Water Management Tango

Comparing Water Management in Massachusetts and Mendoza, Argentina

As an environmental lawyer with vocational zeal, every opportunity to travel and see new places triggers a fascination with environmental policy.  During a recent trip to Mendoza, Argentina, issues related to water rights were front and center.

You could literally trip over the issue, because most sidewalks have irrigation ditches or “acequias” on the curbs and sidewalks to transport water throughout the region.

Though Mendoza sits on the very arid eastern leeward side of the Andes Mountains, the regional planners conceived a complex web of irrigation channels designed to bring fresh Andean snowmelt into the city, agricultural lands, and now the sprawling suburbs.

As with many of our environmental law projects, some of the most important work is performed by engineers. In 1889, the government of Mendoza recruited an Italian engineer, César Cippoletti, to improve the region’s hydrologic system. Cippoletti designed and supervised the construction of a dam to hold water from the Mendoza River and redirect the flow of the mountain run-off in the river through a series of directional canals. Just past the dam, one of the simplistic, yet elegant, structures designed by Cippoletti is a four-quadrant inverted cone. As the dammed water rises above the lip of the structure, it is channeled into one of four curved funnels.  The water descends through the curved quadrants, gathering speed and direction toward different parts of the Mendocino irrigation system.

 

 

 

 

 

With this complex irrigation infrastructure, the arid region boasts a cornucopia of agricultural riches, including large potato, garlic, tomato, and butternut squash farms.  But the true pride of Mendoza, is its burgeoning wine industry. High-quality wines provide a fantastic export crop with an accompanying economic boom for agro-tourism in Mendoza and the vineyards in the neighboring Uco Valley.

The arid conditions and well-developed irrigation systems are excellent for controlling the grapes’ exposure to water. In addition to regulating water, the daily temperature variations in the region have beneficial influences on the growth of a robust skin on the grapes. The grape skin is a primary driver of flavor and color in the wine-making process. Thus, these strong-skinned grapes of the Uco Valley provide good ingredients for bold wines, including Malbec, which is the primary driver of the region’s reputation.

For all of the ingenuity and planning for the advanced irrigation system, water is still a finite resource in the region. Overtaxing the system could lead to dramatic impacts for all users. To preserve and protect the region’s water resource, Argentina developed a comprehensive nation-wide regulatory scheme. Argentina adopted a Water Law in 1916, which is similar to Massachusetts’ Water Management Act(“WMA”). The Argentinian law grandfathered existing users through a system which is similar to WMA Registrations. Argentina’s Water Law accommodated new users with licenses that operate like permits in Massachusetts. Just as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”) oversees water withdrawals from the various river basins in the Commonwealth, the water management system in Argentina is administered by the Departamento General de Irrigación (DGI). The DGI approves and regulates irrigation licenses, oversees allocations among historic surface water users, regulates temporary projects or discharges, and evaluates and authorizes proposed new users.

This legal structure in Argentina is very similar to the modern WMA in Massachusetts, which centralizes the administration of water rights in the professional staff of the MassDEP, rather than be subject to the whims of the political actors in the State Legislature. Like Argentina’s 1916 Water Law, the WMA creates tiers of rights between active users, at the time the law was adopted, and new users, who came on-line following the statutory observation period for registrations from 1981 through 1985. Different sections of the WMA – and the corresponding regulatory section of 310 CMR 36.00 – establish different requirements for registrations and permits, which are grounded in the WMA’s statutory purpose of protecting and preserving the Commonwealth’s precious water resources.

Managing Water as Demand Grows and Supply Is Strained

While agriculture, industry and residential development can flourish side-by-side when resources are abundant, there are tensions between users when scarcity occurs. Even with their well-developed infrastructure and generally plentiful mountain run-off, the Mendoza region still experiences drought and supply problems. The authorities simply cannot approve all proposed projects.

During our time in Mendoza, we observed a planned housing development in an advantageous location near a major arterial highway that stood fallow. Though the developer began designating internal roadways and had launched a marketing effort for new homes on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, the entire project was abandoned, because the water authority did not approve an extension of the canal system to provide water to this location. There are no potential alternate water sources. Thus, without access to the regional water distribution channels, the project was doomed. The development’s abandoned footprint sits like the shadow of a ghost town that never was, and serves as a stark warning of the perils of stretching a limited resource.

Water allocation in Massachusetts is not nearly as dire. Unlike Mendoza, Argentina, or even many communities in the Western United States, Massachusetts enjoys a temperate climate.  Water management issues in the Commonwealth do not occur against a backdrop of desert conditions. And yet, drought conditions can occur and strain a community’s ability to keep water in the taps – for industrial, agricultural, and residential users.

Additionally, the forces of impending climate change are not linear or neatly predictable.  Some models forecast the climate of Massachusetts as being very wet, but there are also predictions of more pronounced swings between periods of plentiful rain and extended periods of drought.  Against this backdrop, managing our water resources in times of relative abundance may influence how successful we are in navigating periods of water scarcity.

While Massachusetts is currently experiencing an uptick in residential and industrial development, proper planning and water needs forecasting must be part of the statewide effort to ensure there are adequate resources to support public water supplies, agricultural activity, and natural ecosystems. Like Argentina’s DGI, which has authority over irrigation licenses and can preserve resources for existing uses and ensure the system is not overtaxed, MassDEP has the power within the structure of the WMA to exercise informed professional discretion to protect our public water supplies, provide flexibility for emerging industrial needs, and preserve our shared natural resources. Though it may create some harsh outcomes – like the abandoned housing complex outside Mendoza, MassDEP also needs to be able to say “No” when users seek to over-exploit a resource.

With the WMA, Massachusetts has a strong statewide regulatory structure to provide stewardship and achieve a fine balance among residential, industrial, and agricultural users on a watershed basis.

By Peter Durning

Environmental Law Update – Fall 2018

On September 30, the Massachusetts federal District Court dismissed Toxics Action Center, Inc. v. Casella Waste Systems, Inc.,  a citizens suit under the Clean Water Act and RCRA alleging that discharges of leachate from Casella’s Southbridge landfill through groundwater had damaged surface water and contaminated private wells. The Court dismissed the RCRA counts, because additional Court action would be duplicative of  MassDEP’s enforcement actions and, therefore, not “necessary.” The Court acknowledged that “[t]he First Circuit has not addressed whether a discharge of a pollutant that moves through ground water before reaching navigable waters may constitute a discharge of a pollutant, within the meaning of the CWA.”  But the Court sidestepped the groundwater discharge issue as follows: “a landfill is not a point source within the meaning of the CWA, this Court will not reach the issue of whether the CWA extends liability to surface water that is polluted via hydrologically connected groundwater.”

On September 26, the Department of Public Utilities issued an Order providing for utilities to pay direct incentives to owners of new solar generating sources under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program.

On September 17, Massachusetts rolled out its first-in-the-nation 2018 State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan which integrates climate change impacts and adaptation strategies with hazard mitigation planning.  The Plan qualifies the state for Stafford Act funds (per FEMA hazard mitigation grant criteria at 44 CFR § 201.4) and also complies with Executive Order 569.  The state will update the plan every five years, with continuous reviews, updates and revisions via the new Climate Change Clearinghouse.  To date, over 150 communities have performed vulnerability assessments and developed action-oriented resiliency plans under the Commonwealth’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program (MVP).  Certified MVP communities are eligible for MVP Action grant funding and other opportunities.

On September 4, the Supreme Judicial Court handed down New England Power Generators Association, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Protection rejecting the Power Generator’s challenge to MassDEP regulations requiring decreases in annual GHG emissions under the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). Deferring to MassDEP’s interpretation of the Act, the Court ruled that the Department had the authority to impose annual declining emissions on the electric sector under Section 3 d of the Act, despite the existence of provisions in Section 3 c of the Act, which are specifically applicable to electric generating facilities.

On August 21, Governor Baker signed the $2.4B Environmental Bond Bill including provisions that put into law his 2016 Executive Order 569, establishing an integrated strategy for climate change adaptation discussed above.

On July 12, the EPA and Army Corps issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on their proposal to roll back the Obama-Era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule defining the agencies’ Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The comment period ended on August 23, 2018.  Whatever the agencies ultimately decide, ongoing litigation is sure to continue to delay the clarity sought by so many in the regulated community over the breadth of the agencies’ jurisdiction.

In addition to EPA’s April 2018 proposed Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science rule, which would limit the scientific studies that the EPA could rely upon in evaluating new regulations, on June 13 the Agency issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking  to change the methodology used to calculate the cost and benefit of new environmental regulations.  Battle lines are being drawn over whether the EPA should continue to count so-called “co-benefits,” which take into account the indirect health benefits in addition to the direct benefits of a proposed new regulation. For example, in the case of the mercury air toxic rule, the EPA included $4-6M of direct health benefits from reduced mercury exposures and $80B in co-benefits attributable to the reduction of other pollutants, primarily particulate matter (PM).

In March, MassDEP promulgated a package of amendments to its air pollution control regulations at 310 CMR 7.00 across a wide array of topics, including a revamp of the rules governing appeals of air plan approvals, which had long been the source of legal uncertainty and litigation.

 

“SUPERFUND IS SEXY AGAIN.”

According to a senior US EPA official, “Superfund is sexy again.” Newly discovered health risks attributed to so-called “emerging contaminants” are causing federal and state agencies to revisit long closed Superfund sites and evaluate the environmental and human health risks at myriad new locations.  These ubiquitous environmental contaminants, including perfluoronated compounds and 1,4-dioxane, present a significant risk to human health at very low concentrations.  So much so, that US EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, recently held a Leadership Summit to discuss these new emerging contaminants and develop a coordinated response across EPA regions.

The US EPA and several state environmental agencies are establishing very low guidelines or standards for these contaminants.  They are also beginning to require responsible parties to test for these chemicals at existing (and in some cases closed) state and federal superfund sites, and, if present, to develop plans to address the attendant risks.  Eventually, the government will restrict the discharge of these contaminants in waste water and the air, which will pose another significant layer of compliance headaches and expenses.   While this may be good news for government regulators, environmental attorneys and consultants, this news is bad for landowners and developers.

One of these emerging contaminants is actually comprised of an entire class known as the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl (“PFAS”) compounds, such as perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (“PFOS”).  Until their use was phased out in the United States over the last two decades, manufacturers used these compounds in non-stick cookware, water repellent fabrics, firefighting foams and a variety of other applications.  PFAS are often found in elevated concentrations near military bases, airports, firefighting academies, metal plating plants, landfills and manufacturing facilities where they were used.   In a perfect storm of problems for responsible parties who have to deal with these emerging contaminants, they are highly persistent in the environment, expensive to monitor and test, difficult to treat and pose potential health risks at very low concentrations.  For example, the US EPA Lifetime Health Advisory for PFOA and PFOS is 70 parts per trillion (“PPT”).

Another emerging contaminant is 1,4-dioxane.  1,4-dioxane is often found along with other industrial solvents such as TCE, but it is also present in consumer products, such as shampoos and cleaning agents.  Because of their widespread consumer use, these compounds are found just about everywhere.  For example, 1,4-dioxane can be found in private septic systems and associated groundwater.  The MassDEP groundwater clean up standard for 1,4-dioxane is 300 PPT in potential or existing water supply areas.

To date, the US EPA has not set a Maximum Contaminant Level for PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act.  Thus, as far as the federal government is concerned, there is no enforceable standard.  However, as a result of a number of exceedances of the Lifetime Health Advisory level found by public water suppliers when they performed required monitoring for PFAS under EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, those water suppliers have taken action to limit public exposure.  For example, the Towns of Westfield, MA, near Barnes Air Force Base, and Ayer, MA, have both stopped using public water supply wells where detections of PFAS exceeded the Lifetime Health Advisory.  The Town of Westfield has recently filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of AFFF firefighting foam to recover damages.

The law and regulations governing site assessments and remediation for these contaminants is still “emerging.”  While some states, such as New Hampshire, have promulgated legally binding cleanup standards for certain PFAS, others, like Massachusetts, are still in the process of developing guidance and have not yet begun the official process of establishing a legally binding regulatory standard.  In early June, MassDEP issued “Final Recommendations for Interim Toxicity and Drinking Water Values” for testing as part of the Unregulated Chemical Monitoring program.  But this Interim Guidance does not establish clear enforceable standards.  Until standards are promulgated, the question of whether or not to test for these contaminants as part of a site assessment falls to the good judgment of the professional environmental consultant.  Thankfully, most environmental consultants are sufficiently knowledgeable about the potential presence of these contaminants to design an appropriate sampling and analytical program to protect their clients.

Because PFAS are not yet consistently regulated across the states and are not defined as a “hazardous substance” under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, (CERCLA or “Superfund”) administered by the US EPA, regulatory authority to compel assessment and remediation of PFAS varies from state to state and from site to site.  According to Regional Administrator Dunn, the Agency is reading the language of individual Superfund consent decrees to determine whether the responsible parties agreed to reopeners for only “hazardous substances,” or also for other “pollutants or contaminants,” which would encompass PFAS.  She emphasized that, at sites where the EPA concludes it does not have the legal authority to compel responsible parties to take further response actions, the relevant state may have authority to take such action.  She indicated that there has been some discord between the federal and state governments over this issue.

PFAS can be in solid waste.  The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act currently does not include PFAS within the definition of a hazardous waste.  Currently, only Vermont and New York states reportedly regulate PFAS as “hazardous wastes” under their parallel state programs.  Conceivably, this means that in all other 48 states, an industrial or other waste generator is not required to evaluate whether or not its waste streams contain PFAS, or make any special arrangements for storage, transportation or disposal of those wastes (such as using a RCRA permitted hazardous waste facility).  This challenges solid and hazardous waste disposal companies with the question of whether they want to handle wastes which may have PFAS, and expose themselves to the potential future worker exposure or environmental release liability that may ensue.

To make matters even more difficult, most states have not adopted surface water quality criteria, discharge or other limits, on the emissions of PFAS to water bodies, or to the air.  A few states, such as Vermont, have established policy limits on the concentrations of PFAS, which can be in landfill leachate discharged to a waste water treatment facility, but this is the exception to the rule.

These emerging contaminants present a real challenge on a number of fronts.  Because of the potentially very high cost of monitoring and remediation, prospective purchasers should first obtain clear environmental consulting guidance whether emerging contaminants should be tested for in a site assessment.  Second, in the process of performing environmental due diligence in a corporate transaction, attorneys and consultants may need to advise their clients that new site assessments be performed, including this testing, to avoid reliance on reports that pre-date the emergence of these contaminants and testing protocols.  Third, if emerging contaminants are found to have caused a very significant impact, such as loss of a water supply, consider whether or not the costs can be recovered.

Franklin’s adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” certainly applies to emerging contaminants.  Until the science is settled and the regulations are clear, there is simply too much uncertainty about the environmental and public health risks, potential liability and costs to remain ignorant about the possible presence of PFAS in whatever environmental media you are dealing with.

 

Environmental Law Update – Fall 2017

On October 19, 2017, NH DES released a letter to Responsible Parties, Owners and Permittees of certain classes of properties to conduct testing for Per- and Poly-flouroalkyl substances (PFAS).  “Landfills (lined, unlined, active, and/or closed) that are subject to groundwater monitoring requirements” are identified as sites where NH DES will require the initial screening.  As noted in the letter, NH DES “strongly encourages stakeholders to sample and analyze, at a minimum, for the expanded list of nine PFAS analytes outline in the Guidance” provided by NH DES.

On October 18, 2017, the Rhode Island DEM established a 70 parts per trillion Groundwater Quality Standard for PFOA, PFOS or any combination of these compounds in groundwater classified as GAA or GA (groundwater suitable for drinking water use without treatment). Read More → “Environmental Law Update – Fall 2017”

MassDEP is Calling RCC Permit Applications

If you are operating a recycling or composting facility under a Determination of Need (DON) and have not updated your permitted status, time is up.  The final deadline to bring a DON facility into compliance with the 2012 recycling/composting regulations was May 23, 2017.  If you have not filed papers with MassDEP yet, you need to act now.

Owners of DON facilities have one of three options: certify that the facility is exempt under 310 CMR 16.03, certify that the facility qualifies for a “General Permit” under 310 CMR 16.04 or apply for a site specific “Recycling Composting and Conversion” (RCC) Permit under 310 CMR 16.05.

The requirements to qualify for a General Permit are stricter than those that applied to a DON.  Consequently, you may find that your DON facility now requires a site specific RCC permit. For example, to qualify for a recycling facility General Permit the owner/operator shall “ensure that the operation handles recyclable materials and residuals only within a handling area, containers or trucks that are sufficiently enclosed and covered to prevent a public nuisance.” We understand that the Department interprets this to mean that all asphalt, brick and concrete recycling operations must be enclosed to qualify for a General Permit, which was not a DON requirement under the old regulations.

Due to the stricter General Permit criteria, and the dramatic consequences of filing a false or incorrect “Certification” with the MassDEP, we are advising clients to consult with us before filing a Certification to come into compliance.

For questions, call or email Tom Mackie.

Proposed Air Regulations

MassDEP has proposed an omnibus package of air pollution control regulations at 310 CMR 7.00 that should be promulgated this Spring. The amendments cover applicability of Plan Approvals for GHG and CO2 at new and existing facilities; establish exemptions; and include updates to match EPA requirements for lead emissions, VOC RACT, NOx RACT, and a NOx Ozone Season budget.
The proposed air regulations provide much needed timelines and procedures for requesting adjudicatory appeals of air decisions. Who has standing to appeal, and when and how to appeal air permits was the subject of several MassDEP adjudicatory hearing and Superior Court decisions. The regulations now define “aggrieved person.” The “date of issuance” is the date the decision is sent to the applicant. Importantly, a copy of the decision must be posted on the MassDEP’s website in order to notify people when the 21-day appeal period begins. Ten person groups have a right to request an adjudicatory hearing, provided they have submitted comments during the public comment period on a pending permit application for air emission sources that emit 10 tons or greater of regulated pollutants, and only on issues relating to damage of the environment.

The Demise of the Stream Protection Rule

The Republican Congress and the POTUS have stricken the Interior Department’s Stream Protection Rule that protected waterways from coal mining that was eight years in the making.  The rule would have imposed stronger requirements for avoiding coal mining practices that pollute streams and sources of drinking water, for restoring streams, and for reclaiming and replanting mined lands.  Testing and monitoring of streams near coal mines before, during and after mining were required.  On February 2, 2017, Congress employed a little-used tool called the Congressional Review Act to block the rule with a simple majority vote (House 228-194 and Senate 54-45).  On February 16, 2017, the POTUS became the first president in 16 years to sign a regulatory repeal resolution.  The rule would have protected 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forest in Appalachia.

Title 5 On-Site Wastewater Systems

MassDEP is reviewing on-site wastewater systems regulated under 310 CMR 15.00.  There has not been a change in design flows since 1978 (except for one bedroom elderly housing units).  There have not been major revisions since 1995 when certain Title 5 innovative/alternative systems were approved (RSF, FAST, BIOCLERE, ORENCO, RUCK).  Additional pilot, provisional and remedial systems can be viewed on the MassDEP website.

Septic systems are the largest source of nitrogen pollution in Cape Cod embayments.  Traditional Title 5 systems do not remove nitrogen.  Falmouth and the Buzzards Bay Coalition are conducting a pilot program to reduce nitrogen from homes on West Falmouth Harbor.  Using grant money, 20 homeowners will upgrade their old systems with “layer cake” systems which have multi-layer leach fields to remove nitrogen.  Septic tank effluent passes through a layer for nitrification (18 inches of sand), for denitrification (mixed sand and sawdust, which causes nitrogen gas to dissipate into the air), and then discharge through gravel layer to groundwater.  Testing in Florida showed 85% removal of nitrogen.  Early results in Falmouth show 88% removal.  The systems will be monitored for three years.

The regulatory review should dovetail with the groundwater discharge permit regulations at 310 CMR 5.00 to potentially change the requirement for private wastewater treatment facilities and to allow innovative treatment under Title 5 for flows greater than 10,000 gpd to 15,000 gpd.  The costs for hydrogeo investigations, permitting, purchase, and O&M for wastewater treatment plants is prohibitive.  Conventional, innovative and alternative systems can treat effluent at significantly lower costs than treatment plants.

The Fate of the Environment in the Age of Trump

Since Trump’s inauguration, friends and colleagues have been asking, “what impact will President Trump have on environmental law?” Along with the rest of the nation (and world), we are waiting to see just how far Trump will push his anti-environment agenda.

Here are a few observations from the dizzying first 90 days:
Read More → “The Fate of the Environment in the Age of Trump”

…Oh, Boston you’re my home.

Since 1997, Red Sox Nation has celebrated home victories with the post-game anthem “Dirty Water,” the 1966 cynical paean to the Charles River and Boston Harbor.  “Well, I love that dirty water; Oh, Boston you’re my home.”

Beginning in the 1800’s, the Charles River and Boston Harbor were polluted by domestic, municipal and industrial wastes.  Raw sewage, chemical discharges, and leaching riverbank landfills turned the river into a toxic sluiceway flowing into the nastiest harbor in the world.
Read More → “…Oh, Boston you’re my home.”