HUNDREDS SHOW UP FOR EPA MEETING IN ST. CHARLES TO QUESTION WELLFIELD CONTAMINATION

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Hundreds of people showed up to Blanchette Park in St. Charles for a U.S. EPA meeting to discuss contamination in the Elm Point Wellfield. The City of St. Charles said it had to shut down four of its wells due to contamination.

“Your public drinking water has never shown any detections,” Clint Sperry with the EPA said. St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer said that is because they shut down the wells before contaminated water could ever leave the wells, pointing to an Ameren substation and a superfund site.

OFFICIALS SEARCH FOR SOURCE OF PFAS CONTAMINATION IN MASSACHUSETTS

Patch.com

Drinking water in the well serving a private home on Chequessett Neck Road contained nearly seven times the state’s limit for PFAS when it was tested in the spring of 2022. State and local health authorities are still working to find the source of contamination. The test was part of a Massachusetts state program offered to residents of towns where at least 60 percent of the homes have private wells.

The results for Wellfleet showed the Chequessett Neck Road residential well had tested at 139 parts per trillion (ppt). Massachusetts has set a limit of 20 ppt for the sum of six PFAS in drinking water.

MOON ROCKET LAUNCH LOOMS AS NASA EVALUATES HURRICAN DAMAGE

www.HoustonPublicMedia.org

NASA started the countdown for last month’s planned liftoff of its new moon rocket, although hurricane damage caused yet another flight delay. Hurricane Nicole’s high winds caused a 10-foot section of caulking to peel away near the crew capsule. Mission managers wanted to make sure the narrow strip wouldn’t damage the rocket if it breaks off during liftoff.

The nearly $4 billion mission has been grounded since August by fuel leaks and Hurricane Ian, which forced the rocket back into its hangar for shelter until the end of September. The rocket remained on the pad for Nicole; managers said there wasn’t enough time to move it once it became clear the storm was going to be stronger than anticipated.

EPA’S OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHES STRATEGIC RESEARCH ACTION PLANS FOR FYS 2023-2026

BTLaw.com

Research in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD) is “focused on addressing the pressing environmental and health challenge of a lack of sufficient information on chemicals needed to make informed, risk-based decisions.”

The Strategic Research Action Plan developed by the EPA will continue to:

·         Develop the science needed to reduce, refine, and replace vertebrate animal testing consistent with EPA policies;

·         Accelerate the pace of chemical assessment to enable our partners to make informed and timely decisions concerning the potential impacts of environmental chemicals on human health and the environment; and

·         Provide leadership to transform chemical testing, screening, prioritization, and risk assessment practices.

STORMS TAKE TWO LIVES IN ALABAMA, CAUSE MORE PROPERTY DAMAGE AND INJURIES

www.CNN.com

Beginning on Tuesday several storms began to travel across multiple states. Weather officials in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana issued at least 36 tornado reports since then.

A tornado in the Flatwood area of Montgomery County resulted in the death of two people. The deaths occurred when the tornado caused a tree to fall on a home. Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency found others injured and issued for search-and-rescue crews to check houses in the area. A local church was opened as shelter for impacted residents.

In addition, several buildings were damaged overnight with an apartment complex in Eutaw losing its roof and Elmore and Hale Counties were also reported to have damaged buildings.

HOMEOWNERS STILL IN THE DARK ON WATER DAMAGE INSURANCE

ShaferServices.com

BNN Bloobmerg and RATESDOTCA released results from a survey that found that 32% of homeowners don’t know “that standard home insurance policies don’t cover water damage from seepage, overland flooding, or sewer backup.”

Burst pipes and malfunctioning appliances are some examples of what home insurance policies generally cover; however, big weather-related events are generally not included under standard policies. The survey also found that only 13% of homeowners had “seepage coverage” which  would protect against overland flooding — when water pours in from the outside as a result of a street flooding or an overrun river.

VOLUSIA COUNTY PUTS DAMAGE FROM HURRICANE NICOLE AT $522 MILLION

www.WFTV.com

Following Hurricane Nicole, damages in a Central Florida coastal county were estimated at more than $522 million.

During Hurricane Ian the beach community Wilbur-by-the Sea suffered from beach erosion leaving the community vulnerable to the impact of Hurricane Nicole resulting in single-family homes falling into the ocean. Officials from Volusia County said that 29 single-family homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea had damage and that 17 were deemed unsafe following Hurricane Nicole. Additionally, seven single-family homes in nearby Ponce Inlet and three homes in New Smyrna Beach were deemed unsafe by inspectors.

According to a Volusia County property appraiser, Daytona Beach Shores by far had the most property damage in the county, estimated at $370.3 million. New Smyrna Beach was estimated at $51.1 million and Daytona Beach at $50 million; however, the property appraiser’s office warned that those figures would likely rise as more buildings are inspected.

BALTIMORE FILES SUIT OVER PFAS CONTAMINATION OF WATER SUPPLY

www.BayJournal.com

The cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia filed suit on November 3rd, against multiple manufactures of PFAS. The cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia join more than 100 other public entities nationwide in bringing litigation that seeks to hold the makers and industrial users of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS accountable for the cost of remediating contaminated drinking water.

Tests of Baltimore treated drinking water performed in 2021 found a combined concentration of 4.93 parts per trillion of two PFAS compounds, PFOS and PFOA, according to the city’s Department of Public Works.

Currently there is no federal limit on PFAS in water; however, the EPA proposed new lifetime health advisories for PFOA and PFOS, along with two other PFAS, indicating that essentially any detectable levels of those two compounds pose unacceptable risks to the public. In addition, the EPA is looking to propose nationwide drinking water limits on PFOA and PFOS at the end of 2022.

EGLE INVESTS $1.73M TO REDEVELOP CONTAMINATED AREAS IN GRAND RAPIDS, GRAND HAVEN

www.MLive.com

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) announced it has allocated $1.73 million in grants that will be put toward redeveloping West Michigan’s contaminated areas. Funding comes from a statewide effort to address brownfields in Michigan, which are unoccupied or deserted areas that are suspected or confirmed to be contaminated.

$1 million will go toward the redevelopment of Boston Square Neighborhood in Grand Rapids. The redevelopment will include building a pair of mixed-use buildings with 102 apartment units and 16,000 square feet for businesses. An additional $430,000 will go to Grand Rapids to help add multiple residential buildings, and $300,000 will go toward Grand Haven for the construction of three five-unit condominiums.

EPA REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH EVERGY KANSAS CENTRAL INC

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Evergy is a utility company engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Kansas and is headquartered in Topeka and Kansas City. The EPA announced a settlement under the Agency’s Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) program with Evergy Kansas Central Inc. at the company’s retired Tecumseh Energy Center coal-fired power plant in Tecumseh, Kansas. Evergy will take certain actions to address potential groundwater contamination from a CCR impoundment at the Tecumseh site.

CCR is produced primarily from the burning of coal in coal-fired power plants. It is a large industrial waste stream by volume and can contain harmful levels of contaminants such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and cobalt.

EPA established national rules for coal ash management and disposal in order to address the risks from disposal and discharge of coal ash, including leaking of contaminants into groundwater, blowing of contaminants into the air as dust, and the catastrophic failure of coal ash surface impoundments. Evergy will install additional monitoring wells, conduct groundwater sampling and analysis, and update closure plans for the facility’s CCR impoundment.

SWEDEN FINDS TRACES OF EXPLOSIVES NEAR DAMAGED NORD STREAM PIPELINE

finance.yahoo.com

Four sites along the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipeline were unexpectedly damaged off the coast of Denmark in the Baltic Sea in late September. Western defense officials suspect that this may have been the largest methane leak in history.

Preliminary analytics found traces of explosives on "foreign objects" that were found near the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, Swedish authorities confirmed on Friday. Chamber prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist suspects this was an act of sabotage but said the analytics work continues so that investigators can "draw safer conclusions about the incident."

The pipelines were built to carry natural gas from Russia to Europe. Because Moscow has continuously blocked gas supplies to the continent since its invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent fallout with European nations, some Western officials are blaming them for the attack.

CALIFORNIA IS SUING NUMEROUS CHEMICAL COMPANIES OVER WATER CONTAMINATION FROM ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’

Phys.org

California is suing 18 chemical manufacturing companies including 3M Co. and DuPont de Nemours Inc. California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges there is “staggering” water contamination from products made with “forever chemicals.”

The suit filed in Alameda County Superior Court against seeks damages and statewide treatment and destruction of PFAS and alleges that the companies knew or should have known the toxic impact of PFAS and concealed the dangerous effects on the environment and public health. Nearly 146 public water systems serving 16 million Californians and aquifers providing millions of residents with water have been found to have PFAS.

SEVERE STORMS CAUSE DAMAGE ACROSS ARKANSAS

KATV.com

Several tornados and thunderstorms caused damage across Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley Friday, Nov. 4. A total of 10 homes were damaged in Mansfield and surrounding areas as of Friday. There are also reports of some downed power lines and flash flooding in Sebastian County, and there were some water rescues within the City of Fort Smith.

About nine of the structures are considered minor damage but one home does have major damage. Sebastian County Office of Emergency Management Travis Cooper says they believe the house is unsuitable to stay in and possibly had part of the roof pulled off and a window busted out. Sebastian County Emergency Management plans to be out Saturday morning to assess the storm damage in the daylight.

HISTORIC WWII SHIPWRECK HAS LEAKED MANY POLLUTANTS INTO THE SEA

SciTechDaily.com

Scientists have discovered that an 80-year-old historic shipwreck from World War II is still influencing the microbiology and geochemistry of the ocean floor where it rests. The wreck is leaking pollutants, including explosives and heavy metals into the sediment of the North Sea. The seabed of the North Sea is covered in thousands of ship and aircraft wrecks, warfare agents, and millions of tons of conventional munition such as shells and bombs.

“The general public is often quite interested in shipwrecks because of their historical value, but the potential environmental impact of these wrecks is often overlooked,” said PhD candidate Josefien Van Landuyt, of Ghent University. “While wrecks can function as artificial reefs and have tremendous human story-telling value, we should not forget that they can be dangerous human-made objects which were unintentionally introduced into a natural environment,” Van Landuyt continued. “Today, new shipwrecks are removed for this exact reason.”

FEMA TAKES STEPS TO ACCELERATE DEBRIS REMOVAL IN FLORIDA; FEDERAL SUPPORT TOTALS $1.67 BILLION

www.CapeCoralBreeze.com

To accelerate the removal of debris from Hurricane Ian in Florida, FEMA is providing limited waivers to the application process for Public Assistance Private Property Debris Removal/Commercial Property Debris Removal.

More than $1.67 billion in federal grants, disaster loans and flood insurance payments has been provided to the State of Florida and to households after Hurricane Ian. If you or a member of your household uses adaptive or accessibility items that were damaged by Hurricane Ian, you may be eligible for FEMA assistance for those items.

For more information for homeowners and renters, visit Update to FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide.

UVIC HALLOWEEN PARTY VIDEOS SHOW HUNDREDS OF PARTYGOERS, PROPERTY DAMAGE

www.VictoriaBuzz.com

The University of Victoria campus was the scene of a huge Halloween party. A video of the party shows an estimated 400 people descending on UVic for a Halloween party. The partygoers describe the situation as complete mayhem. “Oh, it was crazy,” said Holly Carver, UVic student.

The party kept Saanich police officers busy until around 3 a.m. Videos show vandalism resulting in the destruction of a bathroom. The University, in anticipation of a Halloween disruption, had to put in place a “no guest policy” spanning from October 28 to November 1.The University did not say if any more changes will be implemented following with Halloween weekend party.

PG&E FIRE VICTIM TRUST ANNOUNCES SALE OF THE NEXT GROUP OF 35 MILLION SHARES OF PG&E STOCK

www.ActionNewsNow.com

In an effort to compensate victims from the fire in Northern California from 2015 to 2018 the PG&E Fire Victim Trust (FVT) sold 35 million shares of PG&E stock on October 28, 2022. Claims arising from the 2015 Butte Fire, 2017 North Bay Fires, and 2018 Camp Fire are evaluated by the Fire Victim Trust which administers, processes and resolves eligible claims.

Created in July of 2020, the Fire Victim Trust is funded with both cash and shares of stock pursuant to PG&E’s Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. The Trust aims to compensate Fire Victims for both economic and noneconomic damages caused by the fires which includes destruction or damage to real estate and personal property, additional living expenses, lost wages, business losses, personal injury or death, and related medical expenses, and emotional distress.

The Trust as of October 28, 2022, has issued determination notices to 86% of all claimants and paid claimants over $5.36 billion.

THREE RESIDENTIAL UNITS DESTROYED IN SUNDAY AFTERNOON FIRE IN NORTHEAST ANCHORAGE

www.ADN.com

A fire was reported to the Anchorage Fire Department that involved a 12-plex apartment building. The Fire Department arrived around 12 pm and reported no injuries, however; at least three residential units were severely damaged by the fire and are currently not livable.

It was reported that a unit on the ground floor where the fire began which then extended to two other units above. “One person on scene is being questioned in relation to the fire,” said, “but the origin and cause of fire are still under investigation and will be for some time.”

PFAS CONTAMINATION IN DRINKING WATER NEAR CORDOVA, IL FACILITY

www.WQAD.com

According to recent sampling results by 3M, there is widespread presence of a mixture of at least 19 different PFAS chemicals in drinking water within a 3-mile radius of the Cordova facility. As a result, the EPA has identified the situation as a substantial endangerment under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

CLEANUP OF THE LANE STREET GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION SUPERFUND SITE IN ELKHART, INDIANA

www.TheIndianaLawyer.com

A $9.8 million consent decree for the cleanup of contamination at the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Superfund Site in Elkhart, Indiana, was agreed to by Flexsteel Industries Inc. In addition, Flexsteel Industries Inc. will reimburse the EPA for a portion of its past costs incurred at the Lane Street Site.

The Superfund Site is approximately 65 acres of residential and light industrial properties in Elkhart, Indiana, impacted by a groundwater plume. Contamination at the Superfund Site includes solvents and degreasers such as trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene. “This is an excellent settlement that funds necessary cleanup of a contaminated groundwater plume in Elkhart, Indiana,” said U.S. Attorney Clifford Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana.