The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday announced the formal cancellation of a pesticide linked to fetal damage three months after issuing an emergency order to pull it from the market.
The EPA, invoking the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), canceled all products containing the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA).
The agency cited numerous studies linking exposure of expectant mothers to the pesticide to interference in fetal thyroid hormone levels, which can lead to brain development problems, low birth weight and potentially permanent impacts on motor skills.
“With the final cancellation of DCPA, we’re taking a definitive step to protect pregnant women and their unborn babies,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “The science showing the potential for irreversible harm to unborn babies’ developing brains, in addition to other lifelong consequences from exposure, demands decisive action to remove this dangerous chemical from the marketplace.”
The August decision to pull the pesticide marked the EPA’s first such move in four decades, which Freedhoff said was because DCPA is “so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately.”
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NEW JERSEY– Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3.6 billion in new funding under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to upgrade water infrastructure and keep communities safe. New Jersey is slated to get more than $168 million for drinking water and wastewater improvements – including the $44 million that was announced as part of EPA’s announcement of the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements earlier this month. This BIL funding will help communities across the state upgrade water infrastructure that is essential to safely managing wastewater, protecting local freshwater resources, and delivering safe drinking water to homes, schools, and businesses.
These Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds will flow through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF and DWSRF), a long-standing federal-state water investment partnership. This multibillion-dollar investment will fund state-run, low-interest loan programs that address key challenges in financing water infrastructure. Today’s announcement includes allotments for New Jersey’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Clean Water General Supplemental funds totaling $101 million, Emerging Contaminant funds totaling $8.7 million, and $13.6 million in funds under the Drinking Water Emerging Contaminant Fund.
To ensure investments reach communities that need them the most, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandates that a majority of the funding announced today must be provided to disadvantaged communities in the form of grants or loans that do not have to be repaid. EPA is changing the odds for communities that have faced barriers to planning and accessing federal funding through its Water Technical Assistance program, which helps disadvantaged communities identify water challenges, develop infrastructure upgrade plans, and apply for funding. Communities seeking Water Technical Assistance can request support by completing the WaterTA request form. These efforts also advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
“New Jersey applauds the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protecting the health of our kids and communities, and our precious water resources by promoting the replacement of lead service lines, removal of forever chemicals from our waters, and continued improvements to our wastewater and stormwater systems,” said Shawn M. LaTourette, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection. “Under the leadership of Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s implementation of the Water Infrastructure Investment Plan to facilitate progress in meeting these ambitious and necessary goals has been bolstered by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, creating jobs across the state delivering clean water and better protecting public health and the state’s waters. We thank President Biden, Vice-President Harris, US EPA Administrator Regan, and our federal partners for their unwavering support in this important work.”
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For more information, including the state-by-state allocation of 2025 funding and a breakdown of EPA SRF funding available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, please visit the Clean Water State Revolving Fund website and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund website. Additionally, the SRF Public Portal allows users to access data from both the Drinking Water and Clean Water SRF programs through interactive reports, dashboards, and maps.
The State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs have been the foundation of water infrastructure investments for more than 30 years, providing low-cost financing for local projects across America. SRF programs are critically important programs for investing in the nation’s water infrastructure. They are designed to generate significant and sustainable water quality and public health benefits across the country. Their impact is amplified by the growth inherent in a revolving loan structure, in which payments of principal and interest on loans become available to address future needs.
Land along Bushkill Drive, which once was occupied by scrapyard Easton Iron and Metal, was sold by the city to VM Development Group, which aims to remediate the site and build housing and commercial space.
EASTON, Pa. — Easton has officially approved an agreement to sell land once occupied by Easton Iron and Metal for $1.5 million, with a developer planning on building housing in its place.
City Council passed a bill approving the agreement between the city and Foundry Development Group, LLC, in which the latter agreed to pay $1.5 million for the former scrapyard.
Vacant since 2015, the site was acquired by the city’s Redevelopment Authority in 2019 and subsequently turned over to the city in 2023.
VM Development Group, which is working on a plan to transform the space into housing and commercial operations, said their original plans introduced in 2021 have not changed much in the time since.
The previous proposal from VM called for 150 homes and 20,000 square feet of commercial space to be built on the property.
VM Development Group Partner Gretchen Rice said there is a “general idea” of what will be done with the property once they are ready to begin the project, though they are not sure as how many units will be available in the structures until they reach the design development phase.
“But it will likely be four buildings, two on each side of Bushkill Drive, multifamily, primarily with commercial components on the first floor all of the buildings,” Rice said.
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A New Jersey hunter set a state record on Tuesday morning when he used a compound bow to kill a 770-pound black bear in Morris County.
Brian Melvin told NJ Advance Media he first saw the massive bear about three years ago and said he’s been actively hunting it during the past two bear hunts. He hit the massive bruin from about 45 yard away at about 7 a.m. Tuesday in Kinnelon.
“He never stayed in the same place for more than six months,” said Melvin, 39, who has been bow hunting since he was in his early 20s. “I spent weeks knocking on doors and getting permission for land that I thought he might be on or at least travel through. Last year I had him on camera. He vanished until May of this year.”
State fish and wildlife officials confirmed the 770 pounds is the largest dressed weight for a black bear recorded during the New Jersey black bear hunt.
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Fidel Castro once called Cuba’s power plants “prehistoric.” But the country still relies on them, contributing to the longest blackout since the collapse of its former patron, the Soviet Union.
By David C. Adams, New York Times
The experts had warned for years: Cuba’s power grid was on the verge of collapse, relying on plants nearly a half-century old and importing fuel that the strapped Communist government could barely afford.
On Friday morning their dire predictions came true, as the entire island plunged into the most prolonged blackout it has suffered in the three decades since its former benefactor and steady fuel supplier, the Soviet Union, collapsed.
Cuban energy officials managed to get power back up briefly to some parts of the island on Friday night. But early Saturday the state’s utility company reported another “total disconnection” of the system, the second in less than 24 hours.
Government officials tried to reassure the public that power would be broadly restored over the weekend but acknowledged they could not be sure.
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By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ and MILEXSY DURAN, Associated Press, Updated 10:46 AM EDT, October 21, 2024
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s widespread blackouts stretched into their fourth day as Hurricane Oscar crossed the island’s eastern coast with winds and heavy rain.
In Santo Suárez, part of a populous neighborhood in southwestern Havana, people went into the streets banging pots and pans in protest Sunday night. The protesters, who say they have no water either, blocked the street with garbage.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said in a news conference he hopes the electricity grid will be restored on Monday or Tuesday morning.
But he recognized that Oscar, which hit Cuba’s eastern coast Sunday evening, will bring “an additional inconvenience” to Cuba’s recovery since it will touch a “region of strong (electricity) generation.” Key Cuban power plants, such as Felton in the city of Holguín, and Renté in Santiago de Cuba, are located in the area.
Rain and thunderstorms were reported in Cuba’s eastern provinces and strong two-meter swells were hitting the seafront promenade in the city of Baracoa, near where Oscar made landfall. No deaths have been registered so far, but local media reported damage to roofs and walls.
Some neighborhoods had electricity restored in Cuba’s capital, where 2 million people live, but most of Havana remained dark. The impact of the blackout goes beyond lighting, as services like water supply also depend on electricity to run pumps.
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