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A senator questions the <strong>economic analysis</strong> the EPA used in revising a contentious water rule. The House approves a budget amendment that would neuter the EPA’s ability to enforce <strong>Chesapeake Bay</strong> water pollution targets. Baltimore submits a <strong>$1.6 billion plan</strong> to upgrade its sewer system to comply with the Clean Water Act. NOAA creates a new permit for <strong>desalination infrastructure</strong> within a national marine sanctuary off the California coast. And lastly, President Trump signs a $15 billion <strong>Hurricane Harvey aid package</strong>.</p><blockquote><p>“We are concerned that the absence of transparency displayed by [Bureau of Reclamation] during the planning phase of the [Bay-Delta Conservation Plan] will be perpetuated in the future.” &#8212; Conclusion from an <a href="https://www.doioig.gov/sites/doioig.gov/files/FinalAudit_BayDeltaPlan_Public.pdf" target="_blank">inspector general report</a> into financial wrongdoing by the Bureau of Reclamation in planning a pair of tunnels to divert water around California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.</p></blockquote><h3>By the Numbers</h3><p><strong>$15.25 billion</strong>: Size of Hurricane Harvey aid package approved by Congress and signed by the president. Additional federal funds will be on the table once the costs of recovery are clearer. The aid package also included an increase in the debt limit, and extensions of the budget and the National Flood Insurance Program, all until December 8. (<a href="https://policy.house.gov/legislative/bills/concurring-senate-amendment-hr-601" target="_blank">House of Representatives</a>)</p><p><strong>$1.6 billion</strong>: Cost of <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-sewer-agreement-20170906-story.html" target="_blank">Baltimore’s plan</a> to reduce sewer overflows into rivers and sewage backups into houses. Baltimore submitted the revised plan, mandated by the EPA, to federal court to comply with the Clean Water Act. The order extends the timetable for addressing sewage problems from 2016 to 2030. These orders, called consent decrees, often cost large cities billions of dollars to fix inadequate sewer systems and are a big driver of water affordability problems. (<a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EPA_Baltimore_ConsentDecree2017.pdf" target="_blank">Department of Justice</a>)</p><p><strong>127</strong>: Number of recommendations that a government watchdog has made in the last decade that the EPA has not implemented. Three-quarters of the recommendations deal with managing grants, regulating drinking water contaminants, and cleaning up hazardous waste sites. An example for water: the EPA has not fully implemented guidelines suggested in 2013 for overseeing regional farm pollution programs. (<a href="http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-801T" target="_blank">Government Accountability Office</a>)</p><h3>News Briefs</h3><p><strong>Senator Questions EPA Analysis of WOTUS Rule Benefits</strong><br /> Sen. Tom Carper, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, <a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/2/e/2e67da92-19ad-4ae4-b4bb-c07c99d4c779/E2981B00AD67A8E6E5C3A454B93EF850.carper-questions-epa-on-verbal-direction-to-delete-economic-data-in-clean-water-rule-rewrite.pdf" target="_blank">asked the EPA administrator</a> for documents related to the Trump administration’s repeal of a contentious water rule.</p><p>Carper is concerned about reports, both news reports and disclosures by agency employees to his staff, that EPA political appointees ordered economic benefits of the rule be erased during an internal review.</p><p>In its push to repeal the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States rule, which defined the water bodies that are subject to federal oversight, Trump’s EPA redid the economic analysis that underpins the rule. Any major rule such as WOTUS that undergoes revision requires such analysis.</p><p>The EPA’s revised analysis showed that repealing the rule would be more beneficial to the U.S. economy than keeping it in place. See this <em>Bloomberg BNA</em> story for <a href="https://www.bna.com/epa-water-rule-n73014462367/" target="_blank">more details</a>.</p><p><strong>House Votes to Neuter EPA Oversight of Chesapeake Bay</strong><br /> The House voted 214 to 197, largely along party lines, to bar the EPA from enforcing water pollution targets for the Chesapeake Bay. The provision is an amendment to an EPA and Interior Department spending bill.</p><p>This is the second consecutive year that he House has approved the amendment, proposed both times by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The amendment “prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from using any funds to take retaliatory, or EPA described ‘backstop’ actions, against any of the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the event that a state does not meet the goals mandated by the EPA&#8217;s Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load.”</p><p>Though it again passed the House, Karla Raettig, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, an amendment opponent, says that there is not the same support in the Senate. “We don’t expect it to be in the final funding bill, but we’re not letting our guard down,” she told Circle of Blue.</p><p><strong>Senators Request Funding for Firefighting Chemical Contamination</strong><br /> Seven senators <a href="https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/358073165-Letter-to-Senate-Appropriations-Committee-Water-Contamination-Near-Military-Bases.pdf" target="_blank">asked colleagues on the Senate budget committee</a> to fund health studies and environmental assessments of a class of chemicals called PFASs, which are used to manufacture firefighting foams, among other goods.</p><p>The senators who signed the letter all represent states &#8212; Colorado, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington &#8212; in which PFASs used on military bases or industrial facilities have contaminated groundwater.</p><p><em>In context: <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/2017/water-quality/nonstick-chemicals-slipped-water-causing-health-environmental-regulatory-mess/" target="_blank">Nonstick chemicals slipped into water, causing health, environmental, regulatory mess</a>.</em></p><p><strong>Desalination Infrastructure in a National Marine Sanctuary</strong><br /> NOAA announced that it will <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-18995" target="_blank">create a new “special use” permit</a> to allow the installation of desalination pipelines in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, off the California coast. Pipelines in this case means those for transporting ocean water inland or disposing of brine from the desalination facility. The permit would be issued after state and federal environmental reviews. An annual rent will be paid by any company laying a pipeline on the seabed or burying it below ground. Rent equals $0.02 per cubic inch of pipeline within the sanctuary.</p><h3>Studies and Reports</h3><p><strong>Investigators Question Bureau of Reclamation Spending</strong><br /> This <a href="https://www.doioig.gov/sites/doioig.gov/files/FinalAudit_BayDeltaPlan_Public.pdf" target="_blank">case of government misappropriation</a> is a bit convoluted, but bear with me.</p><p>The Bureau of Reclamation operates the Central Valley Project, a canal system in California that diverts water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and delivers it to municipal, industrial, and farm users in addition to wildlife refuges. These contractors were supposed to pay the cost of the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, a project to build a new water diversion and restore 150,000 acres of wetland and other habitat.</p><p>Reclamation instead paid $50 million of the planning costs &#8212; costs that should have been borne by the water users under a “beneficiary pays” principle. The subsidy was not disclosed in annual financial reports. Investigators said that Reclamation “could not give a valid rationale for providing the subsidy” other than “the water contractors asked [Reclamation] to pay.”</p><p><strong>Interior Department Lawyer Clears Path for Mojave Groundwater Project</strong><br /> The Interior Department’s lawyer <a href="http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/2017/09/07/federal-policy-change-criticized-giving-free-pass-controversial-desert-water-project/640783001/" target="_blank">reversed the department’s 2011 legal opinion</a> that required a proposed groundwater pumping project in the Mojave Desert to get a federal permit, the <em>Desert Sun</em> reports.</p><p><strong>Trash Cleanup After Hurricanes</strong><br /> Mounds of garbage, awaiting pick up, line streets today in Houston. The Congressional Research Service outlines <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R44941.pdf" target="_blank">the role of federal and state agencies in removing debris after a disaster</a>. Debris can “lead to future environmental, health, or safety problems, such as groundwater contamination,” the report notes.</p><h3>On the Radar</h3><p><strong>Idaho Public Hearings</strong><br /> Idaho officials are seeking authority to write and enforce pollution discharge permits under the Clean Water Act. This power, called primacy, is held by 46 states. The EPA will hold <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-hold-five-public-meetings-idaho-focusing-ideq-seeking-water-quality-permitting" target="_blank">five public meetings</a> in the state this week to review the proposed transfer of power.</p><p><strong>Aluminum Limits</strong><br /> The EPA will hold a webinar to go over a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/wqc/aquatic-life-criteria-aluminum" target="_blank">recently proposed update</a> to its standards for protecting fish and other water creatures from harmful aluminum. The <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/us-epa-webinar-reviewing-the-draft-aluminum-aquatic-life-criteria-tickets-37491588350" target="_blank">webinar is September 14</a> and registration is free.</p><p>Public comments on the updated standards are being accepted through September 26.</p><p><em><a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/" target="_blank">Federal Water Tap</a> is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, <a href="http://twitter.com/circleofblue" target="_blank">follow</a> Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/contact/weekly-newsletter-sign-up/" target="_blank">newsletter</a>.</em></p></div><div id="ts-fab-below" class="ts-fab-wrapper"><span class="screen-reader-text">The following two tabs change content below.</span><ul class="ts-fab-list"><li class="ts-fab-bio-link"><a href="#ts-fab-bio-below">Bio</a></li><li class="ts-fab-latest-posts-link"><a href="#ts-fab-latest-posts-below">Latest Posts</a></li></ul><div class="ts-fab-tabs"><div class="ts-fab-tab" id="ts-fab-bio-below"><div class="ts-fab-avatar"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/brett-walton-720-720-590x590.jpg?fit=80%2C80" width="80" height="80" alt="Brett Walton" class="avatar avatar-80 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-80 alignnone photo" /><div class="ts-fab-social-links"><a href="http://twitter.com/waltonwater" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/plugins/fancier-author-box/images/twitter.png?resize=24%2C24" alt="My Twitter profile" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></div></div><div class="ts-fab-text"><div class="ts-fab-header"><h4><a href="http://circleofblue.org/author/brett" rel="nofollow">Brett Walton</a></h4></div><div class="ts-fab-content">Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/water-tap/">Federal Water Tap</a>, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/2016/world/brettwalton/">first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States</a>(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/contactbrettwalton/">Contact Brett Walton</a></div></div></div><div class="ts-fab-tab" id="ts-fab-latest-posts-below"><div class="ts-fab-avatar"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/brett-walton-720-720-590x590.jpg?fit=80%2C80" width="80" height="80" alt="Brett Walton" class="avatar avatar-80 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-80 alignnone photo" /><div class="ts-fab-social-links"><a href="http://twitter.com/waltonwater" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/plugins/fancier-author-box/images/twitter.png?resize=24%2C24" alt="My Twitter profile" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></div></div><div class="ts-fab-text"><div class="ts-fab-header"><h4>Latest posts by Brett Walton <span class="latest-see-all">(<a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/author/brett/" rel="nofollow">see all</a>)</span></h4></div><ul class="ts-fab-latest"><li> <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/2018/world/amid-political-quarrels-cape-town-crisis-engineers-prepare-dams-day-zero/">Amid Political Quarrels over Cape Town Crisis, Engineers Prepare Dams for Day Zero</a><span> - February 13, 2018</span></li><li> <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/2018/federal-water-tap/federal-water-tap-february-12-reservoirs-colorado-texas-gain-endorsements/">Federal Water Tap, February 12: Reservoirs in Colorado and Texas Gain Endorsements</a><span> - February 12, 2018</span></li><li> <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/2018/world/many-questions-expert-committee-begins-study-legionella-plumbing/">Many Questions as Expert Committee Begins Study of Legionella in Plumbing</a><span> - February 9, 2018</span></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div id='jp-relatedposts' class='jp-relatedposts' ><h3 class="jp-relatedposts-headline"><em>Related</em></h3></div><div class="addtoany_share_save_container addtoany_content_bottom"><div 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class="fb-comments" data-href="http://www.circleofblue.org/2017/federal-water-tap/federal-water-tap-september-11-reclamation-misspent-funds-californias-delta-tunnels-planning-investigators-say/" data-numposts="5" data-width="100%" data-colorscheme="light"></div></div><footer class="entry-footer"></footer><div class='post_delimiter'></div></div><div class='post_author_timeline'></div><span class='hidden'> <span class='av-structured-data'  itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"  itemprop='image'> <span itemprop='url' >https://i2.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The-Federal-Water-Tap.jpg?fit=300%2C300</span> <span itemprop='height' >300</span> <span itemprop='width' >300</span> </span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop="publisher" itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization" itemscope="itemscope" > <span itemprop='name'>Brett Walton</span> <span itemprop='logo' itemscope itemtype='http://schema.org/ImageObject'> <span itemprop='url'>http://www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/circle-of-blue.png</span> </span> </span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop="author" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" ><span itemprop='name'>Brett Walton</span></span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2017-09-11T06:00:14+00:00" >2017-09-11 06:00:14</span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop="dateModified" itemtype="https://schema.org/dateModified" >2017-09-11 01:23:45</span><span class='av-structured-data'  itemprop="mainEntityOfPage" itemtype="https://schema.org/mainEntityOfPage" ><span itemprop='name'>Federal Water Tap, September 11: Reclamation Misspent Funds on California’s Delta Tunnels Planning, Investigators Say</span></span></span></article><div class='single-big'></div></main><aside class='sidebar sidebar_right  alpha units'  role="complementary" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="https://schema.org/WPSideBar" ><div class='inner_sidebar 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data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="The-Stream-Circle-of-Blue" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-Stream-Circle-of-Blue.jpg?fit=500%2C500" data-large-file="https://i1.wp.com/www.circleofblue.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-Stream-Circle-of-Blue.jpg?fit=500%2C500" /></span> </span> </span></a><a class='avia-post-nav avia-post-next with-image' href='http://www.circleofblue.org/2017/world/californias-clean-water-experiment-begins-deliver/' > <span class='label iconfont' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='' 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