Discover the possibilities and place your bid today at GSAAuctions.gov.

 

View this email as a web page here.

Explore items through government auctions Browse the new GSA Auctions website for the latest selection of used vehicles, furniture, and more! 🛻 🚁 🛋 🔬 Discover the possibilities and place your bid today at GSAAuctions.gov.

FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test August 2021

 

FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test

 

In coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, FEMA will conduct a nationwide test to assess the capabilities of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert at 2:20 p.m. ET on Aug. 11 with a backup date of Aug. 25.

 

The Emergency Alert System test is made available to Emergency Alert System participants (i.e., radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers and wireline video providers) and is scheduled to last approximately one minute. The test message will be similar to regular month

Water Insecurity. World Freshwater Initiative. October 2023

 

National Geographic Society and Utrecht University launch World Water Map

By National Geographic Society on Oct 05, 2023 03:52 pm
The National Geographic Society launched the World Water Map as part of its five-year World Freshwater Initiative to help understand developing freshwater shortages around the world. The tool has identified 22 water availability hotspots across the globe. 

Water Insecurity: U.S. Water Rights. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs Shuts Down Corrupt GOP Deal with Saudi Arabia for Arizona Water. October 3, 2023

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/gov-katie-hobbs-shuts-down-corrupt-gop-deal-with-saudi-arabia-for-arizona-water   Huge win for water rights for Americans in the drought plagued southwest ·        Troy Matthews Democratic Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs is pulling the plug on water leases held by Saudi Arabian companies in that state in a massive win for local water rights in the southwest.  Hobbs announced on Monday the termination of the lease for Fondomonte Arizona, a Saudi-based company that operates an alfalfa farming operation in La Paz County in western Arizona in the Colorado River Basin.  Saudi companies lease huge swaths of land along the Colorado River border between Arizona and California where they use ground water to grow alfalfa to make hay for cattle ranches in Saudi Arabia.  Fondomonte’s lease under Hobbs' predecessor Republican Governor Doug Ducey allowed them to take as much ground water as they wanted to grow alfalfa without any payment to the state.  "Today, I canceled one of Fondomonte’s Butler Valley leases and announced the State will not renew three other leases in February 2024," Gov. Hobbs said in a post on Monday.  She continued, "I’m taking action where my predecessor wouldn’t and holding Fondomonte accountable. It’s unacceptable that they have continued to pump unchecked amounts of groundwater out of our state while in clear default on their lease." Alfalfa farms are the biggest water taker in the increasingly dry Colorado River Basin. At a time when communities in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and California are having to ration their water usage due to unprecedented drought conditions brought about by climate change, corporate alfalfa farms use millions of gallons of water to grow alfalfa each year to support the cattle industry. As Lake Meade and Lake Powell in the southwest reach extinction level lows, corporate alfalfa farms use amounts of water equivalent to a small lake to sustain a single crop. The Saudi farms used so much water local residents were complaining that their ground water wells had run completely dry.  "We know by anecdotal evidence that wells are being de-watered by these big farming operations," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said. "We know that land is subsiding. We can see that with our eyes. We have existing law that we don’t think is being followed." Though much more action is needed to maintain a sustainable drinking water supply in the southwest, this move by Katie Hobbs is a huge first step in reclaiming local water sovereignty from corrupt business arrangements with the Saudis.

 

Latino Farmers & Ranchers International, Inc.
Email: latinofarmers@gmail.com
Twitter: @farmerslatino 
www.LFRINC.org.

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bEMA International Washington, D.C.  20020   Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P) A 501 (c) 3 organization

“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” —Angela Davis

Environmental. Preparedness. EPA Approves Joint Task Force-Red Hill Pre-Defueling Preparedness Report October 2023

EPA Approves Joint Task Force-Red Hill Pre-Defueling Preparedness Report

Decision paves way for safe defueling operations to begin

Media Contact: Michael Brogan, 415-295-9314, brogan.michael@epa.gov

HONOLULU (October 3, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the Joint Task Force-Red Hill (JTF-RH) Defueling Preparedness Report outlining how safe defueling will proceed at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. JTF-RH must begin defueling operations within 15 calendar days once the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) approves moving forward with the defueling process.

"EPA’s approval of the joint task force report is a significant milestone in the process to safely defuel Red Hill,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. "This decision reflects our collaborative efforts with Hawai‘i Department of Health to work with the Department of Defense on ensuring the closure of the facility and protection of the area’s drinking water. This work is critical to safeguarding public health and the environment on Oahu.”

Under the June 2023 Consent Order on Red Hill, the EPA required JTF-RH to submit the Defueling Preparedness Report prior to the start of defueling. The report certifies that:

• All repairs, operational changes, and training have been completed as prescribed under the DOD’s defuel plan.
• All repairs have gone through proper third-party quality assurance verification.
• Navy Region Hawai‘i has updated their Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan to EPA’s satisfaction.
• EPA has approved JTF-RH’s updated Facility Response Plan.
• Tank tightness testing of sumps within the lower access tunnel has been completed.

During defueling, EPA will be onsite and on-call for the duration of the operation to provide technical assistance and monitor for any anomalies in the defueling process.

In addition, the EPA will participate in a JTF-RH Defueling Open House to be held today from 4-6 p.m. HT at the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Memorial Hall located in Keʻehi Lagoon Memorial Park, 2685 North Nimitz Highway, in Honolulu. The open house allows JTF-RH and relevant state and federal agencies to engage with community leaders and members of the public and provide updates on the defueling status. In addition, on Wednesday, October 4, the EPA will take part in the first convening of the Community Representation Initiative focused on plans for defueling.

Following the November 2021 contamination of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam’s drinking water system, the Hawai‘i Department of Health issued an emergency order to the Navy that required the Navy to cease all operations at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and defuel and close the 20 underground storage tanks, surge tanks, and associated piping.

The Secretary of Defense ordered the closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and, subsequently, the United States Indo-Pacific Command established JTF-RH to carry out that order.

DOH then issued a superseding order on May 6, 2022. In June 2023, the EPA finalized an Administrative Consent Order with the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency that requires the safe defueling and closure of the Red Hill facility. The actions required by the consent order support DOH’s emergency order and require the Navy and DLA to minimize risks from the movement of fuel throughout the Red Hill facility during defueling and closure.

Read the EPA Letter of Approval of RHBFSF Defueling Preparedness Report.

Read the Final 2023 Consent Order and Statement of Work on EPA’s website.

Read about EPA’s work at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawai‘i.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region