The Rundown
- White House report identifies water contamination as a children’s health risk.
- EPA reiterates narrow interpretation of state and tribal permitting role for Section 401 of Clean Water Act.
- Federal scientists detail “rapid snowmelt” in the western states.
- President Trump orders changes to increase nuclear power capacity.
- NOAA expects an above-average number of hurricanes this year.
- NOAA also struggles with a backlog of contracts to review.
And lastly, the White House science policy adviser outlines his science goals.
“Prizes, challenges, public-private partnerships, and other novel funding mechanisms, can multiply the impact of targeted federal dollars. We must tie grants to clear strategic targets, while still allowing for the openness of scientific exploration, and so shape a general funding environment that makes clear what our national priorities are.” – Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, speaking at the National Academy of Sciences on May 19. Kratsios called for the “gold standard” of science, by which he means science that is open to criticism and questioning and is free from the influence of DEI initiatives.
By the Numbers
400 GW: Target level, by 2050, for U.S. nuclear power generating capacity, according to an executive order. Current capacity is closer to 100 gigawatts. President Trump published four executive orders that aim to boost the country’s nuclear power industry.
$100,000: Contract size at NOAA that triggers a review by Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, whose department oversees the weather and climate agency. E&E News reports that the review requirement, which Lutnick ordered, has “slowed agency operations to a crawl.” The backlog, now at roughly 200 contracts, could grow to thousands later this year as contracts come up for renewal.
News Briefs
Know Your Role
In a memo, the EPA reiterated that states and tribes have a “specific and limited” role in protecting their waters from pollution during Clean Water Act permitting.
Section 401 of the act allows states and tribes to deny permits for projects that will impair water quality within their jurisdictions.
The agency claims that states have used the 401 process as a “weapon” to reject fossil fuel infrastructure projects.
Studies and Reports
Healthy Again
A report commissioned by President Trump identified certain contaminants in drinking water as risks to children’s health, even though the administration is cutting or proposing to cut research and oversight programs that address these problems.
The Making America Healthy Again report notes that exposure to chemicals at critical developmental periods – in utero, infancy, early childhood and puberty – can cause disease.
Though more than 40,000 chemicals are registered for us in the United States, the report calls out several, including PFAS, nitrate, fluoride, and pesticides. It also mentions microplastics and phthalates, as well as lead and other heavy metals.
The report cites research from Nebraska on the links between farm chemicals and pediatric cancer.
In less than three months, the commission is required to submit a strategy based on its findings in the report.
In context: Is Agrochemical Contamination Killing Nebraska’s Children?
The Big Melt
Snowpack in the western states is rapidly disappearing, according to a federal snow status update.
A warm, dry spring quickly depleted snow levels and caused river runoff forecasts to plummet. Snow drought conditions are most acute in the southern Rockies and Southwest. Arizona’s Salt River is on track for record-low runoff.
In context: Dry Colorado River Forecast Gets Drier
On the Radar
Hurricane Season
The 2025 hurricane forecast is in, and it’s likely to be an active summer and fall.
NOAA says that the most likely scenario is three to five major hurricanes (category 3 and above). The agency expects 13 to 19 named storms.
Storm season approaches amid staffing cuts that have left four National Weather Service offices without overnight staff, the Washington Post reports. Other offices in hurricane zones are urgently attempting to fill positions.
WOTUS Information Session
The EPA and Army Corps will hold a public meeting on May 29 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern to go over proposed Clean Water Act regulatory changes and take public comments.
The meeting in Salt Lake City will also be livestreamed. Register here.
Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.