WASHINGTON, DC, February 23, 2009 (ENS) – The National Governors Association 2009 Winter Meeting wrapped up today with a session on best practices from around the world for financing infrastructure repairs and upgrades. The governors charted what they called “an action-based roadmap” for the chairman’s initiative Strengthening Our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future.

Each year, the chair alternates between a Democrat and a Republican, and each year, the chairman chooses an initiative to focus the governors’ efforts.

This year the NGA Chair is Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, who is highlighting the role states can play in managing existing infrastructure and developing new infrastructure in ways that enhance economic and environmental prosperity.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell opens a infrastructure discussion at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Feburary 22, 2009 (Photo courtesy NGA)

“A growing pattern of underinvestment and uncoordinated planning has led to a range of concerns that are felt across the country, including widespread congestion, unsafe bridges, inadequate water supply and an electricity grid that is increasingly pressed beyond its ability,” said Governor Rendell today. “To ensure our nation’s ability to compete in an evolving global economy and respond to crucial energy and environmental challenges, we must not only maintain our infrastructure system but also enhance and improve it.”

In January, the American Society of Civil Engineers reported that $2.2 trillion in repairs and upgrades is needed over the next five years just to bring the nation’s infrastructure up to “adequate.” The ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure assigned an overall grade of D to the nation as well as individual grades in 15 infrastructure categories, none higher than C+.

“From roads, rails and bridges to the electrical grid, water treatment plants, broadband networks, schools and hospitals, infrastructure makes modern life as we know it possible,” said NGA Vice Chair Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. “Governors recognize that it is critical to our economic growth, global competitiveness and quality of life that we work collectively to find ways of improving and modernizing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure.”

Governor Rendell’s focus on infrastructure took shape in January 2008 when he formed a new coalition called “Building America’s Future,” to rally support for a renewed federal commitment to funding America’s infrastructure needs with state partners.

Coalition co-founders California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to work with then presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties “to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding.”

They were successful in that President Barack Obama has made infrastructure funding a pillar of his newly enacted stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Less than a week after it became law, the package is already generating infrastructure jobs.

New York Governor David Paterson today announced the first transportation projects eligible for federal funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be put to bid as early as March 5, creating thousands of jobs in Upstate New York, an area where unemployment is a constant problem.

These projects include the replacement and repair of bridges in Steuben, Onondaga, Oneida and Herkimer counties, and will be fully funded through the federal legislation.

“Clearly, there is a serious need in New York for federal infrastructure funding, and the projects announced today represent just a small number of the opportunities that will be funded with economic recovery dollars,” said Governor Paterson. “This will be an open process with significant local input, and will create jobs across the state at a time when New York is facing widespread unemployment.”

During their closing session today, the assembled governors heard Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard’s insights into the Danish experience with integrating rail into its transportation system.

She provided advice on balancing urban and rural concerns, ways to utilize new pricing and financing mechanisms and strategies to integrate new technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the NGA meeting (Photo courtesy NGA)

On Saturday, Governor Schwarzenegger and Governor Paterson co-chaired a bi-partisan meeting with 10 other governors and President Barack Obama’s top energy and environment cabinet officials to discuss a state-federal partnership on clean energy and climate change issues.

“States have been leading the way on clean energy and climate change, and we are thrilled to now have a willing partner in the White House to promote these policies on a national stage,” Governor Schwarzenegger said after the meeting, which was held in response to a January 29 letter of request from the governors for a meeting with the Obama team.

“California has been focusing on green jobs, alternative fuels, renewable energy, and reducing the urgent threat of global warming while at the same time benefiting our economy, and we hope that our efforts will now act as a model for change at the federal level,” he said.

During the meeting, governors discussed a variety of initiatives their states are undertaking to accelerate renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They stressed the importance of coordinating their actions with the Obama administration to leverage each others’ efforts.

Several governors noted the unique complexity of clean energy and climate challenge issues will require action at the local, state and federal level.

Governor Jim Douglas, vice chair of the NGA (Photo courtesy NGA)

Governors Charlie Crist of Florida, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Jim Douglas of Vermont, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Chris Gregoire of Washington, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Bill Ritter of Colorado, and Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas attended the meeting.

They conferred with Carol Browner, assistant to the President for energy and climate change; Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior; Dr. Steven Chu, secretary of energy; and Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Enironmental Protection Agency.

“Today’s meeting was the first step in creating a close and lasting partnership with President Obama and his administration on climate change, said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I look forward to working hand-in-hand with our federal partners to realize the ambitious clean energy and climate change goals I know we share, and that I know will provide a boost to our nation’s economy.”

On Sunday night, the President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted their first state dinner – a reception for the nation’s governors in the State Dining Room.

As their meeting closed today, the National Governors Association issued a bi-partisan statement expressing their belief that the country will emerge stronger than ever from the current economic downturn.

“We are unified in our unwavering belief that the United States’ economy is resilient and the true strength of our nation remains the ingenuity, perseverance and hard work of the American people,” the governors said.

“We have been through tough economic times in the past and have always emerged a stronger nation with a more vibrant economy. Our country’s ability to persevere is not in question – we know better days lie ahead. Working together we can speed recovery, provide new opportunities and ensure a prosperous future.”

Click here [www.nga.org] to read a new report on infrastructure from the NGA’s Best Practices Office, “An Infrastructure Vision for the 21st Century” by Darren Springer and Greg Dierkers.

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WASHINGTON, DC, December 9, 2008 (ENS) – Low levels of manufactured chemicals remain in public water supplies even after they have been treated in selected community water facilities across the country, according to new research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and released today.

Water from nine selected rivers used as sources for public water systems was analyzed for the study. The populations in communities served by these water treatment plants vary from 3,000 to over a million.

Testing sites include the White River in Indiana; Elm Fork Trinity River in Texas; Potomac River in Maryland; Neuse River in North Carolina; Chattahoochee River in Georgia; Running Gutter Brook in Massachusetts; Clackamas River in Oregon; Truckee River in Nevada; and Cache La Poudre in Colorado.

Scientists tested water samples for about 260 commonly used chemicals, including pesticides, solvents, gasoline hydrocarbons, personal care and household products, disinfection by-products, and manufacturing additives.

The Harry Nice Bridge crosses the Potomac River
at Morgantown, Maryland. (Photo by Geoff Greene)

Low levels of about 130 of the chemicals were detected in streams and rivers before treatment in the source water at the public water facilities. Nearly two-thirds of those chemicals were also detected after treatment.

The most commonly detected chemicals in the source water were herbicides, disinfection by-products, and fragrances. Most of the chemicals found were at levels equivalent to one thimble of water in an Olympic-sized pool.

“Low level detection does not necessarily indicate a concern to human health, but rather indicates what types of chemicals we can expect to find in different areas of the country,” said USGS lead scientist, Gregory Delzer.

“Recent scientific advances have given USGS scientists the analytical tools to detect a variety of contaminants in the environment at low concentrations; often 100 to 1,000 times lower than drinking-water standards and other human-health benchmarks,” he explained.

Delzer said that chemicals included in this study serve as indicators of the possible presence of a larger number of commonly used chemicals in rivers, streams, and drinking water.

Many of these chemicals are among those often found in ambient waters of 186 rivers and streams sampled by USGS since the early 1990s, and are correlated with the presence of upstream wastewater sources or upstream agricultural and urban land use.

About 120 chemicals were not detected at all.

Measured concentrations of chemicals detected in both source water and treated water were generally less than 0.1 part per billion.

More than 75 percent of source water and treated water samples in this study contained five or more chemicals.

“The common occurrence of chemical mixtures means that the total combined toxicity may be greater than that of any single contaminant present,” the USGS said in a statement accompanying the report.

The USGS report identifies the need for continued research because the additive or synergistic effects on human health of mixtures of man-made chemicals at low levels are not well understood.

“Most of the man-made chemicals assessed in the USGS study are unregulated in drinking water and not required to be monitored or removed,” says Tom Jacobus, general manager of the Washington Aqueduct, which provides drinking water for one million people in the District of Columbia, Arlington County, Virginia, and the City of Falls Church, Virginia,

“These findings are not surprising and they will be important in helping regulators and assisting water utility managers arrive at decisions about future water treatment processes,” Jacobus said.

This study did not look at pharmaceuticals or hormones nor did it examine the implications of the findings to ecosystems or aquatic health.

Although potential human-health effects and risk were not assessed in this study, the USGS said that adverse effects to human health are expected to be “negligible” based on comparisons of measured concentrations and available human-health benchmarks.

Click here for the full source-water quality assessment and listing of chemicals.

The USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program is planning to complete as many as 21 additional surface-water assessments through 2013. A companion study is scheduled for release in 2009 that summarizes the occurrence of the same chemicals in high-production wells and the associated treated water in 13 states.

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WASHINGTON, DC, March 10, 2008 (ENS) – Drugs taken for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems contaminate drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, according to a report by the Associated Press National Investigation Team released today. These findings confirm a 2002 report by the U.S. Geological Survey that was the first nationwide study of pharmaceutical pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams.

Drug residues contaminate drinking water supplies when people take pills. While their bodies absorb some of the medication, the rest is flushed down the toilet.

Drinking water treatment plants are not designed to remove these pharmaceutical residues, and the AP team uncovered data showing these same chemicals in treated tap water and water supplies in 24 major metropolitan areas.

All of the pharmaceuticals reported in drinking water supplies are unregulated in treated tap water. Although the concentrations of drugs found by the AP research were miniscule, measured in parts per billion, any level is legal and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, does not require water utilities to test for these substances.

Tap water can contain drugs and other
contaminants. (Photo by Greg Riegler)

Previous research has shown that exposure to levels even lower than reported in this survey can cause harm to aquatic species. Effects on humans, if any, have not been determined.

The USGS survey revealed a list of compounds including the painkillers acetaminophen and ibuprofen, prescription medicines for cardiac disorders and hypertension, and female sex hormones used in birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy.

The AP study surfaced as a campaign to get consumers to use tap water instead of bottled water is being waged across the country by the nonprofit group Food & Water Watch.

“All our water sources – rivers and reservoirs, springs and aquifers – may contain drugs flushed down our toilets and off factory farms somewhere up stream,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenona Hauter. “But scaring people away from their taps into the bottled water isle at the grocery store will cost them thousands of dollars a year without making them any safer.”

“Nearly 40 percent of bottled water is simply repackaged tap water. What’s more, there’s no government agency testing bottled water contamination from known hazards such as bacteria, synthetic contaminants, or heavy metals,” Hauter said.

“While the Associated Press did not test bottled water, earlier testers have found dangerous substances such as arsenic and bromate, both known carcinogens. And bottled water comes with its own list of unknown hazards from chemicals leached into the water from the plastic bottles. Hauter maintains, “Tap water is still the best choice for most Americans.”

The AP research extends knowledge detailed in a survey of contaminants in tap water conducted by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group published in December 2005.

Tap water in 42 states is contaminated with more than 140 unregulated chemicals that lack safety standards, the Environmental Working Group found during a 30 month investigation of water suppliers’ tests of the treated tap water.

“Environmental Working Group’s studies show that tap water across the U.S. is contaminated and now we know that millions of Americans are also drinking low level mixtures of pharmaceuticals with every glass of water,” said Jane Houlihan, Environmental Working Group vice president for research.

“The health effect of this cocktail of chemicals and drugs hasn’t been studied but we are concerned about the effects on infants and others who are vulnerable, Houlihan said.

Environmental Working Group analysis shows that of the top 200 drugs in the United States, 13 percent list serious side effects at levels less than 100 parts per billion, ppb, in human blood, with some causing potential health risks in the parts-per-trillion range.

A national tap water atlas published online by the Environmental Working Group shows tap water testing results from 40,000 communities around the country. View the atlas at: http://www.ewg.org/sites/tapwater/

The drug residues in tap water join hundreds of other synthetic chemicals Americans are exposed to daily, as contaminants in food, water, and air, or in common consumer products.

The environmental groups are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take swift action to set standards for pollutants in tap water that will protect the health of Americans nationwide, including children and others most vulnerable to health risks from these exposures.

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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, January 25, 2008 (ENS) – Over the past 50 years, farming has altered the hydrology and chemistry of the Mississippi River, injecting more carbon dioxide [www.sundancechannel.com] into the river and raising river discharge, finds a study by researchers at Louisiana State and Yale universities.

LSU Professor R. Eugene Turner and graduate student Whitney Broussard, along with their colleagues at Yale, tracked changes in the discharge of water and the concentration of bicarbonate, which forms when carbon dioxide in soil water dissolves rock minerals.

Bicarbonate in rivers plays an important, long-term role in absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Oceans then absorb this carbon dioxide, but become more acidic in the process, making it more difficult for marine organisms to form hard shells – a necessary function in coral reefs.

The Mississippi River at
Greenville, Mississippi (Photo
courtesy Loadtest)

Researchers concluded that liming and farming practices, such as changes in tile drainage, tillage practices and crop type, are most likely responsible for the majority of the increase in water and carbon in the Mississippi River, North America’s largest river.

“It’s like the discovery of a new large river being piped out of the corn belt,” said Pete Raymond, lead author of the study and associate professor of ecosystem ecology at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

The research team analyzed 100 year old data on the Mississippi River warehoused at two New Orleans water treatment plants, and combined it with data on precipitation and water export.

“The water quality information we used has been sitting idle for over 50 years in an attic in New Orleans, waiting to be discovered,” said Broussard, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in coastal ecology at LSU.

“I felt like a treasure-hunter when we opened those boxes in that 100-plus degree attic to find those data logs. You never know where your research will take you if you’re open to suggestion and serendipity.”

Turner, distinguished professor of coastal ecology, added, “and [where it will take you] if you have the benefits of long-term collaborations of trusting and high-quality academic research groups.”

The research team used the data to demonstrate the effects of this excess water on the carbon content of the river, and they argue that the additional water in the river is altering the chemistry of the Gulf of Mexico as by increasing the amount of nutrients and pollution the river transports to the Gulf.

“We’re learning more and more about the far-reaching effects of American agriculture on rivers and lakes. This also means that the agricultural community has an incredible opportunity to influence the natural environment in a positive way, more than any other contemporary enterprise,” said Broussard.

“If we want to clean the water, we have to steward the land with right agriculture.”

The study, “Anthropogenically Enhanced Fluxes of Water and Carbon from the Mississippi River,” is published in the current issue of the journal “Nature.”

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