The USA is about to experience culture shock.

For the better part of a century Americans have been insured healthy food and water with good medical care which in turn allowed work and enjoyment. That is going to change. The USA Congress has passed a budget that deeply cuts into services that ensure American's quality of life.

Cities and towns, especially in the Blue States, will have to rethink their state's budget to provide for basic services like air pollution prevention regulations and Clean Water Act regulations. 

March 3, 2017
By Elgie Holstein

The Trump White House (click here) is proposing to decimate funding for federal environmental protection programs – including safeguards for some of our most vulnerable citizens – crippling the agency charged with keeping America’s air and water safe.

The federal budget, normally a snoozer with thousands of pages full of tiny print and numbers, is suddenly a lightning rod for policymakers and citizens who are waking up to what’s at stake.

The Trump administration wants to hobble the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, leaving only, as the president put it, “little tidbits.” The specifics, contained in internal documents that leaked this week, are startling....

Climate Change Programs - Gone
Funding for Toxic Clean Up - Gone
Support for Vulnerable Americans - Gone

...the following have also been eliminated from his EPA budget:

• Support for Alaska native villages that are sinking because of climate change
• Diesel emissions reduction program
• Environmental education
• Environmental justice grants and grants to small minority businesses
• Protection of the iconic waters of Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, San Francisco Bay and South Florida
• Grants to states to combat indoor radon

An assault of this scale on the nation’s premier environmental watchdog would be disastrous....

The Trump Administration hates people and loves any form of corruption that will bring profits insuring their re-elections. 

Rolling back quality of life regulations is pure stupidity. It makes people sick and is bound to put a drag on any health care system. These changes don't take their victims right away or by the next election, but, it does happen in 15, 20 or 30 years after it is too late.

They have no conscience, only greed on the mind. These are all impeachable issues. Placing American lives in danger when past and present research tell us so, is not legal. 

There is definately a reason I wanted to bring out a 'How to do it yourself" alert for basic services of government.

American health, well being and freedom of speech is about to change. It isn't constitutional, but, it will be instituted by this administration and people will have to live with the outcomes until the courts take control.

November 26, 2017
By Rachel M. Usdan

Corner of Liberty and Fifth avenues at 8:38 a.m. in Pittsburgh in 1940.

...Just as the Steelers (click here) deserve a win on Sundays, Pittsburghers deserve breathable air and drinkable water. One way we improve the quality of our air and water is with funding from the annual federal budget. Programs to improve air and water quality are funded through the annual non-defense discretionary portion of this budget, which Congress is proposing to cut by $7.5 billion. Other programs in this non-defense annual portion of the budget include such varied and important items as law enforcement, education, transportation, health research, diplomacy, economic security and science.

Clean air and water activities largely are funded from the science bucket of the budget. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute, in 2016 all the science, environment and energy programs combined amounted only to 12 percent ($72 billion) of the non-defense annual budget. Despite the clear need to maintain clean water and air, and despite the small percentage of overall spending on these items, this funding is at risk of being reduced. Cutting this funding would have a negative impact on the lives of my family and fellow Pittsburghers....

How corrupt does a governor and his administration have to be to impress voters?

There is no conscience anymore, just hubris. The building of this facility will cause enormous water quality problems for the citizens of the surrounding towns.

Pruitt, the EPA secretary's agenda to dump everything and anything into water ways is becoming more and more clear.

By Lee Bergquist

When Foxconn Technology Group (click here) begins construction of an industrial plant large enough to cover the entire Village of Shorewood, it will be exempted from state environmental requirements that any other company would have to follow.

Foxconn can fill in wetlands that are regulated by the state, change the course of streams, even build in a stream running through the property if it wants to.

In addition, the plant will use potentially polluting chemicals to manufacture an array of super-high-definition display panels. Yet no environmental impact statement will be required by state officials for one of the largest economic development projects in U.S. history.

“That was not a request that came from Foxconn,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, who was involved in negotiations with the company.

It came from state officials, who believed the environmental reviews could slow the giant complex in Racine County —the plant will be three times larger than the Pentagon — and persuade the Taiwan-based company to build its liquid crystal display panel plant someplace else.

The help for Foxconn underscores how Gov. Scott Walker and fellow Republicans, since voters gave them control in 2010, have engineered the biggest shift in natural resource management in decades by easing regulations and promoting business-friendly policies. 

The changes have wide-ranging implications for the public — from fewer protections for lakes, streams and wetlands to less money spent on recycling programs, state parks and public land purchases....

Flint is in Genesee County, Michigan. Flint has taken a different tract for obtaining water.

November 26, 2017

By Roberto Acosta

Genesee County, MI -- Water is set to begin flowing Monday, Nov. 27 (click here) to one dozen Genesee County communities from the new multi-million dollar water treatment plant.

Communities in the northern loop will receive water processed at the new, $72 million treatment plant that has been carried by the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline from Lake Huron to the Oregon Township facility since July.

Those communities in the northern loop include the townships of Davison, Flushing, Montrose, Richfield, Thetford, Vienna, Genesee and cities of Mt. Morris, Flushing, Clio, and Montrose....

This is more proof of the negligence in converting Flint's water supply to the Flint River. This plant was being built since 2010. It just seems as though with it opening in 2017, why wasn't Flint consulted to it's potential in receiving water from this authority?

The entire circumstances leading to death and poisoning, including, the loss of the unborn is heinous. It becomes more and more clear how very heinous it is.

                  

The key difference between the two is that black water has come into contact with fecal matter. Fecal matter is a haven for harmful bacteria and disease-causing pathogens. Additionally, this waste doesn't break down and decompose in water fast or effectively enough for use in domestic irrigation without the risk of contamination.

Gray water is exactly the kind of stuff a consumer puts down a drain. If there is a septic system the ultimate waste water is deposited in the back yard. It is best to understand what a household gray water contains in order to protect the family from accidental contamination.

The line between white and gray, however, comes down to a number of possible additions made in the acts of washing, bathing, cooking and cleaning. Unlike white water, gray water may contain soap particles, fat and oil from cooking, hair, and even flakes of human skin.

The basic structure of all soaps is essentially the same, consisting of a long hydrophobic (water-fearing) hydrocarbon "tail" and a hydrophilic (waterloving) anionic "head":

CH 3 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 COO − or CH 3 (CH 2 ) n COO −

The length of the hydrocarbon chain ("n") varies with the type of fat or oil but is usually quite long. The anionic charge on the carboxylate head is usually balanced by either a positively charged potassium (K + ) or sodium (Na + ) cation. In making soap, triglycerides in fat or oils are heated in the presence of a strong alkali base such as sodium hydroxide, producing three molecules of soap for every molecule of glycerol. This process is called saponification and is illustrated in Figure 1.

Americans have to appreciate the work and well invested US Dollar that exists to improve the quality of life of American.+

...The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (click here) appoints a Scientific Advisory Board, whose charter calls for its members to "provide independent advice and peer review to EPA's Administrator on the scientific and technical aspects of environmental issues." In addition to my doctorate in chemistry, I spent my last sabbatical getting a master's degree in legal studies so I could better understand links between science and policy in battling problems such as air pollution and climate change. I want to make sure that useful scientific information does not just stay in academic journals, but gets communicated to those who must make decisions that determine the type of world our kids will inherit. I thought my background might make me a good candidate for the agency's advisory board.

I did not get appointed to the board. I still have plenty of teaching and research to keep me busy, but I'm worried that the agency is no longer looking for objective advice about science. The agency's new policy limiting the membership of its scientific advisory bodies - plus a look at who was appointed to be its "independent" science advisors - convince me that Administrator Scott Pruitt is actually working to limit the influence of facts and science in agency decisions....

...Pruitt argues his new policy will ensure that science advisors are "independent from EPA." However, a few years ago a federal appeals court rejected this logic in a case where industry groups called for similar limits on experts who advise federal agencies. The court reasoned that if a federal agency "were required to exclude from peer review committees all scientists who somehow had been affiliated with the department, it would have to eliminate many of those most qualified to give advice." I agree. Scientists' taxpayer-supported research should make our advice more valuable to the agency.

Finally, it's instructive to see who the agency did appoint to the advisory board. Among the new appointees, many come from the very industries the Environmental Protection Agency regulates. And, one of the few academics appointed to the board has said that our air is "a little too clean" for children's health. These appointments suggest that a political agenda to deregulate rather than a desire for objective scientific input motivated the agency's selection of science advisors....

That is pure unadulterated crazy. Certifiable.

         

The sewage treatment plant primarily uses physical and not chemical methods to separate SOLIDS from water.

At the City's wastewater treatment plants, wastewater undergoes five major processes: preliminary treatment, primary treatment, secondary treatment, disinfection and finally, sludge treatment. Primary and secondary treatments remove about 85% to 95% of pollutants from the wastewater before the treated wastewater is disinfected and discharged into local waterways. Sludge, the byproduct of the treatment process, is digested for stabilization and is then dewatered for easier handling. The resulting material, known as biosolids, is then applied to land to improve vegetation or processed further as compost or fertilizer. (See illustration — “Diagram of Treatment Process” on page 16-17.)...

Primarily gravity is the tool of choice.

...The aerated wastewater then flows to the final settling tanks which are similar to the primary settling tanks. Here the heavy particles and other solids settle to the bottom as secondary sludge. Some of this sludge is re-circulated back to the aeration tanks as “seed” to stimulate the activated sludge process. The returned sludge contains millions of microorganisms that help maintain the right mix of bacteria and air in the tank and contribute to the removal of as many pollutants as possible....

...Even after primary and secondary treatment, diseasecausing organisms may remain in the treated wastewater. To disinfect and kill harmful organisms, the wastewater spends a minimum of 15-20 minutes
in chlorine-contact tanks mixing with sodium hypochlorite, the same chemical found in common household bleach. The treated wastewater, or effluent, is then released into local waterways.... Disinfection is an essential step because it protects the health of people who use
local beaches and enjoy other recreational activities on or near the water....

Ecological Characteristics

- Values for sodium hypochlorite:
  - Acute oral-bobwhite quail: LD50, > 2510 mg/kg
  - Acute dietary-mallard duck: LC50, > 5220 ppm
  - Acute dietary-bobwhite quail: LC50, > 5620 ppm
  - Acute fish-rainbow trout: LC50, 0.18-0.22 mg/l
  - Acute fish-bluegill sunfish: LC50, 0.44-0.79 mg/l
  - Acute invertebrate-daphnia: LC50, 0.033-0.048 mg/l

Lethal dose (LD50) is the amount of an ingested substance that kills 50 percent of a test sample. It is expressed in mg/kg, or milligrams of substance per kilogram of body weight. Common name. Toxin. Lethal doses.

- Formulations:  Liquid sodium hypochlorite solutions; solid (granular,
  powder, or tablet) calcium hypochlorite.

- Sodium and calcium hypochlorite single active ingredient products are
  eye irritants, but the potential for hazard from use of these products
  may be mitigated with appropriate precautionary labeling.

- The hypochlorites are the most widely used chemicals for disinfecting
  water supplies, are generally recognized as safe for use as post
  harvest fungicides on agricultural commodities, and are listed as
  sanitizers, for use as terminal sanitizing rinses of food handling
  equipment.  In the absence of significant long term dietary exposure
  to the hypochlorites from these patterns of use, there is no need for
  chronic or subchronic studies.  If lt comes to the attention of the
  Agency that hazards due to long term dietary exposure may be
  significant, then long term studies will be required.

The final steps for waste water treatment is to put "anaerobic bacteria" into the

sludge tanks to further breakdown any additional solids, then centrifuged. 

Minority Leader Pelosi is exactly correct. Due process. Possible admonishment.

Rep. Conyers is a long standing member of Congress from January 1965. He is the Dean of the Congress. His continued service is up to the people of Michigan's 1st District. These are very serious charges. He has a right to due process. If a US Senator can continue his position after hiring a prostitute, I don't see how a US Congressman should be held to a different standard.

November 26, 2017

The longest-serving member of the US Congress (click here) says he is stepping aside as top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee while sexual harassment allegations are investigated.

John Conyers again denied the accusations, but said he was stepping down to clear his name.

A staff member alleges she was fired for refusing to "succumb to sexual advances" from the Michigan Democrat.

A prominent civil rights leader, Mr Conyers first joined Congress in 1965.

The House Ethics Committee has launched an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and age discrimination involving staff.

On Sunday, Mr Conyers, who is 88, tweeted that he would like to remain as ranking member on the judiciary committee, but that he could not "in good conscience" allow the charges to "undermine" House colleagues.

It was reported on Tuesday that he had paid $27,000 (£20,000) in 2015 in exchange for the confidentiality of a former staff member who alleged she was fired for rejecting sexual advances....

Resource people in local economies are those with RVs that understand holding tanks, etc.

Gray water is all of the wastewater that drains from your shower and kitchen (click here) and bathroom sinks. Gray water has some bacteria but it can be filtered and reused in gardens or lawns, if done properly.

Black water contains human waste and is unsafe. It must be stored in its own tank and disposed of very carefully...

These concepts are similar to what occurs on a much, much larger scale with regular sewage treatment.

Local governments should always have control of drinking water with published standards AND water testing available to everyone.

Why Save Water? (click here)

According to a 2014 Government Accountability Report, 40 out of 50 state water managers expect water shortages under average conditions in some portion of their states over the next decade.

Each American uses an average of 88 gallons of water a day at home.

We can all use at least 20 percent less water by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances.

The average family spends more than $1,000 per year in water costs, but can save more than $380 annually from retrofitting with WaterSense labeled fixtures and ENERGY STAR certified appliances....

If every a doubt about standards or methods in operation of water facilities there is ASTM.

ASTM (click here)

Technical Committees develop and maintain ASTM standards. They are grouped by designation according to related activities within a particular scope of work (ex: A01 on Steel, Stainless Steel and Related Alloys). ASTM Committees are made up of over 32,000 volunteers from industry and include manufacturers and consumers, as well as other interest groups such as government or academia. Any interested individual can participate on a Technical Committee through ASTM membership....

November 17, 2017
Josh Michaud Follow @joshmich on Twitter and Jennifer Kates

...CONCLUSION (click here)

Given the state of emergency on the island and the fact that many basic services are still not fully functioning, the full impact of the Hurricane on public health is difficult to assess. What is clear is that even before Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, the island faced a host of economic and public health concerns, and that the storm exacerbated many of these challenges while introducing new ones. Concerns may change over time as the immediate crisis response transitions to recovery, and additional health issues may manifest over the longer-term. Ultimately, the public health toll from the storm on the people of Puerto Rico will depend on a number of factors including the level and effectiveness of external support, and continued attention to and funding for response and recovery from policymakers now and going forward.

Follow @jenkatesdc on Twitter

Speaking of Blackwater...

November 21, 2017
by Kyle Cheney

Erik Prince, (click here) former head of security contractor Blackwater and the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, has been scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee next week in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Prince has come under scrutiny since The Washington Post reported in April that he tried to set up a secret back channel between Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia just days before Trump’s inauguration....

Eric Prince was made a billionaire under "W." His organization has killed innocent people and because Prince has placed a hideous name on Blackwater, he thinks it doesn't matter that he ie a DEPENDENT on federal monies.

Enough.

Eric Prince should be standing charges along with his employees for the deaths they caused of innocent people.

April 3, 2017

The United Arab Emirates (click here) arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump, according to U.S., European and Arab officials.

The meeting took place around Jan. 11 — nine days before Trump’s inauguration — in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean, officials said. Though the full agenda remains unclear, the UAE agreed to broker the meeting in part to explore whether Russia could be persuaded to curtail its relationship with Iran, including in Syria, a Trump administration objective that would be likely to require major concessions to Moscow on U.S. sanctions.

Though Prince had no formal role with the Trump campaign or transition team, he presented himself as an unofficial envoy for Trump to high-ranking Emiratis involved in setting up his meeting with the Putin confidant, according to the officials, who did not identify the Russian....

The USA forbids torture as a policy. There is no excuse for this. No American or American company should be instituting torture. That is the part people like Eric Prince and Trump, Jr. doesn't understand and selectively thinks it is okay to do as they please because there is no statutory law. Well, what they conveniently forget is the fact there is AMERICAN POLICY. They violate policy regularly and expect to be above the law.

Now, Eric Prince will appear before US Congress to lie and lie and lie again.

November 24, 2017

Riyadh: Saudi princes (click here) arrested in a crackdown ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman three weeks ago are being strung up by their feet and beaten by American private security contractors. The tortured princes include billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

At least 11 princes and hundreds of businessmen and government officials were detained last month over claims of corruption. According to British media agency the arrests have been followed by ‘interrogations’ which are being carried out by ‘American mercenaries’.

According to a report published in Dailymail, ‘They are beating them, torturing them, slapping them, and insulting them. They want to break them down.’ ‘Blackwater’ is said to be the firm torturing the Saudi princes. Highly placed sources claimed Salman has brought in at least 150 ‘Blackwater’guards....

The Clean Water Act was written in 1972

In understanding waste water, it takes an understanding of clean water.

I thought printing a copy of the past might be an educational venture today. These links were working when I cited them today. Just click on "Get this one" and select PDF. That is my method.

The rules resulting from "The Clean Water Act" are called standards. There is a great deal of fiscal investment in developing these standards. There is no reason to believe at any point in time any administration needs to reinvent the wheel. Last I checked people were still people and their degree of need for healthy water hasn't changed in millennium. 

There have been very few rewrites of the standards that matter. 1982 was the first standard written following the passage of the law, the research conducted and writing of the publication. The next rework of that standard occurred in 1994 with the second edition.

There were changes written in 2007, one of the last acts by the "W" administration that gave us the elevated arsenic standards. The first online version appeared. That online version was reworked twice by the Obama Administration in 2012 and 2014. The hope was to make it user friendly in 2014. Considering the hostile treatment the Obama Administration receives from the Trump White House, it is hard to say if the online version is still as streamlined and functional.

Then in 2017, Rule 3 was rewritten.

There are changes within most Republican administrations that are not funded. Changing methods as the rule of 2017 is not accompanied with funding as last I knew. That is an enormous outlay for municipalities at a time when tax laws are becoming draconian of all Blue States.

1982 "Drinking Water A selected bibliography" (click here)


1985 "Protecting Ground Water: The Hidden Resource" (click here)


1994 "Water Quality Standards Handbook: Second Edition" (click here)


2007 : "FACTOIDS: Drinking Water and Ground Water Statistics" (click here)


2017: "Clean Water Act Methods Update Rule for the Analysis of Effluent" (click here): 

B. What process governs judicial review of this rule?

Under Section 509(b)(1) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), judicial review of this CWA rule may be obtained by filing a petition for review in a United States Circuit Court of Appeals within 120 days from the date of promulgation of this rule. For judicial review purposes, this final rule is promulgated as of 1 p.m. (Eastern time) on September 12, 2017 as provided at 40 CFR 23.2. Section 509(b)(2) provides that any rule (or requirements of any rule) for which review could have been obtained under Section 509(b)(1) may also not be challenged later in civil or criminal proceedings for enforcement.

It's Sunday Night

I haven't expressed by sympathies to the friends and relatives of Hugh Hefner.

It might be a little dated, but, there is only one person I trust with talking about Hugh Hefner's life and that is Barbie Benton.

October 2, 2017
By Aili Nahas

In his final months, (click here) Hugh Hefner surrounded himself with a small circle of friends and family — including longtime love Barbi Benton.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE in this week’s issue, Benton, 67, opens up about her memories of the late publishing pioneer, who died Wednesday at 91.

“I cried all night [when I found out],” she says of his death. “I was a basket case.”...

Foo Fighters - Dirty Water - Live In Paris 2017

"Dirty Water" by Foo Fighters (click here for official website - thank you)

I've been drinking dirty water
But I've been here before, after all
The witching hour is upon us
So you and I can sing haunted songs

In my dreams I'm climbing ladders
And then I tumble down, rung by rung
And I keep on falling faster
The heart is echoing, on and on
On and on

I feel an earthquake coming on
I feel the metal in my bones
I'm a natural disaster
You're the morning after all my storms

You're my sea of poison flowers
Standing in the sun, row by row
I've been drinking dirty water
The taste of sweet revenge, best served cold
All we know

I feel an earthquake coming on
I feel the metal in my bones
I'm a natural disaster
And you're the morning after all my storms

Bleed dirty water, breathe dirty sky
Bleed dirty water, breathe dirty sky
Bleed dirty…