projects," he said. "People think of us as the bad guys up here,
but we've never not supported conservation."
At a recent Santa Fe forum on drought sponsored by the Western Governors' Association, ISC acting Director Amy
Haas suggested efforts to focus on conservation rather than pursuing the water it is permitted to take could actually
prove more difficult for the state -- although she later clarified her remarks to say such efforts were "not
incompatible at all."
The acting director and general counsel of the New Mexico Interstate Water Commission, Amy Haas, participated in a Western
Governors' Association conference on drought issues in Santa Fe last month.Photo courtesy of WGA.
"In my opinion, conservation necessarily means reducing consumptive use, and if you are an upstream state on a
compacted river, that can be problematic," Haas said. "Because it affects, ultimately, if you've got an interstate
stream compact that has a delivery requirement attached to it and you are conserving water and reducing
consumptive uses in your state, I think that return flows may be affected or mainly those deliveries that you might
otherwise make to downstream states."
She added, "It's something that we need to be really thoughtful about. Conservation may have these benefits, but
we also again need to think regionally about it."
Big price tag
Opponents of the diversion argue there are a host of factors state officials have brushed aside as they press ahead
on plans for a diversion: primary concerns about the project's costs and funding, as well as whether it will yield any
water at all.
"My concern all along -- whether it was free-flowing, partial diversion or full diversion -- is questions aren't being
answered about the budget and how it's going to be paid for," state Sen. Howie Morales (D) told Greenwire after
the Grant County Prospectors event.
Although federal sources could contribute up to $128 million for the project -- about half of which is designated
specifically for diversion, while the rest can be used for a range of water-related infrastructure, conservation or
other plans -- Haas said current estimates put the total cost of building the diversion at $600 million. Opponents
argue maintenance and payments to Arizona will bump that figure as high as $1 billion.
In remarks at the governors' association forum in Santa Fe, Haas acknowledged the funding gap could be a
challenge, stating that it will likely require "creative solutions" to pursue the development such as "private-public
partnerships." Haas later said such partnerships are being discussed by the Gila San Francisco Water
Commission, directing questions about those plans to the commission.
Given the project's long timeline -- a "horizon" Haas put at 10 to 15 years -- she said finding funding sources should
not be impossible: "We're talking about yeas and years and years before ground will be broken on any sort of
development on this water."
But Morales expressed concern that the project could ultimately represent a "huge tax increase" for residents in his
region.
According to a 2014 study published by Western Resource Advocates, costs for the diversion could increase water
bills in the region from an average of $200 per year to more than $670 per year.
In his interview, Morales acknowledged that with a Republican governor and a divided state Legislature -Republicans won control of the House for the first time in decades in November, while Democrats control the
Senate -- attempts to block the project via legislation could be difficult.
"We need to be realistic as far as the political landscape," he said, adding that he wants to avoid seeing the
existing federal funds go to legal fees and court battles over the project.
Morales introduced a bill this week that would mandate that at least $77 million of the federal funds be used by the
state for "nondiversion alternatives" such as forest and watershed restoration, municipal and agricultural
conservation, and infrastructure improvements.
In an interview in his office at the Roundhouse, as New Mexico's Capitol building is known for its distinctive shape,
state Sen. Peter Wirth (D) voiced similar skepticism about the diversion's costs.
"The price tag has just skyrocketed. Just in the past year, the number has gone from $300 [million] to $500 [million]
to $1 billion," lamented Wirth, who is chairman of the Senate Conservation Committee. "The big issue moving
forward is and will continue to be, where's the money going to come from to build the diversion, and is the project
viable from an engineering perspective?"
Wirth later added, "If the request is to spend hundreds of millions, potentially $1 billion in state taxpayer money for
7,500 acre-feet [annually], that should cause every state legislator to pause."
Late last month, Wirth said he was still deciding what legislation to introduce this session but noted his options
included a bill to require the ISC to check back with the Legislature as it proceeds with steps like selecting a local
water authority and engaging in federal surveys.
Similarly, state Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D) introduced a bill last week that would require the ISC to provide a report
on the "financial viability" of the diversion before the local water authority can enter any agreements with the
Interior Department.
How much water?
Debate over the diversion has also leaked into an ongoing discussion about how New Mexico's state commissions
and boards are appointed.
State lawmakers also plan to take aim at the ISC, said Wirth, who this week introduced legislation to restructure the
commission, providing for half of the eight-member panel to be appointed by the governor while the New Mexico
legislative commission would appoint the other four members. Currently, the governor appoints all members of the
panel.
"The tension is between the Legislature and the executive branch," Wirth said last month. "I think we need to look
at the structure of the ISC itself."
In addition to questions of cash flow, debate over how much water the project will ultimately generate also remains
a major point of contention for opponents of the project.
In a scathing report published in July, former ISC Chairman Norm Gaume slammed his modern-day successors
over a "flawed and deceptive planning process."
"The ISC's public statements deceptively describe the project as if it would yield the authorized 14,000 acre-feet
per year on average of consumptive use," Gaume wrote. "It won't."
At a November meeting in Albuquerque, ISC officials acknowledged the actual yield would likely be lower because
of issues like evaporation and seepage. An ISC aide reported the expected yield is between 6,000 and 8,000 acrefeet annually, the Albuquerque Journal reported at the time.
Audubon New Mexico freshwater program manager Sharon Wirth explained that based on historical flow records of
recent decades, the river's flows would not be high enough to divert at all in some years.
"Half of the time, there's no diversions occurring at all," said Wirth, who is a distant relative of the state senator.
Wirth also said plans for a series of small reservoirs are flawed, citing ISC data showing that the diversion would
likely face significant losses not only from evaporation but also via seepage: "Even if all things worked perfectly ...
they'd lose about 50 percent of the water to leakage," she said.
In his report, Gaume also points to likely issues with sediment and other debris that occur in the river following
forest fires or floods, the period when the river would be available for diversion.
Gaume's criticisms also extended to the state court, where he sued the ISC in October over allegations that it had
violated the state's open meetings laws on its discussions about the Gila River.
Although Gaume received a temporary restraining order to stop the ISC from issuing its decision on the diversion, a
judge dissolved that order in November, allowing the commission to move forward.
The case is scheduled to go to trial in April, but last month the ISC filed a countersuit against Gaume. The agency
argues Gaume should pay damages because he brought his suit in order to prevent the ISC from meeting its
December deadline.
Gaume did not return a telephone call for this article but told the Albuquerque Journal last week that the American
Civil Liberties Union will represent him in the case. "Their response to that is to try to intimidate me. I think that
that's the kind of behavior that a citizen needs to stand up against."
Next steps
In the next year, state officials must approve a local entity to oversee the project known as a New Mexico Central
Arizona Project entity -- the Gila San Francisco Water Commission is a likely candidate -- and the proposal must
also undergo a series of federal studies that will stretch over five years, including a National Environmental Policy
Act review.
Recalling the failures of earlier projects that faced difficulties over the Endangered Species Act as well as
budgetary issues, Salmon said he believes that long window could magnify similar problems in the newest iteration:
"The whole program could unravel in the next year or two; that's my hope."
But many opponents of the diversion project see another hope: the governor herself.
Martinez has remained all but silent on the subject -- while the ISC serves at the governor's behest, she has made
no public comments on the diversion -- and her office did not return a request for comment. Martinez was
scheduled to speak at last month's WGA drought forum but canceled her appearance due to an illness.
According to Audubon New Mexico's Wirth, the governor has been inundated with nearly 22,000 appeals, the
number of signatures on a variety of petitions to date, to put an end to the project and focus on alternatives.
The New Mexico Wildlife Federation has likewise run a series of online ads on state media websites targeting the
governor and focused on how the project will be funded.
"We're not saying don't dam it and don't do anything because it's a pristine place that shouldn't be touched," said
New Mexico Wildlife Federation Conservation Director Michelle Briscoe. "We're saying put the $80 million into
some legitimate infrastructure."
She later added, "But the clock is ticking, and they are hemorrhaging money that could be used on this."
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WETLANDS:
USDA payments linked to improved waterfowl habitat after Gulf spill
Annie Snider, E&E reporter
The Obama administration's bid to offset wetlands damage done by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill by helping
farmers to manage their land as habitat for migratory birds paid off, according to a new report from Mississippi
State University.
Researchers found that land actively managed for habitat benefits through the Department of Agriculture program
attracted significantly more birds. Overall, land in the program provided more than a quarter of the food that
waterfowl need in the winter, the report says.
The massive oil spill that began in the spring of 2010 wreaked massive damage on coastal wetlands that serve as
vital winter habitat for ducks, geese and other migratory waterfowl.
Worried the birds would fly south in the fall of 2010 only to land in oiled and severely damaged wetlands, USDA
pumped $40 million through a farm bill cost-sharing program to make land in eight states more attractive to
waterfowl. This included rice farmers in Louisiana and Texas flooding their fields after harvesting the crop, and
Mississippi catfish producers that have lost business to overseas competition flooding ponds that aren't in
production.
More than 470,000 acres in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas were
enrolled in the program, according to USDA.
The Mississippi State report released Friday found that flooded rice fields managed through the program drew an
average of 15 migratory birds per acre, compared with two birds per acre on rice fields that weren't flooded. While
flooded catfish ponds did not host significantly more birds than ponds that were not managed through the program,
they did host a more diverse array of water birds.
Habitat managed through the USDA program became particularly important when the region suffered a drought
right after the spill, drying up many wetland habitats, the study found.
"Catastrophes like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill can have lasting impacts on waterfowl and water birds," USDA
Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie said in a statement Friday following a visit
to Mississippi land enrolled in the program.
"The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked with farmers to create alternative habitat for
waterfowl and other birds through Farm Bill conservation programs. The ecosystems that NRCS helped create
through this initiative are thriving," he said.
The results come as USDA is extending its work with private landowners in the Gulf region in partnership with the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The two entities announced plans last fall for a $40 million grant program to help private landowners and
agricultural operations improve their natural resource management. Half the funds come from criminal penalties
paid by BP PLC for the 2010 spill, which are being managed by the foundation (Greenwire, Oct. 28, 2014).
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CLIMATE:
House caucus vows to push back 'in the face of denial'
Jean Chemnick, E&E reporter
Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Their numbers may be smaller and the odds larger, but House Democrats nonetheless renewed their pledge
yesterday to do what they can to keep climate change on the new Congress' agenda.
The Safe Climate Caucus kicked off its third year with a call hosted by the League of Conservation Voters. Caucus
leaders vowed to fend off Republican attacks on Obama administration climate policy, to find areas where progress
on curbing emissions can be made with bipartisan support and to keep working on carbon legislation in hopes that
political winds shift.
"This caucus aims to speak the truth, even in the face of denial," said Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), who took the
caucus' reins when its founder, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), retired last year.
The caucus of 38 Democrats will continue to make weekly floor speeches, write op-ed columns and use social
media to draw attention to global warming, Lowenthal said.
Caucus members also have several bills in the hopper, ranging from a carbon dioxide cap-and-dividend bill from
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to legislation on short-lived climate pollutants, green infrastructure and climate
resilience -- measures that caucus members hope will attract enough Republican support to pass.
Van Hollen, who took Waxman's spot atop the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, co-chaired by Sen.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said he would reintroduce his cap-and-dividend bill "sooner rather than later."
His measure would place a levy on fossil fuels and return revenue to households. But while some Republican
economists and former officials have advocated for this kind of revenue-neutral policy, it's unlikely to get off the
ground in the Republican-controlled House.
But Van Hollen said it's still worth trying.
"I don't think the measure of action in the Congress or legislation should be what climate deniers will do
legislatively," he said. "We need to continue to keep the pressure on politically and build more public support for
these measures."
Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), who has introduced numerous bills aimed at slashing emissions and boosting
adaptation efforts, said Democrats and Republicans may come together on legislation that would help the U.S.
military reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
There may also be bipartisan support for legislation that will help communities prepare for extreme weather, Peters
said. Resilience planning pays dividends later on in avoided cleanup and repair costs, he said.
Lowenthal said the upcoming highway and transportation infrastructure bill could also go a long way toward making
the nation's roads and bridges more resistant to warming. And resilience isn't a political lightning rod.
"While the term climate change or global warming elicits a fear reaction sometimes on the part of Republicans, I
think resilience doesn't," he said, adding that there is plenty of Republican support for making infrastructure
investments last longer.
The group will also promote the renewal of renewable energy tax credits and work to protect U.S. EPA's CO2 and
methane limits, among other goals.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, released a statement
yesterday evening saying that votes during Senate consideration of the Keystone XL oil pipeline last month offered
a "glimmer of hope" that climate legislation might one day be bipartisan.
Five Republicans voted for Schatz's amendment that stated that climate change was real and human emissions
were a "significant" driver.
While the senator said that this Congress will see frequent assaults on EPA carbon restrictions, he said it could
also see progress on some bipartisan legislation. And EPA's sweeping rule for existing power plant CO2 could
eventually convince Republicans in both chambers to negotiate a climate change bill, he said.
"So once the Clean Power Plan is established, once it's litigated, and once it's full-on reality, I believe that there
may be room for compromise," he said.
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
FWS commits $3M to restore monarch habitat, boost private efforts
Corbin Hiar, E&E reporter
As part of a cooperative effort to restore the habitat of the beleaguered monarch butterfly, the Fish and Wildlife
Service today pledged more than $3 million and launched a pair of private-sector initiatives.
"We can save the monarch butterfly in North America, but only if we act quickly and together," FWS Director Dan
Ashe said during a news conference at the National Press Club. "And that is why we are excited to be working with
the National Wildlife Federation and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to engage Americans everywhere, from
schools and community groups to corporations and governments, in protecting and restoring habitat."
The North American monarch butterfly population has plunged 90 percent in the past 20 years, from a high of
about 1 billion in the mid-1990s to fewer than 57 million butterflies last winter.
Their drastic population decline is linked to a reduction in milkweed -- a plant the butterflies use to lay their eggs -due to agricultural herbicide use. Deforestation in Mexico and climate change have also affected the butterfly's
numbers (E&ENews PM, Jan. 27).
FWS is conducting a status review of the monarch to consider whether it needs to be protected under the
Endangered Species Act. The review is on schedule to be completed early next year, Ashe told reporters
(Greenwire, Jan. 5)
The service's main role in the recovery effort announced today will be to spend $2 million this year for on-theground conservation. That funding will restore or enhance more than 200,000 acres of habitat conservation for
monarchs, according to FWS. Many of the projects will focus on the Interstate 35 corridor, which runs from Texas
to Minnesota.
The effort also has the support of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who told a story at today's event about how her
mother, who taught second grade until she was 70 years old, used to dress up as a monarch during her annual unit
on the colorful orange and black insect.
FWS will also commit an additional $1.2 million to establish the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Monarch
Conservation Fund, which will seek to attract additional donations from public- and private-sector partners.
In response to questions from reporters, Ashe suggested that herbicide producers like Monsanto Co. would be
welcome to donate to the fund. Some environmental groups have blamed Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops and
Roundup herbicide for much of the monarch's decline (Greenwire, Feb. 5).
Ashe also signed a memorandum of understanding today with National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O'Mara,
mainly to inform the public about the importance of milkweed to monarchs and promote its planting across the
United States. The agreement will be in effect until 2020.
The partnership grew from a fishing trip Ashe took with O'Mara and other conservation leaders last August in
upstate New York, they told reporters after the event.
More collaborations could still emerge from that fruitful fishing trip, according to O'Mara.
"We believe we can make a huge dent with voluntary efforts that are state, local, individual, and so we talked about
what are some big problems that we could make a big impact on in terms of this administration. There's one or two
more hanging out there," he told E&ENews PM.
Reprinted from E&ENews PM with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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AIR POLLUTION:
Drought prevents Southern Calif. from curbing soot -- officials
Southern California officials are blaming the region's drought on its inability to meet a 2015 deadline to clean soot
from the air.
The governing board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District said the drought has worsened pollution
in the district. It said that without storms to blow away dirty air and rain to dampen the soil, bad air days and health
advisories have increased in numbers over the past two years.
The district, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernadino counties, is supposed to meet the
federal fine-particle limit of 35 micrograms per cubic meter by the end of 2015. If pollution levels drop considerably,
it is still possible for the district to meet the level this year, but compliance is judged on a three-year average.
The South Coast Air District has been relying on "no burn alerts," which warn residents not to use wood-burning
fireplaces when there is already a lot of pollution. On Friday, the district's board voted 10-1 to look into additional
measures.
Environmentalists say they are unhappy with the district's efforts to curb pollution thus far.
"It is crucial that we do more," Sierra Club member Elizabeth Ayala said. "It's not sufficient that we wait for rain"
(Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 6). -- AW
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CHESAPEAKE BAY:
Md. state senator takes aim at large poultry farms
Maryland state Sen. Richard Madaleno introduced two bills today aimed at boosting regulation of large poultry
farms.
The Democrat, who represents Montgomery County, reintroduced the "Bay Tax Equity Act," which would require
poultry companies to contribute to a program that helps farmers plant cover crops to curb nutrient runoff into the
Chesapeake Bay. Currently, a portion of the $60 tax that is levied on septic users is used toward the program. The
bill would substitute the tax with contributions from the poultry industry.
"For too long our state government has allowed these big poultry companies to operate in the state with little to no
accountability for their unfair practices," Madaleno said in a statement.
Heavy rain washes manure into the Chesapeake Bay, feeding algae blooms that deplete dissolved oxygen that
marine life needs. Former Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration sought to finalize a Phosphorus
Management Tool that would seek to curb the amount of phosphorus in the waters. New Gov. Larry Hogan (R)
vowed to revoke the rule shortly after his election, and he prevented its publication in the Maryland
Register(Greenwire, Jan. 22).
Madaleno also introduced the "Farmers' Rights Act," which would create a list of guaranteed rights in contracts
between growers and poultry integrators, allowing growers to openly discuss their contracts.
The nonprofit Food and Water Watch helped in writing the bills.
"Maryland taxpayers are subsidizing the big chicken companies that pollute for free," said Wenonah Hauter,
executive director of Food and Water Watch.
Perdue Farms, the state's largest poultry company, did not respond to a request for comment.
Reprinted from E&ENews PM with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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NM startup ready to start treating oil-field water
By Kevin Robinson-Avila / Journal Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: Monday, February 9, 2015 at 4:16 pm
Breakthrough water-cleansing technology from Los Alamos National Laboratory may soon be treating
dirty water from the oil and gas industry at sites throughout the Mountain West.
The Los Alamos-based startup IX Power Clean Water will begin to sell its newly finished machine,
dubbed "OrganiClear," next week following nearly three years of development, said John "Grizz" Deal,
president and CEO of IX Power (pronounced "Nine Power"). The company, which claims OrganiClear
can reduce the costs for cleansing "produced water" by up to 90 percent, already has a string of
commercial demonstrations scheduled for industry operators up and down the Rio Grande, from West
Texas to Wyoming.
"We have a list of companies that want to see it in operation," Deal said. "We'll have our machines in the
field by next week. We expect to have the first ones sold within the next six to 10 weeks."
Read entire article HERE.
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Florida's water worries prompt look at recycling
Chad Gillis, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press5:06 a.m. EST February 8, 2015
CAPE CORAL, Fla. - Dogs drink water from toilets, so why can't their owners warm up to the idea?
Highly processed sewage, which water experts call indirect or direct potable reuse, is becoming more of
a reality here as providers scramble to find enough water to meet current and future demand.
But public perception and the unknown are two major hurdles.
"I don't think people here are ready for the idea yet," said Andy Fenske, who operates the waste-water
system in this Southwest Florida city of 165,000 residents.
Even with the obvious "ick" factor comes the chance, however slight, that Florida's rivers, lakes and
aquifers could become contaminated through processes supposed to protect them.
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Mandatory water rationing could start July 1, water officials say
By Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
POSTED: 02/09/15, 7:49 PM PST | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO
The Metropolitan Water District, the agency that supplies the bulk of the water for Southern California, is
considering water rationing by summer unless statewide drought conditions radically improve, the
agency announced Monday.
Metropolitan's Water Planning and Stewardship Committee considered varying scenarios Monday and
concluded it may recommend to its governing board allocating a limited supply per member agency. If
the full board approves the allocation plan at its April meeting, rationing would begin July 1, according to
Metropolitan.
Such a move would mark the second time water rationing was imposed by MWD in six years.
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Denver aims lower, swaps DPS toilets, after hitting water use record
By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
POSTED: 02/10/2015 12:01:00 AM MST | UPDATED: ABOUT 8 HOURS AGO
Andy Feuerborn, master plumber with JCOR Mechanical, puts the final turns on mounting bolts Thursday as he works to replace all of
the facilities at Colfax Elementary School with new low-flow toilets. (
Joe Amon, The Denver Post)
Maybe it is projects such as replacing 10,000 toilets in Denver Public Schools. Maybe it is Denver
Water's ceaseless "Use Only What You Need" campaign. Or maybe residents seeing scarcity are selfmotivated. Whatever the reasons, water use in metro Denver has dipped to 40-year lows.
The total amount residents used in December decreased to 3.19 billion gallons, and in January to 3.36
billion gallons - down from previous winter highs topping 4 billion gallons, utility officials said.
The last time December use dropped this low was in 1973 when Denver had 350,000 fewer people.
"Our customers are responding. ... Conservation has been successful and will be an integral part of
meeting our future water needs - along with reuse and new supply," Denver Water manager Jim
Lochhead said.
JCOR Mechanical plumber Andy Feuerborn solders a new fitting Thursday at Colfax Elementary School.(Joe Amon, The Denver Post)
The low use this winter continues a trend of declining water use despite a growing population. Denver
residents use 82 gallons a day per person for all indoor and outdoor purposes, utility data show. That's
down from 104 gallons in 2001 and puts Denver ahead of other Western cities that are counting on
conservation to avoid running dry.
Water supply has become more of a challenge around the West, with population growth and droughts
projected to be more frequent and severe. The crisis in California, where mountain snowpack lags at 25
percent of normal, prompted Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to meet with Gov. Jerry Brown last week to
hash out relief.
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Comments Sought on Draft Literature Review and Scientific
Based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive, Final Information Quality Bulletin
for Peer Review, dated December 16, 2004, Reclamation has made an influential scientific document
available for public peer review. This may be used within future decision processes among Reclamation
leadership.
Continuing drought conditions and stakeholder interest has led Reclamation to take an updated look at
the effectiveness of cloud seeding for the enhancement of winter precipitation and snowpack in the
western United States.
The draft "Literature Review and Scientific Synthesis on the Efficacy of Winter Orographic Cloud
Seeding" is available at http://www.usbr.gov/main/qoi/peeragenda.html.
The peer review will be posted until March 6, 2015. Any questions may be addressed to Levi Brekke,
Reclamation's Chief of Research and Development, at lbrekke@usbr.gov.
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VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
The Scorching of California
How Green extremists made a bad drought worse
Winter 2015
MICAH ALBERT/REDUX
The drought has threatened to turn large tracts of farmland into dust.
In mid-December, the first large storms in three years drenched California. No one knows whether
the rain and snow will continue-only that it must last for weeks if a record three-year drought, both
natural and man-made, is to end. In the 1970s, coastal elites squelched California's near-centurylong commitment to building dams, reservoirs, and canals, even as the Golden State's population
ballooned. Court-ordered drainage of man-made lakes, meant to restore fish to the 1,100-squaremile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, partly caused central California's reservoir water to dry
up. Not content with preventing construction of new water infrastructure, environmentalists
reverse-engineered existing projects to divert precious water away from agriculture, privileging the
needs of fish over the needs of people. Then they alleged that global warming, not their own foolish
policies, had caused the current crisis.
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Water committee: Buying wells may ease consumption
CHEYENNE - One potential way to ease the strain on the local aquifer is to pay owners to stop using
their high-capacity wells.
A group of water resource consultants has presented a plan to do just that to the Laramie County Water
Appropriation Committee.
The proposal was developed by Fort Collins, Colorado-based Lidstone and Associates. It was
commissioned by a group of county agricultural irrigators.
Greg Gross represents local irrigators on the water committee. He said the idea to create a marketbased plan that pays users to retire wells came during a brainstorming session with other agricultural
water users.
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Lawmakers balance keeping energy and the sage grouse alive and well in Montana
Michael Wright12:47 p.m. MST February 9, 2015
A chicken-sized bird has gotten energy industry advocates and conservationists, Republicans and
Democrats working together to prevent it from becoming the next native Montana species listed as
endangered or threatened: the sage grouse.
"This isn't a political winner for any politician," said Sen. Brad Hamlett, D-Cascade. "You're tasked with
the responsibility of looking out for the best interests of the state."
In this case, that means balancing energy interests and conservation to keep the vulnerable aviary
species under state control.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified sage grouse as warranted for listing under the
Endangered Species Act, but it's precluded by other animals in more trouble. In other words, they aren't
ready to act yet. But a recent court settlement gave USFWS a Sept. 30 deadline to decide to list the
sage grouse or not.
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California Pledges Changes in Protecting Underground Water
SAN FRANCISCO - Feb 9, 2015, 6:58 PM ET
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press
California has proposed closing by October up to 140 oilfield wells that state regulators had allowed to
inject into federally protected drinking water aquifers, state officials said Monday.
The deadline is part of a broad plan the state sent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week
for bringing state regulation of oil and gas operations back into compliance with federal safe-drinking
water requirements. State authorities made the plan public Monday.
An ongoing state review mandated by the EPA found more than 2,500 oil and gas injection wells that the
state authorized into aquifers that were supposed to be protected as current or potential sources of water
for drinking and watering crops.
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Endangered Species Act faces serious court challenge that could end with the Supreme
Court
By Moe Lane / February 9, 2015
Shutterstock Image
ESA ON TRIAL: The courts could rule against the federal government for using the Endangered Species
Act against land owners.
By Moe Lane | Watchdog Arena
Ever hear of the Utah Prairie Dog? You might, soon.
Back in November, Jonathan Adler wrote in the Washington Post about PETPO v FWS. Don't know
that one? No shame to you if you don't; it's one of the less sexy cases out there.
Essentially, the case revolves around the aforementioned prairie dog, which enjoys a protected status of
'threatened' by U.S. Fish & Wildlife (FWS) under the Endangered Species Act. The plaintiffs (People for
the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners, or PETPO) sued for relief, on the grounds that the critters in
question are ripping up their private property and where does FWS get off telling people what they can
do on their own property, anyway?
Right now, many of the people reading this are muttering either "Commerce Clause," or perhaps
"Wickard v. Filburn." And, to be fair, Wickard is the go-to court case for when the government needs to
do something on the local level.
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Daily news items and links to information are created by other public and private organizations. The National Water Resources Association
(NWRA) does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information. The inclusion of news items and links, and any views
or opinions expressed therein, is not intended to indicate endorsement or importance by the NWRA.
National Water Resources Association
4 E Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
www.nwra.org
202-698-0693

Tuesday - Colorado Water Congress

Transcription

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