The U.S. Department of Agriculture has earmarked $210 million in funding for 100 rural drinking water projects in 40 states. Agriculture Sec. Dan Glickman said the projects, part of the Clinton Administrations Water 2000 initiative, will help low income communities provide safe water.
"There are still areas, particularly farming communities and smaller rural towns, that are not sharing in our generally strong economy," Glickman said. "But before companies will invest in poverty stricken communities, there has to be some basic infrastructure." He said about two million rural Americans have substandard drinking water.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives water and power subcommittee held a hearing on the funding mechanisms available to help finance rural water projects.
The subcommittee, a panel under the Resources Committee, said it is increasingly being asked to authorize financing for rural water projects that the congressional General Accounting Office has found do not meet the current federal assistance criteria.
One of the largest of those, the Lewis and Clark Rural Water Project, is seeking $226 million in federal funding to build a major rural and municipal water system that would draw water from the Missouri River to supply 180,000 persons in parts of South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.
Cynthia Dougherty, director of the Environmental Protection Agencys office of ground water and drinking water, said her agency has reservations about the project.
She said EPA is concerned that the direct funding of rural water projects by Congress undermines the authority of states, under the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, to decide which projects should be funded to achieve the greatest public health and water quality benefits.
Later, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill to fund the Lewis and Clark project.
Bulk Water Sales
A bipartisan group of congressmen is seeking a moratorium on the bulk sale of fresh water from the Great Lakes.
Bulk Water Sales
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and six other congressmen filed a bill to block any water sales until the International Joint Commission completes a water study next February that the U.S. and Canadian governments had requested.
Bulk Water Sales
"The Great Lakes region is home to 40 million people. One quarter of Canadas population lives in the Great Lakes basin," Stupak said. "We need to formulate a policy that will carry this nation into the next millennium, when demands for our water will continue to increase."
Bulk Water Sales
The issue was raised when the Nova Group Ltd., of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, received a permit from the province to export 156 million gallons of water a year from Lake Superior for resale in Asia. The permit subsequently was canceled.
Water Announcements
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued public service announcements to inform Americans that they soon will receive information on the safety of their local drinking water.
Water Announcements
The right-to-know information, called a "Consumer Confidence Report," was required in Safe Drinking Water Act amendments that President Bill Clinton signed on Aug. 6, 1996.
Water Announcements
EPA Administrator Carol Browner said, "These new public service ads inform the public that they soon will receive important information on the quality of their drinking water.
Water Announcements
"Getting key environmental information like facts about your drinking water into the hands of the public is a critical part of the Clinton Administrations commitment to protect public health and the environment."
Water Announcements
By October, most Americans will receive notices from their drinking water suppliers, providing information on the quality of local drinking water supplies, any contaminants, and the potential health effects of those contaminants exceeding public health standards, enforcement and compliance information, sources of local drinking water, and where consumers can get additional information.
Water Announcements
EPA said about 55,000 water systems serving 250 million Americans would provide the reports yearly, either in water bills or in a separate mailing. Many systems also will provide this information on the Internet.
Water Announcements
Under the new public information campaign, EPA is providing radio and print public service announcements to the media, the drinking water community, and other interested parties that will alert consumers to the availability of the drinking water reports.
Atlanta Settlement
The U.S. Justice Department and the state of Georgia have reached a settlement with the city of Atlanta to resolve water pollution violations in the citys sanitary sewer system.
Atlanta Settlement
The agreement requires the city to pay a civil penalty of $700,000 and act to bring its sewer system into compliance with the Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act.
Atlanta Settlement
Justice said the citys sewer system has for years had inadequate collection capacity, resulting in the periodic discharge of sewage into some areas of the city.
Atlanta Settlement
"These problems have intensified as Atlantas population has grown. The agreement specifies actions Atlanta must take to stop discharges of untreated or partially treated sewage into waterways and onto land," Justice said.
Atlanta Settlement
The settlement is the second of a two-part settlement with Atlanta. In September 1998, the city agreed to resolve federal and state water violations at its combined sewer overflow facilities.
Atlanta Settlement
Under the first settlement, the city must implement a $27.5 million environmental project that calls for the creation of a greenway corridor and a one-time stream cleanup along selected waterways.
Atlanta Settlement
Also under the first settlement, the city will pay a $2.5 million penalty - the largest Clean Water Act penalty ever assessed against a municipality - bringing the total combined penalty to $3.2 million.
Atlanta Settlement
The latest agreement prohibits the city from installing new sewer lines in neighborhoods where the systems lack capacity to handle new flow, unless the city either increases system capacity or reduces flow from other sources.
Atlanta Settlement
It also requires the city to implement detailed programs for pipes that carry sewage to treatment plants. Finally, the settlement requires the city to install flow-monitoring devices throughout its sewer system in order to determine the amount of flow handled by the system.
Enforcement Cases
William Lee Slocum Jr., of Youngsville, Pa., has been indicted in Western Pennsylvania federal court for conspiracy and violations of the Clean Water Act.
Enforcement Cases
Prosecutors alleged that as an employee of Youngsvilles sewage treatment plant between February 1983 and June 1995, he and others caused raw sewage to bypass the treatment areas of the plant and discharge directly into Brokenstraw Creek.
Enforcement Cases
He also allegedly failed to remove sludge, concealed the fact that the plant was hydraulically overloaded, and tampered with flowmeter equipment.
Enforcement Cases
If convicted on all counts, Slocum could face a maximum sentence of up to 32 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $2.5 million.
Enforcement Cases
Raymond Guanill of Fairfield, Calif., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco on 16 counts of violating the Clean Water Act by not following a permit issued to the Rodeo Sanitary Sewer Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Enforcement Cases
Guanill, manager of the plant from Dec. 1, 1992, through Nov. 7, 1997, allegedly ordered his operators to bypass the chlorine contact chamber, resulting in the discharge of partially treated sewage into the San Pablo Bay, which is part of the San Francisco Bay. He also is charged with failing to report and sample untreated and partially treated sewage.
