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WASHINGTON – The US Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday accused California of failing to comply with federal laws against water pollution, compounding the conflict between the Trump administration and Golden State.
In a four-page letter, the administrator of the EPA
Andrew Wheeler
outlined the agency's public health concerns about the state and its water quality issues, saying that San Francisco, for example, had to spend billions of dollars to modernize its sewer system to prevent contaminated water from spilling into San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
Wheeler is also concerned about untreated human waste, a problem he has linked to the homeless population, and its impact on nearby waterways.
"The state did not act urgently to address this public health and environmental problem," Wheeler said of water-related water issues in the letter, previously reported by the government. Washington Post.
Federal laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act are generally enforced by states, while their efforts are overseen by federal agencies.
President Trump had promised to take the measures that were imposed last week, when the Trump administration had announced its intention to issue an Environmental Offense Notice to San Francisco for the problem of water pollution. ;roaming.
Photo:
David Paul Morris / Bloomberg News
In response to Trump's comments last week, San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, said the city has an effective sewer system and is addressing the homelessness crisis by adding new beds. refuge.
On Thursday, in response to the letter, she said there was no relationship between the homelessness of the city and the quality of its water.
"I would love very much if a president would like to work with us on solutions to the problems we face, whether it's our infrastructure, our need for more housing or more." Help people out of homelessness, "she said. "But it's not what we get from this administration."
Thursday, Nathan Click, a spokesman for the Democratic Party
Governor Gavin Newsom,
Mr. Trump said: "Abuses the powers of the presidency and government arsenal to attack his political opponents."
"It's not clean air, clean water or helping our state to live without shelter," he said. "These are political retaliation against California, clear and simple."
The EPA letter intensifies the quarrel between the president and California, the country's most populous state, with about 40 million people. He recently visited the Bay Area for the first time since his election.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly attacked San Francisco for his homelessness problem. The city is represented in Congress by the Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi
(D., Calif.), Which runs up against the president regularly. Mr. Trump hinted that California's policies were at the root of the crisis, consistent with his broader conflict with Democratic state leaders on issues such as immigration and change. climate.
According to an annual count in January, the number of homeless has increased in major California cities, with a gain of 16% in Los Angeles compared to the previous year, according to figures released by Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority during the summer.
"San Francisco, Los Angeles and the state do not appear to act urgently to mitigate the risks to human health and the environment that could result from the homelessness crisis," said Thursday. the letter from the EPA.
At another meeting, EPA officials sent a letter to air quality officials in California earlier this week about plans that they were proposing as Incomplete or impractical air pollution plans presented by state officials since the 1970s, thus exposing the state to the risk of losing federal funding of roads. and other transportation projects.
In Thursday's letter, federal officials gave the state a 30-day deadline to address their concerns.
Alejandro Lazo contributed to this article.
Write to Katy Stech Ferek at [email protected]
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