Digging Deeper...
/As you would expect of a regulatory agency whose administrative territory encompasses Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, EPA’s Region 7 is pretty much occupied with agricultural issues. Speaking this month at Kansas City’s Agricultural Business Council, Jeffery Robichaud, Director, Water Division, Region 7, EPA, said “Agriculture is a top priority for our office; eighty percent of the land in Region 7 is dedicated to agriculture, and our work reflects that.” And, he quipped, Region 7 has loud voices. “We speak out in Washington.”
By Dennis McLaughlin, McLaughlin Writers LLC. Sources: United States EPA Region 7 2023 Year in Review, published April 2024; Jeffery Robichaud, Director Water Divison, Region 7, EPA, speaking at the .Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City, Monthly Meeting/Luncheon, August 15, 2024.
EPA Region 7 Grows Stronger and More Resilient
These headline words were used by Meg McCollister in her 2023 Year In Review report issued this past April. “I am thankful for the progress made thus far and I look forward to what Region 7 will accomplish for our community.” Region 7 will continue to engage in creative, collaborative approaches with the agriculture sector, she said. Identifying opportunities for innovative environmental solutions aimed at protecting public health and the environment is a top priority for the agency. “We want to protect farms and communities from climate impacts.”
Agricultural production plays an important role in anthropogenic (human influenced) climate change, says the Region 7 team. How farming and ranching practices might look in the future is a complex investigation. “We continued to focus efforts on climate resilience by collaborating with our local, state and federal partners to develop strategies that will best serve our communities,” McCollister said in the Review. Region 7 and these groups delved into analyses of climate in general, lead (Pb) prevention, waste management, agriculture, water, and compliance. “These meaningful discussions are part of our whole-of-government approach to aggressively tackle the climate crisis in our country.”
Last year, Region 7 orchestrated over a dozen climate-smart agriculture roundtables, listening sessions, outreach events, and other external engagements. These gatherings brought together diverse voices on climate resilience in agriculture. Attendees representing Kansas’ agricultural stakeholders included the Kansas Secretary of Agriculture; Kansas USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and Rural Development directors; the Kansas Farm Bureau President; Kansas members of the EPA Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee; and many farmers, ranchers, and agricultural leaders from across the state. These roundtables further provided a platform for members of the farming and ranching community, along with Kansas state agencies, to voice their concerns, ideas, and experience.
In the same time span, roundtables took place in 2023 with all land-grant universities within Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. These meeting focused on exploring ongoing efforts and future needs in the climate-smart agriculture arena to leverage the deep well of knowledge among Region 7’s university partners. Through this collaboration, the roundtable attendees were able to pinpoint potential areas where EPA’s involvement could have the greatest impact on tackling anticipated climate challenges most effectively.
EPA Region 7 is also building a robust network of individuals working at the intersection of agriculture and climate change through these climate-smart roundtable discussions. Jeff Robichaud told Council members at the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City August meeting, “We need partners in the private and public sectors to get out in front of climate change; it’s a big deal.”
McCollister says, “So far, this network has proven to be essential for disseminating information about EPA programs and funding opportunities more effectively, ensuring that those at the frontline of agriculture are well-equipped with the knowledge and resources to adapt and thrive in a changing climate.”
Water Infrastructure
Currently, EPA Region 7 has earmarked $379 million for water infrastructure improvement in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. That’s the Region’s share from a $50 billon pool created by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for water projects across the country between FY 2022 and FY 2026. The Region is allotting the grant funding thusly: $168.6 million for essential, drinking water infrastructure upgrades through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF); $128.4 million to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) in Region 7’s four states; and nearly $82 million to address emerging contaminants like per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in community drinking water across the region. The funding will also support regional communities in upgrading essential water, wastewater and storm water infrastructure, protecting water bodies and public health.
On May 24, 2024, EPA made available to Region 7 an additional $2.9 million in funding (through the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grant program) to help communities address stormwater and sewer infrastructure needs. Managing stormwater is critical to preventing contaminants, including untreated sewage, from polluting waterways. Funding allotments available to Region 7 states are as follows:
Iowa: $326,000
Kansas: $461,000
Missouri: $1,567,000
Nebraska: $529,000
“This funding is an opportunity for small and financially struggling communities to obtain no-cost grants for critical stormwater and sewer system needs,” said Administrator McCollister. “No-cost grants help to ensure that upgrade prices do not get passed on to utility customers, and that’s a win for our community members.” When rain and floodwaters overrun sewer and stormwater systems, Region 7 explains, they bypass treatment and transport pollution and sewage directly into creeks, streams and rivers. These untreated discharges threaten human health, economic prosperity and ecological function.
Speaking of PFAS Chemicals
At the Ag Business Council’s August meeting, Region 7’s Water Division Director Jeff Robichaud explained to Council members that per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) showing up on farms is an ongoing, serious issue for the agriculture industry. Robichaud joked that at every talk he has given recently, people want to hear about PFAS. He mentioned that EPA is focused on PFAS manufacturers, PFAS polluters, and federal facilities when it comes to enforcement. He said people are worried about PFAS chemicals, “but farmers and ranchers do not produce PFOA or PFOS.”
While these chemicals can show up in water used to irrigate crops and given to animals, farmers bear little or no responsibility for their presence. The American Farm Bureau Federation recently acknowledged EPA’s efforts to protect farmers from being targeted by activist interest groups. In a recent statement AFBF lauded EPA for saying “it does not want farmers and ranchers to be penalized for a situation they did not create.” AFBF went on to say, “This is a problem facing all of us. Our members, like all families in America, are completely unaware of the PFAS levels on their property until it’s too late because these chemicals are coming from outside sources. As mitigation efforts move forward, it’s important that farmers are not held responsible for the presence of PFAS chemicals, which they did not produce or intentionally use.”