Two former wastewater treatment plant employees in Nashville have been indicted by a grand jury for bypassing treatment processes and tampering with a monitoring device.
The indictment alleges that the two employees conspired to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and to violate the Clean Water Act. According to court documents, the facility operations manager and the plant supervisor directed employees to bypass treatment processes and discharge untreated and partially treated wastewater into the Nashville sewer system in December 2022 and in January 2023. The indictment further alleges that they tampered with and caused employees to tamper with a sampling device that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County placed to monitor compliance with a pretreatment permit.
If convicted, the defendants face a total sentence of up to 17 years in prison, as well as fines, restitution and supervised release.
Michigan Finds Widespread Microplastics in Rivers and Streams
Michigan state officials have initiated a new testing program to study the prevalence of microplastics in the state's rivers and streams. Initial findings from the first round of sampling indicate a widespread presence of these tiny plastic particles. An analyst with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy noted that microplastics were found in nearly all of the samples, regardless of whether the water source was located in a remote or urban area.
This new testing effort is being funded by a $2 million appropriation and is part of a larger, five-year plan to sample 200 different rivers and streams. The state's increased focus on this issue aligns with growing global concerns about the environmental and health risks of microplastics.
Michigan lawmakers also have proposed legislation aimed at reducing the use of some microplastics and further investigating their presence in the state’s drinking and surface waters.
Federal Attorneys Ask Court to Let EPA Drop PFAS Regulations
Federal attorneys have petitioned a court to allow the EPA to rescind regulations on certain types of PFAS in drinking water. The move follows the previous administration's establishment of the first federally enforceable limits on six types of PFAS. The Trump administration's EPA, however, announced intentions to undo regulations on four of those chemicals and is now formally seeking to do so in court.
According to an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is challenging the move, agencies are required to follow a public process to reverse a regulation, just as they would to create one. The attorney also noted that the Safe Drinking Water Act has been interpreted by courts to prevent the EPA from reversing its decision to regulate a contaminant in drinking water once that decision has been made.
