The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Wednesday, April 20 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
Ecology invites comments on the Spokane County and Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District draft permits from March 18 – May 3, 2022. We are drafting updated water quality permits to ensure the five wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. These are the final two draft permits open for comment. Previously, we held comment on the Kaiser Aluminum Facility and City of Spokane Facility draft water quality permits from Dec. 29, 2021 – Feb. 11, 2022. We also have a comment period open for Inland Empire Paper from March 4 –April 18, 2022.
We are planning two identical workshops to explain the proposed changes to this permit and to answer questions prior to the formal public hearings. Hearings provide an opportunity for people to give formal oral testimony. Oral testimony will receive the same consideration as written comments. The public hearings will begin immediately following each workshop and will conclude when testimony is complete.
The workshops and hearings offered via webinar allow individuals to view the presentation and provide testimony via computer, phone, or mobile device. Ecology will not be offering in-person hearings due to safety concerns from COVID-19.
Next Steps After reviewing the feedback we receive, we respond to comments and will make decisions on permit reissuance for the facility. We plan to complete this work by Spring 2022.
Karl Rains Water Quality Planner Karl.Rains@ecy.wa.gov 509-329-3601 Pollution Prevention Grants
Watch our Webinars to Learn How to Apply for $23 Million in Pollution Prevention Grants The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making available recordings of four webinars hosted by the agency to educate stakeholders on $23 million in pollution prevention (P2) grant funding opportunities for states and tribes. Proposals are due by April 11, 2022.
Three of the webinars reviewed general information about P2 and the grant application process to help potential applicants submit high-quality applications to EPA for consideration. The fourth webinar was targeted to the specific needs of federally recognized tribes.
The two grant opportunities provide funding for states and tribes to develop and provide businesses with information, training, and tools to help them adopt P2 practices. A new P2 grant of approximately $14 million is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. For the first time, this funding is available with no grantee matching requirement, increasing access to funds for all communities. There is also a second grant opportunity for the traditional P2 grants program for approximately $9 million.
Eligible applicants include states, state entities such as universities, U.S. territories and possessions, and federally recognized tribes and intertribal consortia. EPA anticipates announcing the grant recipients on a rolling basis starting in late summer.
The next meeting of the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force is:
Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2022 Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Zoom meeting link: Please email lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for more information and to join.
The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Wednesday, March 16 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
Ecology invites interested people to review and comment on the Inland Empire Paper Company (WA0000825) draft water quality permits from March 4 – April 18, 2022. We are reviewing and drafting new water quality permits to ensure the five wastewater treatment facilities that discharge into the Spokane River continue to meet clean water requirements. This is the third draft permit open for comment. Previously, we held comment on the Kaiser Aluminum Facility (WA0000892) and City of Spokane Facility (WA0024473) draft water quality permits from Dec. 29, 2021 – Feb. 11, 2022. We anticipate draft permits for Spokane County and Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District to be available for comment in late March 2022.
We are planning two identical workshops to explain the proposed changes to this permit and to answer questions prior to the formal public hearings. Hearings provide an opportunity for people to give formal oral testimony. Oral testimony will receive the same consideration as written comments. The public hearings will begin immediately following each workshop and will conclude when testimony is complete.
The workshops and hearings offered via webinar allow individuals to view the presentation and provide testimony via computer, phone, or mobile device. Ecology will not be offering in-person hearings due to safety concerns from COVID-19.
Next Steps After reviewing the feedback we receive, we will respond to comments and make decisions on permit reissuance for the facility. We plan to complete this work by Spring 2022.
Karl Rains Water Quality Planner Karl.Rains@ecy.wa.gov
The next meeting of the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force is:
Date: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Zoom meeting link: Please email lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for more information and to join.
Attached is the final draft of the Spokane River Biofilm Study for Task Force review. Ecology will evaluate and consider any comments that are made. Please provide any comments by March 11 to Brandee Era Miller @ BERA461@ECY.WA.GOV and cc lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com.
Here is the link to the report on Ecology’s ezShare site:
Clean Water Act Section 123 Columbia River Basin Restoration Program – Request for Applications – NEW DEADLINE March 8th
EPA is offering a one month extension to the following funding opportunities.
Applications must be submitted electronically by Tuesday, March 8, 2022 11:59 pm (Eastern) through www.grants.gov by following the instructions in the RFA.
Columbia River Basin Restoration Funding Assistance Program – Lower Columbia River Estuary Basin
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10 (EPA), is issuing two Request for Applications (RFA) from eligible entities to improve water quality in the Lower Columbia River Estuary and/or the Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin through specific actions to reduce toxics, increase monitoring, and/or increase public education and outreach. The Columbia River Basin Restoration Program (CRBRP) will assist tribal, state, and local governments; nongovernmental entities, and others as they implement the Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan and the Lower Columbia River Estuary Plan – Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and conduct activities to support EPA national goals for the Columbia River Basin.
Eligible projects must address at least one of the following project categories: eliminating or reducing pollution; cleaning up contaminated sites; improving water quality; monitoring to evaluate trends; reducing runoff; protecting habitat; or promoting citizen engagement or knowledge. Priority for funding will be given to projects which are consistent with federal fiscal years 2021 and 2022 (FY21/22) funding priorities as described in the RFA.
Our work to rid schools and buildings of hazardous PCBs
Few would argue there are higher priorities than protecting children from harm. We agree with the need to provide protection for children, and want to see that protection extended to those who work with children in the places where they spend vast amounts of time: schools.
Our work to identify and eliminate toxic chemicals in schools has been ongoing for decades, but a big push in recent years has been targeting polychlorinated biphenyls, also known as PCBs. While the government banned the manufacture of PCBs in the U.S. in 1979, the chemicals remain in buildings that were constructed or renovated before or around that date.
PCBs are a group of human-made compounds found in air, water, land, and sediments. They last for decades in the environment, building up in the food chain causing toxic effects to the immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems in people and animals. PCBs also cause cancer in animals and are believed to cause cancer in people.
Below are two PMF (Positive Matrix Factorization) reports provided by Dr. Lisa Rodenburg. The Fish and Biofilm report will be up for approval at the TF meeting on the 23rd of February, and Dr. Rodenburg will give a presentation on the second (Holistic Report) at that meeting.
There will be opportunity to discuss the Holistic Report, and if the Task Force is ready, approve. Otherwise – final approval of the Holistic Report will occur at the March meeting. Please provide any comments to Dr. Lisa Rodenburg before February 23 @ l103ru@envsci.rutgers.edu and please cc lisadallywilson@gmail.com and lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com. Thank you!
The next meeting of the TTWG will be held on Wednesday, February 16 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Please contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com for the Zoom meeting link.
2022 Work Group meetings schedule: iPCB/TSCA – First Wednesday of each month @ 10 am (next mtg. March 2) Education and Outreach – Second Tuesday of every other month @ 11 am (next mtg. March 8) Tech Track – Third Wednesday of each month @ 9 am (March mtg. on the 16th) Other work groups – as needed
The next meeting of the SRRTTF will be Wednesday, February 23 @ 8:30 am Task Force meetings are usually held the fourth Wednesday of each month but all meetings are subject to change. Contact Lara Floyd (email above) for all meeting information and to join.
