The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
Meeting Documents:
TTWG_agenda 1-17-2023
TTWG_01172023 d2
WaterColumnTrend_HighFlow_Scope_01092023draft
Scope of Work for Additional Groundwater Flow Direction Evaluations_Dec19_2022_DRAFT
The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Tuesday, December 20 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
Meeting Documents:
TTWG_agenda 12-20-2022_final
Scope of Work for Additional Groundwater Flow Direction Evaluations_Dec19_2022_DRAFT
TTWG_12202022
Hi all,
Due to the snow expected in Spokane overnight and tomorrow, we are changing this meeting to Zoom only.
Please email lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
Thanks!
The ACE Board will be holding a meeting on December 1, 2022 from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Teams meeting link. Here is the agenda:
Ecology News:
Washington Department of Ecology is excited to share a new resource to help property owners, public entities, developers, and others play an active role in removing PCB sources across the State.
The Department of Ecology, in partnership with the National Estuary Program, has published How to Find and Address PCBs in Building Materials and How to Estimate Abatement Project Costs for PCBs in Building Materials. These materials are intended to help property owners and consultants:
For more information, please visit their webpage. They currently plan to provide training and publish other materials focused on highlighting important aspects of the guidance in early 2023.
If you have questions, please reach out to:
Myles Perkins, PE
Hazardous Waste & Toxics Reduction – WA State Department of Ecology
PO Box 330316
Shoreline, WA 98133-9716
myles.perkins@ecy.wa.gov │ Cell: 425.457.2514 │ Meet our Team
High concentrations of PCBs and Mercury found in Salmon article:
Oregon Public Broadcasting and Propublica purchased 50 Columbia River adult salmon and sampled them for toxins. These salmon were found to contain high concentrations of PCBs and mercury that have the potential to trigger fish consumption advisories. Please see link to the article below.
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-us-broke-promise-to-protect-fish-for-tribes
Laura Klasner Shira, P.E.
Yakama Nation Fisheries
PO Box 151, Toppenish, WA 98948
509.985.3561
The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Tuesday, November 22 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
TTWG_agenda 11-22-2022 v2
Historical_PCB_Source_Review_Draft_11152022
PCB_Program_Talking_Points_Clean_2022-11-18 Revisiting_Superfund_Sites_Clean_2022-11-18
EPA news:
On November 14, 2022, the Administrator signed the final rule to restore protective federal human health water quality criteria for the state of Washington. These federal criteria will help protect the health of all Washington state residents, and particularly tribal people and others who consume higher levels of locally caught fish and shellfish. When EPA initiated this rulemaking to restore the federal criteria, we committed to an expedited schedule to finalize the rule. We are pleased that the Administrator was able to sign a month and a half earlier than anticipated.
For background on EPA’s actions related to human health criteria in Washington and to download a copy of the final rule, please visit the following website: https://www.epa.gov/wqs-tech/federal-human-health-criteria-washington-state-waters.
If you have questions or wish to discuss further, please feel free to call me at (360) 753 – 9082.
Thank you,
Lucy Edmondson
Director, Washington Operations Office
US EPA Region 10
300 Desmond Drive
Lacey, WA 98503
(she/her/hers)
Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Location: Spokane County Water Resource Center (1004 N. Freya St., Spokane, WA)
Zoom meeting link: Please email lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for more information and to join via Zoom if you cannot attend in person.
0- SRRTTF agenda_9_28_22
1 – SRRTTF Meeting Summary August 24, 2022
2a – 2022-08-31 ACE Commitment Report
2b – ACE Monthly Summary AUG 2022
3 – Task Force WGs Sept. 28 2022 – PPT Update template
4 – SRRTTF TSCA report version 2
4b – Addendum A iPCB report
4c – Addendum B iPCB report
5 – SRRTTF_GEFingerprint_09282022
Ecologystaffing update092292022
Future Meeting Topics September
The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Wednesday, September 21 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
TTWG members will discuss and hopefully finalize a prioritization scheme to identify high priority (PCB) sites identified by the Next-level Historical Review. Please take some time to review the attached presentation and be prepared to make suggestions regarding the proposed approach. The work group will also be discussing next steps in evaluating the highest priority sites.
Meeting documents:
TTWG_agenda 9-14-2022_
HistoricalAssessment_TTWG_09212022
TTWG_2022MonitoringStatus_09212022
TTWG_CompilationofMonitoringWell_09212022
TTWG_GEFingerprint_09212022
Date: Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Location: Spokane County Water Resource Center (1004 N. Freya St., Spokane, WA)
Zoom meeting link: Please email lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for more information and to join via Zoom if you cannot attend in person.
Meeting Documents:
0- SRRTTF agenda_8242022
1 – SRRTTF Meeting Summary June 22, 2022
2a – 2022-07-31 ACE Commitment Report
2b – ACE Summary
3 – Task Force WGs Aug 24 2022 – PPT Update template
4 – SRRTTF Stormwater Media Campaign.Report.August.22
5 – iPCB National Outreach Campaign update
6 – SRRTTF Future 20220627
7 – SRRTTF_EvaluationOfMP_FINAL-08.15.2022
8 – Future Meeting Topics August
The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Wednesday, August 17 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
Meeting documents:
| Final water quality permit – City of Spokane Wastewater Treatment Ecology has finalized the permit for City of Spokane Wastewater Treatment Facility (WA0024473). This is the final of five permits we have issued to ensure the wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. Previously, we held a public comment period on the draft permit from Dec. 29, 2021 – Feb. 1, 2022 and May 11 – June 11, 2022. We’ve included a response to comments we received as an appendix to the permit. View final permit documents Webpage Adriane Borgias Eastern Region Water Quality Manager Adriane.Borgias@ecy.wa.gov  509-329-3515 |
Ecology has finalized the permit for Spokane County Regional Water Reclamation Facility (WA0093317). This is the second of five permits we have finalized to ensure the wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. Previously, we held a public comment period on the draft permit for Spokane County from March 18 to May 3, 2022. We’ve included a response to comments we received as an appendix to the permit.
| View final permit documents |
| Ecology has finalized the permit for Inland Empire Paper Company (WA0000825). This is the third of five permits we have finalized to ensure the wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. Previously, we held a public comment period on the draft permit for Inland Empire Paper from March 4 to May 2, 2022. We’ve included a response to comments we received as an appendix to the permit. View final permit documents |
| Ecology has finalized the permit for Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District (WA0045144). This is the fourth of five permits we have finalized to ensure the wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. Previously, we held a public comment period on the draft permit for Liberty Lake from March 18 to May 3, 2022. We’ve included a response to comments we received as an appendix to the permit. View final permit documents Next steps We are still reviewing the feedback we received on the City of Spokane draft permit. We will respond to comments and make decisions on the final permit by Summer 2022. Visit our website for more information. 2022 Water Quality Assessment call for data https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Water-quality/Water-improvement/Assessment-of-state-waters-303d?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery We are beginning our next update to the Water Quality Assessment and we need recent water quality data from Washington’s rivers, streams, lakes, and marine waters. We are seeking data collected between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2021. To make sure your data is included in this next Water Quality Assessment, please submit before September 30, 2022. Water quality data can be submitted to Ecology’s Environmental Information Management (EIM) database. Narrative information and studies, such as published research and peer-reviewed reports, can be submitted directly to Water Quality Assessment staff at 303d@ecy.wa.gov. All data submitted must have been collected under a quality assurance project plan, or similar guidance document. Data must be representative of ambient water quality conditions. Submitters must be able to confirm that quality assurance procedures were followed and must be prepared to provide a copy of the plan upon request. If you previously submitted data to us, you do not need to submit it again. We’re awarding $317 million in grants and loans for 124 high-priority clean water projects across the state. Our Water Quality Combined Funding Program supports local communities by helping them upgrade wastewater treatment and sewer systems, manage polluted stormwater, and complete a variety of other projects to prevent and clean up diffuse sources of pollution, also known as nonpoint pollution. For a useful tool to view and search some of our past and currently funded Water Quality projects, the Ecology Grants and Loans Map Viewer and Search Tool is now available. This allows search and viewing of information about not just Water Quality funded projects, but also many other Ecology funded projects throughout the state. Thank you, Adriane P. Borgias (she/her) Water Quality Section Manager, Eastern Regional Office Washington State Department of Ecology 4601 North Monroe Street Spokane, WA 99205-1295 Adriane.Borgias@ecy.wa.gov (509) 329-3515 |