Water Resources

Officials from a variety of states are continuing to raise concerns over what they say is EPA's failure to consult with them as officials weigh President Donald Trump's recent order requiring EPA to limit states' Clean Water Act (CWA) roles reviewing federal decisions, despite the agency's pledge to “immediately engage with our state and tribal partners.”

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announces the release of A Framework and Tool for Evaluating California's Progress in Achieving the Human Right to Water. This draft report describes an approach for evaluating the adequacy of water quality, accessibility and affordability across California's community water systems. The report also shows how this approach can help water systems, regulators and communities understand and address the challenges their water systems may be facing.

In response to the growing problem of drinking water contaminated with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a new analysis shows that many states are establishing their own guideline levels for two types of PFAS—PFOA and PFOS—that differ from federal guidelines. The new study appears in theJournal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, which is published by Springer Nature.

Fellow Kimberley Miner has published a new article in Nature. A screening-level approach to quantifying risk from glacial release of organochlorine pollutants in the Alaskan Arctic Abstract

Fellow Bridie McGreavy is working with a diverse team to understand how news media coverage can shape the public understanding about important science issues. In particular, their research asks questions about how news articles represented the Penobscot River Restoration Project in Maine and the role of Penobscot Nation in the dam removal decision-making process.

China is the world's biggest polluter -- and now one of its largest producers of clean energy. Which way will China go in the future, and how will it affect the global environment? Data scientist Angel Hsu describes how the most populous country on earth is creating a future based on alternative energy -- and facing up to the environmental catastrophe it created as it rapidly industrialized. Watch the talk

Infinite Earth Radio, a weekly podcast featuring thought leaders and change agents who are building smarter more sustainable and more equitable communities and businesses, interviewed Fellow Mike Antos on the intersection of homelessness and water management. Listen to episode 106 (part 1) Listen to episode 107 (part 2)

Highlights

To assess the presence of organochlorine pollutants (OCP) in Alaskan sub-Arctic latitudes, Fellow Kimberley Miner analyzed ice core and meltwater samples from Jarvis Glacier, a polythermal glacier in Interior Alaska. Jarvis Glacier is...