DAILY DIGEST, 8/9: La Niña arriving later than previously forecasted; Startups are racing to make water out of thin air; Direct Potable Reuse regulations approved; Deadline looms for California airports to stop using PFAS firefighting foams; and more …


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On the calendar today …

  • WORKSHOP: Central Valley Flood Protection Board beginning at 10am. At this workshop, Board staff will lead discussions on current administrative processes for Board issued authorizations; alternatives to update current fee structure, and an overview of proposed new fees for regulatory services that currently do not require fees; and proposed minor changes and clarifications to Title 23. Click here for workshop agenda and remote access instructions.

In California water news today …

La Niña is arriving in California later than previously forecasted. Here’s why

“La Niña is expected to develop this fall, with a 66% chance of emerging from September to November, according to an update Thursday by the Climate Prediction Center. La Niña is a global climate pattern defined by unusually cool waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, typically leading to drier weather in Southern California. While sea surface temperatures in the region have been dropping in recent months, they are still near normal. When conditions are not in La Niña or El Niño, they are referred to as being in the “neutral” phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).  The Climate Prediction Center announced a 74% chance that La Niña conditions will continue into the winter. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle (gift article).

SEE ALSO: La Niña is set to arrive later than expected: Here’s when, from News 10

Startups are racing to make water out of thin air

“At a laboratory in a Southern California warehouse, scientist Heng Su unveils what could be a world-changing solution to the global water crisis. The small handheld object looks unremarkable, consisting of stacked white fins that resemble a miniature old-fashioned apartment radiator. But when Su puts the device on a scale, it silently gains weight within seconds. As the minutes pass, it gets heavier and heavier. That’s because the gadget is invisibly gathering water molecules from the surrounding air.   A few feet away, four of the water harvesters sit inside a plastic enclosure shaped like a transparent birdhouse. The warm air inside dislodges the H2O molecules from the harvesters and a condenser transforms the water vapor into liquid, which is dripping into a beaker. The technology, called metallic organic frameworks (MOFs), doesn’t require electricity and can produce water with just ambient sunlight. It’s Irvine-based startup Atoco’s vision for how to provide water in an increasingly arid world. … ”  Read more from BNN Breaking.

SEE ALSOMaking Water From Air Could Be a Key Climate Tool: Green Daily, from Bloomberg

Direct Potable Reuse regulations approved

“On August 6, 2024, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the direct potable reuse (DPR) regulations that were previously adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) on December 19, 2023. The approved regulations – which go into effect on October 1, 2024 – will allow public water systems and other agencies in California to obtain permits to develop DPR projects.  DPR is when purified recycled water is placed directly into a public water system or into a “raw” (untreated) water supply immediately upstream of a drinking water treatment plant. The extensive DPR regulations require an exceptionally high level of treatment, reflecting the recommendations of independent expert review panels and advisory groups convened by the State Water Board to ensure the DPR regulations will protect public health. … ”  Read more from Nossaman.

RELATED: Direct Potable Reuse Regulations Approved, notice and FAQ from the State Water Board

CA Prop 4 includes historic investments in food & farm resilience

“Last month, the California Legislature and Acting Governor Mike McGuire passed and approved SB 867, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024. The bond measure will show up as Proposition 4 on voters’ ballots this November, and if passed, will invest $10 billion in various climate change, drought, flood, and wildfire mitigation efforts. NRDC Action Fund fully supports and endorses Proposition 4.  The sustainable agriculture chapter (Chapter 7) is particularly noteworthy because it makes historic investments in food and farm resilience, and would not have been possible without the successful multi-year campaign organized by the Food and Farm Resilience Coalition (FFRC)—a group of 17 environmental, agricultural, farmworker, public health, and food security organizations. … ”  Read more from the NRDC.

U.S. Forest Service orders Arrowhead bottled water to stop taking water from San Bernardino Mountains

“The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has ordered BlueTriton Brands, the company formerly known as Nestlé that bottles and sells bottled water brand Arrowhead Water, to stop drawing water from the San Bernardino Mountains in California.  The decision by USFS supports a cease and desist made last year by the California Water Resources Control Board that stated the company did not have water rights for diverting and bottling water in the San Bernardino National Forest. According to the decision fact sheet, the company was ordered to stop operations at 10 of its 13 diversion points and was required to submit monthly reports for the remaining water being taken and bottled.  Now, USFS has denied BlueTriton’s application for a new permit and is requiring the company to stop its bottling operations in the San Bernardino Mountains. The company has been ordered to remove its diversion infrastructure, including a pipeline, from the area, the Los Angeles Times reported. BlueTriton Brands has sued to challenge the decision, according to a court document filed on August 6. … ”  Read more from EcoWatch.

SEE ALSO:

Drought-related water pollution disproportionately affects California Latino communities: Study

“Drought-driven drinking water contamination is disproportionately affecting members of California’s Latino communities, a new study has found.  Among the pollutants plaguing these water systems are arsenic and nitrate, which are linked to an increased risk of a variety of diseases, according to the study, published Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health. Some such illnesses include cancers, cardiovascular diseases, developmental disorders and birth defects.  Oftentimes, community water systems that distribute water with higher contaminant concentrations exist in areas that lack sufficient public infrastructure or sociopolitical and financial support, the authors noted. Meanwhile, drought conditions generally make water sources less dilute, thereby triggering a spike in contaminant concentrations. … ”  Read more from The Hill.

Drought costs U.S. hydropower billions while increasing emissions, study finds

“Low water levels in the United States caused significant economic losses for hydropower and increased emissions as natural gas plants fired up to fill the power supply gap, concludes a new study highlighting hydropower’s vulnerability to drought.  “Through our analysis, we estimated that the U.S. potentially incurred a loss of approximately US$28 billion in the hydroelectricity sector due to drought between 2003 and 2020, 50% of which has incurred in the Western U.S.,” write researchers from the Center for Complex Hydrosystems Research at the University of Alabama.  The hydroelectricity decline led to an overall drop of about 300 megawatt-hours generated, particularly affecting the states of California, Washington, and Oregon, where economic losses exceeded $8.7 billion, $4.2 billion, and $1.6 billion, respectively. … ”  Read more from the Energy Mix.

Deadline looms for California airports to stop using PFAS firefighting foams

“A majority of California airports known to be contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals are continuing to rely on PFAS-laden foams for firefighting, despite a looming state deadline to phase out the foams due to the risks they pose to human and environmental health.  Only four out of 30 contaminated airports in the state have confirmed that they have stopped using foams containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – also known as “forever chemicals” – and moved to a PFAS-free alternative. The majority are still struggling to transition, The New Lede has learned.  Though there is some indecision by state officials over the deadline for compliance, the airports could potentially face civil action against continued use of the PFAS-containing foams after September. … ”  Read more from the New Lede.

Tracking the restorative effects of good fire

“A few miles south of Yosemite’s famed Glacier Point, ringed by striking granite domes, lies the Illilouette Basin. This small stretch of the Sierra Nevada Mountains has become a sort of fire laboratory, a place where natural wildfires have been allowed to burn since 1972. In contrast with the long-supported program of fire suppression that has dominated American forests since the late 19th century, resulting in dense and unhealthy forests, the Illilouette Basin’s story is about the benefits that natural fire can bring to the landscape.  DRI’s Gabrielle Boisramé, an ecohydrologist and environmental engineer, has been studying the area for more than a decade. The project began during her Ph.D., when a fire ecologist noticed wetland plants growing in the footprint of a burnt forest. He turned to hydrologists to help uncover how wildfire changed the way water moved through the area, and Boisramé soon had her dissertation project. She knew that the work had larger implications than understanding how fires alter the plant life growing in burnt forests, as the Sierra Nevada Mountains serve as one of the nation’s most important sources of freshwater.  “This project is really important because the Sierra Nevada supplies most of California’s water, which allows the state to grow many foods for around the world,” Boisramé says. “Reducing fire size protects water quality.” … ”  Continue reading from the Desert Research Institute.

Protecting communities and watersheds through research in a redwood forest

“Water trickles in a stream and redwoods tower overhead in Jackson Demonstration State Forest near Fort Bragg in Northern California. Joe Wagenbrenner, a research hydrologist with the U. S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station, shares the story behind the scenery.  “Our scientific findings here help inform the regulation of the timber industry within state and private lands in California,” Wagenbrenner states.  Over 30 of us listen intently. A diverse group from the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, Northern Arizona University, Cal Poly Humboldt, and other organizations, we’ve gathered to learn about, or in some cases, speak about research occurring here. … ”  Read more from EurekAlert.

July was California’s hottest month ever, as climate warms to dangerous new extremes

“The month of July kicked off with a dire warning: A rare, long-duration heat event was forecast to bring extreme heat risk across the West, with triple-digit temperatures and dangerous fire conditions expected in much of California for days on end.  That outlook quickly proved accurate — and would end up defining almost the entire month in the Golden State, which would see little relief from unrelenting heat.  As the first heat wave kicked off, utility officials on July 2 initiated the year’s first planned power shutoffs in some Northern California counties, trying to avoid dangerous fire starts in the scorching weather.  Then, record after record across the state shattered. Palm Springs saw its hottest day ever, hitting 124 degrees July 5. Redding hit an all-time high of 119 degrees July 6. Palmdale and Lancaster had almost a week straight of days at or above 110 degrees, more than doubling the cities’ previous streaks. … ”  Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo News.

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In regional water news and commentary today …

NORTH COAST

A geography of hope: Following the removal of four dams on the Klamath River, the work of restoring the watershed is now underway.

“The epic task of rewilding a river and restoring its watershed is underway in the Klamath Basin. Now that the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River have been demolished, billions of seeds are being planted where toxic blue-green algae once floated. As they grow, these native plants stabilize sediment that remains after the reservoirs were drained. As soil builds and nutrients cycle through it, insects arrive, attracting birds. As other fauna and flora find their way to the re-emergent lowlands, the local food chain regains connectivity.  Benefits from restoration projects will take time to become evident, cautioned Barry McCovey, director of the Yurok Tribe’s fisheries department. “From an engineering perspective, when you build a highway or you build a bridge, you do the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and everything’s beautiful and brand new. That’s the best that’s gonna look. Over the years, it’s gonna degrade; it’s just going to get worse and worse. River restoration and dam removal projects are the opposite. When you do the ribbon-cutting ceremony, it’s the worst it’s gonna look cause the heavy equipment just pulled out. It’s muddy, it’s dirty, it doesn’t look like a river yet. But come back in a year. Come back in ten years, come back in twenty years. It just gets better and better and better as the ecosystem fixes itself.” … ”  Read more from Earth Island Journal.

Marsh trail closures for wastewater plant upgrades

“Construction continues in the Arcata Marsh in support of the Phase One Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvement Project. The Klopp Lake Trail and the Humboldt Bay Trail at the Butcher Slough bridge will be closed Monday, Aug. 12 through Thursday, Aug. 15.  Community members should follow the posted detour signage and are encouraged to access the other open trails in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary.  The City of Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility (AWTF) is continuing its Facility Improvements Project with electrical work and construction of new infrastructure to and within the Enhancement Marshes. … ”  Continue reading from the Mad River Union.

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES

Complexities of managing sewage in the Tahoe basin

“Tahoe’s clarity report card just came out, yet two sewage spills occurring within less than two weeks of each other have minds on murkier matters.  A private contractor working for Caltrans on Highway 28 near Gar Woods struck a North Tahoe Public Utility District’s main sewer export pipeline the morning of July 18. This sent an estimated 85,000 gallons of raw sewage into Carnelian Bay. The spill closed beaches and a myriad of health advisories ensued, warning of elevated water bacteria counts. All advisories finally lifted on July 31.  “It was not a case of infrastructure failure in any way,” NTPUD Public Information Officer Justin Broglio said, explaining it was 100% human caused and upgrades would not have helped in this situation. While upgrades would not have avoided the north lake spill, a corroded valve caused a spill just 11 days later and many miles south. … ”  Continue reading from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Small mussel, big threat: What Tahoe water managers are doing to keep out invasive species

“Beneath the aquamarine surface of Lake Tahoe is a battle that few people see.  It’s a struggle between invasive species, transported to the lake by humans, and native species. It’s not a fair fight — which is why water managers are attempting to intervene and control the infestations of non-native plants and animals.  The lake is now home to nearly a dozen invasive species. They originate from around the world and include Asian clams, New Zealand mudsnails and bullfrogs native to the Eastern United States. Domestic invasive species also affect the lake, such as the goldfish people dump into Big Blue that eventually grow into aquatic behemoths.  The invasive species in Lake Tahoe vary greatly but have some similar characteristics, said Kevin Netcher, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). They’re typically able to reproduce quickly. They are highly predatory.  And they’re hard, if not impossible, to eradicate once established. … ”  Read more from the Nevada Independent.

The Smoke Effect: How are wildfires impacting lakes like Tahoe

“Three summers ago, the Caldor Fire burned its way up the Western Slope into the Tahoe Basin, scorching 221,835 acres. The fire burned for over two months, cloaking the lake and its surrounding communities in unprecedented smoke. While hundreds fled the area — by choice or mandatory evacuation — scientists took to the water to try and better understand how the smoke and ash were impacting the lake.  With wildfires increasing in frequency and intensity, especially in California, understanding their impact on such a vital resource is key. Ten of the largest California wildfires in recorded history have occurred in the last 20 years with five taking place in 2020 alone, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.  “Fire is going to be a bigger component of the landscape for the next 100 years, without question, under best case scenarios,” confirms Dr. Steve Sadro, U.C. Davis associate professor of environmental science and policy. … ”  Read more from the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Annual report on state of Lake Tahoe shows recent impacts, long-term trends

“The annual “State of the Lake” report from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at the University of California, Davis, released today (Aug. 8), shows how long-term climate trends continue to affect the iconic lake in complex ways. The report also describes how research at Lake Tahoe relates to work at other lakes in the U.S. and worldwide, including the development of new technology, and how citizens are contributing to preserving Tahoe’s natural beauty.   “From wildfires to weather extremes, climate change is impacting Lake Tahoe just as it is lakes and rivers across the country. Our long-term research at Lake Tahoe can help us better understand and perhaps mitigate these impacts,” said Alexander Forrest, interim director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. … ”  Read more from UC Davis.

Deep Dive: A historical view of Tahoe from inside the lake

“Every year thousands of visitors flock to Emerald Bay State Park. Many of them enjoy the scenic drive on Highway 89, scores of them hike down to the beach and tour Vikingsholm, hundreds take in the sight of the crystal clear water by boat, kayak, or paddleboard and even a few lucky people get to explore the tea house on Fannette Island.  What many people don’t know is that lurking under the surface of the Bay’s waters is another part of the State Park, a part that the vast majority of visitors don’t get to see; California’s First Maritime Heritage Underwater Trail at Emerald Bay.  The underwater trail takes scuba divers and snorkelers to four sites in Emerald Bay where 20 they can see various scuttled boats, as well as a scuttled barge. … ”  Read more from the Sierra Sun.

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

Landscape begins recovering at Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve

“Chico State has been working to assess Park Fire damage across 7,835 acres at Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, with visiting staff reporting new green growth sprouting amid the burn scar, according to a press release Wednesday morning by the university.  Most of the university’s infrastructure at the site has been destroyed, including a historic barn previously used as meeting place for outdoor excursions. Reserve staff are now using 25 Main St. as headquarters. … ”  Read more from the Chico Enterprise-Record.

A new U.S. Forest Service fire station is coming to Chico

“A new U.S. Forest Service fire station is coming to Chico.  The groundbreaking takes place tomorrow at the Chico Seed Orchard off of Skyway. Action News Now talked to the U.S. Forest Service Public Affairs Officer, Tamara Schmidt, about behind the scenes of this new fire station.  Schmidt said that the Feather River hotshot crew hasn’t had an official station base since 2020. Their previous station in Brush Creek was affected by the 2020 North Complex Fire. … ”  Read more from Action News Now.

BAY AREA

New Baylands habitat map tracks restoration progress

“The Baylands Habitat Map 2020 is the first complete map of San Francisco Bay wetland and aquatic habitats produced since 2009. It provides updated maps of tidal habitats and diked baylands, expanding our understanding of the full impact of recent habitat change and restoration.  Created by the Wetland Regional Monitoring Program and San Francisco Estuary Institute, and funded by the US EPA Water Quality Improvement Fund, this effort marks a major advancement in tracking habitat change in the Bay.  Why is the 2020 Baylands Habitat Map so important to wetland management?  Wetland management and restoration require accurate habitat maps that can quantify changes around the Bay. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Estuary Institute.

Zone 7: Preparing for the storm

“Climate change models forecast that California’s fluctuations between dry and wet years will grow more intense as the globe warms. So when Zone 7 Water Agency’s territory sustained severe damage in the storms of 2017 following the drought of 2012-2016, it catalyzed increased preparation for a future of greater climate extremes.  With funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency Water Quality Improvement Fund, Zone 7 teamed up with San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), H. T. Harvey & Associates, and the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture for Preparing for the Storm. The team developed a set of multi-benefit approaches to improve the health and flood resilience in the East Bay’s Tri-Valley region in the Alameda Creek watershed. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Estuary Institute.

CENTRAL COAST

California Marine Sanctuary Foundation scores a transformative grant for the Monterey Bay area.

“For Robert Mazurek, executive director of the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, two things stand out for him as career milestones. The first was helping to launch the Seafood Watch program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the early 2000s.  The second milestone is happening right now: On July 26, CMSF was awarded $71.1 million of federal grant money to help the region adapt to climate change as part of NOAA’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, which launched in 2023 with $575 million – funded by the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act – to award to projects nationwide. CMSF’s proposal for Monterey Bay was the only one funded in California.  “It’s huge,” Mazurek says. “It’s a really big deal for this community.” … ”  Read more from Monterey Now.

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Visalia’s Greg Collins talks H2O at Tulare County Voices @210

“Water has always been important for Greg Collins, maybe even more than most people.  Whether as a swimmer, competitive water polo player and coach, urban planner, Visalia City Council member, grower, skier, fly fisherman and simply lifelong resident of the San Joaquin Valley, where water has been a defining feature of its history forever.  Since retiring from his business and from city leadership, Collins has taken a renewed interest in the Valley’s relationship with water, especially because of recent stipulations in California to assure its sustainability.  Water has literally been his home.  For the first time, Collis has written about it. … ”  Read more from the Visalia Times-Delta.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

A landslide is ravaging his community, but he refuses to give up

“Gordon Leon dodged low-hanging trees as he crisscrossed his way up to yet another battle in his war against this unpredictable hillside.  The incline isn’t especially steep, but the path is uneven and narrow, at times even precarious. Still, the 72-year-old Leon easily handled the 10-minute climb to reach a makeshift dam he and a determined crew of neighbors had pieced together with bags of concrete below a small spring.  “Fifteen gallons per minute running out of what geologists call a ‘seep’ in the canyon,” he explained.  Anywhere else in California, such a natural water source might be celebrated. But here, near the most active portions of an accelerating and expanding complex of landslides known to be triggered by groundwater, it’s like dry brush next to an open flame. … ”  Read more from the LA Times.

SAN DIEGO

Local water rates to increase 14.9%

“Valley Center Municipal Water District rates will see an overall rate increase of 16.1 % effective January 1, 2025 from its wholesale supplier, the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), which supplies 100% of VCMWD’s water. When combined with a lower 5% increase for locally controlled operations costs, the net impact for most customers will be 14.9%.  Last year the overall rate of increase was 9%. “This one is a little bit larger than we have seen in the past,” VCMWD Gen. Mgr Gary Arant told The Roadrunner. “Though in the mid-90s rates went up over 30% in some years. It is certainly not unprecedented in the history of rate increases.”  The SDCWA rate increase is 14% overall for all its member agencies, but the actual rate impacts is specific to each agency. … ”  Read more from the Valley Roadrunner.

CDC to probe health risks connected to Tijuana River sewage flow

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has agreed to investigate the potential health risks associated with sewage flowing into the Tijuana River and across the border into southern San Diego County.  In a letter dated last week, CDC Director Mandy Cohen said its Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry would collect environmental sampling data from federal, state and local health agencies regarding health risks stemming from contaminants in the water, soil and air. … ”  Read more from NBC 7.

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Along the Colorado River …

Arizona residents fear what the state’s mining boom will do to their water

“Overlooking a ridge in the Galiuro Mountains, one of Arizona’s famed Sky Islands that provide refuges for wildlife in the hot Sonoran Desert, Melissa Crytzer Fry and her husband, Steve, stand above what could one day become an underground mine.   Steve pulls up a map showing Faraday Copper’s proposed mine site on a tablet and points to surrounding locations that would become mining pits, waste piles or facilities for the project. A creek that feeds into the river below them, at the mountains’ base, would become six open pits.  Under the peaks here lies copper, a long-standing pillar of Arizona’s economy and a critical mineral for the renewable energy transition because of its ability to transmit electricity. Its significance is not lost on the Frys; Steve works in the tech industry that depends on it.  But mining’s legacy is all around them in the desert northeast of Tucson. Facing their overlook, a tailings pile from a 1970s copper mine scars the earth. … ”  Read more from Inside Climate News.

A fifth of U.S. green hydrogen projects eyed for water-stressed areas

“As the federal government pours billions into hydrogen production to lower greenhouse gas emissions, critics worry water shortages in the Southwest could worsen.  Armed with bright green shovels, executives from the Australian mining giant Fortescue broke ground in May on a green hydrogen plant outside of Buckeye, Arizona, in an area the city calls the “Sustainable Valley.”  But this wind- and solar-powered plant in the Sonoran Desert will make hydrogen trucking fuel from a groundwater source that experts say is not sustainable. The 11,000 metric tons of hydrogen per year that the project plans to produce will require at least 26 million gallons — and use between 32 to 45 million gallons total if the additional water needed for purification and cooling is included, according to water usage estimates by the Argonne National Laboratory. … ”  Read more from Clean Technica.

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In national water news today …

US landfills are major source of toxic PFAS pollution, study finds

“Toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” that leach from landfills into groundwater are among the major pollution sources in the US, and remain a problem for which officials have yet to find an effective solution.  Now new research has identified another route in which PFAS may escape landfills and threaten the environment at even higher levels: the air.  PFAS gas that emits from landfill waste ends up highly concentrated in the facilities’ gas treatment systems, but the systems are not designed to manage or destroy the chemicals, and much of them probably end up in the environment.  The findings, which showed up to three times as much PFAS in landfill gas as in leachate, are “definitely an alarming thing for us to see”, said Ashley Lin, a University of Florida researcher and the lead author of the study. … ”  Read more from The Guardian.

States want to clean up leaky oil wells. Well-intentioned laws are getting in the way.

“An estimated 880,000 abandoned oil and gas wells dot the United States. These orphaned wells, some of which were deserted as long as a century ago, can leak toxic oil and gas into the groundwater and air. They also emit methane, the planet-warming primary component of natural gas. In 2021, Congress appropriated $4.7 billion to help clean up the mess by giving states the money they need to seal the wells and remediate their surroundings. Over the last two years, the federal Department of Interior has doled out nearly $1 billion of this total. As of March, more than 7,700 wells have been remediated as a result.  But with hundreds of thousands of orphaned wells still to go, the road ahead is rocky, in part because states are struggling to meet the Interior Department’s requirements for receiving the remaining funding. … Most states have already used that funding, and they’ve reported the amount of avoided methane emissions as a result. (In a report to Congress late last year, the Interior Department noted that regulators in California, Colorado, Louisiana, and New Mexico had plugged 328 of roughly 500 orphan wells that were emitting the equivalent of approximately 11,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.) … ”  Read the full story at Grist.

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Also on Maven’s Notebook today …

Direct Potable Reuse Regulations Approved

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.

 

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