Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,

Thanks so much  Pamela Cornell for this wonderful Inner Harbour heron picture – a reminder that these magnificent birds also love to eat turtle hatchlings.
And then sadly, thanks to Councillor Lisa Osanic for this tragic picture of a Northern Map turtle run over by a car in the Angliin Parkiing Lot.
So truly heartbreaking – despite the recent signage.
No words can suffice.
For future reference, wounded turtles should go to Sandy Pines as they may survive some injuries that seem life threatening, may appear dead when not, and even if dead, eggs can possibly be extracted. If someone is unable to go directly there, turtles can be dropped off at a participating veterinary clinic who will contact volunteer drivers to take the turtle to Sandy Pines.
The closest vet clinic to inner Harbour is Kingston Veterinary Clinic at Division and Stephen.
https://www.turtleskingston.com/turtle-trauma-response…
Please also report it to Turtles Kingston’s road survey here.
https://www.turtleskingston.com/reporting-sightings

LOCAL NEWS, EVENTS, AND ISSUES
1. Canada Day Parade Returns to Downtown Kingston
2. Hope for Kingston’s Unhoused
3. City of Kingston’s Arts Fund Review
4. Mayoral Updates
5. Friends of Queen Street Update
6. Belle Park Project Poetic Video from the Air – June 26
7. Algonquins to Adirondacks Pilgrimage for Nature – Calling on Trail Champions
8. No Clearcuts Kingston Update
9. Get involved – City of Kingston Budget
10. Home Sweet Home at Union Gallery – Youth Artists Imagine the Future
11. Coalition of Kingston Communities Letter to Council re Worrying Planning Changes
12. Kingston Transit Partnership with New App Features for Transit Users
13. Poetry Event in City Park with Bruce Kauffman- July 1-3
14. Wonderful Museum of Health Tour
15. Need a Doctor? Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Health Team Newsletter
16. 350.0rg Update – Princess St. Promenade this Saturday, June 22
17.  La Salle Crossing Update – Public Services and Procurement Canada

18. FEATURE ON FOREVER CHEMICALS

LOCAL NEWS, EVENTS, AND ISSUES
1.. Canada Day Parade Returns to Downtown Kingston
Start the day with the Canada Day Parade leaving the Metro Parking Lot (Princess & Barrie) at 11 am and arriving for Canada Day cakes for everyone in Confederation Park at 12 noon.
Many different events including a Kids Zone, Main Stage at Springer Market Square with a beer garden, DJs, Food Vendors and ending with Fireworks  at 10 pm.
More Details?https://www.cityofkingston.ca/arts-culture-and-events/city-calendar-and-events/feature-events/canada-day/

2. Hope for Kingston’s Unhoused
Received from Our Livable Solutions, June 7, 2024

Crossroads United Church and Our Livable Solutions (OLS) are excited to announce that Kingston’s sleeping cabin community may have a new and more long-term home in its future. 
As part of its social justice commitment, the congregation of Crossroads United Church, located across from Kingston Centre, has voted to negotiate a land lease for $1 a year with OLS, the operator of the sleeping cabin program. The cabins would occupy a portion of an underused lot at the rear of the church and would be moved to the Crossroads site in the Fall of 2024. A service module structure with washrooms, laundry and kitchen facilities would be added to form a new self-contained community called “Crossroads Village”. The site features easy access to stores and transit and sits next to the site of Providence Village, where a wellness complex is currently under construction.
OLS acting executive director Chrystal Wilson commented that “we are looking forward to working with the City and Crossroads to help stabilize the sleeping cabin program so OLS can continue its good work”.
The proposal still needs to clear city planning approvals, and installation of a utility hookup.  A public meeting will be held at Crossroads United Church on Wednesday, June 26 at 7pm to explain the plan and hear comments about the proposal from area residents and current church rental clients.

3. City of Kingston’s Arts Fund Review
Received June 8, 2024

https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/city-of-kingston-arts-fund-review

To ensure the CKAF continues to support Kingston arts organizations, projects, artists and the public, the City of Kingston Arts Fund is undertaking a review of the granting program. It is expected the CKAF Review will consider the program mandate, objectives, outputs, and reporting and evaluation mechanisms, and consider other potential changes such as an expansion beyond the current focus on operating and project grants and/or streamlining existing CKAF grant streams.
More Info? https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/city-of-kingston-arts-fund-review/news_feed/about-the-city-of-kingston-arts-fund-review
The next phase of public engagement has launched and includes a survey, one-on-one interviews, community focus groups, pop-ups, and an open house.
Take the online survey. https://ca.mar.medallia.com/?e=396327&d=l&h=27C794D9875D7A7&l=en
4. Mayoral Updates
Received from the mayor, June 2, 2024
https://mayorpaterson.com/looking-ahead-to-the-new-st-vincent-de-paul-community-centre/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0SVN9lIp7k

Mayor on Inner Harbour clean-up, rental housing community Improvement Plan and feasibility of water fluoridation May 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1GFVkLC9hE
Editor’s Note: We remain hopeful that there will be major changes to the current federal Inner Harbour  “clean’up” plan that will exclude dredging altogether. No dredging is recommended by seven Queen’s professorsfrom fields as varied as Earth Sciences, Geography, Kinesiology, Environmental Sciences and Chemical Engineering.
This plan, as it stands, will potentially create more damage than good – changing buried legacy contaminants into active pollutants suspended in the water.
Researchers in MPP Ted Hsu’s office are also involved – looking into the difficulties (if not impossibilities) of transporting the dredged contaminants to “safe?” landfill sites somewhere in the province of Ontario. The current disposal sites are almost full.

Mayor on Funding for St. Vincent de Paul, Highway 15 Roundabout, Underutilized City Space Pilot Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0HX2Q9ePY  May 21

5. Friends of Queen Street Update
Received From Friends of Queen Street, June 7, 2024

Round 1 Technical Review The City received the site plan pre-application for 275 Queen Street this spring. Floor plans/elevations, landscape drawings and much more can be found on DASH here.  Round 1 of the Technical Review is also posted there. Chris Booth is the Senior Planner managing the file moving forward. Chris can be reached at cbooth@cityofkingston.ca or at 613-546-3215 ext. 3215 if you have any concerns.

Disappointment #1 The developers, the City and the Friends of Queen Street had what was thought to be a productive greenscaping meeting with Professor Joyce Hostyn last year. The landscaping proposal put forth by the developers included:4 maple trees on Queen Street plus some smaller raised beds2 large trees on a boulevard on Barrie Streetthe maintenance of an existing tree of Colborne Streetthe addition of a tree on Colborne Streetdense “pocket forest” between the new build and the Renaissance4th floor green roof and pollinator garden   We were happy with the developer’s efforts. Much to our disappointment, the City’s technical review has asked the developers to remove the four large trees along Queen Street. Here are their words: ” Please remove the planting from the public realm along Queen Street. Any plantings along Queen will need to be on private property. The City of Kingston will eventually be going through a comprehensive and coordinated development of Queen Street that will include plantings within the public realm.” While this could seem reasonable, as the people who tried very hard to get the City to commit to a Queen Street plan and as the people who sat in the landscaping meeting where everyone seemed to be on the same page, we throw up our hands. Given the City’s track record, we do not expect any plan that will involve as many trees as the developer has promised. If you share our concern, please contact Councillor Greg Ridge at gridge@cityofkingston.ca and Senior Planner Chris Booth at cbooth@cityofkingston.ca.

Disappointment #2 The proposed rooflines on Colborne Street no longer mimic the peaked roofs of the neighbourhood as promised. There will be a flat roof on the Colborne Street units.

6. Belle Park Project Poetic Video from the Air – June 26 Received from the Belle Park Project, June 6, 2024 What: Launch of a short poetic video taken starting 1924. Where: Broom Factory, 305 Rideau Street When: June 26, 7 pm NOTES: Please join The Belle Park Project as we launch a short poetic video based on aerial photographs taken starting in 1924 of the places now known as Belle Park and Belle Island. Since we began our project, community members have always shown great interest in historical maps and aerial photographs, and poring over them collectively at various gatherings inspired and informed the video. The video traces the transformation from wetland to landfill to golf course, partially flooded park in 2019, and more. The seasons change, the water rises or recedes, man-made interventions appear, and then sometimes disappear. Belle Island is first forest, then farm, then forest again. We find that the sequence expands and contracts our sense of time and tells a story of colonial and environmental violence and survival that echoes beyond this specific place  At the event, we hope to continue to discuss what others see in these photographs, and how they respond to the way we present them in this video. The event is free; no registration required More info? https://belleparkproject.com/events/video-launch-belle-park-from-the-air 7.  Algonquins to Adirondacks Pilgrimage for Nature – Calling on Trail Champions

The Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative (A2A) is looking for Trail Champions to serve the community along A2A’s Pilgramage for Nature Trail – https://www.a2acollaborative.org/a2a-trail.html
 A Trail Champion is someone like you— who loves nature and cares deeply about protecting and enhancing it. You recognize the many benefits access to the outdoors provides and want to enhance this experience for fellow travellers and ensure that your favourite trails are well-kept and maintained. They are looking for volunteers to join the initiative, either as Way Finders or supporting the creation of a Trail Hub. There is a spur trail  that takes you through Kingston, and they are in need of volunteers for this section! Visit their website above to learn more and fill out a form to apply! 
Aleisha Pannozzo, Communications Team, 
Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative, 
http://www.a2acollaborative.org/

8. No Clearcuts Kingston Update – Collins Creek & Lemoine Point Farm

Received June 2, 2024 Appeal by Would-Be Collins Creek Developers Shocks Residents.  Update on 4085 Bath Road Forest No Clearcuts Kingston joins with other Kingstonians to express their shock and dismay after seeing, on the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) website, that the developers have filed an appeal regarding their proposed Collins Creek development at 4085 Bath Road. The plan is to clearcut the mature forest, as depicted in the satellite image below, and build a residential condominium development including 41 single detached houses, 66 double-stacked townhouses and 120 triple stacked townhouses (City of Kingston Report to Planning Committee Report Number PC-24-001).   The developers are challenging City Council’s decision to hire an environmental consultant to review the proposed clearcutting of a significant woodland and the proposed development’s impact on a significant valleyland and a provincially significant wetland. Council asked for and funded the review at its April 16, 2024 meeting. Instead of complying with Council’s decision, the developer is refusing to allow the environmental review to take place and has filed the appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal. Aside from the environmental questions, concerns about the proposed development include the impact on traffic on Bath Road just west of Collins Bay Road, the proposed management of stormwater, the building of houses on karst, sinkhole pockets in the area’s limestone, and the development’s possible affect on well water used by neighbouring housing. NCK feels that the developers are trying to bully Council into dropping the environmental review to avoid the cost of going to the Tribunal. Filing an appeal with the OLT takes the decision away from our democratically elected Councillors and hands it to an expensive provincial tribunal process. The development proposal is on Council’s behind-closed-doors agenda for its meeting on Tues, June 4. We urge all of you to write to the Mayor and Council and say you want our forests and our local democracy to be protected (mayor&council@cityofkingston.ca).  If you know your councillor, please contact him or her.   NCK hopes that Council sticks with its April 16, 2024 decision and protects the interests of Kingston residents and our increasingly threatened environment.   More Info? https://substack.com/@noclearcuts Editor”s Note: Apologies that this is late. I have promised to never send more than two e-mails per month.   Revised Official Plan & Possible Fate of Lemoine Point Farm: Urgent Requests for You to Contact the City Received June 18, 2024   We are sending out yet another urgent No Clearcuts Kingston newsletter because of two concerning issues the City is dealing with this week. Lemoine Point Farm Supporters of Lemoine Point Farm believes that the waterfront property to which TODAY’s closed Council meeting agenda item refers is the Farm property. Tuesday (June 18th) at 5 PM agenda item: “Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose, and a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board – Waterfront Property.” We hope that you can contact the Mayor and city councillors today, before 2 PM if possible.  Here are email contacts you can use, which will be delivered to the Mayor and all members of council: mayor&council@cityofkingston.ca Please copy the city clerk: cityclerk@cityofkingston.ca and Lanie Hurdle: lhurdle@cityofkingston.ca

9. Get involved – City of Kingston Budget
Received from the City of Kingston, early June 2024

As a resident, the budget impacts you. Every. Single. Day. So have your say. Get involved!

• Between May 31 and Sept. 13, complete a brief survey to provide feedback on the 2025 budgets and future budget engagement
• To complete the survey by phone or to request a paper copy, call 613-546-0000
• Use the Ideas tool to let us know how you would like to be involved in future budget conversations
• Watch for us at events around Kingston this summer
• Follow this page to stay updated about the project and learn about other engagement opportunities
• https://getinvolved.cityofkingston.ca/2025-city-budget-engagement?tool=survey_tool#tool_tab 

Thank you for taking the time to provide your input on the 2025 City of Kingston budgets and future budget engagement.
The survey is estimated to take 5-10 minutes to complete. 
The survey closes at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13.
If for any reason you would like to answer the survey by phone or in writing, connect with us.

• Request a paper copy of the survey by calling 613-546-0000. We will provide a postage-paid envelope to return the survey to City Hall.
• Complete the survey over the phone with City staff by calling 613-546-0000.

Your feedback will be shared with City Departments and Partner Agencies, and presented to City Council in November. An engagement summary of feedback will be available on the Get Involved Kingston project page in October.
Notice of Collection
All information received will be compiled and considered by staff for use under the purposes of this site. Information will be collected and used in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and other relevant privacy legislation. All comments made on this site are available to the public and may form part of public records.

10. Home Sweet Home at Union Gallery – Youth Artists Imagine the Future
Received June 1, 2024 from Union Gallery <ugallery@queensu.ca>
On now at Union Gallery: Home Sweet Home, acts of sustainable storytelling by 16 local youth artists, guided by curator Re Parsons, in collaboration with Youth Imagine the Future.
Exhibition run: June 1–22, 2024
Artists + Authors: Abbie Miolée, Angela Ge, Charlotte Stroud, Elleana Scott, Emily Booth, Holly Stephen, Jasper Lyon Wicke, Leila Lawrence-Montag, Winnie Seaby, Willa Shail, and more to come!

Home Sweet Home is a celebration of local youth artists and their acts of storytelling to imagine new sustainable futures. Featuring 16 youth artists and authors guided by curator Re Parsons in collaboration with Youth Imagine the Future Festival, this exhibition is by local youth and for local youth. Home Sweet Home asks all those who enter to consider the future of the locale we call home and the insights, anxieties, and passions of her future caretakers.

PARALLEL PROGRAMMING
Youth Open Mic and Closing Reception | Wednesday, June 19, 6pm
More Info?uniongallery.queensu.ca, 613-533-3171,  
http://uniongallery.queensu.ca

11. Coalition of Kingston Communities Letter to Council re Worrying Planning Changes
Received June 17, 2023
Coalition asks City to put brakes on passing amendments to the City’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaws

The City has responded to federal incentives for building more housing with a massive omnibus of 268 amendments slated for Planning Committee approval on June 20^th, 2024.  

The amendments range from cleaning up terms to reflect new terminology (replacing “Provincial Policy Statement” with “Provincial Policy”), to significant relaxations in development procedures which would allow more development decisions to be made by the unelected Committee of Adjustment or by staff, bypassing elected councillors who sit on Planning Committee. 

There are also amendments that have important implications, such as replacing “medium density residential” with “mid-rise residential.”  Mid-rise residential buildings are defined as “generally between 4 and 6 storeys in height, but may be outside of this range depending on the context and ability to meet the compatibility and locational criteria for mid-rise buildings.” (Amendment 91 s2.6.2)

Key definitions remain opaque such as the one relating to affordable housing (Amendment 53), and gone are the specific requirements that would ensure the development of housing that is affordable to low and medium income people. Instead, on affordable housing, the amendments offer generalities: “This Plan supports an increase in the overall supply of all forms of housing in appropriate locations to address housing affordability and the housing crisis.” (Amendment 89) 

“The Coalition of Kingston Communities sees these amendments as a disintegration of the City’s current planning policies. They are being replaced with across-the-city permissions to build almost anything, anywhere, in established residential neighbourhoods, in rural areas, in heritage districts,” said Christine Sypnowich, Coalition Chair.

The Coalition has submitted this list of primary concerns to the Planning Committee for consideration at its meeting on June 20^th.

1.    The varied and extensive changes to the City’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaws cover a broad range of significant planning policies, from, for example, the replacement of the term, medium density, which has a specific formula, to a concept of “mid-rise residential buildings”, that is variable. This change adds vagueness to planning policy in Kingston. 

2.    The proposed amendments take many planning decisions out of the hands of the Planning Committee and City Council (elected councillors) and hand decision-making over the city’s development to the Committee of Adjustment (nominated members of the public) and to staff.

3.    There is not sufficient time for elected officials and the public to consider the impact of 268 changes to the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaws on their neighbourhoods.

4.    Some of the changes are incomplete and require more work, for instance, the provisions for requiring community benefits have been removed and there is only a promise that a new bylaw will eventually be prepared.

5.    The change to the definition of “affordable housing” does not create more housing that meets the needs of people at lower income levels including a growing number of the middle class. There are no provisions for ensuring that developers will build for those in need of reasonable rental properties, no provisions for rent control, no protection of rent rates when a lease turns over, no provisions against “renovictions”. This reneges on the City’s commitment to ensuring new development increases the availability of affordable housing.

6.    These proposed changes threaten to alter the fabric of the entire city: rural areas, the suburbs, downtown, heritage districts and so on. When changes are made at this scale you no longer have a city working according to a coherent, democratically determined plan. You have a development free-for-all.

We therefore ask elected City Councillors to put the brakes on these massive changes so that Council and the public can assess their impact on the future of Kingston before it is too late.

“The democratic process requires that the public have time to respond to these extensive and significant proposed changes. A proposal to give up so many planning controls in the hope of securing federal building funds is a risk not worth taking,” said Sypnowich.

For more information 
Christine Sypnowich
Chair, Coalition of Kingston Communities
christine.sypnowich@queensu.ca
coalitionkingston@gmail.com
613 583 2549

12. Kingston Transit Partnership with New App Features for Transit Users
https://blog.transitapp.com/sustainable-for-the-long-haul/
More info? Christopher Norris, General Manager, Transit Services for the City of Kingston
cnorris@cityofkingston.ca

13. Poetry Event in City Park with Bruce Kauffman – June 29 – July 1
Received June 14, 2024 
As we begin our 10th year, this festival this year will feature over 50 poets from Ontario and Quebec in this 3-day event, many of them bringing books. Also, this year:
Sat, 9:00 – 10:30am — An intuitive writing workshop (sign up at 8:30). And it’s FREE.
Sun, 10:00—11:45am — Anthology launch: “More than a Gathering.” A vetted collection of 2023 Poets at Artfest ix’s work. The anthology will be available for purchase all three days.
Everyday–10am-6pm Many poets will have their own individual books/work on display and for sale.
NOTE: Novel Idea bookstore will be on site for the book launch Sunday morning – so both cash and credit card will be accepted then. All author book sales and anthology sales before and after the launch will need to be cash. I believe there will be an ATM on site, and not far from the tent again this year.

Daily Schedule – Subject to Change
For most recent timetable contact Bruce Kauffman on Facebook or at bruce.kauffman@hotmail.com

Saturday, June 29
9:00 – 10:30am – Workshop (free) – Bruce Kauffman’s ‘Intuitive Writing’ workshop (Signup begins: 8:30)
11am – 12:15pm – Mary Lee Bragg, Colin Morton, Margaret Code, Kin Man Young Tai, Maria Mitea
1:00 – 2:15pm – Anne Archer, Jane Macdonald, Hannah Muysson, Meg Freer, Alanna Veitch
3:00 – 4:15pm – Leslie Saunders, David Malone, Armand Garnet Ruffo, Nathalie Sorensen, Wanda Praamsma
5:00 – 6:00pm – Carma Niceforo, Madison Cuddon, Anne Graham, Thomas Sinaguglia

Sunday, June 30
10:00 – 11:45am – Anthology launch — More than a Gathering – work from Poets @ Arfest 2023
12:30– 1:45pm – Sue Bracken, Judith Popiel, Louise Carson, Jen Frankel, Honey Novick
2:30 – 3:45pm – Ron Chase, Carolynn Kingyens, Susan McMaster, Doris Fiszer, Susan J. Atkinson
4:30 – 5:30pm – Pat Connors, Kate Rogers, Richard M. Grove, Allan Briesmaster

Monday, July 1
10:30 – 11:45am – Gwenith Whitford, Harlequinn Crow, Kelsey Newman Reed, Bethmarie Michalska, Abbie Miolee
12:30 – 1:45pm – Allison Chisholm, Elizabeth Greene, Michale e. Casteels, Jason Heroux, Carolyn Smart
2:30 – 3:45pm – Eric Folsom, Carole TenBrink, Jhordan Layne, Joel Giroux, Otoniya J. Okot Bitek
4:30 – 5:30pm – Elana Wolff, Sarah Emtage, Jennifer Verardi, Bruce Kauffman
More Info? https://www.facebook.com/events/1143498470252476/?ref=newsfeed

14. Wonderful Museum of Health Care Tour
https://www.museumofhealthcare.ca/visit/calendar-of-events.html
Walk in the footsteps of some of Kingston’s earliest residents and arrivals as they engage in a quest for health care in the Limestone City. The stories of the establishment of one of Canada’s oldest public hospitals, Kingston General Hospital, and Queen’s School of Medicine are full of success and sacrifice, triumph and tragedy. Join us for a fascinating look into the lives of those that lived, arrived and died here, as we unlock the secrets of Kingston’s medical past.

Details:Offering tours Thursday-Saturday at 10:30am and 2:00pm.
This walking tour is 1 hour in duration (15 minutes total walking time) and runs rain or shine (tours will be cancelled in the event of a thunderstorm). Please dress for the weather and protect yourself from the sun.
Cost: $10 adult, children 12 and under are free. Refunds will be issued with 24 hours notice.
Tour Route: The tour begins and ends at the Museum of Health Care, 32 George St. KIngston
Visits to the Museum’s galleries prior to or following the tour are welcome! 
Content Warning: This tour addresses subjects that some may find upsetting including: racism, sexism, discrimination, descriptions of historical medical practices, and death.

15. Need a doctor? Frontenac Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team Newsletter
Received from FLAOHT June 18, 2024
A New Model for Health Care. 
www.flaoht.ca

16. 350 Kingston Update – Princess St. Promenade This Saturday, June 22
Received June 18, 2024
Princess Street Promenade This Saturday
The first of four Princess Street Promenades this year is being held this Saturday, June 22, from 10am to 5pm. 350 Kingston has a booth opposite Pan Chancho between King and Ontario streets. This is a great location and I am hoping we will get a big turnout. We are asking for help from our 350 Kingstoners to staff the booth for a two hour shift. Shifts are 10 to noon, noon to 2, 2 to 4, and 4 to 5 with take down. We train our booth volunteers on the spot but it’s easy to pick up.  Please reply to Gavin Hutchison at 350Kingston@gmail.com if you can take a shift.
Editor’s Note: For general information on this worthy organization, visit www.350kingston.org
Monthly meeting will be this coming Monday, June 24, on Zoom at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85141554166?pwd=NVNkZ1pPYVBvM2JLMUliMm9qcWQzUT09

17. LaSalle Causeway Rehabilitation Project Information
Received from Public Services and Procurement Canada, June 7, 2024
Report includes information about bridge deck replacement, trunnion steel rehabilitation and counterweight rehabilitation
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/infrastructure-buildings/bridges-docks-dams/lasalle-causeway/bascule-bridge-rehabilitation.html

18. SPECIAL FEATURE ON FOREVER CHEMICALS
Editor’s Note:  These articles (about both the U.S. and Canada) are useful because they advise on how to limit your exposure. Also, they are relevant for the proposed $70,000,000 federal “clean-up” project for Kingston’s Inner Harbour. One begins to wonder what is the point of dredging these buried legacy contaminants (and potentially changing buried contaminants into actively suspended pollutants) when they are in the air, in rain water, and throughout Lake Ontario as well as in current storm water overflows containing pharmaceuticals. These kinds of comparisons are not included in the consultants’ reports.

RECEIVED from truthout – June 6, 2024 – Mike Ludwig
At Least 45 Percent of US Tap Water Contaminated with PFAS “Forever Chemicals”
So far, the scale of contamination in local water systems and private wells outpaces detection and cleanup efforts.
The study on PFAS in drinking water released by the U.S. Geological Survey last week is only the beginning. The EPA and other regulators are working furiously to understand the true scope of PFAS contamination across the United States, and more government studies are in the works as lawmakers debate next steps.
In a sign of things to come, water utilities and various private industries are already complaining about the potential costs of detecting and reporting PFAS usage and pollution to regulators and the public, not to mention the cost of removing PFAS from local water systems.
Republicans in Congress are reportedly exploring potential enforcement loopholes, and environmentalists warn that PFAS polluters are in the business of passing cleanup costs on to taxpayers. 3M and other major chemical companies that manufacture PFAS have faced thousands of lawsuits and recently reached multibillion-dollar settlements with cities and towns that must now address PFAS contamination in local water systems. (The companies denied allegations of wrongdoing.)
People living near petrochemical plants and a range of other industries that utilize PFAS may be at greater risk of exposure via air and water. Avoiding PFAS entirely will not be possible — or affordable — for everyone. However, experts say there are proven steps that consumers can take to reduce their exposure to PFAS in drinking water.
Check With Your Local Drinking Water Provider
PFAS are detected in both municipal water systems and private wells, and there is an ongoing fight between public water utilities and polluters over who will eventually pay for the cost of detection and cleanup.
Your local water utility may already be testing for PFAS and publishing the results online, especially if you live in a higher-income area. Some utilities are actively installing reverse-osmosis filtration systems to remove PFAS, but others are unable to absorb the cost of removal and will not have an incentive to test until federal regulations are finalized. Any water treatment system certified by NSF/ANSI Standards 53 or 58 has filtration capable of removing PFAS, according to public health experts.
The EPA has published detailed, nonbinding health advisories for PFAS in drinking water that take a close look at PFOS and PFOA, two common types of PFAS that pose some of the greatest known risks to human health. Generally speaking, the lower the levels of PFOS and PFOA in water, the lower the risk to public health, according to the EPA.
The EPA has proposed legally enforceable limits on PFOS, PFOA, and other common types PFAS in drinking water, although thousands of less common (and less studied) types are likely to escape regulation. The issue remainspoliticallycontentious, and the regulations have not been finalized. The Biden administration is currently encouraging tribes and local governments to take advantage of new infrastructure funding to address PFAS contamination in local water systems.
Water from private underground wells can be tested for PFAS, and test results for local groundwater sources may already be available in some communities. Testing your own well is certainly an option, but may be more complicated and expensive than simply purchasing a certified filter.
If you know or suspect that PFAS are present in your drinking water, experts recommend you either filter the water or find a different source for drinking and cooking, such as the filtered water sold in refillable jugs at many grocery stores.
Unfortunately, avoiding PFAS can come with a financial cost to consumers, and the U.S. government has so far failed to ensure that everyone has access to clean water at no additional cost.
Use a PFAS-Certified Tap Water Filter
A range of granular and reverse osmosis water filters can remove certain types of PFAS from drinking water, including PFOS and PFOA, which are no longer produced but remain among the most commonly detected forms of PFAS that are known to pose a danger to human health.
Tap water filters capable of removing PFOS, PFOA, and other types of PFAS will typically say so on the label and are usually more expensive than the most basic filters. Prices for various systems range from $70 to $300, plus the cost of replacement filters. Look for filters that are certified to remove PFOS and PFOA by NSF International, which ensures that the product will work as advertised.
Environmental Working Group, a major PFAS watchdog group, independently tested a number of popular water filters for removal of 25 common types of PFAS and published the results on Monday. Brands recommended by the group include Zero Water, Travel Berkey, Clearly Filtered and Epic Water Filters, all of which removed 98 to 100 percent of PFAS. More information is available here.
Your faithful reporter and his roommates use the Travel Berkey, which removes nearly 100 percent of PFAS. This model is costly up front but works well for larger households and lasts a long time — you can filter up to 6,000 gallons before replacing the filter.
If you live in a small household or are used to a portable filter jug that fits in the fridge, the Clearly Filtered Water Pitcher is available for around $90. Cheaper filters are often not designed to remove PFAS.
Unfortunately, some people can’t afford to spend extra on filtered water, and polluters that discharge PFAS are disproportionately located near lower-income communities. That’s one reason why federal limits on PFAS and updated filters in public water systems are badly needed.
Avoid Products Made With PFAS
Experts say consumers can also steer clear of PFAS exposure by avoiding certain products containing the chemicals, including nonstick cookware and grease-repellant food packaging such as microwave popcorn bags and fast-food wrappers. Check household cleaning product labels for ingredients that include the words “fluoro” or “perfluoro” and try to avoid items with a stain-resistant coating. That includes carpets, furniture, clothing, luggage and outdoor equipment that is treated with stain-resistant or waterproof coatings.
Hold Politicians and Polluters Accountable
While consumers can take steps to protect themselves from PFAS, environmentalists say that ultimately removing “forever chemicals” from the water supply requires tough standards and regulations that are still being debated, along with years of government action and billions of dollars in funding.
Right now, lawmakers and regulators are creating policies that will determine who pays the most for PFAS detection and removal. Will it be taxpayers and consumers, or the chemical companies and polluting industries that brought us PFAS in the first place?

Received from the National Observer, June 3, 2024 – Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
Pesticides made from a class of cancer-causing toxic chemicals that never degrade are being used on Canadian crops despite global concerns about their impact on humans and the environment.
PFAS are a class of thousands of chemicals that do not break down naturally in the environment. Cherished by industry for being able to resist grease and water, they are used in everything from rain gear to food packaging. Researchers have found them nearly everywhere on Earth, including remote parts of the Arctic — and in most human bodies.
In pesticides, PFAS are used as the so-called “active” ingredient — the killing agent — and as an additive to give them desirable properties such as water resistance. These “PFAS-ticides” have become more widely used in recent years to remedy increasing herbicide resistance to older types of pesticides. At least ten are currently approved for use in Canada.
Amid growing concern about the chemicals’s health impacts, the European Union, the U.S. and several American states have recently moved to restrict their use or ban them entirely. Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault has even said that a “proactive and precautionary approach is needed” in Canada for PFAS and pledged to implement rules regulating the chemicals as a class.
But the federal government is required to make one exception: pesticides.
A quirk of Canadian law exempts pesticides from most federal rules, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). That has created a “remarkable” situation where Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is approving PFAS-containing pesticides even as Environment and Climate Change Canada considers restricting their use, said Laura Bowman, a lawyer with Ecojustice that specializes in pesticides.
The approval of PFAS-ticides by Canada’s pesticide regulator comes amid intense criticism of the agency’s “obsolete” approach to pesticide regulation, according to prominent health researcher Bruce Lanphear. Last year, Canada’s National Observer found the PMRA minimized health and environmental concerns from its own scientists about the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos and downplayed the health risks of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephtalate (DCPA).
In a statement, a PMRA spokesperson confirmed “that potential risk management measures on PFAS in pesticides would be evaluated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency,” not Environment and Climate Change Canada, which is responsible for most PFAS chemicals.
The PMRA does not provide accurate data about where and when pesticides are used, nor how much has been applied, making it hard to assess how many PFAS-ticides are used in the country.
The EU, the U.S., and several states have all taken steps to restrict or outright ban pesticides that contain #PFAS. A quirk of Canadian law sees a regulator approving their use even as the environment minister is mulling restrictions.
However, a European study published earlier this year found that the prevalence residue from the ten most-used PFAS-based pesticides tripled between 2011 and 2021 in fruits and vegetables. Eight of the most common European PFAS-ticides are also approved for use in Canada; three of them were sold in volumes exceeding 10,000 kilograms of active ingredient in 2020, according to PMRA sales data.
Bowman said that a 2022 decision by the PMRA to approve once such PFAS-based pesticide, tiafenacil, suggests pesticides that contain or break down into PFAS could become more common.
Tiafenacil breaks down into the PFAS compound trifluoroacetic acid — or TFA — which is thought to impair fertility and child development. Industry lobbyists note it can occur naturally; however, most TFA comes from human activity, including pesticide use.
In 2020, the PMRA proposed to ban another pesticide that degraded into TFA, citing the compound’s risk. But the more recent 2022 approval of tiafenacil suggests the agency is backtracking from these earlier hesitations, setting the stage for more TFA-generating pesticide approvals later this year, she said.
“We’re anticipating a big fight about PFAS,” she said.
Still, advocates emphasize the biggest problem is the “false distinction” between Canada’s efforts to reduce the use of non-agricultural PFAS chemicals and those found in pesticides, said Cassie Barker, the director of Environmental Defence’s toxics program.
“The idea that we could have this class of chemicals be super toxic and could still be sprayed onto our food and almost directly into our water is a huge problem,” she said.

Another piece from Truthout  – Mike Ludwig
Scientists Discover Way to Destroy Harmful ‘Forever Chemicals” in Water Supply:
New Technology Could Help Water Utilities Remove Stubborn PFAS Chemicals Linked to Cancer and other Maladies
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” for a reason. Originally added to a wide variety of products ranging from firefighting foam to nonstick food packaging, the chemical bonds that make up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, accumulate quickly and break down slowly over time, making the pollutants extremely persistent in the environment — and our drinking water supply.
Tap water delivered to an estimated 89 million people in communities across the U.S. tests positive for PFAS today, according to analysis of federal data by chemical industry watchdogs at the Environmental Working Group. However, researchers saythe scope of the PFAS contamination crisis is likely much larger and more widespread, particularly in rural areas where testing on groundwater has yet to be conducted.
Exposure to common types of PFAS is linked to deadly cancers, heart and liver damage, and developmental problems in infants and children. Contamination is so widespread that scientists say virtuallyeveryone living in the U.S. has traces of PFAS in their bloodstream.
Now, scientists may be discovering new ways to destroy stubborn PFAS molecules and remove the pollutants from the water supply for good.
In 2022, a team at University of California at Riverside discovered that blasting wastewater with special “short-wave” ultraviolet rays causes PFAS chemical bonds to break down without creating harmful byproducts. Led by Haizhou Liu, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering, the team announced a new finding this week that builds on their previous work: the discovery of a chemical process that uses the high levels of salt found in wastewater to break down the chemicals’ strong bonds.

Another piece from Truthout by Mike Ludwig
Toxic PFAS Are in Our Drinking Water. Here’s How to Limit Your Exposure.
As regulators race to address PFAS in water, consumers can take steps to reduce their exposure to forever chemicals now.
July 11, 2023
“We were looking at PFAS with different carbon chains, short chains, and we also looked at salty wastewater that has a high concentration of chloride and sulfate,” Liu said in a statement. “The results show that the salinity in wastewater acts as a catalyst when receiving the UV light to make this process even more effective and much faster.”
The technology could also be used to clean industrial wastewater from landfills and certain chemical manufacturing plants as well as brackish groundwater impacted by PFAS pollution.
The discovery is expected to bolster the long-term effectiveness of “ion exchange,” one of the methods of removing PFAS from drinking water promoted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). After ion exchange removes PFAS, the contaminated wastewater can then be treated with the methods developed by Liu’s team, destroying PFAS molecules before they have a chance to leach back into the environment during waste disposal.
“There is a continued need for innovation in PFAS protection technology, particularly because of the byproducts of filtration” at water treatment plants, said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, in an interview. “There are a lot of resources going into preventing that PFAS from getting back into the environment from our waste streams.”
The new technology is still in the pilot phase but comes at a critical time. In April, the EPA announced tough new federal limits on several harmful but common types of PFAS and gave water utilities until 2025 to conduct tests and determine whether their systems can meet the new standards.
The Biden administration also announced $1 billion in federal funding to help states, tribes and local governments to detect PFAS and remove the chemicals if levels exceed the federal limits. In total, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law championed by President Joe Biden provides $9 billion in federal funding for PFAS cleanup as part of a national action plan to prevent cancer and protect public health.
“Dr. Haizhou Liu and other scientists at UCR are working hard to bridge the gap between the regulations and solutions to PFAS contamination,” said David Danelski, a spokesman for the University of California Riverside team, in an interview. “We are collaborating with several utilities in southern California for pilot tests beyond the lab using real PFAS impacted water, and the results are very promising.”
Benesh said the federal limits on PFAS in drinking water set by the Biden administration is only the latest victory in a yearslong push to protect public health and hold PFAS polluters accountable.
It’s been over two decades since the first lawsuits over PFAS contamination impacting residents living near chemical plants were brought against 3M and DuPont, two major manufacturers of PFAS and related products. Two forms of PFAS made by the companies at the time — PFOA and PFOS — are now known to be particularly harmful, but Benesh said DuPont and 3M thwarted accountability for years as dangerous levels of PFAS built up in the environment.
“These companies knew for decades that they were poisoning the world; they knew that these chemicals were incredibly persistent, they knew these chemicals were getting into people’s blood, they knew their workers were getting sick, they knew these chemicals were contaminating nearby communities, and they lied about it for years,” Benesh said. “Not just Americans, every single creature is paying the cost for that,” Benesh added. “It’s in our blood and wildlife, it’s in the Arctic, it is everywhere — and that is purely because of corporate greed.”
The massive scope of PFAS contamination only became known to the public through the tireless efforts of environmental organizers, journalists, internal whistleblowers and angry neighbors living near chemical plants. Still, federal policy makers appeared to drag their feet until the problem was too big to ignore.
“There was a multi-administration failure to address these problems … as a result of that inaction, people have gotten sick and people have been exposed to toxic levels of these chemicals,” Benesh said of previous presidential administrations. “These PFAS regulations have been a long time coming, but the Biden administration really did prioritize them and bring them across the finish line.”
An EPA economic impact analysis estimates only 3,300 to 3,600 of about 66,000 treatment facilities will exceed the new maximum PFAS limits and be required to take decisive action.
“Those utilities will take steps to treat their water or change their source of water to make sure the people they are serving get clean water,” Benesh said. “Water utilities have also recovered billions of dollars from the manufacturers, so I think they have been investing in these upgrades and have already started recovering some of those costs from the companies.”
Biden’s EPA has also designated PFOS and PFOA as “hazardous substances” under the federal superfund law, which puts companies such as DuPont and 3M on the hook for paying for PFAS cleanup in areas with serious levels of contamination.
Environmental Working Group maintains a list of independently tested water filters that consumers can use at home to effectively remove PFAS from tap water.

So that’s it for June.
Wishing you all a great summer ahead.
Mary Farrar, President,
Friends of KIngston Inner Harbour