The Rundown
- Diplomats secure a promise from Mexico for increased Rio Grande water deliveries.
- White House seeks to expedite permitting for another 10 mining projects.
- Snow is melting rapidly in the West, while the runoff forecast for the Colorado River basin shrinks.
- EPA announces 21 PFAS response actions.
- House passes resolution to undo endangered species designation for the longfin smelt that live in the San Francisco Bay-Delta.
- Federal researchers contribute to a study of drinking water well contamination in Wisconsin.
And lastly, Democratic representatives speak against cuts to a climate adaptation program.
“When we talk about government cuts to environmental programs, I will caution that rising seas don’t care who is in the White House. The water doesn’t care how a small town that experiences 90 days of flooding or more a year voted in the last election. Flooding will continue to devastate communities, even if the President does not believe in climate change.” – Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD) speaking on the House floor in opposition to the Trump administration’s cancellation of a climate adaptation grant program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities.
By the Numbers
10: Mining projects added to the administration’s fast-track permit process. The projects include the NorthMet copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota; La Jara Mesa and Roca Honda uranium mines in northwest New Mexico; and Stillwater mine, a platinum and palladium project in south-central Montana. They join 10 other projects announced last month as the Trump administration seeks to expedite domestic production of critical minerals.
News Briefs
Rio Grande Water
U.S. and Mexican governments announced a Rio Grande water delivery agreement.
According to the State Department, Mexico will transfer to the U.S. some of the water it holds in border reservoirs along the Rio Grande main stem. Mexico will also increase flows in tributary rivers that flow into the Rio Grande.
Mexico’s concession, the New York Times reports, was intended to avoid additional tariffs in Donald Trump’s trade war.
Mexico has again fallen far behind in its obligation to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet over a five-year period. The current cycle ends in October, and Mexico, before this agreement announced last week, was more than 1.2 million acre-feet short.
PFAS Response
The EPA released a list of 21 actions it will take in response to PFAS contamination.
The list, which is short on detail, extends to reporting, monitoring, compliance, scientific assessment, and rulemaking.
Acknowledging “requests from Congress and drinking water systems” about new federal limits on six PFAS in drinking water, the announcement notes without explanation that the agency will focus on “the most significant compliance challenges.”
Another item the agency wants congressional collaboration is on “polluter pays.” Water utilities are concerned about paying for the cost of cleaning up PFAS contamination they did not cause.
Longfin Smelt Status
The House passed a resolution to revoke the endangered species designation for the longfin smelt that live in California’s San Francisco Bay-Delta, an ecologically imperiled transit point for the state’s water delivery projects.
Fewer species protections means the possibility of more water being pumped to farms south of the delta.
The Senate also needs to pass the resolution, which is being attempted under the Congressional Review Act. That act, in essence, allows an incoming Congress to undo the end-of-term rulemakings of the previous administration.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the endangered designation in July 2024.
Studies and Reports
Meltdown out West
Snowpack is melting rapidly in the mountains of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
Warm and dry conditions in April in the Colorado River basin have hurt the region’s water supply forecast. Projected runoff into Lake Powell dropped from 67 percent of average on April 1, to 54 percent of average as of yesterday. That represents a decline of 870,000 acre-feet.
The federal government’s latest snowpack report shows below average snowpack for this time of year in the southern Rockies and northern Cascades. The healthiest snowpack is in the Sierra Nevada mountains and Oregon’s southern Cascades.
Drinking Water Well Contamination in Wisconsin
Federal researchers contributed to a study of drinking water well contamination in southwestern Wisconsin.
The study found that nitrate levels and animal fecal microbes were associated with proximity to farmland but not to septic systems.
For human fecal contamination, the most likely pathway was septic systems after rainfall.
The results indicate the need to consider geology and land use when assessing drinking water risks for private wells.
In context: Septic Infrastructure in the U.S.
On the Radar
Fraud Investigation
The EPA Office of Inspector General will begin an investigation into the construction bidding process for water infrastructure projects funded through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a state-federal partnership.
The goal is to identify the potential for fraud.
Spiking the Water Supply
The EPA will host a webinar on May 27 to discuss response plans for the intentional contamination of a public drinking water supply.
Water utility officials are the intended audience for this info session on counteracting acts of drinking water sabotage.
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.