The Rundown
- Interior radically shortens environmental review and public comment period for energy projects.
- Reclamation reviews a plea to halt the decommissioning of a California dam project.
- Congress returns from break with water-related hearings.
- EPA administrator pledges to help resolve Tijuana River sewage pollution.
- GAO assesses environmental and water impacts from generative AI.
And lastly, the EPA mulls changes to PFAS regulations.
“They’re concerned about having to foot the bill and then pass it on to their consumers, which goes against the principle of ‘polluter pays.’ I disagree with the concept that an American has to pay to clean up PFAS from their own waterway.” – Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator, speaking about concerns that wastewater utilities have for PFAS liability. As reported by Waste Dive, Zeldin said that the agency is considering changes to PFAS regulations.
A year ago the Biden administration designated PFOA and PFOS, the two most-studied of these chemicals, as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. The designation comes with cleanup responsibilities for those that handle the chemicals, even if they did not create them. Though the Biden administration said it did not intend to go after wastewater utilities, the industry still would like that discretionary enforcement policy to be formalized.
By the Numbers
28: Length, in days, of environmental reviews for energy projects overseen by the Interior Department due to the president’s energy emergency.
News Briefs
Axe Taken to Environmental Reviews
In response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency, the Interior Department says it will chop the length of environmental reviews for energy projects, which can take years, to no more than 28 days.
The energy projects eligible for expedited review include “crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals” but not solar or wind.
Public comment periods, when the general public can register opinions, will also be trimmed to “approximately 10 days.”
The shortened time frame is unreasonable, says Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network. Environmental reviews involve complex hydrological models and studies that take time to assess properly.
“You have to dissect all this stuff,” he said. “You can’t do that in 28 days.”
Tijuana Wastewater
Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator, visited San Diego to pledge a quick resolution to the long-festering problem of sewage pollution in the Tijuana River. That will require improvements to sewage infrastructure and waste management on the Mexican side of the border.
Trump Admin Reviews California Dam Project
The Bureau of Reclamation is reviewing a request from county farm bureaus to prevent two California dams from being decommissioned, SF Gate reports.
According to a letter obtained by SF Gate, Reclamation is checking that the decommissioning aligns with President Trump’s orders to promote domestic energy generation.
Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam are part of the Potter Valley Project, which diverts water from the Eel River into the Russian River watershed. It is located about 140 miles north of San Francisco. PG&E, the electric power company, decided not to relicense the project in 2019 due to aging infrastructure, rising costs, and the lack of fish passage at Scott Dam. The company plans to file its final decommissioning plan with FERC, the federal regulatory body, in July 2025.
Studies and Reports
Environmental Footprint of Gen AI
Inadequate data makes it difficult for a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of generative AI, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
Tech companies often do not provide details on the power and water required to train their generative AI models, the report found. Power demands, in aggregate, are large. Data centers account for more than 4 percent of U.S. electricity consumption. But it is unclear how much of data center power demand is attributable to generative AI.
Beyond training the models, using generative AI is more resource-hungry than common internet searches.
All of these resource demands are growing rapidly as the use of generative AI expands. But policymakers could require data center operators to disclose facility-level energy and water efficiency numbers.
The report was requested by Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan and Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats.
In context: Data Centers a Small, But Growing Factor in Arizona’s Water Budget
Outstanding Water and Sewer Projects
The EPA published annual reports highlighting innovative drinking water and clean water projects funded through the state revolving funds.
On the Radar
Waters of the U.S. ‘Listening Sessions’
This week, the EPA and the Army Corps will host the first of six “listening sessions” to help define which waterbodies are subject to federal protection under the Clean Water Act. The agencies want to align their definition with the restricted view in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett decision.
Register for the events at the above link.
Congressional Hearings
Congress returns from spring break this week to a full calendar and budget work. Three notable water-related hearings take place on April 30.
- A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will discuss 14 energy bills, including transmission, critical minerals, and hydropower. The hearing will be streamed here.
- A House Natural Resources subcommittee will hold a hearing on federal water and hydropower development.
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will talk about federal water infrastructure funding. State and local representatives will testify.
Lower Missouri River Flood Study
The Army Corps will begin a comprehensive review of actions to reduce flood risk in the lower Missouri River basin, which has seen three 500-year floods in the last three decades.
The study will encompass 735 miles of the river from Sioux City, Iowa, to St. Louis. Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska are study collaborators.
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.