EPA Launches Web Forum on How to Best Protect America’s Drinking Water

Washington (Aug. 17) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a web-based discussion forum to gather public input on how the agency can improve protection of drinking water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a web-based discussion forum to gather public input on how the agency can improve protection of drinking water. The information will be used in implementing EPA’s new drinking water strategy announced by Administrator Lisa P. Jackson in March.

“We look forward to reviewing the ideas and feedback from the public,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “This online discussion is for anyone who wants to share their input on protecting drinking water and improving public health.”

EPA seeks input from water professionals, advocates, and anyone interested in drinking water quality issues about best solutions for issues facing our nation’s drinking water—planning, developing scientific tools, controlling water pollution and use of resources.

The discussion forum will feature a series of topics based on the four segments of the drinking water strategy: addressing contaminants as groups rather than one at a time, fostering development of new technologies, using the existing authority of several statues to protect drinking water, and partnering with states to share more complete data.

The forum will be open for discussion for about a month, with each topic area being discussed separately.  Addressing contaminants as groups will also be discussed separately at a web-based meeting at the end of July.

To join the discussion: http://blog.epa.gov/dwstrat

More information on the new Drinking Water Strategy: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/sdwa/dwstrategy.html

Reported on Friday, August 6, 2010

Clean Environmental meeting set for Aug. 10

The Palmerton Citizens for a Clean Environment will be holding a public meeting Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Palmerton Ambulance building on Delaware Avenue.

Charlie Root, EPA Superfund Project Manager, will be in attendance and will provide updates on the borough’s Superfund issues. Also attending is: Dave Polish, EPA Community Coordinator; Griff Miller, the “Ricra” lead for the EPA’s West Plant Revitalization Program; and Jim Kunkle, a liaison from the Department of Environmental Protection.

The meeting will be open to the public.

By CARLA K. JOHNSON
AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — A new analysis of U.S. health data links children’s attention-deficit disorder with exposure to common pesticides used on fruits and vegetables.

While the study couldn’t prove that pesticides used in agriculture contribute to childhood learning problems, experts said the research is persuasive.

“I would take it quite seriously,” said Virginia Rauh of Columbia University, who has studied prenatal exposure to pesticides and wasn’t involved in the new study.

More research will be needed to confirm the tie, she said.

Children may be especially prone to the health risks of pesticides because they’re still growing and they may consume more pesticide residue than adults relative to their body weight.

In the body, pesticides break down into compounds that can be measured in urine. Almost universally, the study found detectable levels: The compounds turned up in the urine of 94 percent of the children.

The kids with higher levels had increased chances of having ADHD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a common problem that causes students to have trouble in school. The findings were published Monday in Pediatrics.

The children may have eaten food treated with pesticides, breathed it in the air or swallowed it in their drinking water. The study didn’t determine how they were exposed. Experts said it’s likely children who don’t live near farms are exposed through what they eat.

“Exposure is practically ubiquitous. We’re all exposed,” said lead author Maryse Bouchard of the University of Montreal.

She said people can limit their exposure by eating organic produce. Frozen blueberries, strawberries and celery had more pesticide residue than other foods in one government report.

A 2008 Emory University study found that in children who switched to organically grown fruits and vegetables, urine levels of pesticide compounds dropped to undetectable or close to undetectable levels.

Because of known dangers of pesticides in humans, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits how much residue can stay on food. But the new study shows it’s possible even tiny, allowable amounts of pesticide may affect brain chemistry, Rauh said.

The exact causes behind the children’s reported ADHD though are unclear. Any number of factors could have caused the symptoms and the link with pesticides could be by chance.

The new findings are based on one-time urine samples in 1,139 children and interviews with their parents to determine which children had ADHD. The children, ages 8 to 15, took part in a government health survey in 2000-2004.

As reported by their parents, about 150 children in the study either showed the severe inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity characteristic of ADHD, or were taking drugs to treat it.

The study dealt with one common type of pesticide called organophosphates. Levels of six pesticide compounds were measured. For the most frequent compound detected, 20 percent of the children with above-average levels had ADHD. In children with no detectable amount in their urine, 10 percent had ADHD.

“This is a well conducted study,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a former EPA administrator.

Relying on one urine sample for each child, instead of multiple samples over time, wasn’t ideal, Goldman said.

The study provides more evidence that the government should encourage farmers to switch to organic methods, said Margaret Reeves, senior scientist with the Pesticide Action Network, an advocacy group that’s been working to end the use of many pesticides.

“It’s unpardonable to allow this exposure to continue,” Reeves said.

On the Net:
Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org/
EPA: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05spill.html

Published: May 1, 2010
Tracking the Oil Spill

The map sequence shows how the oil spill has been spreading in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service urge Americans to “Be Air Aware” during Air Quality Awareness Week, May 3-7, 2010

Join the EPA and NOAA next week as they examine the following topics:

* Monday: Ozone and particle pollution
* Tuesday: What causes poor air quality?
* Wednesday: Keeping your lungs and heart safe
* Thursday: What are air quality forecasts.
* Friday: What can you do to help make the air cleaner?

To find out more visit: Air Quality Awareness Week

http://www.airquality.noaa.gov/

Urges EPA investigation of drinking water contamination

April 26, 2010

SCRANTON, PA—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today was joined by residents in the Dimock area whose wells were contaminated by drilling conducted by Texas-based Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. as he called for additional oversight of natural gas drilling.  Senator Casey today sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging them to examine its current authority to determine whether it can take additional steps in Pennsylvania to investigate and respond to groundwater contamination and other potentially harmful consequences of drilling.

“Natural gas drilling can provide an economic boost to Pennsylvania but we must protect ground water,” said Senator Casey.  “We will not allow an out-of-state company to come to Pennsylvania and contaminate the groundwater of our residents.  Three million Pennsylvanians rely on wells for their drinking water.  We must ensure adequate safeguards are in place to protect this most basic necessity for Pennsylvanians.”

In the letter, Senator Casey wrote: “I urge EPA to examine its authority to determine whether it can take additional steps in Pennsylvania to investigate and respond to groundwater contamination and other potentially harmful consequences of drilling. I request a meeting with you and appropriate EPA officials to discuss natural gas drilling and whether EPA could launch an investigation into water and environmental contamination.”

In 2009, Senator Casey introduced the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act.  The legislation would repeal a Bush administration exemption provided for the oil and gas industry and would require them to disclose the chemicals they use in their hydraulic fracturing processes.  Currently, the oil and gas industry is the only industry granted an exemption from complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Hydraulic fracturing – also known as “fracking”, which is used in almost all oil and gas wells, is a process whereby fluids are injected at high pressure into underground rock formations to blast them open and increase the flow of fossil fuels.  Fracking is used in areas of Pennsylvania where natural gas is being drilled from Marcellus Shale.

This injection of unknown and potentially toxic chemicals often occurs near drinking water wells.  Three million Pennsylvanians are dependent on private wells for water.  Troubling incidents have occurred around the country where people became ill after fracking operations began in their communities. Some chemicals that are known to have been used in fracking include diesel fuel, benzene, industrial solvents and other carcinogens and endocrine disrupters.

###

April 26, 2010

The Honorable Lisa Jackson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building, Mail Code: 1101A
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

Dear Administrator Jackson:

As you know, natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region is a major issue for many towns and communities throughout Pennsylvania.  The opportunity to develop our own natural resources has led to job creation, strengthened our state economy, and reduced our dependence on foreign energy.  However, despite its many benefits, natural gas drilling presents a concern for the people living near these drilling sites.  Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) involves the use of sometimes toxic chemicals that are injected underground, often in close proximity to underground sources of drinking water.  It is the highly variable and unpredictable nature of the process that can lead to the contamination of ground water and drinking water that is of great concern to me.

Every day I hear from Pennsylvanians who worry about their future access to safe drinking water.  The protection of underground water sources is especially important to Pennsylvania because we have the second highest number of private drinking water wells in the Nation; three million Pennsylvanians are dependent on private wells to provide safe drinking water to their homes.

Therefore, I urge EPA to examine its authority to determine whether it can take additional steps in Pennsylvania to investigate and respond to groundwater contamination and other potentially harmful consequences of drilling. I request a meeting with you and appropriate EPA officials to discuss natural gas drilling and whether EPA could launch an investigation into water and environmental contamination. Further, I wholeheartedly commend EPA for undertaking a congressionally mandated study on hydraulic fracturing, and note that the initial information I have seen on the scope of the study is encouraging. I would also hope to speak with Science Advisory Board officials during the requested meeting in order to have the opportunity to discuss the scope, timing and methodology for the study and to ensure that EPA addresses all issues critical to Pennsylvania.

The reasons for requesting greater EPA involvement in Pennsylvania are many.  Recent incidents in the State raise the question of whether the necessary steps have been taken to protect Pennsylvania families and communities against the detrimental side effects of drilling.  For example, methane gas has infiltrated the private drinking wells of 14 families in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. The intrusion has contaminated the underground source of drinking water and reduced property values in the area.  Several drinking water wells have exploded due to a suspected buildup of natural gas and many wells have been found to contain so much natural gas that one homeowner was advised to open a window if he plans to take a bath.

In September 2009, there was also a surface water contamination incident in the same area.  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), between 6,000 and 8,000 gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid leaked from a pipe at a drill site and contaminated the surrounding area and a wetland in Susquehanna County.  There were two separate spills on the same day.  The first spill in the afternoon leaked 25 to 50 barrels of hydraulic fracturing fluid and the second spill in the evening leaked 140 barrels.

In regard to the underground water contamination with methane, Pennsylvania DEP recently executed a consent decree and agreement that Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation failed to adequately protect the affected homeowners in Susquehanna County and must take further steps to remedy the situation.  DEP fined Cabot $240,000, ordered the plugging of three wells believed to be the source of the contamination, prohibited drilling by Cabot for one year in the vicinity and required Cabot to install permanent water treatment systems in the affected homes.  While the no-drill zone may put a damper on Cabot drilling in the Dimock area, the area designated by DEP accounts for only about 5,700 acres, about 2.9 percent, of the company’s nearly 200,000 acres under lease in Susquehanna County.  I commend DEP for taking action, but I remain concerned that the current status of Federal and State oversight of gas drilling may be inadequate to protect families living in close proximity to drilling activities.

In addition to the incidents in Susquehanna County, there have been other contamination events across Pennsylvania.  For example, I understand that EPA is scheduled to test contaminated underground water in Washington County and that residents have spoken with an EPA investigator.  I know that Pennsylvania has been permitting and managing natural gas development with the paramount goal of protecting the environment and public health.  I commend the State DEP for taking steps to strengthen its regulations regarding drilling, and adding additional DEP staff to assist with the increased interest in gas drilling in the state.  However, I again request that EPA continue to investigate and respond to water contamination in order to protect human health and the environment.

I believe it is important to protect the health and safety of Pennsylvanians as we further develop the Marcellus Shale.  For this reason, I introduced the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act, S. 1215, that would require that hydraulic fracturing be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, ensuring that a consistent set of Federally enforceable regulatory requirements are applied to the development of our natural gas resources. The FRAC Act would also require that the natural gas industry provide complete disclosure of the chemical composition of its hydraulic fracturing materials to ensure that if drinking water supplies, surface waters, or human health are compromised, the public and first responders will know exactly with what they are dealing. I view this as a simple matter of citizens having a right to know about any risks in their community.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.  I look forward to continue working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator

Natural Gas Drilling Tip Line

EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region has a natural gas drilling tip line for reporting dumping and other illegal or suspicious hauling and/or disposal activities.

Tip line number (toll free): 877-919-4372 (877-919-4EPA)

Tip email address:       eyesondrilling@epa.gov

Tip mailing address:    EPA Region 3
1650 Arch Street (3CEOO)
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029

Documenting Suspicious Activity

To the extent possible, record:

• Location of the event

• Date of the event

• Time of the event

• Who, if anyone you interacted with during the event

Photos and videos are great ways to document observations.  Be sure to record the date and time the photo or video was taken.  Email your digital files, or mail your photographic prints, video cassettes, or CD-ROM disks to EPA using the contact information above.

When describing what you observed, include:

• Activity taking place, including description of equipment and materials involved

• Descriptions of vehicles
- Color
- Company name or logo
- License plate number
- Type of vehicle

• Destination of discharge (physical location and stream name, if known)

• Environmental impacts: discoloration, dying vegetation, dead fish or other wildlife

Thank you for reporting this information to EPA.

EPA’s Budget Proposal Seeks Efficiencies, Increased Environmental Protection

Budget proposal aligned with Administrator Jackson’s key priorities

WASHINGTON - The Obama Administration today proposed a budget of $10 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This budget heeds the president’s call to streamline and find efficiencies in the agency’s operations while supporting the seven priority areas EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson outlined to guide EPA’s work.

“To meet our environmental challenges and ensure fiscal responsibility, we’re proposing targeted investments in core priorities.  This budget cuts spending while promoting clean air, land and water, growing the green economy and strengthening enforcement,” said Administrator Jackson. ”The president’s budget is focused on creating the conditions that help American families, communities and small businesses thrive. Clean air, clear water and green jobs are rebuilding the foundations for prosperity in communities across the country.”

Budget Highlights:

Cleaning up communities: This budget includes $1.3 billion to address Superfund sites that may be releasing harmful or toxic substances into the surrounding community. Cleaning up these sites improves communities’ health and allows for these properties to be used for economic development.

In addition, $215 million is provided to clean up abandoned or underused industrial and commercial sites that are available for alternative uses but where redevelopment may be complicated by the presence of environmental contaminants.  Revitalizing these once productive properties, known as brownfields, helps communities by removing blight, satisfying the growing demand for land, and enabling economic development.  EPA will focus its efforts on area-wide planning and cleanups, especially in under-served and economically disadvantaged communities.

This budget also offers $27 million for EPA’s new Healthy Communities Initiative.  This initiative will address community water priorities; promote clean, green, and healthy schools; improve air toxics monitoring in at-risk communities; and encourage sustainability by helping to ensure that policies and spending at the national level do not adversely affect the environment and public health or disproportionally harm disadvantaged communities.

Improving Air Quality: In addition to the funding provided through the Healthy Communities Initiative, this budget includes $60 million to support state efforts to implement updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). EPA proposed stricter air quality standards for smog and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and will work with states to help them meet those standards in the years ahead.

Building Strong State and Tribal Partnerships: This budget includes $1.3 billion for state and tribal grants. State and local governments are working diligently to implement new and expanded requirements under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.  New and expanded requirements include implementation of updated NAAQS and addressing emerging water quality issues such as nutrient pollution.  In addition to the $25 million for greenhouse gas permitting and $60 million to support state efforts to implement updated NAAQS, the $1.3 billion for state and tribal grants includes $45 million for states to enhance their water enforcement and permitting programs.  In order to help tribes move forward with implementation of environmental programs, $30 million is budgeted for a new competitive Tribal Multi-media Implementation grant program.  To further enhance tribal environmental management capabilities, this budget also includes an additional $9 million for Tribal General Assistance Program grants.

Taking Action on Climate Change: This budget contains more than $43 million for additional efforts to address climate change and work toward a clean energy future. EPA will implement the greenhouse gas reporting rule; provide technical assistance to ensure that any permitting under the Clean Air Act will be manageable; perform regulatory work for the largest stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions; develop standards for mobile sources such as cars and trucks; and continue research of carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

Protecting America’s Waters: This budget broadens efforts to clean up America’s great waterbodies.  It provides $63 million for efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and $17 million for the Mississippi River Basin to respond to non-point source control recommendations of the Nutrients Innovation Task Group and implement recommendations outlined in the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Action Plan.

This budget also invests $3.3 billion to maintain and improve outdated water infrastructure and keep our wastewater and drinking water clean and safe. This is in addition to $6 billion in funding provided to states through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Assuring the Safety of Chemicals: This budget calls for $56 million for chemical assessment and risk review to ensure that no unreasonable risks are posed by new or existing chemicals. This budget also invests $29 million (including $15 million in grants funding) in the continuing effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning, and $6 million to support national efforts to mitigate exposure to high-risk legacy chemicals, such as mercury and asbestos.

Expanding the Conversation on Environmentalism and Working for Environmental Justice: This budget contains $8 million for environmental justice programs. It targets increased brownfields investments to under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and proposes $9 million for community water priorities in the Healthy Communities Initiative, funds that will help under-served communities restore urban waterways and address water quality challenges. EPA is committed to identifying and addressing the health and environmental burdens faced by communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.  This commitment is fulfilled through the agency’s efforts to give people a voice in decisions that impact their lives and to integrate environmental justice in EPA programs, policies and activities.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/budget

CONTACTS:
Enesta Jones (Media Inquiries Only)
jones.enesta@epa.gov
202-564-7873
202-564-4355

Lina Younes (Public Inquiries Only)
younes.lina@epa.gov
202-564-9924
202-564-4355

PHILADELPHIA (January 26, 2010) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the creation of the “Eyes on Drilling” tipline for citizens to report non-emergency suspicious activity related to oil and natural gas development.

The agency is asking citizens to call 1-877-919-4EPA (toll free) if they observe what appears to be illegal disposal of wastes or other suspicious activity. Anyone may also send reports by email to eyesondrilling@epa.gov. Citizens may provide tips anonymously if they don’t want to identify themselves.

In the event of an emergency, such as a spill or release of hazardous material, including oil, to the environment, citizens are advised to call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

Public concern about the environmental impacts of oil and natural gas drilling has increased in recent months, particularly regarding development of the Marcellus Shale formation where a significant amount of activity is occurring. While EPA doesn’t grant permits for oil and gas drilling operations, there are EPA regulations which may apply to the storage of petroleum products and drilling fluids. The agency is also very concerned about the proper disposal of waste products, and protecting air and water resources.

EPA wants to get a better understanding of what people are experiencing and observing as a result of these drilling activities. The information collected may also be useful in investigating industry practices.

The agency works closely with state and local officials, as well as industry and public interest groups, to ensure that oil and natural gas drilling occurs in a manner which is protective of human health and the environment and complies with applicable laws.  The agency is also counting on concerned citizens to report unusual or suspicious activity related to drilling operations.

EPA is asking citizens to report the location, time and date of such activity, as well as the materials, equipment and vehicles involved and any observable environmental impacts.

The Marcellus Shale geologic formation contains one of the largest mostly untapped reserves of natural gas in the United States. It underlies significant portions of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York, and smaller portions of Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky.

Interest in developing Marcellus Shale has increased because recent improvements in natural gas extraction technology and higher energy prices now make recovering the gas more profitable.

Operators produce this gas through a process called hydraulic fracturing (fracking).  Fracking requires drilling a well thousands of feet below the land’s surface and pumping down the well under pressure millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals to fracture the shale.

The process allows the gas trapped in the formation to flow to the well bore. Approximately 20 to 30 percent of the fluid flows back to the surface. This “flowback” fluid consists of fracking fluid and brines which contain dissolved minerals from the formation.

Operators are urged to recycle their flowback water for reuse in the fracking process, but some of the flowback is taken offsite for disposal.  Chemicals used in the process are often stored on-site. Spills can occur when utilizing these chemicals or when transporting or storing wastewater, which can result in the contamination of surface water or ground water, which is used for many purposes including drinking water.

Instructions for the tipline can be found at:

http://www.epa.gov/region03/marcellus_shale/tipline.html