Daniel Salzler No. 1253
EnviroInsight.org Four Items May 10, 2024
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1. EPA Announces $9M in Grants Available for Tribes and Eligible US Territories to Replace Diesel Equipment and Reduce Harmful Emissions
WASHINGTON — Today, May 7, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the availability of grant funding available to Tribal governments and eligible territories to implement projects aimed at reducing diesel emissions from older diesel engines. Legacy diesel engines emit large amounts of NOx and PM2.5, which contribute to serious public health problems, including asthma, lung disease, and various other cardiac and respiratory diseases. Through the 2024 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act Tribal and Territory Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity, EPA anticipates awarding approximately $9 million in total DERA funding to eligible applicants, subject to the availability of funds.
“EPA is pleased to support the air quality goals of Tribes
and territories as they work to improve public health,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Joseph Goffman. “Replacing older, more polluting diesel vehicles and equipment with cleaner new alternatives will reduce harmful diesel exhaust in nearby communities while supporting local economies.”
A total of $8 million will be made available to federally recognized Tribal governments, intertribal consortia, and Alaska Native Villages, and $1 million will be made available to territories, including government agencies of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Matching funds are not required for eligibility to the program. These grants are specifically tailored to expand access to diesel emission reduction projects to those Tribes and territories with more limited resources. The DERA program has worked with Tribes to tailor the DERA Tribal competition to meet their specific needs since 2014 and opened the program to territories (formerly known as insular areas) in 2021. This allows for Tribes and territories to pursue more robust and impactful projects.
Nearly 8 million legacy diesel engines are in use in the United States and emissions from these engines are a significant source of health problems. The DERA program prioritizes projects in areas that face challenging air quality issues, especially those projects that benefit underserved communities or populations that have faced or are facing environmental health or environmental justice disparities.
Application packages must be submitted electronically to EPA through Grants.gov by Friday, December 6, at 11:59 p.m. EST to be considered for funding. Although funding for both Tribes and territories is being announced under this single Notice of Funding Opportunity, the applications for each group will be reviewed separately.
EPA will host several information sessions regarding this funding opportunity. Webinar links and dial-in information for the information sessions can be found on the Tribal and Territory Grants: Diesel Emissions Reduction Act webpage.
More than 73,700 engines, vehicles, or other pieces of equipment were replaced or retrofitted to run cleaner with DERA funds during fiscal years 2008 to 2018, according to the DERA Fifth Report to Congress.
For more information and to access the Notice of Funding Opportunity, visit the Tribal and Territory Grants: Diesel Emissions Reduction Act webpage. For general information on the DERA Program, visit the DERA Program webpage.
For further information: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
2. SRP Prepares To Store As Much Water In Arizona As Possible In Watersheds. Another wet winter has led to high water levels across the SRP watershed system.
SRP’s director of water supply, Charlie Ester manages the water and snowfall that melts down from the mountains in the northwest part of the state and into the system.
The precipitation eventually becomes drinking water and SRP is doing its best to store as much of it as they can.
What we learned on a fly over tour of the system
A helicopter taking off from Sky Harbor Airport took off heading north along the Verde River.
Ester acted as a type of tour guide, describing what the company monitors from the Central Arizona Project canal to the water that flows from the Colorado River.
Ester says there is more water flowing out from the river than it takes in. “You can still expect there to be more shortages in the system that will affect the cap to a great degree,” Ester said.
The Verde River is a different story, however.Although it’s not at capacity, the system was designed to shift water between lakes to prevent them from filling to the brim.
“Right now, we are storing some water in the horseshoe because there were some endangered fish stocked in the reservoir,” Ester said.
How they determine where the water needs to be directed
Just a few months ago, SRP flew over areas to the north that experienced heavy snowfall to help prepare schedules for when timed releases would be needed at the dams.
“By knowing how much snow is in the watershed, we are able to generally forecast to a high degree or high accuracy how much water will get into the reservoir system when the snow melts,” he said.
“When you look at it, it’s effectively full.
Current situation and future outlook
Roosevelt Lake is at 97% capacity and SRP is considering expansion in the form of a new reservoir that would pump water uphill.
“We would use renewable energy to pump that water up,” Ester said. “Basically wind or solar and then at night we would release that water to generate electricity.”
it would generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity for 10 hours, according to Ester. That is more than current battery technology can provide.
He said the project is still a few years off, but the water can still be managed and diverted through the canal system.
For now, Ester is happy with the water levels following two successful winters.
“We can rely more directly on our reservoir system for our water supply,” he said. “We don’t have to pump groundwater.” Source: Fox News May
3..The Verde Natural Resource Conservation District hosted a local work group meeting on the status of Arizona’s water adjudication process on Friday, April 19, at the Camp Verde Community Library.
Sharma Torrens of the Central Arizona Land Trust, a nonprofit that works to protect agricultural lands, wildlife habitat and open space, said that the primary tools they use are conservation easements, which allow landowners to retain ownership of agricultural land while preventing it from being developed or subdivided. Torrens said that the biggest reason people get conservation easements is to preserve farms. Easement terms are negotiable and the easements can also be sold or donated for a federal tax incentive. The land trust is the holder of these easements, making the trust responsible for monitoring and enforcing them.
Jodi Norris, Director of Land and Water Protection for The Nature Conservancy, discussed conservation easements on the Verde River. TNC’s goals in the Verde River watershed are to protect the ecosystem as a water source and for recreation.
Norris said that benefits of conservation easements on the river include freshwater protection, habitat preservation and wildlife connectivity, while benefits for conservation easements for agriculture include protecting the traditional use of the land, water security and improving economic stability.
Paul Groseta of Headquarters West, Ltd. discussed the relationship between conservation easements and property values and said that from 1999 to 2023, only 47 property sales in the state were encumbered by a conservation easement.
“It was a benefit to everyone and everything involved: The town, the river, my family and the animals,” Claudia Hauser of Hauser and Hauser Farms said of the conservation easement she obtained for her property, and added that the thought of her land being subdivided for houses was hard to imagine.
Matt Halldorson, director of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension for Yavapai County, talked about the extension’s water irrigation efficiency program, which helps growers replace inefficient flood irrigation systems with a more efficient drip or sprinkler system.
TNC representative John Ford then touched on the topic of decreasing base flows and shrinking habitats in the Verde River watershed, which Ford said was being caused by development rather than agricultural uses. TNC has been working on different water efficiency projects in the Verde River watershed focusing on diversion, improved piping and irrigation replacement.
The Natural Resource Conservation Service was represented by soil conservationist Sierra Frydenlund, who described how NRCS provides technical assistance such as soil surveys and financial assistance programs to other projects, such as installing a pipeline with alfalfa valves at Bent River Ranch to reduce water loss. They also converted a flood irrigation system to a half-circle pivot irrigation system at Hauser and Hauser Farms.
Chip Norton, chairman of the Verde NRCD, discussed projects the organization will be working on with TNC, including a soil moisture sensor project that will start in early June with the aim of encouraging local water users to irrigate more efficiently. Another effort will involve installing a pipeline from the Verde Ditch.
Carter Benton of the Salt River Project talked about the role of SRP as a stakeholder in the state’s water adjudication process. The Verde River watershed falls under the Gila River adjudication, which currently has around 90,000 claims. All surface water users in the watershed are a part of the process.
The Verde de minimis trial to determine if summary adjudication is warranted has been rescheduled to Aug. 5 through 8. The lower Verde Valley subwatershed hydrographic survey report is due in September 2027, and Benton said that the pace of the process will speed up once that report has been submitt
4. Virtual Meeting | Surface Water Protection And Improvement Stakeholder Seminar
Please join ADEQ for the upcoming Surface Water Protection and Improvement Stakeholder Webinar.
Date: Monday, May 20, 2024
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Online | Register via GoToWebinar > https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8835203089700522077
Topics will include:
Revised definition of Waters of the United States – The Conforming Rule
Individual AZPDES Permits
Improved program review of use of sufficiently sensitive test methods
New effluent characterization monitoring annual reporting requirement
Inspection & Compliance
Compliance rate
Return to compliance metrics
Phase II Reporting Rule
Why Should You Attend?
Our primary goal is to ensure that all stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) permit holders, are well-informed about current work in process by our Water Quality Division to protect surface water quality.
This is an opportunity to gain insights and provide input into the ever-changing landscape of surface water protection. Our main objective is to present our updated processes along with possibilities and challenges that may lie ahead.
Feel free to forward this message to others who you think may be interested in this event.
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