An appeals court recently denied a request by Maui County (Hawaii) for a full-panel review of the court’s ruling that the county violated the Clean Water Act by injecting treated wastewater into wells at Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility.
The facility has pumped the effluent into injection wells for the past 30 years, but Maui News reports that Earthjustice attorney David Henkin says the practice is prohibited by the Clean Water Act. “When Congress passed this landmark law to protect our nation's waters, it did not create a loophole for Maui County to pollute the Pacific Ocean by using the groundwater underneath the Lahaina facility as a sewer,” he wrote in a statement.
Source: Maui News
Brasília Authorities Suggest Residents Defecate in Newspapers to Save Water
A water crisis in Brasília, Brazil, has authorities looking for solutions in unlikely places. They’re now advising that residents can avoid using toilets by urinating on the ground and defecating into newspapers for later placement in landfills.
Brasília’s population is around 3 million people and is the capital of the country, but it’s located in a very dry region. Recent decreases in rainfall levels have diminished reservoirs, and residents have already been rationing water for the past year.
The Federal District’s Legislative Assembly released an alternative sanitation guide titled “Water: A Survival Guide During the Hydric Crisis” that contains the advice to forego toilets.
Source: The Brazilian Report
Virgin Islands Government Accused of Nonpayment of $4.6 Million to Veolia
After 18 months of nonpayment, the company that built and services the Virgin Islands’ wastewater treatment plants says the government of the territory is in default for not agreeing to the terms of its contract.
Veolia claims in a letter to the Virgin Islands Department of Justice that it is owed $4.6 million, alleging that the territory’s government has brushed aside attempts to set up a payment plan. Now, says Veolia, they’re totally ignoring the company’s phone calls, emails and letters.
Source: The Virgin Islands Consortium
