EHN Saturday: Muddied process for EPA stormwater rules; Studying farm runoff impacts.

Above the fold. News aggregated by www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org	Don't miss the link to today's good news Read today's editorials
Daily links to top stories in the news about environmental health. Why is EPA taking so long to write a stormwater rule? It's complicated. Grand Rapids, Mich., is placing a bet that restoring the white water that gave the city its name will make it a destination for kayakers and other outdoors enthusiasts. Greenwire http://bit.ly/17VaJyW What is farm runoff doing to the water? Scientists wade in. Scientists want to get a better sense of how agricultural runoff is affecting water quality. So this summer, scientists from the EPA and U.S. Geological Survey are wading into some 100 streams to test for hundreds of pesticides and nutrients used in farming. National Public Radio http://bit.ly/13rEv0h Utah's summer smog: What you don't see can hurt you. Summertime smog poses serious health risks -- not just to city-dwellers but also those in the most remote corners of the state, and it can be harmful to healthy people as well as those with compromised health. Salt Lake Tribune, Utah. http://bit.ly/12sZYzx Trout under threat as deadly pesticide devastates top fishing river. A pesticide, chlorpyrifos, has wiped out all insect life over a stretch of about 10 miles. Though trout have survived the contamination, there are fears that they will starve because the pollution has wiped out their food. Members of the public have been advised to avoid skin contact with the water, not to eat fish caught there and to keep their pets away. London Daily Express, United Kingdom. http://bit.ly/128LFQw Mine safety administration delays action on black lung, other safety rules. The Obama administration is continuing to delay action on several key mine safety and health rules, including one aimed at ending deadly black lung disease, according to a new regulatory agenda made public this week. Charleston Gazette, West Virginia. http://bit.ly/1aMiTNV With rising temperatures, infrastructure falters. As the western U.S. continues to bake in 100-plus degree heat, the high temperatures are making pavement buckle and power lines droop. Vicki Arroyo of the Georgetown Climate Center talks about heat's effects on infrastructure, and how cities can adapt for increasing temperatures. Science Friday, NPR. http://n.pr/128ULge Nigeria kickstarts efforts to head off climate disasters. Earlier this year, parts of Nigeria were suffering from drought conditions. Rains have now arrived, and the concern is that last year's disaster has left communities across the country more vulnerable. The Nigerian government certainly seems to have woken up to the growing threat of climate-related calamities. Reuters http://bit.ly/15maxZl Extreme Weather: How will Europe prepare for the next flood? German officials reacted with alarm when they found themselves not quite prepared last month for the worst flooding in 400 years. In mid-June, during the third week of the deluge, Germany found itself short of sandbags. ClimateWire http://bit.ly/14TOGq2 Homes keep rising in West despite growing wildfire threat. The death of 19 firefighters in Arizona this week highlights what has become a fact of life in the West: Every summer, smoke fills the big skies yet people continue to build in the places that burn most. More people live in these areas, and many balk at controls on how and where to build. New York Times [Registration Required] http://nyti.ms/1d1R40D Are gas and climate goals flattening U.S. coal giant's stock price? In February 2010, Peabody Energy Corp. filed an inch-thick critical response to a U.S. EPA finding that power plant emissions tied to global warming endangered human health. The St. Louis-based coal company laid out its arguments against global warming and the need to regulate emissions. EnergyWire http://bit.ly/16dRbT4 Obama's remarks offer hope to opponents of oil pipeline. The political ground may be shifting under the Keystone XL pipeline. Just weeks ago, the smart money in Washington had President Obama approving the cross-border oil pipeline later this year. But Mr. Obama threw that calculation into doubt last week. New York Times [Registration Required] http://nyti.ms/1aM5bul Oil and gas responsible for 75 percent of Colorado's air pollution violations in first quarter 2013. Of the 98 air pollution enforcement cases the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division, or APCD, handled in January, February and March, 73 involved oil and natural gas production, exploration or transmission companies. Fort Collins Coloradoan, Colorado. http://noconow.co/12NrN8I Delaware farmers fret as Chesapeake Bay pollution money at risk. Watershed conservation programs, which would account for a fraction of the farm bill’s total cost, are vitally important to watershed farmers and environmental groups. These groups worry a new version won’t get enough funding, or worse, Congress will fail to pass a farm bill at all. Wilmington News Journal, Delaware. http://delonline.us/13rHd5Z Gas line spills 25K gallons on Montana reservation. A Phillips 66 pipeline with a record of prior accidents spilled an estimated 25,000 gallons of gasoline in a remote area outside a small town on Montana's Crow Indian Reservation, but no public health problems were anticipated, federal officials said Friday. Associated Press http://bit.ly/129jowF Bayou community struggles with sinkhole. From hurricanes to oil spills, the people in Southern Louisiana are used to environmental threats. But a huge sinkhole in the tiny swamp community of Bayou Corne is giving residents unique and unpleasant challenges. Living On Earth http://bit.ly/16dOl0p Could new national forest management plan boost drilling? Environmental groups are fearful that a new blueprint for the 1.1-million-acre George Washington National Forest in Virginia will open the largest federally protected forest in the East to a form of natural gas drilling that has spawned its own environmental movement. Associated Press http://bit.ly/150teiQ Excessive pesticide found on peas, beans, peppers. The Consumers' Foundation yesterday said its latest random testing of vegetables for pesticides found that 91% of cowpeas, 67% of snow peas, 47% of string beans and 18% of sweet peppers bought in the Greater Taipei area contained excessive amounts of pesticide residues or pesticides that are not allowed. Taipei Times, Taiwan. http://bit.ly/13rxegZ With surf like turf, huge algae bloom befouls China coast. In what has become an annual summer scourge, the coastal Chinese city of Qingdao has been hit by a near-record algae bloom that has left its popular beaches fouled with a green, stringy muck. While similar green tides have been reported around the world, the annual bloom in the Yellow Sea is considered the largest, growing to an estimated million tons of biomass each year. New York Times [Registration Required] http://nyti.ms/128HCnp Montgomery cultivates a new crop of farmers. A Maryland county's program lets wannabe farmers dig in: Hoping to boost the use of its vast Agricultural Reserve, the county seeks out landowners who want to rent acreage, provides training and mentors, and pays for some supplies. So far, two people have broken ground on their farms. Washington Post [Registration Required] http://wapo.st/15m5iZB Toxic inks in tattoos a concern. Risky levels of heavy metals -- including arsenic and lead -- have been found in tattoo inks imported to New Zealand, but tattooists are reassuring the public that the brands the Ministry of Health has warned them about are not in mainstream use. Fairfax Stuff, New Zealand. http://bit.ly/14xjRsc More news from today•>110 more stories, including: •WHO convenes emergency talks on MERS virus •Climate: Simultaneous disasters batter Pacific Islands; More destructive wildfires linked to climate; Where is solar cheap?; Where are the deniers?; Climate will alter the soil that feeds us; US Navy's green fleet •Stories from UK, Namibia, Tanzania, Japan, China, Indonesia, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Australia, Haiti, Canada •US stories from NJ, FL, WI, MI, OH, IL, LA, SD, TX, CO, AZ, WA, OR, CA, AK •Editorials: Lax water quality costs money; Irrational reactor restart plan; Tapping the Valley's groundwater; Dangerous delay on E. coli warning; Upside of heat wave; Lead paint in homes; Houston's energy enigma; Making war on wolves; Switch to clean energy Shortcuts to stories from today about The good news, Avian flu, Climate, Children's health, Air pollution, Cancer, Reproductive disorders, Endocrine disruption, Birth defects, Learning and developmental disabilities, Immune disorders, Environmental justice, Superfund, Water treatment/sewage, Food safety, Integrity of science, Green chemistry. You can also read last weekend's news. Plus: If you were on vacation last week, don't miss last week's top stories... Would you like to display the news stories from EnvironmentalHealthNews.org on your own web site? Check out our RSS feeds. Compiled by Environmental Health Sciences 421 Park Street, Suite 4 Charlottesville, VA USA 22902 www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org feedback@EnvironmentalHealthNews.org To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add AboveTheFold@Newsletters.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org to your address book. If you received this email from a friend and would like to start receiving our newsletter yourself you may subscribe here.