Must-read recap: The New Lede's top stories
PFAS designated hazardous substances; CA's top paraquat sprayers; pesticide residues on produce; EPA called to address Iowa health crisis; dire threats to rivers; worsening tide of farm pollutants.
EPA moves to make polluters foot the bill for PFAS cleanup
US regulators on Friday finalized a rule designating two widespread PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances, a step the agency says will ensure polluters pay to clean up contamination and reduce Americans’ exposure to the toxic chemicals.
Under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund law, the rule will require leaks and spills of these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to be immediately reported and will allow for investigation and cleanup of the chemicals.
The finalized rule “enables the agency to use one of its strongest enforcement tools to compel polluters to pay for or conduct investigations and cleanup, rather than taxpayers,” said the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a press release. “Designation is especially important as delay in addressing contamination allows PFOA and PFOS more time to migrate in water and soil, worsening existing contamination.” (Read the rest of the story.)
“Sustainable” company behind POM juice among California’s top paraquat sprayers
The Wonderful Company, which has been recognized for its sustainability initiatives and owns POM pomegranate juice, Fiji Water, and other popular brands, was among California’s top sprayers of the toxic weedkiller paraquat in 2021, according to a new analysis.
The major agricultural company, which grows pistachios, almonds, and pomegranates, was California’s second largest sprayer of paraquat, which has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Wonderful accounted for over 13% of the state’s paraquat use, applying almost 57,000 lbs to its fields, according to the analysis published April 18 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which drew from data obtained from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and county agriculture commissioners.
The company’s website states that “environmental sustainability is at the center of our work” and that the company, “in all its operations, must be a deeply responsible steward of the environment, and lead by example to create a sustainable future.” Wonderful has invested $400 million in sustainable agriculture, according to its website. (Read the rest of the story.)
Healthy or high risk? New analysis warns of pesticide residues on some fruits and veggies
Several types of fruits and vegetables generally considered to be healthy can contain levels of pesticide residues potentially unsafe for consumption, according to an analysis conducted by Consumer Reports (CR) released on April 18.
The report, which is based on seven years of data gathered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of its annual pesticide residue reporting program, concluded that 20% of 59 different fruit and vegetable categories included in the analysis carried residue levels that posed “significant risks” to consumers of those foods.
Those high-risk foods included bell peppers, blueberries, green beans, potatoes and strawberries, according to CR. The group found that some green beans even had residues of an insecticide called acephate, which has been banned for use on green beans by US regulators since 2011. In one sample from 2022, levels of methamidophos (a breakdown product of acephate), were more than 100 times the level CR scientists consider safe. In another sample, acephate levels were 7 times higher than CR considers safe. (Read the rest of the story.)
EPA called to address “long-ignored health crisis” in Iowa drinking water
US regulators must take immediate action to address a “long-ignored health crisis” stemming from dangerously contaminated drinking water in Iowa, according to a legal petition filed by environmental and health advocacy groups last week.
The Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) and 12 other organizations are calling for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take a series of steps to reduce harmful nitrate pollution found in water supplies in Northeast Iowa.
The petition highlights the fact that for many years, nitrate concentrations found in thousands of private wells and some public water sources have exceeded the federal limit of 10 milligrams per liter for drinking water.
State agencies have documented the contamination, but have “failed to do what is needed to correct the pervasive threat to human health,” the petition states.
“For decades, Northeast Iowa residents have been exposed to dangerous levels of nitrate contaminated water,” Food & Water Watch attorney Dani Replogle said in a press release. “As the state reckons with high cancer levels and ongoing pollution regulation rollbacks, federal action is needed to safeguard the right to clean water. EPA must exercise emergency authority to hold polluters accountable and deliver safe drinking water in Iowa.” (Read the rest of the story.)
Dire threats seen for America’s “most endangered” rivers
Rivers from Arizona to Alaska, Mississippi to Connecticut, and California to the Carolinas face dire threats from climate change, overdevelopment, pollution and water scarcity, according to a new report released by American Rivers last week.
But this year, the most endangered river isn’t a single one — it’s all of the streams in the entire state of New Mexico, according to the report.
The environmental nonprofit, which focuses on river health and publishes an annual list of most endangered waterways in the US, found that New Mexico is the state most likely to be impacted by a US Supreme Court ruling issued last year in the case of Sackett v. EPA, which stripped federal clean water protections for small streams and wetlands across the country.
The Sackett ruling found that the Clean Water Act only applies to continuous and permanent surface waters, meaning that seasonal rivers and wetlands that aren’t directly connected to rivers aren’t covered by the federal law. Instead, it’s up to states to regulate these bodies of water, which account for more than half of all wetlands and streams in the US. (Read the rest of the story.)
“It’s getting worse” — US failing to stem tide of harmful farm pollutants
VENICE, LA. Kindra Arnesen is a 46-year-old commercial fishing boat operator who has spent most of her life among the pelicans and bayous of southern Louisiana, near the juncture where the 2,350-mile-long Mississippi River ends at the Gulf of Mexico.
Clark Porter is a 62-year-old farmer who lives in north-central Iowa where he spends part of his day working as an environmental specialist for the state and the other part raising corn and soybeans on hundreds of acres that his family has owned for over a century.
Though they’ve never met, and live 1,100 miles apart, Arnesen and Porter share a troubling kinship – both of their communities are tied to a deepening water pollution crisis that is fouling the environment and putting public health in peril across multiple US states.
US farmers use more fertilizer and spread more manure than in most other countries, accounting for roughly 10% of global fertilizer use, behind China and India. But while the nutrients contained in animal manure and fertilizer are known to nourish crop growth, the resulting nitrogen and phosphorous that end up in waterways are known to create severe health problems for people.
A grand government plan to address the problem has cost taxpayers billions of dollars with minimal results so far, and nowhere is the problem more pronounced than in the Mississippi River Basin. (Read the rest of the story.)