Must-read recap: The New Lede's top stories
Universities' role in fertilizer pollution; lawsuit over nuclear power plant dismissed; EPA's cadmium criteria failing endangered species; Wisconsin city sues PFAS; paraquat and Parkinson's hearing.
Advising farmers on fertilizer, universities add to water pollution woes
Corn drapes every curve and rise here in Winona County, Minnesota – seemingly endless fields of grain that contribute to the food, fuel and finances of a robust US agricultural economy.
But the bucolic landscape belies a dark and dangerous truth: Much of the groundwater in the porous limestone beneath this area of southeast Minnesota is contaminated with some of the nation’s highest levels of nitrates – harmful pollutants released into the environment by the use of nitrogen chemicals and livestock manure as fertilizer on farmland.
Groups are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect residents of Winona and seven other southeast Minnesota counties from “imminent and substantial endangerment” caused by nitrate contamination. The agency’s regional office has begun to interview state officials.
The issue is not unique to Minnesota. State and federal data show that since 1990, nitrogen spread on fields in ten major US corn-growing states has increased 26%, with more nitrogen than ever pouring off the land and into US waters. (Read the rest of the story.)
California court dismisses lawsuit over nuclear power plant
A California state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by an environmental group seeking to force Pacific Gas & Electric Power Co. (PG&E) to adhere to a 2016 pledge to fully retire the state’s last nuclear power plant by 2025.
Instead of preparing to shutter its operation, PG&E is seeking approval to keep the Diablo Canyon plant open through 2045. The plant, which has come under fire for environmental and safety concerns, rests on the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The San Francisco County Superior Court decision, issued August 23, sided with PG&E’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on procedural grounds. The decision followed a court hearing on August 21.
“It didn’t come as a huge surprise, but we’re still very disappointed in the outcome,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director of Friends of the Earth (FOE), which filed the lawsuit in April alleging that PG&E is violating the agreement it signed with the group in 2016. “It was very clear to us after the hearing that the judge didn’t want to touch this case with a ten-foot pole.” (Read the rest of the story.)
EPA risking endangered species by allowing increased cadmium pollution, judge rules
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is failing to protect endangered species such as sea turtles and sturgeon by allowing sharp increases in levels of toxic cadmium in US waters, a federal judge has ruled.
The court decision, handed down Aug. 18 in the US District Court for the District of Arizona, sided with the environmental group the Center for Biological Diversity, which argued in a 2022 lawsuit that the EPA violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it failed to determine whether allowing a 188% increase in chronic freshwater exposure to the heavy metal would harm already endangered aquatic animals and organisms.
Acute cadmium exposure has been found to cause increased mortality in certain organisms, while chronic exposure has been shown to impact growth, reproduction, immune and endocrine systems, development, and behavior of wildlife.
Federal law requires the EPA to consult with expert wildlife agencies, such as the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Services, when taking actions that can put endangered species at risk. The lawsuit alleged the agency failed to do the necessary consultations in the cadmium case. (Read the rest of the story.)
Wisconsin city sues PFAS manufacturers for contaminating water supply
A Wisconsin city filed a lawsuit last week against multiple manufacturers of toxic substances knowns as PFAS, claiming the chemical makers should be responsible for more than $20 million in expected costs to clean up PFAS-contaminated water supplies.
The legal action by the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin adds to a rapidly expanding mass of US litigation that targets 3M, DuPont and other companies for allegedly knowingly contaminating the environment for decades with harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
“The PFAS manufacturers, not the public, should be responsible for these costs,” Eau Claire city officials said in a statement. “These companies knew long ago that PFAS chemicals were harmful yet failed to warn the public or remove the product from the market, all the while profiting greatly from its continued sale.”
Costs for the city to mitigate PFAS-contaminated water have already exceeded $1 million, according to the city. (Read the rest of the story.)
Science takes center stage in court hearing over paraquat and Parkinson’s disease
Testimony was underway last week in a key federal court hearing aimed at examining scientific evidence about allegations that a widely used weedkiller called paraquat causes Parkinson’s disease.
The outcome of the hearing, which began August 21 and ran through August 24 in East St. Louis, Illinois, is critical for thousands of people with Parkinson’s who are suing paraquat maker Syngenta AG and former paraquat distributor Chevron.
The plaintiffs claim scientific research shows that exposure to paraquat significantly increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease, but instead of warning users the companies prioritized paraquat sales over human health. The first trial is scheduled to begin in October.
Following the hearing, US District Court Chief Judge Nancy Rosenstengel will determine whether or not the plaintiffs’ experts and their scientific analyses will be allowed as evidence in the upcoming trials. Syngenta and Chevron are asking the judge to bar each of the plaintiffs’ scientific experts from testifying, saying their experience is lacking and their analyses are deeply flawed. If the judge agrees, the plaintiffs’ cases could be virtually unwinnable. (Read the rest of the story.)