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TAMARISK Beetles to feast on tamarisk The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to release Asian beetles in 13 Western states next spring to combat the tamarisk shrub that is clog- ging riverbanks and sucking up water faster than any weed in the West. The Diorhabda elongata, otherwise known as the saltcedar leaf beetle, is a pencil- eraser -size yellow bug that gobbles its way through the thick vegetation of tough -to -kill tamarisk but does not eat other plants. The beetle is native to China and Kazakhstan, areas where tamarisk is native and the beetles keep it in check. Tamarisk now covers nearly 2 million acres and guzzles enough water to supply 20 million people. The plan sidesteps one of the biggest controversies over using beetles for tama- risk control. The bugs will be released only above the 38th parallel, which corresponds to the southern border of Colorado. That means the endangered Southwest willow flycatcher - the only species that is known to use tamarisk for a habitat - is not expected to be affected. The birds have not been found this far north. And the species of beetle being released does not survive and multiply below that latitude. The beetle has been studied in its native habitat in Asia since the 1950s. In the United States, it has been studied in cages built around tamarisk stands since 1998 at a handful of research sites around the West, including one Colorado site near Pueblo. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation slides from those sites show tamarisks stripped of most of their leaves, while nearby cottonwoods and Russian olive trees were green and untouched. The Denver Post / October 23, 2003 WATER QUALITY Contamination threat / Missile sites may be leaking chemicals Thirteen Atlas Series D and E missile sites in Northern Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska are being investigated and could be slated for cleanup. Petroleum chemicals and cleaning solvents associated with missile drills conducted by troops are believed to have contaminated soil and groundwater at many of the sites. Five Colorado sites have been identified as contaminated or possibly contaminated. They are in Bellvue in Larimer County; Windsor, Nunn and Hereford in Weld County; and Briggsdale in the Pawnee National Grasslands. All are Atlas Series E sites, where chemicals were used to clean surfaces and flush fuel tanks and then dumped on the ground, Skog said. Investigators, who have spent more than $6 million on analysis, in 1995 at a former Atlas site near Kimball, Neb., discovered trichloro- ethylene, or TCE, a powerful cleaning solvent used by troops, Skog said. "We have a one - mile -long plume there," he added. A plume indicates that chemicals are travel- ing underground in groundwater, posing a potential public health hazard. Former Site 13 in Bellvue, north of Fort Collins off U.S. Highway 287 about a mile north of Ted's Place, is in the opening stages of investigation. There are about 25 homes within a mile of the site, which is undergoing well water testing for contamination. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, so far none of the sites are known to have contaminated drinking water. Coloradoan / October 19, 2003 Boulder Creek study finds traces of caffeine, ibuprofen, hormones in water When Boulder Creek flows from its headwaters high in the mountains, it's nearly pristine. But by the time it reaches east Boulder County, the creek has picked up some strange microscopic passengers — ranging from caffeine to trace amounts of prescription drugs. Scientists studied water - quality levels all along the Boulder Creek to try to figure out where contaminants are introduced. They also hope their research can be used to develop better water- safety standards. Scientists are still trying to figure out what impact those chemicals could have on water quality, said Sheila Murphy, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist who worked on a three -year study. Chris Rudkin, water - quality coordinator for the city of Boulder, said the first -of- its -kind study would give politicians and scientists the information they need to keep water safe. Using new technology unavailable until only recently, scientists were able to detect sometimes bizarre H2O additives at very low levels — a few parts per billion or trillion, something they haven't been able to do before, Murphy said. "A lot of these technologies are new within the last 10 years," she said. And the chemicals they're finding aren't things you'd expect to find in drinking water: EDTA, a "metal complexing agent" found in mayonnaise, shampoo and vitamin supplements; Tylenol; nicotine; hormones; and prescription drugs. But the chemical scientists really didn't expect to find was gadolinium, a very rare substance injected into patients receiving magnetic resonance imaging scans. While the creek's wa- ter quality levels meet current water quality standards, Murphy said those standards were written before scientists could detect chemicals like gadolinium. Murphy and other USGS scientists hope their research gives politicians better information to use when they draw up water quality standards. Boulder Dailv Camera / October 29, 2003 EPA to ease sewage treatment rules The Bush administration is shifting policy so cities and towns can skip a required treatment procedure for sewage they pump into rivers, lakes and coastal waters during high rains. The change aims to settle years of disputes over how municipal sewage plants handle the increased flow of waste – mainly storm runoff – that comes during wet weather. At issue is whether local governments should have to spend billions of tax dollars upgrading those plants so peak flows of sewage can get all the sanitary treatment that federal law demands in normal conditions. The administration's plan would let hundreds of communities big and small escape that expense by partially treating sewage surges in big storms. Environmental groups and some federal regulators say those flows should be treated completely to keep disease - carrying microbes out of rec- reational waters. The Environmental protection Agency plans to propose the policy change this week, and there will be 60 days for public comment before it can be finalized. USA TODAY / November 3, 2003 36