[Pharmwaste] DEQ: Pharmaceuticals from Big Sky spill unlikely to pose human health risk (Montana)

[Tenace, Laurie]

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/deq-pharmaceuticals-from-big-sky-spill-unlikely-to-pose-human/article_3263d113-47b0-5e93-b567-cd4e24630c70.html


A state report on pharmaceutical levels in the nearly 30 million gallons of treated wastewater that spilled into the Gallatin River last month said that risks to human health are unlikely but had no certainty about impacts to aquatic life.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality tested for 46 different chemicals in the water ranging from antibiotics to caffeine and found 18 of them in the water spilling directly from a Yellowstone Club wastewater pond and 11 of the chemicals in the Gallatin's tributaries. Chemicals found in the water ranged from penicillin to caffeine to a drug used for pigs.

Neither Montana nor the federal government have water quality standards for pharmaceuticals, so state officials compared them to standards developed by the state of Minnesota. None of Minnesota's human health standards for the chemicals were exceeded, which DEQ said is a sign that harm to human health is "unlikely."

DEQ wasn't sure what impacts the chemicals would have on aquatic life because there isn't much research that has been done on the subject.

The report notes that even low concentrations of the chemicals are "potentially harmful to aquatic life" but adds that what impact it might have "remains an area with limited information and additional study is necessary."

DEQ public policy director Kristi Ponozzo said the reason little is known and the state doesn't have standards for the chemicals is because the study of pharmaceuticals in water is "an emerging area of science."

She added that monitoring is ongoing, and that the department would review results of the monitoring in July.

Mike Ducuennois, vice president of Yellowstone Development, said in an email that nothing in the report surprised him.

"The information helps to reconfirm that human health concerns were unlikely," Ducuennois said.

The chemical found most frequently was the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole. It was found at all of the sampling sites, which included at the spill and seven other spots on either tributaries of the Gallatin or the main river. It was the only chemical found downstream of the confluence of the West Fork and the main Gallatin River.

The antibiotic carbadox was also found in the water at low levels. The drug is used for pigs, and earlier this month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved toward taking the drug off the market.

This all began when a pond holding 35 million gallons of treated wastewater at the Yellowstone Club began leaking in early March after a mechanical failure. About 6 million gallons were transferred to another facility, while the rest was allowed to drain out. The water, which the Yellowstone Club used to water its golf course, had been treated.

The effluent flowed down a hillside into Second Yellow Mule Creek, a tributary of the West Fork of the Gallatin River. The water picked up dirt and debris and clouded the Gallatin River and its tributaries as it drained.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists visited the streams to assess the impacts to fish populations. They found five dead fish, but determined that the impacts to fish populations were likely minimal.

Earlier this month, DEQ sent a formal letter to the Yellowstone Club that notified them that they had violated the state's water quality act by discharging without a permit and causing pollution. The letter cites a water sample that exceeded state limits for ammonia and the sediment loads that the spill brought into the tributary system.

Ponozzo said DEQ is working on determining what the fines for the violations might be. She said it could still be months before anything is final.

Ducuennois said DEQ's enforcement letter "depicted the events and impacts accurately" and added that the Yellowstone Club is working on a slope remediation plan. He said it will likely be submitted to the DEQ in the next few months.

The pond has been repaired, and Ducuennois said it is "operating as designed." He added that fencing and some other aesthetic work still needs to be completed on the perimeter of the pond and that they aren't critical to the pond's operation and will be done when the ground thaws.

Michael Wright can be reached at mwright at dailychronicle.com<mailto:mwright at dailychronicle.com> or at 582-2638. Follow him on Twitter @mj_wright1.


Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS4555
Tallahassee, FL  32399
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us<mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us>
850.245.8759

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