WaterWired

Water, Volume 13, Issue 1 (January 2021) - Hydrology, Hydrogeology, Reuse, Management, Policy, Wastewater, Water Use and Scarcity, and More!

It's Water, volume 12, issue 1. Click here to access all 109 articles.

Cover Stories

Article: An Innovative Approach to Determine Coastal Scenic Beauty and Sensitivity in a Scenario of Increasing Human Pressure and Natural Impacts due to Climate Change

Alexis Mooser, Giorgio Anfuso, Allan T. Williams, Rosa Molina and Pietro P. C. Aucelli

Water 2021, 13(1), 49; doi:10.3390/w13010049

Article: Modeling the Swelling of Hydrogels with Application to Storage of Stormwater

Hans O. Åkerstedt, T. Staffan Lundström, I. A. Sofia Larsson, Jiri Marsalek and Maria Viklander

Water 2021, 13(1), 34; doi:10.3390/w13010034

 

Featured Papers

Review: Urban Water Consumption at Multiple Spatial and Temporal Scales. A Review of Existing Datasets

Anna Di Mauro, Andrea Cominola, Andrea Castelletti and Armando Di Nardo

Water 2021, 13(1), 36; doi:10.3390/w13010036

Article: eNaBLe, an On-Line Tool to Evaluate Natural Background Levels in Groundwater Bodies

Daniele Parrone, Eleonora Frollini, Elisabetta Preziosi and Stefano Ghergo

Water 2021, 13(1), 74; doi:10.3390/w13010074

Article: TiO₂ Doped with Noble Metals as an Efficient Solution for the Photodegradation of Hazardous Organic Water Pollutants at Ambient Conditions

Amalia Maria Sescu, Lidia Favier, Doina Lutic, Nicolas Soto-Donoso, Gabriela Ciobanu and Maria Harja

Water 2021, 13(1), 19; doi:10.3390/w13010019

Article: Seawater Intrusion Proneness and Geophysical Investigations in the Metaponto Coastal Plain (Basilicata, Italy)

Rosalba Muzzillo, Livia Emanuela Zuffianò, Enzo Rizzo, Filomena Canora, Luigi Capozzoli, Valeria Giampaolo, Giorgio De Giorgio, Francesco Sdao and Maurizio Polemio

Water 2021, 13(1), 53; doi:10.3390/w13010053

Article: Comparing Trace Elements (As, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in Soils and Surface Waters among Montane, Upland Watersheds and Lowland, Urban Watersheds in New England, USA

Justin B. Richardson

Water 2021, 13(1), 59; doi:10.3390/w13010059

Article: Ecosystem Organic Carbon Stock Estimations in the Sile River, North Eastern Italy

Alessandro Buosi, Yari Tomio, Abdul-Salam Juhmani and Adriano Sfriso

Water 2021, 13(1), 80; doi:10.3390/w13010080

Article: Are Microplastics Impairing Marine Fish Larviculture?—Preliminary Results with Argyrosomus regius

Diana Campos, Andreia C. M. Rodrigues, Rui J. M. Rocha, Roberto Martins, Ana Candeias-Mendes, Sara Castanho, Florbela Soares, Pedro Pousão-Ferreira, Amadeu M. V. M. Soares, Carlos Gravato and Ana L. Patrício Silva

Water 2021, 13(1), 104; doi:10.3390/w13010104

Article: Hydrological Behaviour of Extensive Green Roofs with Native Plants in the Humid Subtropical Climate Context

Lucia Bortolini, Francesco Bettella and Giampaolo Zanin

Water 2021, 13(1), 44; doi:10.3390/w13010044

Article: Differences in the Sulfate–Methane Transitional Zone in Coastal Pockmarks in Various Sedimentary Environments

Chao Cao, Feng Cai, Hongshuai Qi, Shaohua Zhao and Chengqiang Wu

Water 2021, 13(1), 68; doi:10.3390/w13010068

General

Article: Winter Inputs Buffer Streamflow Sensitivity to Snowpack Losses in the Salt River Watershed in the Lower Colorado River Basin

Marcos D. Robles, John C. Hammond, Stephanie K. Kampf, Joel A. Biederman and Eleonora M. C. Demaria

Water 2021, 13(1), 3; doi:10.3390/w13010003

Article: Control of Suitability of the Culture Daphnia magna Straus for Bioassays of Aquatic Environments, Taking into Account Demographic Indicators of Model Populations

Anna Olkova

Water 2021, 13(1), 47; doi:10.3390/w13010047

Article: Evaluation of Seasonal Groundwater Quality Changes Associated with Groundwater Pumping and Level Fluctuations in an Agricultural Area, Korea

Kyoochul Ha, Eunhee Lee, Hyowon An, Sunghyun Kim, Changhui Park, Gyoo-Bum Kim and Kyung-Seok Ko

Water 2021, 13(1), 51; doi:10.3390/w13010051

Article: Using 2D HEC-RAS Modeling and Embankment Dam Break Scenario for Assessing the Flood Control Capacity of a Multi-Reservoir System (NE Romania)

Andrei Urzică, Alin Mihu-Pintilie, Cristian Constantin Stoleriu, Cătălin Ioan Cîmpianu, Elena Huţanu, Claudiu Ionuţ Pricop and Adrian Grozavu

Water 2021, 13(1), 57; doi:10.3390/w13010057

Article: Volume Estimation of Landslide Affected Soil Moisture Using TRIGRS: A Case Study of Longxi River Small Watershed in Wenchuan Earthquake Zone, China

Tong Sun, Zhiyuan Deng, Zexing Xu and Xiekang Wang

Water 2021, 13(1), 71; doi:10.3390/w13010071

Opinion: The Suspected Contradictory Role of Parental Care in the Adaption of Planktonic Calanoida to Temporary Freshwater

Genuario Belmonte

Water 2021, 13(1), 100; doi:10.3390/w13010100

Water and One Health

Article: Water-Based Therapies of Bhutan: Current Practices and the Recorded Clinical Evidence of Balneotherapy

Phurpa Wangchuk, Karma Yeshi, Karma Ugyen, Jigme Dorji, Karma Wangdi, Samten, Phurba Tshering and Ari Satia Nugraha

Water 2021, 13(1), 9; doi:10.3390/w13010009

Article: Indicative Lake Water Quality Assessment Using Remote Sensing Images-Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown

Poonam Wagh, Jency M. Sojan, Sriram J. Babu, Renu Valsala, Suman Bhatia and Roshan Srivastav

Water 2021, 13(1), 73; doi:10.3390/w13010073

Hydrology and Hydrogeology

Review: Review: Sources of Hydrological Model Uncertainties and Advances in Their Analysis

Edom Moges, Yonas Demissie, Laurel Larsen and Fuad Yassin

Water 2021, 13(1), 28; doi:10.3390/w13010028

Review: The Issue of Groundwater Salinization in Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean Region: A Review

Micòl Mastrocicco and Nicolò Colombani

Water 2021, 13(1), 90; doi:10.3390/w13010090

Review: Modeling Surface Processes on Debris-Covered Glaciers: A Review with Reference to the High Mountain Asia

Da Huo, Zhaohui Chi and Andong Ma

Water 2021, 13(1), 101; doi:10.3390/w13010101

Article: Significant Baseflow Reduction in the Sao Francisco River Basin

Murilo Cesar Lucas, Natalya Kublik, Dulce B. B. Rodrigues, Antonio A. Meira Neto, André Almagro, Davi de C. D. Melo, Samuel C. Zipper and Paulo Tarso Sanches Oliveira

Water 2021, 13(1), 2; doi:10.3390/w13010002

Article: Quantitative Lasting Effects of Drought Stress at a Growth Stage on Soybean Evapotranspiration and Aboveground BIOMASS

Yi Cui, Shaowei Ning, Juliang Jin, Shangming Jiang, Yuliang Zhou and Chengguo Wu

Water 2021, 13(1), 18; doi:10.3390/w13010018

Article: Groundwater Recharge in the Cerrado Biome, Brazil—A Multi-Method Study at Experimental Watershed Scale

Ronaldo Medeiros dos Santos, Sérgio Koide, Bruno Esteves Távora and Daiana Lira de Araujo

Water 2021, 13(1), 20; doi:10.3390/w13010020

Article: Potential Sources of Ammonium-Nitrogen in the Coastal Groundwater Determined from a Combined Analysis of Nitrogen Isotope, Biological and Geological Parameters, and Land Use

Anna Fadliah Rusydi, Shin-Ichi Onodera, Mitsuyo Saito, Fujio Hyodo, Morihiro Maeda, Khori Sugianti and Sunarya Wibawa

Water 2021, 13(1), 25; doi:10.3390/w13010025

Article: Regression Models for Soil Water Storage Estimation Using the ESA CCI Satellite Soil Moisture Product: A Case Study in Northeast Portugal

Tomás de Figueiredo, Ana Caroline Royer, Felícia Fonseca, Fabiana Costa de Araújo Schütz and Zulimar Hernández

Water 2021, 13(1), 37; doi:10.3390/w13010037

Article: Reactive Transport Simulation of Cavern Formation along Fractures in Carbonate Rocks

Ruiqi Duan, Genhua Shang, Chen Yu, Qiang Wang, Hong Zhang, Liheng Wang, Zhifang Xu and Yanhui Dong

Water 2021, 13(1), 38; doi:10.3390/w13010038

Article: Modeling and Solving of Joint Flood Control Operation of Large-Scale Reservoirs: A Case Study in the Middle and Upper Yangtze River in China

Gang Zha, Jianzhong Zhou, Xin Yang, Wei Fang, Ling Dai, Quansen Wang and Xiaoling Ding

Water 2021, 13(1), 41; doi:10.3390/w13010041

Article: Watershed-Scale, Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Water Resources Impacts from Climate Change

Nick Martin

Water 2021, 13(1), 40; doi:10.3390/w13010040

Article: Improving Water Sustainability through Modeling Optimum Sites for Riparian Forest Reforestation

Daniel Henrique Alves Torres, Dácio de Castro Vivas Neto, Danilo Vieira Mendes dos Santos and Carlos Alberto Pereira Soares

Water 2021, 13(1), 46; doi:10.3390/w13010046

Article: The Impacts of Climate Variability on Crop Yields and Irrigation Water Demand in South Asia

Qurat-ul-Ain Ahmad, Hester Biemans, Eddy Moors, Nuzba Shaheen and Ilyas Masih

Water 2021, 13(1), 50; doi:10.3390/w13010050

Article: Multi-Gene Genetic Programming Regression Model for Prediction of Transient Storage Model Parameters in Natural Rivers

Hyoseob Noh, Siyoon Kwon, Il Won Seo, Donghae Baek and Sung Hyun Jung

Water 2021, 13(1), 76; doi:10.3390/w13010076

Article: Assessment of the Dissimilarities of EDI and SPI Measures for Drought Determination in South Africa

Omolola M. Adisa, Muthoni Masinde and Joel O. Botai

Water 2021, 13(1), 82; doi:10.3390/w13010082

Article: Determination of Evaporative Fluxes Using a Bench-Scale Atmosphere Simulator

Jared Suchan and Shahid Azam

Water 2021, 13(1), 84; doi:10.3390/w13010084

Article: Relative Performance of 1-D Versus 3-D Hydrodynamic, Water-Quality Models for Predicting Water Temperature and Oxygen in a Shallow, Eutrophic, Managed Reservoir

Xiamei Man, Chengwang Lei, Cayelan C. Carey and John C. Little

Water 2021, 13(1), 88; doi:10.3390/w13010088

Article: Streamflow Forecasting via Two Types of Predictive Structure-Based Gated Recurrent Unit Models

Xuehua Zhao, Hanfang Lv, Yizhao Wei, Shujin Lv and Xueping Zhu

Water 2021, 13(1), 91; doi:10.3390/w13010091

Article: Magnesium as Environmental Tracer for Karst Spring Baseflow/Overflow Assessment—A Case Study of the Pertuso Karst Spring (Latium Region, Italy)

Francesco Maria De Filippi, Silvia Iacurto, Gerardo Grelle and Giuseppe Sappa

Water 2021, 13(1), 93; doi:10.3390/w13010093

Article: Trend Analysis of Annual and Seasonal River Runoff by Using Innovative Trend Analysis with Significant Test

Yilinuer Alifujiang, Jilili Abuduwaili and Yongxiao Ge

Water 2021, 13(1), 95; doi:10.3390/w13010095

 

Enjoy!

 

"No, @Nature is not denying your First Amendment rights by rejecting your manuscript." - @ass_deans

Colorado River Blues Redux: Going, Going...Gone? (2008 --> 2021)

This is a repost of an article I published on 2 December 2008: Colorado River Blues: Going, Going...I did not intend to add 'redux' to the title and repost it until a few minutes ago. I read a Tweet from friend and colleague Michael van der Valk, who re-Tweeted the post preceding this one, Ground Water: The Water Budget Myth, one of my all-time favorites. I had been reading current depressing articles about water woes in the Colorado Basin. So I thought it might be enlightening to see what was occurring in late 2008. Some of the links may be broken. I added a CRB map, which was absent from the original post.

Interesting to see Wall Street's current interest in the CRB. Could The Water Knife be far behind? 

Enjoy! 

This post is appropriate, given that I am in Las Vegas for the NGWA's Ground Water Expo. The year 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the NGWA. I'll be curious to see whether the economy affects attendance. The Expo is in Las Vegas every other year, and I think we broke 6,000 attendees in 2006.

I am staying at the venerable Las Vegas Hilton, which, when I arrived in Nevada 32 years ago, was the second-largest hotel in the world after a Moscow hotel. Now I doubt if it is in the Top 15 in Las Vegas, much less the world. That's how this town has changed. The State of Nevada had fewer than 500,000 residents when I arrived in 1976; now, the Las Vegas area alone has over 2 million.

But the LVH has kept up with the times, though - Barry Manilow is playing the showroom. Awesome, dude!

I'm ensconced in a huge suite on the third floor, all for just $125 per night. I'm not sure what I did to deserve this treatment. But I'm still being charged $13.99/24 hours for WiFi, so I guess I'm not THAT special.

Great seeing Kevin McRay, NGWA's Executive Director, and Brent Murray, chair of AGWSE, NGWA's largest division. Two good guys.

Sorry for the digression.

So here is the "appropriate" post, but it's is not good news. Bad enough the economy is tanking, but alas, the Colorado River is not doing much better, according to Patty Henetz's article, published in the 29 November 2008 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Here are the first few paragraphs:

The drought gripping Utah, Southern California and the rest of the Southwest this century shows no sign of ending. Scientists see it as a permanent condition that, despite year-to-year weather variations, will deepen as temperatures rise, snows dwindle, soils bake and fires burn.

That's grim news for all of us in the West, perhaps most especially for the 10 million residents along the northern stretch of the Colorado River -- Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado -- whose water rights are newer, and therefore junior, to those in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

Making matters worse, the Colorado -- the 1,450-mile-long lifeline that sustains more than 30 million souls and 3.5 million acres of farmland in seven states, 34 tribal nations and Mexico -- is in decline, scientists warn.

But the best is yet to come.

Dozens of scientific studies issued since 2004 have documented the Colorado's decline.

The river's annual flow has averaged 11.7 million acre-feet this decade, according to federal records. In 2002, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation measured only 6.2 million acre-feet passing Lee's Ferry below Glen Canyon Dam, the lowest flow of the decade. Even after this year's above-average precipitation, Lake Powell and Lake Mead combined are at 57 percent capacity.

A 2007 U.S. Geological Survey report found that, by 2050, rising temperatures in the Southwest could rival those of the nation's fabled droughts, including the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Hotter weather is expected to reduce Colorado River runoff by at least 30 percent during the 21st century.

If the USGS is correct, and if this century's trend persists, average annual flow in the Colorado could fall to 8.2 million acre-feet per year.

Imagine that. The Law of the River requires 9 million acre-feet to pass Lee's Ferry on the way to the Lower Basin and Mexico. Under a strict interpretation of the law, the Upper Basin could be left with nothing.

You can read the rest of the article. Even Peter Gleick and Pat Mulroy would not be able to make things right.

But at least Las Vegas is using less water these days.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the CRB...I was in the Phoenix area (Tempe, actually) several weeks ago with some colleagues. At Arizona State University's remarkable Decision Theater we got a taste of high-tech decision-making. It is part of the Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS).

We heard some interesting things, but one in particular made an impression on me. One of the folks told us that in the Greater Phoenix area, if you go to a local politician/water manager with a predictive model that shows a future with less precipitation, you're out of luck. They're not even thinking about that possibility. Heads in the sand, or what?

I think I am getting close to finding someone who is "thinking about the unthinkable" regarding Southwest water and depopulation, particularly in the Colorado River Basin.

"Las Vegas is Everyman's cut-rate Babylon.  Not far away there is, or was, a roadside lunch counter and over it a sign proclaiming in three words that a Roman emperor's orgy is now a democratic institution - 'Topless Pizza Lunch'."  ~Alistair Cooke

"Do you know what we call tourists in Las Vegas? We call them 'marks'." - desk clerk, San Remo Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

This is a repost of an article I published on 2 December 2008: Colorado River Blues: Going, Going...I did not intend to add 'redux' to the title and repost it until a few minutes ago. I read a Tweet from friend and colleague Michael van der Valk, who re-Tweeted the post preceding this one, Ground Water: The Water Budget Myth, one of my all-time favorites. I had been reading current depressing articles about water woes in the Colorado Basin. So I thought it might be enlightening to see what was occurring in late 2008. Some of the links may be broken. I added a CRB map, which was absent from the original post.

Interesting to see Wall Street's current interest in the CRB. Could The Water Knife be far behind? 

Enjoy! 

This post is appropriate, given that I am in Las Vegas for the NGWA's Ground Water Expo. The year 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the NGWA. I'll be curious to see whether the economy affects attendance. The Expo is in Las Vegas every other year, and I think we broke 6,000 attendees in 2006.

I am staying at the venerable Las Vegas Hilton, which, when I arrived in Nevada 32 years ago, was the second-largest hotel in the world after a Moscow hotel. Now I doubt if it is in the Top 15 in Las Vegas, much less the world. That's how this town has changed. The State of Nevada had fewer than 500,000 residents when I arrived in 1976; now, the Las Vegas area alone has over 2 million.

But the LVH has kept up with the times, though - Barry Manilow is playing the showroom. Awesome, dude!

I'm ensconced in a huge suite on the third floor, all for just $125 per night. I'm not sure what I did to deserve this treatment. But I'm still being charged $13.99/24 hours for WiFi, so I guess I'm not THAT special.

Great seeing Kevin McRay, NGWA's Executive Director, and Brent Murray, chair of AGWSE, NGWA's largest division. Two good guys.

Sorry for the digression.

So here is the "appropriate" post, but it's is not good news. Bad enough the economy is tanking, but alas, the Colorado River is not doing much better, according to Patty Henetz's article, published in the 29 November 2008 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Here are the first few paragraphs:

The drought gripping Utah, Southern California and the rest of the Southwest this century shows no sign of ending. Scientists see it as a permanent condition that, despite year-to-year weather variations, will deepen as temperatures rise, snows dwindle, soils bake and fires burn.

That's grim news for all of us in the West, perhaps most especially for the 10 million residents along the northern stretch of the Colorado River -- Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado -- whose water rights are newer, and therefore junior, to those in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

Making matters worse, the Colorado -- the 1,450-mile-long lifeline that sustains more than 30 million souls and 3.5 million acres of farmland in seven states, 34 tribal nations and Mexico -- is in decline, scientists warn.

But the best is yet to come.

Dozens of scientific studies issued since 2004 have documented the Colorado's decline.

The river's annual flow has averaged 11.7 million acre-feet this decade, according to federal records. In 2002, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation measured only 6.2 million acre-feet passing Lee's Ferry below Glen Canyon Dam, the lowest flow of the decade. Even after this year's above-average precipitation, Lake Powell and Lake Mead combined are at 57 percent capacity.

A 2007 U.S. Geological Survey report found that, by 2050, rising temperatures in the Southwest could rival those of the nation's fabled droughts, including the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Hotter weather is expected to reduce Colorado River runoff by at least 30 percent during the 21st century.

If the USGS is correct, and if this century's trend persists, average annual flow in the Colorado could fall to 8.2 million acre-feet per year.

Imagine that. The Law of the River requires 9 million acre-feet to pass Lee's Ferry on the way to the Lower Basin and Mexico. Under a strict interpretation of the law, the Upper Basin could be left with nothing.

You can read the rest of the article. Even Peter Gleick and Pat Mulroy would not be able to make things right.

But at least Las Vegas is using less water these days.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the CRB...I was in the Phoenix area (Tempe, actually) several weeks ago with some colleagues. At Arizona State University's remarkable Decision Theater we got a taste of high-tech decision-making. It is part of the Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS).

We heard some interesting things, but one in particular made an impression on me. One of the folks told us that in the Greater Phoenix area, if you go to a local politician/water manager with a predictive model that shows a future with less precipitation, you're out of luck. They're not even thinking about that possibility. Heads in the sand, or what?

I think I am getting close to finding someone who is "thinking about the unthinkable" regarding Southwest water and depopulation, particularly in the Colorado River Basin.

"Las Vegas is Everyman's cut-rate Babylon.  Not far away there is, or was, a roadside lunch counter and over it a sign proclaiming in three words that a Roman emperor's orgy is now a democratic institution - 'Topless Pizza Lunch'."  ~Alistair Cooke

"Do you know what we call tourists in Las Vegas? We call them 'marks'." - desk clerk, San Remo Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

CRS InFocus Report: 'Water Resources Development Act of 2020'

From Nicole T. Carter and Anna E. Normand - an updated (29 December 2020) CRS InFocus report: Water Resources Development Act of 2020. This two-pager provides a great overview of the WRDA 2020, just signed into law on 27 December 2020.

Download CRS_InFocus_Report_WRDA_2020_29Dec2020

Overview
Congress commonly titles omnibus legislation that authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works activities as a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Since WRDA 1986, Congress often has considered a WRDA biennially. Drivers for enactment typically include nonfederaland congressional interest in new studies and construction projects and adjustments to existing projects, programmatic authorities, and policies. Congress passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA 2020) as Division AA of H.R. 133, an omnibus appropriations and authorization act, signed by President Trump on December 27, 2020. The116th Congress had considered other versions of a USACE authorization bill. For example, the House passed S.1811 in early December 2020 and H.R. 7575 in July 2020. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reported S. 3591 in May 2020.

Like most previously enacted WRDAs, WRDA 2020 not only authorized USACE studies and projects but also refined congressional policy direction for USACE and adjusted existing USACE civil works authorities. In addition to USACE-related provisions, a limited number of WRDA 2020 provisions are associated primarily with other agencies (e.g., §§507, 508, 510).

Cutting to the chase...

Processes for Identifying Studies and Projects
Adherence to earmark moratoriums has altered how Congress identifies activities for inclusion in a WRDA. In Section 7001 of P.L. 113-121 (33 U.S.C. §2282d), Congress established an annual process for identifying proposals for USACE studies and projects that are related to the agency’s missions and authorities that require specific congressional authorization. Congress has used the annual Section 7001 reports to identify activities for authorization in WRDAs.

USACE’s civil works activities historically have focused on three primary purposes: improving navigation, reducing flood risk, and restoring aquatic ecosystems. Many USACE projects are multipurpose—that is, they may provide water supply storage, recreation, and hydropower, among other benefits, in addition to one or more of the three primary purposes. WRDA2020(§127) directs that the Section7001 reports are to include proposals submitted for projects with municipal or agricultural water supply purposes that are consistent with the agency’s mission and authorities.

WRDA Implementation and Oversight
Congress establishes the broad structure for how USACE is to perform its water resource activities. After enactment of a WRDA, USACE often develops guidance that describes how the agency plans to implement various provisions, and Congress often engages in oversight.

Enjoy!

"Someone who comes more than 500 miles and uses colored transparencies." - Definition of an expert, c. late 1960s - early 1970s

GAO Report: Environmental Protection - Action Needed to Ensure EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Activities Support Its Strategic Goals

This GAO report was released on 9 December 2020: 'Environmental Protection - Action Needed to Ensure EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Activities Support Its Strategic Goals'.

Full report: Download GAO_Report_EnvProt_Action_Needed_9DEC2020

Highlights: Download GAO_Report_EnvProt_Action_Needed_9DEC2020

Fast Facts
The Environmental Protection Agency partners with states to oversee compliance with federal environmental laws for about 1.2 million industrial facilities, local governments, and others.

In 2018, the EPA shifted its priorities to emphasize measures that bring entities into compliance (e.g., training) on top of efforts to address noncompliance. But the EPA put these priorities in place without finalizing guidance on how its offices and states should achieve them.

The EPA has a strategic goal of improving partnerships with states. Our recommendationsinclude communicating guidance before effecting future changes to help the EPA reach this goal.

Highlights

What GAO Found
Since 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shifted its priorities from enforcement to compliance to more closely align with EPA's new strategic plan objective to ensure compliance with environmental laws (see table). To align with this strategic change, in 2018, EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) transitioned its national initiatives to emphasize compliance (e.g., training) as its overall goal, and that enforcement actions (e.g., judicial actions) are one out of a range of compliance assurance tools to achieve this goal. These national initiatives went into effect in October 2019, but as of September 2020, EPA had not finalized implementation guidance for EPA regional offices and states that communicates how to achieve the initiatives. According to EPA headquarters officials, this is the first time OECA planned to distribute this guidance to states. Communicating final implementation guidance before future national initiatives go into effect would provide EPA better assurance that both regional offices and states have this information in time to help EPA address the most serious environmental issues.

EPA's Strategic Goals and Corresponding Objectives Related to Enforcement and Compliance

	Strategic plan, fiscal years 2014-18	Strategic plan, fiscal years 2018-22
Strategic goal	Protect human health and the environment by enforcing laws and assuring compliance	Greater certainty, compliance, and effectiveness
Strategic objective	Enforce environmental laws to achieve compliance	Compliance with law

Source: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I GAO-21-82

EPA's coordination with states on enforcement and compliance has generally remained the same or improved since it shifted priorities to compliance in 2018, according to EPA planning documents and officials from EPA and 10 selected states. During this time, EPA also elevated the importance of state coordination in a strategic goal. To support this goal, EPA issued both a plan to engage with states on the new national initiatives and a July 2019 policy that emphasizes the importance of joint work-planning and effective, two-way communication with states. However, EPA did not provide all states with key information about how to implement the new priorities, as planned. EPA headquarters officials said this was the first time they worked this closely with states to implement national initiatives, and it took longer than anticipated to gather state input. EPA identifies and analyzes its national initiatives every 4 years. By incorporating lessons learned from this first effort, EPA would have better assurance that states—key partners in enforcement and compliance—could coordinate effectively on joint work-planning and support its strategic goals.

EPA could not demonstrate the extent to which it assesses enforcement and compliance at the regional level—where OECA allocates over 70 percent of its enforcement resources—because it does not document outcomes of meetings and videoconferences that are its primary methods for assessing regional-level performance. By documenting assessment of regional enforcement and compliance activities, including progress toward performance goals, OECA could better ensure these activities support EPA's new strategic objectives.

Why GAO Did This Study
In partnership with states, EPA oversees about 1.2 million regulated entities' (e.g., industrial facilities and local governments) compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations, including those governing air, water, and hazardous waste. OECA conducts much of this oversight through EPA's 10 regional offices and a range of enforcement and compliance activities. OECA selects national initiatives to focus its resources on advancing EPA's strategic plan.

GAO was asked to review EPA's enforcement efforts. This report examines how (1) EPA's enforcement and compliance priorities have changed since 2015 and the extent to which EPA implements them, (2) EPA's coordination with states to enforce and ensure compliance with environmental laws has changed since it shifted priorities, and (3) EPA has assessed whether its activities to enforce and ensure compliance with these laws meet its objectives. GAO reviewed EPA documents and interviewed officials from EPA and 10 states with a high number of enforcement cases.

What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends that EPA (1) communicate final guidance for national initiatives to all states before they go into effect, (2) incorporate lessons learned when coordinating with states on future initiatives, and (3) document assessment of regional enforcement and compliance activities. EPA agreed with GAO's recommendations.

For more information, contact J. Alfredo Gómez at (202) 512-3841 or gomezj@gao.gov.

Pretty straightforward, right?

Enjoy!

"Success is like being pregnant. Everybody congratulates you, but nobody knows how many times you were screwed before you got there.” - Unknown

CRS InFocus Report: 'Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (S. 1811)'

An informative CRS report (10 December 2020) from Nicole T. Carter and Anna E.  Normand: Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (S. 1811).

Download CRS_Report_WRDA_2020_10December2020

Introduction
Congress commonly titles omnibus legislation that authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) civil works activities asaWaterResources DevelopmentAct (WRDA). Since WRDA 1986, Congress often has considereda WRDA on a biennialcycle. Drivers for enactment typically include nonfederal and congressional interest in new studies and construction projects and adjustments to existing projects, programmatic authorities, and policies. S.1811, as passed by the House on December 8, 2020, has the short title of Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA2020). S.1811 draws many provisions from two other bills―H.R. 7575 and S. 3591. In July 2020, the House passed H.R.7575. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works reported S. 3591 in May 2020.

Like most previously enacted WRDAs, as well as H.R. 7575 and S. 3591, S. 1811’s provisions generally would not only authorize USACE studies and projects but also refine congressional policy direction for USACE and adjust existing USACE civil works authorities. In addition to USACE-related provisions, there are a limited number of S. 1811 provisions associated primarily with other agencies (e.g., §§507, 508, 510). S. 1811 does not include various non-USACE provisions that are in S.3591, including those related to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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