EPA requires Safe Drinking Water Act compliance at Nooksack water systems
SEATTLE – Today, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an agreement with the Nooksack Tribe to bring their six water systems into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The legal agreements – known as Administrative Orders on Consent – affect the following facilities, which serve approximately 1,300 people:
5 Cedars Community Water System
Rutsatz Road Community Water System
Sulwhanon Community Water System
Whispering Cedars Community Water System
Nooksack River Casino Water System
Northwood Casino Water System
These systems are owned and operated by the Nooksack Tribe located in and around the Nooksack Reservation, in Deming, Washington. The Orders establish a detailed list of requirements, including a schedule to correct several long-standing violations; obligation to file an annual Consumer Confidence Report; and designation of a Project Coordinator to oversee implementation.
“With these orders, the Nooksack Tribe is making a significant commitment to improving multiple water systems that these communities depend on for daily use,” said EPA Region 10 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Ed Kowalski. “Drinking water system owners and operators must monitor their systems, act when needed and keep the public informed.”
Additional details are available in the following documents:
Administrative Order on Consent - 5 Cedars (SDWAl0-2024-0112) (pdf)
(5.5 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Nooksack River Casino (SDWA 10-2024-0113) (pdf)
(4.3 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Northwood Casino (SDWA-10-2024-0114) (pdf)
(7.6 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Rutsatz Road (SDWA-10-2024-0117) (pdf)
(5.7 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Sulwhanon (SDWA-10-2024-0116) (pdf)
(5.6 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Whispering Cedars (SDWA-10-2024-0115) (pdf)
(4 MB)
Background
EPA works collaboratively with Tribal governments, Tribal utilities and Tribal members to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Read more about safe drinking water on Tribal lands
Read more about public water systems in Indian Country
Read more about the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative
The legal agreements – known as Administrative Orders on Consent – affect the following facilities, which serve approximately 1,300 people:
5 Cedars Community Water System
Rutsatz Road Community Water System
Sulwhanon Community Water System
Whispering Cedars Community Water System
Nooksack River Casino Water System
Northwood Casino Water System
These systems are owned and operated by the Nooksack Tribe located in and around the Nooksack Reservation, in Deming, Washington. The Orders establish a detailed list of requirements, including a schedule to correct several long-standing violations; obligation to file an annual Consumer Confidence Report; and designation of a Project Coordinator to oversee implementation.
“With these orders, the Nooksack Tribe is making a significant commitment to improving multiple water systems that these communities depend on for daily use,” said EPA Region 10 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Ed Kowalski. “Drinking water system owners and operators must monitor their systems, act when needed and keep the public informed.”
Additional details are available in the following documents:
Administrative Order on Consent - 5 Cedars (SDWAl0-2024-0112) (pdf)
(5.5 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Nooksack River Casino (SDWA 10-2024-0113) (pdf)
(4.3 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Northwood Casino (SDWA-10-2024-0114) (pdf)
(7.6 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Rutsatz Road (SDWA-10-2024-0117) (pdf)
(5.7 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Sulwhanon (SDWA-10-2024-0116) (pdf)
(5.6 MB)
Administrative Order on Consent - Whispering Cedars (SDWA-10-2024-0115) (pdf)
(4 MB)
Background
EPA works collaboratively with Tribal governments, Tribal utilities and Tribal members to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Read more about safe drinking water on Tribal lands
Read more about public water systems in Indian Country
Read more about the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative
EPA Completes Drinking Water and Wastewater Mission in Lahaina
LAHAINA, Hawaiʻi – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently completed its Drinking Water and Wastewater mission in Lahaina as part of a multi-agency emergency response to the devastating Maui wildfires in 2023. This mission is helping the County of Maui restore drinking water and wastewater services to the community in the wildfire-impacted areas of Lahaina.
"It was our honor to serve alongside the Lahaina community to help restore, rebuild and repair drinking water and wastewater systems following the devastating wildfires that swept across the island of Maui,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “Access to safe drinking water is vital to protecting public health and the environment and getting this special community back on its feet. I want to thank all our local, state, and federal partners for their crucial partnership and collaboration, and look forward to continuing to work closely with them."
Following the wildfires in August 2023, as requested by the County of Maui and the State of Hawai‘i under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), EPA provided technical assistance and coordinated operations with both the Maui County Department of Environmental Management and Department of Water Supply.
Starting on January 4, 2024, over the course of seven months, EPA tested drinking water quality in 1308 lateral service lines that connect water mains to properties with burned structures. If contamination was detected, or if a lateral was too damaged to be sampled, the line was isolated from the main distribution line and marked for future replacement. EPA also sampled 135 fire hydrants, isolated 589 contaminated laterals and cleared and inspected 97,749 feet of sewer lines in Lahaina.
The County of Maui continues to use data generated from EPA’s operations to make determinations on whether the water is potable and ready for use in areas of Lahaina that are under an Unsafe Water Advisory.
“EPA has worked closely with county, state, and community leaders since the fires to first clean up hazardous waste, then help restore drinking water and wastewater services to Lahaina. We have been honored to do our part in getting families back home,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA will continue to support recovery efforts through our Sustainability Advisor and will remain committed to our local and state partners as Maui progresses toward full recovery.”
Throughout the response, EPA staff conducted community outreach efforts across Maui, fielded questions, and provided information to community members about EPA’s work in variety of ways including presenting at weekly public meetings.
In recognizing the immense cultural significance of Lahaina and Maui, EPA employed cultural advisers and monitors who accompanied teams in the field to help identify cultural and archeological artifacts. Their work helped ensure the town’s rich cultural history was preserved as much as possible during EPA’s operations. The advisers also provided critical guidance and feedback to the agency’s outreach and communication efforts.
Ongoing EPA work on Sustainability and Recovery
Although EPA’s emergency response missions on Maui are complete, the agency continues to carry out a mission assignment from FEMA for a long-term recovery Sustainability Advisor. The advisor assists in rebuilding communities and restoring watersheds with the aim of building resilience to future climate change impacts and disasters. The Sustainability Advisor is collaborating with local and state departments and federal agencies to understand local priorities and identify potential funding sources for long-term recovery.
For More Information
Residents can track where to access safe drinking water at the County of Maui’s website, mauirecovers.org/water, or by calling the county directly at (808) 270-7550. Residents can also find more information on sampling results on the Hawaiʻi Department of Health Environmental Monitoring Data Portal.
EPA’s Maui Wildfires webpage: epa.gov/maui-wildfires
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and X.
###
"It was our honor to serve alongside the Lahaina community to help restore, rebuild and repair drinking water and wastewater systems following the devastating wildfires that swept across the island of Maui,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “Access to safe drinking water is vital to protecting public health and the environment and getting this special community back on its feet. I want to thank all our local, state, and federal partners for their crucial partnership and collaboration, and look forward to continuing to work closely with them."
Following the wildfires in August 2023, as requested by the County of Maui and the State of Hawai‘i under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), EPA provided technical assistance and coordinated operations with both the Maui County Department of Environmental Management and Department of Water Supply.
Starting on January 4, 2024, over the course of seven months, EPA tested drinking water quality in 1308 lateral service lines that connect water mains to properties with burned structures. If contamination was detected, or if a lateral was too damaged to be sampled, the line was isolated from the main distribution line and marked for future replacement. EPA also sampled 135 fire hydrants, isolated 589 contaminated laterals and cleared and inspected 97,749 feet of sewer lines in Lahaina.
The County of Maui continues to use data generated from EPA’s operations to make determinations on whether the water is potable and ready for use in areas of Lahaina that are under an Unsafe Water Advisory.
“EPA has worked closely with county, state, and community leaders since the fires to first clean up hazardous waste, then help restore drinking water and wastewater services to Lahaina. We have been honored to do our part in getting families back home,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA will continue to support recovery efforts through our Sustainability Advisor and will remain committed to our local and state partners as Maui progresses toward full recovery.”
Throughout the response, EPA staff conducted community outreach efforts across Maui, fielded questions, and provided information to community members about EPA’s work in variety of ways including presenting at weekly public meetings.
In recognizing the immense cultural significance of Lahaina and Maui, EPA employed cultural advisers and monitors who accompanied teams in the field to help identify cultural and archeological artifacts. Their work helped ensure the town’s rich cultural history was preserved as much as possible during EPA’s operations. The advisers also provided critical guidance and feedback to the agency’s outreach and communication efforts.
Ongoing EPA work on Sustainability and Recovery
Although EPA’s emergency response missions on Maui are complete, the agency continues to carry out a mission assignment from FEMA for a long-term recovery Sustainability Advisor. The advisor assists in rebuilding communities and restoring watersheds with the aim of building resilience to future climate change impacts and disasters. The Sustainability Advisor is collaborating with local and state departments and federal agencies to understand local priorities and identify potential funding sources for long-term recovery.
For More Information
Residents can track where to access safe drinking water at the County of Maui’s website, mauirecovers.org/water, or by calling the county directly at (808) 270-7550. Residents can also find more information on sampling results on the Hawaiʻi Department of Health Environmental Monitoring Data Portal.
EPA’s Maui Wildfires webpage: epa.gov/maui-wildfires
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook and X.
###
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Spot booking prices from West India to the US East and West coasts have seen four- to five-fold gains in the last week or so, according to local freight forwarders.
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EPA Announces Over $1.3M to Support Clean U.S. Manufacturing of Construction Materials Across Missouri
LENEXA, KAN. (JULY 16, 2024) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of Holcim U.S. Inc. in Missouri to receive $1,371,814 in grants to support efforts to report and reduce climate pollution from the manufacturing of construction materials. EPA estimates that the construction materials used in buildings and other built infrastructure account for over 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.
Billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass, and other construction materials and products are required to build, maintain, and operate our country’s buildings and infrastructure. The U.S. leads the world in the production of clean construction materials, and these transformative awards from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – the largest climate investment in history – will reduce climate pollution by helping businesses measure the carbon emissions associated with extracting, transporting, and manufacturing their products.
The grants will support the Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the U.S. government’s sway as the largest purchaser on Earth to catalyze demand for clean construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects. The grants will be awarded to businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations serving all 50 states, and will help disclose the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing concrete, asphalt, glass, steel, wood, and other materials.
In the U.S., Holcim is the largest cement manufacturer and top five producer of aggregates and ready-mix concrete, with approximately 7,000 employees. Holcim’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Accelerator Project will increase the transparency of data on environmental emissions associated with the production of construction materials; generate robust EPDs with a diversity of manufacturers from across the U.S.; and drive market demand for lower carbon construction materials. These projects represent the three construction materials in Holcim’s portfolio: cement, asphalt, and ultra-high-performance concrete.
“As America continues to build more and upgrade our nation’s infrastructure under President Biden’s leadership, cleaner construction materials like concrete and steel are increasingly essential for the nation’s prosperity,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “These historic investments will expand market access for a new generation of more climate-friendly construction materials, and further grow American jobs that are paving the way to the clean energy economy.”
“We commend Holcim for their work in advancing sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions here in the Heartland and across our nation,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “Their innovative approach, supported by this grant, advances climate-friendly practices and sustainability in one of our nation’s most important industries.”
The grants will help businesses develop robust, high-quality EPDs, which show environmental impacts across the life of a product and can catalyze more sustainable purchasing decisions by allowing buyers to compare. Investments in data and tools will make high-quality EPDs available for 14 material categories, which include both new and salvaged or reused materials. These efforts will help standardize and expand the market for construction products with lower greenhouse gas emissions. They will make it easier for federal, state, and local governments and other institutional buyers to ensure that the construction projects they fund use more climate-friendly products and materials.
EPA is also announcing expanded technical assistance opportunities to businesses, the federal government, and other organizations across America. EPA will initially offer EPD development support and direct businesses to resources to help them measure and reduce the embodied carbon associated with their materials, such as those provided by the ENERGY STAR Industrial program. Federal agencies and their suppliers will be able to compare the climate impact of various materials to drive near-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Robust EPD data will be further strengthened by a new labeling program under development that will identify low-carbon construction materials for the growing Buy Clean marketplace.
Together, the grants and technical assistance programs will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support American jobs. These programs are made possible by the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which creates significant investments aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction, transport, and manufacturing of construction materials and products. The Inflation Reduction Act also provides over $2 billion to the General Services Administration to use low embodied carbon materials in the construction and renovation of federal buildings, and $2 billion to the Federal Highway Administration to incentivize or reimburse the use of low embodied carbon construction materials in certain transportation projects.
Selections are contingent upon completion of legal and administrative requirements and grantees are tentatively expected to receive their funding in late summer.
Learn more about EPA’s Grant Program for Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gases in Construction Materials and Products.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
View all Region 7 news releases
Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook and Instagram
Follow us on X: @EPARegion7
Billions of tons of concrete, asphalt, steel, glass, and other construction materials and products are required to build, maintain, and operate our country’s buildings and infrastructure. The U.S. leads the world in the production of clean construction materials, and these transformative awards from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – the largest climate investment in history – will reduce climate pollution by helping businesses measure the carbon emissions associated with extracting, transporting, and manufacturing their products.
The grants will support the Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the U.S. government’s sway as the largest purchaser on Earth to catalyze demand for clean construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects. The grants will be awarded to businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations serving all 50 states, and will help disclose the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing concrete, asphalt, glass, steel, wood, and other materials.
In the U.S., Holcim is the largest cement manufacturer and top five producer of aggregates and ready-mix concrete, with approximately 7,000 employees. Holcim’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Accelerator Project will increase the transparency of data on environmental emissions associated with the production of construction materials; generate robust EPDs with a diversity of manufacturers from across the U.S.; and drive market demand for lower carbon construction materials. These projects represent the three construction materials in Holcim’s portfolio: cement, asphalt, and ultra-high-performance concrete.
“As America continues to build more and upgrade our nation’s infrastructure under President Biden’s leadership, cleaner construction materials like concrete and steel are increasingly essential for the nation’s prosperity,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “These historic investments will expand market access for a new generation of more climate-friendly construction materials, and further grow American jobs that are paving the way to the clean energy economy.”
“We commend Holcim for their work in advancing sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions here in the Heartland and across our nation,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “Their innovative approach, supported by this grant, advances climate-friendly practices and sustainability in one of our nation’s most important industries.”
The grants will help businesses develop robust, high-quality EPDs, which show environmental impacts across the life of a product and can catalyze more sustainable purchasing decisions by allowing buyers to compare. Investments in data and tools will make high-quality EPDs available for 14 material categories, which include both new and salvaged or reused materials. These efforts will help standardize and expand the market for construction products with lower greenhouse gas emissions. They will make it easier for federal, state, and local governments and other institutional buyers to ensure that the construction projects they fund use more climate-friendly products and materials.
EPA is also announcing expanded technical assistance opportunities to businesses, the federal government, and other organizations across America. EPA will initially offer EPD development support and direct businesses to resources to help them measure and reduce the embodied carbon associated with their materials, such as those provided by the ENERGY STAR Industrial program. Federal agencies and their suppliers will be able to compare the climate impact of various materials to drive near-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Robust EPD data will be further strengthened by a new labeling program under development that will identify low-carbon construction materials for the growing Buy Clean marketplace.
Together, the grants and technical assistance programs will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support American jobs. These programs are made possible by the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which creates significant investments aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction, transport, and manufacturing of construction materials and products. The Inflation Reduction Act also provides over $2 billion to the General Services Administration to use low embodied carbon materials in the construction and renovation of federal buildings, and $2 billion to the Federal Highway Administration to incentivize or reimburse the use of low embodied carbon construction materials in certain transportation projects.
Selections are contingent upon completion of legal and administrative requirements and grantees are tentatively expected to receive their funding in late summer.
Learn more about EPA’s Grant Program for Reducing Embodied Greenhouse Gases in Construction Materials and Products.
# # #
Learn more about EPA Region 7
View all Region 7 news releases
Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook and Instagram
Follow us on X: @EPARegion7