January—February 2019 Pacific Southwest Newsletter

Responding to California Wildfires

EPA and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control have cleared household hazardous waste from more than 99 percent of properties in the Town of Paradise, Butte County, and in Los Angeles and Ventura counties as part of the Camp, Hill and Woolsey fire response efforts.

• Recycling Today: First Phase of Camp Fire Cleanup Near Completion
• VC Star: Hill, Woolsey Fires' First Cleanup Phase Nearly Complete
• Video: Camp Fire Hazardous Waste Cleanup

Improving Water Infrastructure

EPA, along with state, local, tribal and other partners, has made progress on several water infrastructure projects over the last year, including the San Diego Pure Water Project, the Northern Marianas College Tank Replacement Project, and the Tijuana Wastewater Collector Pipe Replacement Project, using the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program, the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

• Times of San Diego: San Diego Accepts EPA Loan for Water Project
• Saipan Tribune: EPA Funding Three Projects
• Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program
• Clean Water State Revolving Fund

An Action Plan for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of synthetic chemicals that have been in use since the 1940s in a wide array of consumer and industrial products. Most people in the United States have been exposed to PFAS, and there is evidence that continued exposure above specific levels to some of these substances may lead to adverse health effects. EPA has launched a PFAS Action Plan to move forward with the Maximum Contaminant Level process outlined in the Safe Drinking Water Act.

• Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

• EPA’s PFAS Action Plan