FROM CONTAMINATION TO REGULATION
THE EPA’S TROUBLED HISTORY WITH WATER QUALITY
My original article about “A Crime Against Humanity” dealt with drinking water problems in 2021. On May 15 of this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a final rule to make annual drinking water quality reports more understandable and accessible to the public. These reports are an important tool that drinking water systems use to inform residents about water quality and any contaminants that have been found in the water. Starting in 2027, this final rule will ensure that these reports are easier to read and understand.
The problems that I wrote about in 2021, were about concerns expressed dating back to the 1950’s. This 75 years of inappropriate action or inaction by the EPA is why I referred to it in my original article as, “A Crime Against Humanity”.
The following excerpts are from my 2021 story:
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES MADE IN EPA REGULATIONS
We need to inform everyone of the danger to our public and private water distribution systems. The Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump Administration and Army Corps of Engineers have slated changes to shrink national water protections in February, 2020. In July 2017, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers formally proposed rescinding the Clean Water Rule; a proposal that has not yet been finalized. Then in February 2018, these agencies suspended the Clean Water Rule until February 2020.
The administration is proposing revisions to the Clean Water Act, which was in-acted in 1972 as a way to control the widespread pollution in the national waterways. The proposed replacement is rife with changes that would affect every American. Lawmakers, scientists, and the general public had until April 15, 2019 to make proposed changes.
The Clean Water Act requires anyone who wishes to conduct business that could pollute waters of the United States to first apply for a permit. A 2015 addition to the act, called the Clean Water Rule, expanded this red tape to some “temporary water ways” (meaning they don’t flow year-round) and “isolated water ways” (meaning they aren’t visibly connected to another body of water). The Trump Administration has already suspended the Clean Water Rule and wants to permanently kill it, as well as some other protections that were in place before 2015. They can do this by redefining what counts as “waters of the United States.”
Without the baseline protections that the new definition removes, it will be nearly impossible to keep interstate waters clean, every state has different local regulations. Local waters in states that adhere to federal government standards and nothing more would be hit the hardest, but that pollution would spread downstream, across state lines, and into larger rivers, estuaries, and lakes. Dumping contaminated water in smaller streams or wetlands could indirectly contaminate sources of drinking water and effect crucial habitats to certain animals.
This photograph serves in memorializing the chemical hexavalent chromium in Hinkley, Ca. ground water. Starring Julia Roberts in an Academy Award performance portraying “Erin Brockovich” a biographical film (2000 release). The dramatization of the fight against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) that continues to this day.
A partial excerpt of actual press release “WASHINGTON — Today, May 15, (2024) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a final rule to make annual drinking water quality reports more understandable and accessible to the public. These reports are an important tool that drinking water systems use to inform residents about water quality and any contaminants that have been found in the water. Starting in 2027, this final rule will ensure that these reports are easier to read and support public access”.
“EPA is taking action today to help ensure that the American public has improved access to information about the drinking water in their communities by strengthening requirements for annual drinking water quality reports,” said acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water Bruno Pigott. “Today’s announcement will ensure these reports are easier to understand, and easier to access in additional languages to provide all people with the information they want and need about their water.”
“A Consumer Confidence Report, sometimes called a “Drinking Water Quality Report,” Infrastructure Act of 2018, Congress instructed EPA to revise the Consumer Confidence Report Rule. Today’s final rule will support the goal of the Safe Drinking Water Act “right-to-know” provisions by improving the Consumer Confidence Reports so that people can make better decisions about their drinking water. EPA’s final rule will work to further that goal by making sure important information in annual reports are accurate and accessible, summarizes information about the local drinking water. As part of the America’s Water,”
These latest press releases confirm my concerns. 75 years is a long time to wait for action and when it is finally in-acted, an additional 3 year wait for implementation is another, “CRIME AGAINEST HUMANITY”.
You can view the original article from 2021 at The-Spirit-of-Humanity.org