Water safety

Be safe on MT waters this summer

Cold water can be deadly

News from MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks

MONTANA — Montana has experienced six boating fatalities this year alone due to high water and cold temperatures. Even with summer temperatures, Montana has cold water year-round and it’s important to remember that cold water can be deadly.

If you are recreating on or around water, remember to wear a life jacket and always tell someone where you are going and when you plan on returning.

Here are the phases of cold-water immersion:

— Cold Shock (initial entry to 5 minutes): Gasping for breath and hyperventilation are natural reactions to cold water. Try to get your breathing under control and avoid panicking. — Cold Incapacitation and Swim Failure (5 to 30 minutes): During this time, you will lose dexterity and grip strength. Cooling of arms and legs impairs the ability to swim. Even the best swimmers cannot continue to function in cold water. — Hypothermia: Cooling of the body’s core temperature eventually results in loss of consciousness. How quickly hypothermia sets in depends on the water temperature, body type, clothing and behavior. Always seek medical attention right away.

High water is dangerous:

Montana is experiencing extremely high water, so if you plan to float on the lakes and rivers this summer, always remember to wear a life jacket. Accidents on the water can happen much too fast to have time to reach and put on a stowed life jacket. Make sure your life jacket is U.S. Coast Guard approved, appropriate for your water activity and fits properly. A life jacket that is too large or too small does not do a good job of keeping you safe. Also remember that just wearing a life jacket does not protect you in all circumstances. Always know the conditions where you are heading, be prepared, and consider other locations as needed.

Check the weather, including the water temperature. Know the latest marine weather forecast prior to going out and keep a regular check for changing conditions. Always dress for the weather, wearing layers in cooler weather, and bring an extra set of clothes in case you get wet. Carry safety gear and know how to use it. Boating unprepared can have dangerous consequences. Sometimes it’s just better not to go; boat another day.

Lake County Solid Waste to implement tag program

News from Lake County Solid Waste Management

LAKE COUNTY — Lake County Solid Waste Management operates the Transfer Station and Class 3 Landfill on North Reservoir Road and the C&D Landfill on Kerr Dam Road, both in Polson. The district also operates six rural container sites, and a recycling center with three community drop-off sites.

Funds to operate the district are generated by a $180 per household fee collected from residential properties, including mobile homes. The fee is based on a family residential unit (or FRU) of 60 gallons of waste per week. The EPA estimates that each person in the United States creates 4.5 pounds of garbage every day. Commercial businesses and tax-exempt entities, like cities, schools, and churches, pay $180 for each FRU equivalent they generate. Some Tribal Trust residential landowners do pay this fee, but most Tribal trust landowners typically have not. The Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority does pay $135 for their low-income residential units.

Due to illegal dumping, identity theft from junk mail refuse, vandalism, and other concerns, the District Board of Directors decided to staff all rural containers sites. Container sites are for use only by those residential properties in the Lake County and Dixon Joint Refuse Management District which pay the solid waste fee. Those not participating in funding the services are not authorized to use the facilities.

To assure users are authorized to use the facilities, the district has implemented an improved user tag program. This program has been in place at the Swan Valley site for a year. The site attendant will hand out forms for users to complete and return to our office. Once we confirm the user pays the solid waste fee, we will send them a tag. Users that do not pay the $180 fee when they pay property taxes will pay the district directly and then be billed on an annual basis. The tag must be presented when entering the site to prove the user is authorized. Enforcement of this policy will begin approximately 60 days after a site has become staffed.

Along with staffing the sites, we will limit the days and hours at each site. Sites near each other will be open different days, to provide more opportunity for users to dispose of their waste. Our goals include stopping illegal salvaging, which includes riffling through everyone’s trash looking for drugs and information for identity theft; preventing dumping by folks that do not pay for solid waste and eliminating the dumping of construction and demolition waste that should go to the landfill. We are aware that contractors from out of county are using our unstaffed sites to keep from paying for disposal in their own counties. All these things increase costs to the district.

Another change at the sites is the installation of fall barriers as required by the Montana Building Code. These 42-inch-high barriers are in place for public safety, to prevent falls into the trash containers. Please obey all signage on the barriers and elsewhere throughout the site. The life you save may be your own.

Ask the site attendant for an authorization form to receive your user tag.

If you have questions about this policy or waste disposal, contact Lake County Solid Waste at 36117 North Reservoir Road in Polson, or call 406-883-7323.

EPA announces new drinking water health advisories for PFAS chemicals

Agency establishes new health advisories for GenX and PFBS and lowers health advisories for PFOA and PFOS

News from the EPA Press Office

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released four drinking water health advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the latest action under President Biden’s action plan to deliver clean water and Administrator Regan’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap. EPA also announced that it is inviting states and territories to apply for $1 billion – the first of $5 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant funding – to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water, specifically in small or disadvantaged communities. These actions build on EPA’s progress to safeguard communities from PFAS pollution and scientifically inform upcoming efforts, including EPA’s forthcoming proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for PFOA and PFOS, which EPA will release in the fall of 2022.

“People on the front-lines of PFAS contamination have suffered for far too long. That’s why

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EPA is taking aggressive action as part of a whole-of-government approach to prevent these chemicals from entering the environment and to help protect concerned families from this pervasive challenge,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are also investing $1 billion to reduce PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water.”

“These actions highlight EPA’s commitment to use the best available science to tackle PFAS pollution, protect public health, and provide critical information quickly and transparently,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “EPA is also demonstrating its commitment to harmonize policies that strengthen public health protections with infrastructure funding to help communities— especially disadvantaged communities—deliver safe water.”

Assistant Administrator Fox announced these actions at the 3rd National PFAS Conference in Wilmington, North Carolina.

As part of a government-wide effort to confront PFAS pollution, EPA is making available $1 billion in grant funding through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination, the first of $5 billion through the Law that can be used to reduce PFAS in drinking water in communities facing disproportionate impacts. These funds can be used in small or disadvantaged communities to address emerging contaminants like PFAS in drinking water through actions such as technical assistance, water quality testing, contractor training, and installation of centralized treatment technologies and systems.

EPA will be reaching out to states and territories with information on how to submit their letter of intent to participate in this new grant program. EPA will also consult with Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages regarding the Tribal set-aside for this grant program. This funding complements $3.4 billion in funding that is going through the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and $3.2 billion through the Clean Water SRFs that can also be used to address PFAS in water this year.

The agency is releasing PFAS health advisories in light of newly available science and in accordance with EPA’s responsibility to protect public health. These advisories indicate the level of drinking water contamination below which adverse health effects are not expected to occur. Health advisories provide technical information that federal, state, and local officials can use to inform the development of monitoring plans, investments in treatment solutions, and future policies to protect the public from PFAS exposure.

EPA’s lifetime health advisories identify levels to protect all people, including sensitive populations and life stages, from adverse health effects resulting from a lifetime of exposure to these PFAS in drinking water. EPA’s lifetime health advisories also take into account other potential sources of exposure to these PFAS beyond drinking water (for example, food, air, consumer products, etc.), which provides an additional layer of protection.

EPA is issuing interim, updated drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) that replace those EPA issued in 2016. The updated advisory levels, which are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure, indicate that some negative health effects may occur with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero and below EPA’s ability to detect at this time. The lower the level of PFOA and PFOS, the lower the risk to public health. EPA recommends states, Tribes, territories, and drinking water utilities that detect PFOA and PFOS take steps to reduce exposure. Most uses of PFOA and PFOS were voluntarily phased out by U.S. manufacturers, although there are a limited number of ongoing uses, and these chemicals remain in the environment due to their lack of degradation.

For the first time, EPA is issuing final health advisories for perfluorobutane sulfonic acid and its potassium salt (PFBS) and for hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) dimer acid and its ammonium salt (“GenX” chemicals). In chemical and product manufacturing, GenX chemicals are considered a replacement for PFOA, and PFBS is considered a replacement for PFOS. The GenX chemicals and PFBS health advisory levels are well above the level of detection, based on risk analyses in recent scientific studies.

The agency’s new health advisories provide technical information that federal, state, and local agencies can use to inform actions to address PFAS in drinking water, including water quality monitoring, optimization of existing technologies that reduce PFAS, and strategies to reduce exposure to these substances. EPA encourages states, Tribes, territories, drinking water utilities, and community leaders that find PFAS in their drinking water to take steps to inform residents, undertake additional monitoring to assess the level, scope, and source of contamination, and examine steps to reduce exposure. Individuals concerned about levels of PFAS found in their drinking water should consider actions that may reduce exposure, including installing a home or point of use filter.

EPA is moving forward with proposing a PFAS National Drinking Water Regulation in fall 2022. As EPA develops this proposed rule, the agency is also evaluating additional PFAS beyond PFOA and PFOS and considering actions to address groups of PFAS. The interim health advisories will provide guidance to states, Tribes, and water systems for the period prior to the regulation going into effect.

The EPA’s work to identify and confront the risks that PFAS pose to human health and the environment is a key component in the Biden-Harris Administration whole-of-government approach to confronting these emerging contaminants. This strategy includes steps by the Food and Drug Administration to increase testing for PFAS in food and packaging, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help dairy farmers address contamination of livestock, and by the Department of Defense to clean-up contaminated military installations and the elimination of unnecessary PFAS uses.

To receive grant funding announced today through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, states and territories should submit a letter of intent by August 15.

These actions achieve another key commitment as the agency implements the October 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Under the Roadmap, EPA is working across the agency to protect the public from the health impacts of PFAS. EPA has undertaken a number of actions to deliver progress on PFAS including: - Issuing the fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule to improve EPA’s understanding of the frequency that 29 PFAS are found in the nation’s drinking water systems and at what levels.

Issuing the first Toxic Substances Control Act PFAS test order under the National PFAS Testing Strategy; - Adding five PFAS to EPA’s contaminated site cleanup tables; - Publishing draft aquatic life water quality criteria for PFOA and PFOS; - Issuing a memo to proactively address PFAS in Clean Water Act permitting; and - Publishing a new draft total adsorbable fluorine wastewater method.

2022 Summer Food Service Program offers free meals

News from the Office of Public Education

HELENA — Communities across Montana plan to operate USDA’s Summer Food Service Program and serve free meals to kids. According to the USDA website, summer food programs will be available in Polson, Pablo, Ronan and Arlee. To find a location near you: Text ‘Food’ to 304-304 or visit: fns.usda.gov/ summerfoodrocks

Meals at summer sites are offered at no cost to families with kids ages 18 and under. All kids have to do is show up.