U.S. EPA Announces $95 Million for Wastewater Projects in California

NOTE:   The EPA estimates that $271 billion is needed to address the nation’s aging and failing wastewater infrastructure, of which $26 billion is needed in California.

BEMA International



For Immediate Release:  January 18, 2017
U.S. EPA: Nahal Mogharabi, 213-244-1815, Mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov

U.S. EPA Announces $95 Million for Wastewater Projects in California

Agency highlights upgrade to wastewater treatment plant in Holtville, protection of Salton Sea

HOLTVILLE–The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $95 million in new funding to California for improvements in local wastewater infrastructure. Today’s announcement was made by the EPA Pacific Southwest’s Water Division Director, Tomás Torres, in the City of Holtville where he joined Holtville Mayor Mike Goodsell and representatives of the State Water Board. The state will use the funds through its Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund to reduce water pollution.

The event in Holtville highlighted upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment plant to comply with water quality standards and protect the Salton Sea into which it discharges. The city is paying for the $14.4 million project with approximately $7.5 million from the State Revolving Loan program plus $6.9 million from the EPA’s Border Environment Infrastructure Fund.

“EPA is committed to helping communities across Imperial Valley protect the state’s vital water resources” said Mr. Torres. “Our investments renew aging infrastructure, which can be costly for smaller communities like Holtville.”

Holtville’s 850,000 gallon per day wastewater treatment plant serves 6,594 residents, but does not comply with discharge standards for ammonia, bacteria such as E. coli and other pollutants. In addition to the current project, EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture recently provided $6 million to the city for a 3-mile sewage pipeline replacement and connections to 20 homes on failing septic systems.

California may allocate some of this year’s loan funds for the water recycling facility at the Padre Dam Municipal Water District in Santee. The district is on track to receive a $101.2 million loan to expand their water recycling facility from two to six million gallons a day, decreasing the demand on potable water supplies.

An example of a recently-funded project is the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District’s $565 million Tertiary Treatment Facility Project. This is part of the massive EchoWater project which will enable Sacramento’s regional wastewater treatment plant to meet new water quality requirements by removing more ammonia and nitrates through filtration and enhanced disinfection. The project will serve over 1.4 million residents and help protect the sensitive Delta ecosystem.

Since its inception in 1988, the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund has been awarded more than $3 billion in federal funding. As loans are repaid and new state and federal dollars are added, the fund grows and continues to provide low interest loans and subsidies for projects. Without the loan program, many communities would incur greater debt or delay needed water quality projects. The EPA estimates that $271 billion is needed to address the nation’s aging and failing wastewater infrastructure, of which $26 billion is needed in California.

The EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region administers and enforces federal environmental laws in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands and 148 tribal nations -- home to more than 48 million people.

For more information on EPA Region 9’s State Revolving Fund program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/cwsrf

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2017. U.S. Department of State Student Internship Program (unpaid)

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We are now accepting applications for the U.S. Department of State Fall 2017 Student Internship Program (unpaid). Please visit http://careers.state.gov/intern/student-internships for more information about the U.S. Department of State Fall 2017 Student Internship Program (unpaid), and to start the online application process via USAJOBS. Please note that the deadline to submit completed applications is March 1, 2017. Visit USAJOBS.gov to view the announcement: U.S. Department of State Fall 2017 Student Internship Program (unpaid). We suggest that you submit your application as early as possible to insure that all documents have been uploaded properly and to account for any technical glitches that may occur. U.S. citizenship is required. If you have any questions or would like to search for topics of interest, please visit our forums or FAQs at careers.state.gov. We appreciate your interest in a career with the U.S. Department of State.

2017. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, EPA & NAVAJO NATION ANNOUNCE SETTLEMENT, CLEANUP OF 94 ABANDONED URANIUM MINES

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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, EPA AND THE NAVAJO NATION ANNOUNCE SETTLEMENT FOR CLEANUP OF 94 ABANDONED URANIUM MINES ON THE NAVAJO NATION

 
SAN FRANCISCO– The United States and the Navajo Nation have entered into a settlement agreement with two affiliated subsidiaries of Freeport-McMoRan, Inc., for the cleanup of 94 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation. Under the settlement, valued at over $600 million, Cyprus Amax Minerals Company and Western Nuclear, Inc., will perform the work and the United States will contribute approximately half of the costs. The settlement terms are outlined in a proposed consent decree filed today in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona. With this settlement, funds are now committed to begin the cleanup process at over 200 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.

The work to be conducted is subject to oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.

“This remarkable settlement will result in significant environmental restoration on Navajo lands and will help build a healthier future for the Navajo people,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We appreciate the extraordinary commitment by Freeport’s affiliated subsidiaries to clean up 94 mines, and to achieve this settlement without litigation. The Justice Department is always ready to work cooperatively with the Navajo Nation and responsible private parties to address the legacy of uranium mining on Navajo lands.”
  
 “This historic settlement will clean up almost twenty percent of the abandoned mines on the Navajo Nation,” said Acting Regional Administrator, Alexis Strauss for the EPA Pacific Southwest.  “Cleaning up the uranium contamination continues to be a top environmental priority for our Regional office.”

The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 square miles within Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in the Four Corners area. The unique geology of the region makes the Navajo Nation rich in uranium, a radioactive ore in high demand after the development of atomic power and weapons at the close of World War II. Many private entities, including Cyprus Amax (a successor-in-interest to Vanadium Corporation of America and Climax Uranium Company) and Western Nuclear, mined approximately thirty million tons of uranium ore on or near the Navajo Nation between 1944 and 1986. The federal government, through the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), was the sole purchaser of uranium until 1966, when commercial sales of uranium began. The AEC continued to purchase ore until 1970. The last uranium mine on the Navajo Nation shut down in 1986.

Many Navajo people worked in and near the mines, often living and raising families in close proximity to the mines and mills where ore was processed. Since 2008, federal agencies—including EPA, the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the Interior, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Indian Health Service—have collaborated to address uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. The federal government has invested more than $130 million to address the legacy of abandoned uranium mines on Navajo lands. EPA has also compiled a list of 46 “priority mines” for cleanup and performed stabilization or cleanup work at 9 of those mines. Further, EPA’s cleanup efforts have generated over 100 jobs for Navajo citizens and work for several Navajo owned businesses. The settlement announced today includes 10 priority mines and is expected to create many jobs for Navajo workers.

This settlement agreement resolves the claims of the United States on behalf of EPA against Cyprus Amax and Western Nuclear; of the Navajo Nation against the United States, and against Cyprus Amax and Western Nuclear; and of Cyprus Amax and Western Nuclear against the United States. Cyprus Amax and Western Nuclear agree to perform removal site evaluations, engineering evaluations and cost analyses, and cleanups at the 94 mines. In return for that commitment, the United States, on behalf of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy, agrees to place $335 million into a trust account to help fund the cleanup.

In April 2014, the Justice Department and EPA announced in a separate matter that approximately $985 million of a multi-billion dollar settlement of litigation against subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will be paid to EPA to fund the clean-up of approximately 50 abandoned uranium mines in and around the Navajo Nation, where radioactive waste remains from Kerr-McGee mining operations. EPA commenced field work with the proceeds from this settlement last year. In addition, the United States previously entered into two settlement agreements with the Navajo Nation to fund cleanups at 16 priority mines and investigations at an additional 30 mines for which no viable responsible private party has been identified.

The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. Information about submitting a public comment is available at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees

Media Contacts:
Department of Justice: 202-514-2007
EPA: Margot Perez-Sullivan, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov