Drinking water

Missouri will use $146 million in federal Recovery Act funds and $120 million in state funds on work to address aging wastewater and drinking water infrastructure

November 9, 2009 -- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon visited construction sites in Liberty and Springfield today to announce the Work Now initiative, which commits more than $260 million in federal and state funds to wastewater and drinking water construction projects in communities across Missouri. Gov. Nixon approved 60 of these drinking water and wastewater projects as appropriate for funding in letters to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.    » read more »

Patrick-Murray Administration Receives $185M In Federal Recovery Act Funds For Water Treatment Projects; "Green Infrastructure" requirement promises savings, clean energy for municipalities

BOSTON – Monday, June 15, 2009 – Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray and state environmental officials today joined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson to announce more than $185 million in federal stimulus funding for Massachusetts, which will be used to finance more than 127 statewide drinking water and waste water infrastructure projects that will protect the environment and the public health.    » read more »

American Public Deserves to Know Chemicals Used Near Their Water Sources

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) joined U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Jared Polis (D-CO) today to introduce companion Senate and House bills, the FRAC Act -- Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, amending the Safe Drinking Water 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.    » read more »

Funds Made Available through the USDA’s Rural Development Program

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $2,661,000 to the City of Manistique through the Rural Development Program. The city received $1,995,000 in grant funding and a $666,000 loan from USDA to improve the water treatment plant.

“This funding will help improve water quality for the Manistique area, ensuring that over 1,400 families have access to clean drinking water,” Stabenow said. “Not only will these improvements help keep Michigan families healthy, but it will also protect our environment.”    » read more »

Federal funding to protect environment

May 22, 2009 -- TALLAHASSEE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today applauded the award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of $88 million to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This new infusion of money brings to more than $212 million the total amount provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to help local governments finance improvements to wastewater, stormwater and drinking water facilities essential to protecting public health and the environment across the state.    » read more »

18 Oregon Communities are awarded stimulus funds for safe drinking water project, creating 500 jobs across the state

May 20, 2009 -- (Salem) - Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski today announced that the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) awarded federal recovery funds to 18 Oregon community water systems totaling $27.8 million to help construct and improve to drinking water systems across the state.    » read more »

N.J. Sen. Fought for Federal Funds for Garden State; With New Formulas, N.J. would receive $109 million under Obama FY2010 Budget

May 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) last week announced the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation to increase New Jersey’s share of funding for wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities.

The new formulas, coupled with increased funding under President Obama’s proposed FY2010 budget, would give New Jersey $109 million next year. That would represent an increase of $81 million in funds from last year.    » read more »

Executive Order Will Improve Environment and Save Taxpayer Dollars; New York Becomes Second State in the Country to Eliminate Purchase and Use of Bottled Water

May 5, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today signed an Executive Order to phase out New York State’s purchase and use of bottled water at State agency facilities. This announcement, made by the Governor at “Earth Day Lobby Day” in Albany, marks another important step New York State is taking to improve the environment while simultaneously saving taxpayer dollars. Today’s actions make New York the second state in the country to eliminate the purchase and use of bottled water.    » read more »

How the Supreme Court Has Broken the Clean Water Act and Why Congress Must Fix It

April 14, 2009 -- For decades, the Clean Water Act has broadly protected America’s lakes, rivers, streams, and drinking water sources from unregulated pollution and destruction, rescuing them from the dire straits they were in during the late 1960s and early 1970s. But because of a concerted effort by polluters and developers, and muddied rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court, up to 60 percent (at least 15,000 important waters) have lost these vital protections and countless other waters (including more than 50 percent of our streams and 20 million acres of wetlands) are at risk of losing protections.    » read more »

Kansas City, Kan., June 23, 2008 -- Flood water samples taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the city limits of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Hamburg, and Burlington, Iowa, showed numbers of fecal coliform bacteria exceeding the health-based level of concern. The level of concern is 200 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 milliliters (ml). The sampling results ranged between 270 cfu/100 ml and 68,000 cfu/100 ml. The highest end of the range was found only in the Cedar Rapids area and it is believed to be associated with the fact that the wastewater treatment plant is not operating.    » read more »

Community groups react to news that DuPont’s Teflon chemicals likely contaminate area residential wells. Eight of nine DuPont monitoring wells exceeded New Jersey’s “alert level.”

June 9, 2008 -- Deepwater, NJ—A coalition of environmental and labor groups are calling for the testing of private drinking water wells in four towns near DuPont’s Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, N.J. They are concerned about the possible presence of the dangerous Teflon chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).    » read more »

SAN FRANCISCO, 05/19/2008 –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently ordered the City of Nogales to correct violations of the nation’s Safe Drinking Water Act, specifically, monitoring for disinfection byproducts.

According to the EPA, the City of Nogales failed to submit a plan detailing how it will monitor and sample for disinfection byproducts that could be produced when chlorine, ozone, or chlorine dioxide are used to disinfect the water. If the city fails to comply with the order, it could face fines of up to $32,500 per day.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, March 26, 2008 -- The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1,318,900 to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) to implement requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

LDHH will use the funds to conduct sanitary surveys and perform analyses of drinking water samples.

As part of this project, LDHH will also investigate potential public health problems in the treatment or distribution of drinking water.

Additional information on EPA grants:
epa.gov/region6/gandf/index.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6:
epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at:
epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio032608_ldhh

Source: EPA

Washington, D.C. - Sept. 26, 2007 -- EPA is helping to reduce lead in drinking water by issuing a final rule that will improve requirements in the areas of monitoring, customer awareness and lead service line replacement. Specifically, the agency will require water suppliers to provide consumers with information to help them make decisions about how to limit their exposure to lead in drinking water.    » read more »