Water and Waste Water
Class #8
Homework: Research paper due to Professors Auberle and Jeffery before take final exam.
Trends in water quality management; ISO 14000.
1. Announcements
Case study due before begin Class #8. If not, stop and complete/submit to Professors Auberle and Jeffery
Last Class. Emerging trends, both here and internationally.
2. Current Events
3. Trends in water quality management
Clean Water Action Plan URL
Released by EPA 2/19/98
Clean Water Action Plan
Despite tremendous progress, 40% US waters still unsafe for fishing/swimming
Pollution from factories and sewage treatment plants, soil erosion, and wetland losses dramatically reduced, but runoff from city streets, rural areas, and other sources continue
Fish many waters dangerous levels mercury, polycholorinated byphenyls (PCBs), and other toxics
Clean Water Program at a Crossroads
Implementation existing programs not stop threats to public health, living resources, and nation’s waterways, particularly from polluted runoff
Lack strength, resources, and framework to finish job restoring rivers, lakes, coastal areas
Blueprint for Restoring/Protecting Water Resources
Cooperative Approach to Watershed Protection
Key element in Clean Water Action Plan. State, tribal, federal and local governments and public first identify watersheds with most critical water quality programs and then work together to focus resources and implement effective strategies to solve problems.
New Initiatives
To Reduce Public Health Threats
To Improve Stewardship of Natural Resources
To Strengthen Polluted Runoff Controls
To Make Water Quality Information More Accessible
$568 Million in new resources in Clinton’s proposed FY 1999 budget
Four Tools for Clean Water
Four Tools for Clean Water
A Watershed Approach
Strong Federal and State Standards
Natural Resource Stewardship
Informed Citizens and Officials
A Watershed Approach
Past 25 years, most water pollution control efforts relied on broadly applied national programs that reduced water pollution from individual sources.
Key to future are strategies built on this foundation, but tailored to specific watershed conditions.
Why Watersheds?
Clean water is product health watershed – urban, agricultural, rangelands, forest lands, and all other parts landscape well-managed to prevent pollution.
Focusing on whole strikes best balance among efforts to control point source pollution and polluted runoff, and protect drinking water sources and sensitive natural resources such as wetlands.
Also helps identify must cost-effective pollution control strategies to meet goals.
Key Elements of the Watershed Approach
Unified Watershed Assessments
Currently states, tribes, federal agencies set priorities many different ways.
State water quality agencies developing lists impaired water bodies, defining source water protection areas for drinking water, identifying coastal protection priorities, and defining priority areas for agricultural assistance programs.
Federal, state, and tribal natural resource agencies set other priorities for water protection and restoration other ways to meet mandates for natural resource conservation.
Valid objectives, but often overlook opportunities to work together for common goals.
Unified watershed assessments vehicle to identify:
Watersheds to receive new resources from FY 1999 budget and beyond to cleanup waters not meeting water quality goals
Pristine or sensitive watersheds on federal lands where programs can be brought together to prevent degradation, and
Threatened watersheds that need extra protection
Watershed Restoration Action Strategies
Action Plan encourages states and tribes to work with local communities, the public, and federal agencies to restore watersheds not meeting clean water and natural resource goals.
Strategies will spell out most important causes water pollution and resource degradation, detail actions to solve problems, and set milestones to measure progress.
Federal funds to help states implement strategies.
Watershed Pollution Prevention
Protecting pristine or sensitive waters and taking preventive action when clean water threatened can be most cost-effective approach to meeting clean water goals.
Action Plan encourages federal, state and tribal agencies to focus resources on pollution prevention strategies.
Watershed Assistance Grants
Federal agencies small grants to local organizations that want leadership role in building local efforts to restore and protect watersheds.
To ensure local communities and stakeholders can effectively engage in process setting goals and devising solutions to restore watersheds.
Strong Federal and State Standards
Federal, state and tribal standards for water quality and polluted runoff key tools protecting public health, preventing pollutant runoff, and ensuring accountability.
Improve Assurance that Fish and Shellfish Are Safe to Eat
Expand programs to reduce contaminants that make fish/shellfish unsafe to eat, particularly mercury and other persistent, bio-accumulative toxic pollutants
Ensure public gets clear notice fish consumption risks.
Ensure Safe Beaches
Federal, state and local government work to:
Improve capacity to monitor water quality at beaches
Develop new standards, and
Use new technology (e.g., Internet) to report public health risks to recreational users
Expand Control of Storm Water Runoff
EPA to publish final Phase II storm water regulations for smaller cities and construction sites 1999.
EPA make sure existing storm water control requirements for large urban and industrial areas implemented.
Improve State and Tribal Enforceable Authorities to Address Polluted Runoff
To ensure implementation polluted runoff controls by year 2000
Define Nutrient Reduction Goals
EPA establish by year 2000 numeric criteria for nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) that reflect different types of water bodies (e.g., lakes, rivers, and estuaries) and different ecoregions of US
EPA assist states and tribes in adopting numeric water quality standards based on these criteria.
Reduce Pollution from Animal Feeding Operations
EPA publish and after public comment implement Animal Feeding Operations Strategy for actions on standards and permits.
By 11/98, EPA and USDA jointly develop broad national strategy to minimize environmental and public health impacts animal feeding operations.
Natural Resource Stewardship
Federal Land Stewardship
800 million acres federal land
By 1999, US DOI and USDA take lead in developing Unified Federal Policy to enhance watershed management for protection water quality on federal lands.
Improve water quality protection 2000 miles roads and trails each year through 2005 and decommission 5000 miles each year by 2002.
Accelerate cleanup rate watersheds affected by abandoned mines
Implement accelerated riparian stewardship program to improve or restore 25,000 miles stream corridors by 2005.
Protect and Restore Wetlands
Goal of net increase 100,000 wetland acres per year by 2005.
Goal achieved by ensuring existing wetland programs continue to slow rate of losses, improving federal restoration programs, and by expanding incentives to landowners to restore wetlands.
Protect Coastal Waters
Federal agencies work to improve monitoring coastal waters, expand research of emerging problems, amend fishery management plans to address water quality issues, and ensure implementation strong programs to reduce polluted runoff to coastal waters.
Provide Incentives for Private Land Stewardship
Increase in technical and financial assistance to private landowners as primary means accelerating progress toward reducing polluted runoff from agricultural, range, and forest lands.
USDA, with Federal, state, tribal, and private partners, will:
Establish by 2002 2,000,000 miles conservation buffers to reduce polluted runoff and protect watersheds
Direct new funding for Environmental Quality Incentives Program to support watershed restoration, and
Develop as many new agreements with states as practicable to use Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to improve watersheds.
Plan also envisions new and innovative methods to provide incentives for private landowners to implement pollution prevention plans, including risk management protection for adoption of new pollution prevention technologies and market recognition for producers to meet environmental goals.
DOI expand existing Partners for Wildlife Program, which restores degraded fish and wildlife habitats and improves water quality through partnerships with landowners. Provides technical and financial assistance and gives priority to threatened and endangered species.
Four Tools
Informed Citizens and Officials
Effective management water resources requires reliable information about water quality conditions and new tools to communicate information to public.
Federal agencies work with states and tribes to improve monitoring and assessment water quality, focusing on nutrients and related pollutants.
Clean Water Action Plan
Budget Initiative
Total 1999 Increase 568
% Increase 1999 over 1998 35%
Total Increase 1999-2003 2,338
Total Spending 1999-2003 10,516
Direct Support to States/Tribes
To carry out watershed approach to clean water1
Technical and Financial Help to Farmers, Ranchers, and Foresters
To reduce polluted runoff and enhance natural resources on their lands
Watershed Assistance Programs
To engage local communities and citizens in leadership roles in restoring their watersheds
Water Quality Problems on Federal Lands
Including those related to roads, abandoned mines, riparian areas, and rangelands
Water Quality Monitoring Programs
Nationally Significant Watersheds
Such as Florida Everglades and SF Bay-Delta
Proposal of Clinton Administration. Query Congressional action. As of May 14, 1998, Senate had approved budget resolution not include money to fund key components Clean Water Action Plan. Amendment to provide funding for this defeated 47 to 52. House Budget committee not acted on House budget resolution.
ISO 14000
Think of Syntex: Multi-national corporation with Chemical Manufacturing Plants in :
1. Boulder, Colorado
2. Springfield, Missouri
3. Ireland
4. Bahamas
5. Mexico and Pharmaceutical Plants in Puerto Rico and Canada.
- What environmental standards should Syntex apply to managing emissions and wastes from its facilities?
- US?
- Better than US?
- Local?
- To what extent should there be uniform standards? Harmonization?
- Why might company want harmonization?
- Why might a company or country want non-uniform standards?
US regulatory model is "Command and Control". Eg., set specific standards for emissions and penalties if not met.
We have discussed several examples where US is trying other models. Market place (eg., emission trading, Proposition 65 in CA). Community Right to Know (Toxic Release Inventory). Public image/pressure.
ISO 14000 is an example of another approach. It applies more broadly in Japan and Europe, but will become more important in US in future.
- ISO 14000 is fundamentally a management system, without directly addressing performance issues such as levels of emissions. It is a system used by management to achieve management’s goals.
ISO= [International Standards Organization.] Greek for "same" or "equal". Established Amsterdam post WWII. E.g., disk drive ISO 9660. ANSI is US representative
- Non government organization
History:
a. ISO 9000 Quality Standards. Process to assure can produce and deliver to customers products/services with desired quality.
b. ISO 14000 applied same concept to environmental quality.
i. By itself, does not assure product is most environmentally sound.
ii. Rather, is systematic approach to continued improvement, using environmental management system.
iii. Series of standards.
ISO 14000 Series
ISO 14001
ISO 14001: Environmental Management Systems
i. Only normative standard in series. If meet it’s requirements, can be audited and certified as meeting ISO 14001. ii. Three components:
1) Written program
à Policy: Commit to continued improvement and prevention of pollution and commit to comply with relevant environmental requirements
à Plan: Procedure to identify environmental impacts and legal requirements. Environmental Objectives. [Who sets?] Programs to achieve objectives. Roles, responsibilities, and authorities. Procedures to monitor and check. (Note: Senior mgt commitment? Middle mgt? Words v. budget? Words v. compensation?)
2) Education and Training
3) Knowledge of relevant local/federal environmental requirements.
ISO 14000 Series:
d. Besides 14001, are other parts to 14000 series.
1) Environmental Performance Evaluation: Tools to quantify impact on environment with baseline inventory and indicators of improvement.
2) Environmental Auditing: Independent third party (What do with information? Privileged? Available for enforcement? Protected if correct problem? Disclosed to public? Voluntary v. preemptive audit? Mitigation of penalty?
3) Life Cycle Assessment: Manufacture, use, disposal
4) Environmental labeling: standard
Chart of certification as of 3/31/98
e. Why comply with ISO 14000? Query benefit of certification. Required by law? Required by court or regulatory agency? Required by purchaser? Public?
1) Disk drive: Sales
2) ISO 9000: Sales
3) ISO 14000:
Gov’t contracting?
World Bank?
US AID?
Conditions of doing business w/ X?
Sales to consumers?
Ethics?
See http://www.iso14000.net/ for US certifications by state
5. Remember: Last Class.
ENV 410B - Lectures