EPA has announced it is lifting the Administrative Stay of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide (CAS No. 7783-06-4). However, on August 22, 1994, EPA issued an Administrative Stay of the reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide in order to evaluate issues brought to the Agency’s attention after promulgation of the final rule concerning the human health effect basis for the listing and the Agency’s use of exposure analysis in EPCRA Section 313 listing decisions. Although the final rule listing hydrogen sulfide under section 313 of EPCRA remained in force, the stay deferred the reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide while EPA completed this further evaluation.
EPA completed its further evaluation of additional information that has become available since the stay was put in place regarding the human health and environmental effects of hydrogen sulfide, and the Agency published a position that the stay should be lifted in the February 26, 2010, Federal Register document, “Intent to Consider Lifting Administrative Stay; Opportunity for Public Comment.” Based on EPA’s further evaluation and the consideration of the public comments received on the notice of intent, EPA continues to believe that the Administrative Stay should be lifted.
With this current action, EPA is not revisiting the original listing decision, which was accomplished by final rule on December 1, 1993. Rather, EPA is lifting the Administrative Stay of the reporting requirements for hydrogen sulfide.
Mobile RCRA and DOT Training
Williamsburg RCRA and DOT Training
Orlando RCRA and DOT Training
Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing HAZWOPER, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
How to Author GHS Safety Data Sheets
OSHA is adopting the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. A cornerstone of GHS is the adoption of a completely revised Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
- November 3, 2011
- November 18, 2011
- December 15, 2011
How to Label Hazardous Chemicals Using OSHA’s New GHS Hazcom Standard
Workplace and supplier hazard communication labels are being reinvented as OSHA adopts the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for labeling hazardous chemicals.
- November 4, 2011
- December 16, 2011
EPA Marks 25th Anniversary of EPCRA
“This law is important to safeguarding our communities from chemical emergencies,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Twenty-five years after EPCRA was made into law, EPA continues to improve and advance our community right-to-know programs, so that we can ensure the best possible chemical safety protection for every community across the country.”
Public demand for information about chemical releases skyrocketed in the mid-1980s after a deadly cloud of highly toxic pesticide killed thousands of people in Bhopal, India. Shortly thereafter, a serious chemical release at a plant in West Virginia hospitalized 100 people. These events led to the implementation of EPCRA in 1986.
Under EPCRA, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) collects information on toxic releases through the Toxic Release Inventory program (TRI), a public database containing information regarding the industrial releases of over 600 toxic chemicals from more than 20,000 facilities throughout the nation. TRI was the first publicly available database in the world that contained information on pollutant releases. Many other countries have since followed EPA’s lead, recognizing the value of making toxic chemical data readily available to the public. TRI information enables every American to make informed decisions on the consequences of toxic releases and empowers communities to take action.
EPCRA has made the lives of every American safer from toxic emergencies by establishing emergency planning groups at the state, tribal, and local levels. EPCRA brings together emergency responders from fire and police departments, medical personnel, emergency planners, elected officials, environmental group representatives, and local citizens to develop plans to respond to chemical emergencies.
EPA Extends Farm Compliance Date for SPCC Requirements
For the purposes of SPCC, a farm is defined as a facility on a tract of land devoted to the production of crops or raising of animals, including fish, which produced and sold, or normally would have produced and sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during a year ). EPA is not extending the compliance date for any other facilities as other facilities are not season-dependent and are less likely to be impacted by severe weather conditions.
This rule is effective on November 7, 2011, without further notice, unless EPA receives adverse comments by November 2, 2011.
California Air Resources Board Announces Adoption of Key Element of State Climate Plan
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has announced the adoption of a final cap-and-trade regulation, putting into place another key element of the state’s pioneering climate plan.
The cap-and-trade program will join a suite of other major measures including standards for ultra-clean cars, low-carbon fuels, and renewable electricity. The program also complements and supports California’s existing efforts to reduce smog-forming and toxic air pollutants and improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses.
“Cap-and-trade is another important building block in California’s effort to create a clean and vibrant economy,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “It sends the right policy signal to the market, and guarantees that California will continue to attract the lion’s share of investment in clean technology. When the nation addresses the growing danger of climate change, as I believe it must and will, California’s climate plan will serve as the model for a national program.”
The Board also approved an adaptive management plan to closely monitor the effect of the program on localized air quality and forests, in particular.
The regulation sets a statewide limit on sources responsible for 85% of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and establishes a price signal needed to drive long-term investment in cleaner fuels and more efficient use of energy. The program is designed to provide covered entities the flexibility to seek out and implement the lowest-cost options to reduce emissions.
The regulation will cover 360 businesses representing 600 facilities and is divided into two phases: the first, beginning in 2013, will include all major industrial sources along with electricity utilities; the second, starting in 2015, brings in distributors of transportation fuels, natural gas, and other fuels.
Companies are not given a specific limit on their GHG emissions but must supply a sufficient number of allowances (each the equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide) to cover their annual emissions. As the cap declines each year, the total number of allowances issued in the state drops, requiring companies to find the most cost-effective and efficient approaches to reducing their emissions. The first compliance year when covered sources will have to turn in allowances is 2013.
By 2020 the state will reach the equivalent of the 1990-level of GHG emissions, as required under AB 32, California’s climate change legislation. This is a 15% reduction compared to what the emissions would be in 2020 without any programs in place—the so-called ‘business-as-usual’ level.
To ensure a gradual transition, ARB will provide the majority of allowances to all industrial sources during the initial period (2013-2014), using a calculation that rewards the most efficient companies. Those that need additional allowances to cover their emissions can purchase them at regular quarterly auctions ARB will conduct, or buy them on the market. The first auctions of allowances (for 2013 allowances) are slated for August and November 2012.
Electric utilities will also be given allowances to be sold at auction for the benefit of their ratepayers and to help achieve AB 32 goals.
Up to 8% of a company’s emissions can be covered using credits from ARB-certified offset projects, promoting the development of beneficial environmental projects in uncapped sectors such as forestry and agriculture. Included in the regulation are four protocols, or systems of rules, for quantifying offset credits: in forestry management; urban forestry; dairy methane digesters; and, the destruction of existing stores of ozone-depleting substances in the US (mostly in the form of refrigerants in older refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment).
The regulation includes rigorous oversight and enforcement provisions, and is designed so that California may link up with programs in other states or provinces within the Western Climate Initiative, including British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
The regulation has been in development for the past three years. ARB staff held dozens of public workshops on every aspect of the cap-and-trade program design, and hundreds of meetings with stakeholders. ARB staff also benefited from the analysis of a blue ribbon committee of economic advisers, consultation with world-renowned institutions that specialize in climate issues, and advice from experts with experience from other cap-and-trade programs elsewhere in the world.
Electronic Permit Applications Offer Benefits for Business Owners
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) is encouraging business owners to participate in its new process that allows certain permit applications to be submitted electronically. This new process allows business owners, who are seeking to obtain permit coverage under an NPDES Construction General Permit, to file an electronic notice of intent (e-NOI) which offers benefits to both ADEM and business owners.
Participation in the e-NOI process allows business owners to receive electronic confirmation when their permit application has been received, when their fee payment has been processed, and when their coverage under the NPDES Construction General Permit has been granted. These features save time, as well as money, for business owners and can result in more efficient operations.
The e-NOI process also enhances efficiencies within ADEM and allows its staff to operate more efficiently during its processing of permit applications. “All agencies within government are being required to maintain the same level of service while utilizing fewer resources,” said ADEM Director Lance LeFleur. “ADEM is no exception to this fact and the e-NOI process allows us to provide the same level of service with fewer resources and without compromising the quality of our permit reviews.”
The e-NOI process is currently only available for business owners seeking coverage under the NPDES Construction General Permit. However, an e-NOI system is also being developed for multiple NPDES Industrial General Permits.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. to Pay $300,000 Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., (BIV), has agreed to pay a $300,000 civil penalty to the US to settle a series of alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) at its veterinary health products facility in St. Joseph, Missouri.
According to a civil complaint filed in US District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, BIV’s St. Joseph plant allegedly violated sections of the CAA that relate to industrial refrigerant repair, testing, recordkeeping, and reporting, and which are designed to regulate the amount of ozone-depleting substances that are used and released into the environment.
In a civil consent decree lodged recently with the court, BIV has agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty in settlement of the violations, and perform a series of injunctive relief actions at its St. Joseph facility. Those relief actions include conducting a one-time analysis of leaks occurring during the 2011 calendar year for all industrial process equipment and other appliances at the St. Joseph facility, and implementing training sessions and specific course content related to the service and repair of equipment that contains refrigerants.
Additionally, as part of the settlement, BIV has agreed to perform a supplemental environmental project, through which it will spend a minimum of $600,000 to replace refrigeration equipment at its Fort Dodge, Iowa, facility, switching older equipment that uses ozone-depleting substances for new units that do not use ozone-depleting substances.
According to the complaint, EPA issued an information request to BIV in March 2005, seeking information about the condition of cooling systems at the St. Joseph facility, the services performed on appliances at the facility, and the amounts of refrigerant that it used. The complaint alleges that BIV’s response to the information request was not complete and accurate because it failed to report the true amount of refrigerant purchased by the facility, and failed to list all suppliers of refrigerant to the facility.
The complaint further alleges that the St. Joseph facility’s annualized leak rates of one or more of its industrial refrigeration systems exceeded 35% on one or more occasions during a five-year period. It also alleges BIV failed to perform leak testing and follow-up verification tests, failed to develop retrofit or retirement plans for leaking equipment, failed to complete retrofit or replacement of leaking equipment, and failed to maintain proper service and maintenance records for its equipment.
Leaks and releases of certain types of industrial refrigerants into the atmosphere can result in the destruction of naturally-occurring stratospheric ozone, which filters the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. A diminished ozone layer allows more radiation to reach the Earth’s surface. For people, overexposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancer, cataracts, and weakened immune systems. Increased UV can also lead to reduced crop yield and disruptions in the marine food chain.
Judge Sentences Louisiana Man to Jail for Environmental Crimes
The Honorable Judge Thomas F. Fuselier of the 13th Judicial District Court in Ville Platte, Louisiana, has sentenced Joseph L. Jones, of St. Landry Parish, to 36 months imprisonment, a fine of $80,000, and five years of supervised probation after his release from jail stemming from his conviction on multiple violations of the Louisiana Water Control Law. Plaisance Development Corporation was sentenced to a $150,000 fine and 5 years of supervised probation. As a result, Jones cannot be associated with wastewater treatment operations in his employment ever again.
In September, an Evangeline Parish jury convicted Jones on 15 of 15 felony counts along with his company, Plaisance Development Corporation, on 15 of 15 felony counts for knowing violations of the Louisiana Water Control Law. Jones is the president and chairman of the board of Plaisance Development Corporation, a sewage treatment company responsible for operating and maintaining six sewage treatment facilities servicing residential subdivisions throughout Evangeline Parish.
In February 2010, Jones was arrested by Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality investigators and charged with knowing violations of Plaisance Development Corporation’s Louisiana Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits by not taking water samples or submitting water discharge monitoring results, causing or allowing unpermitted water discharges, and failing to provide proper operation and maintenance for the six facilities.
Jones was allowed to remain free on bond pending his appeal. Jones and Plaisance Development Corporation face similar charges for sewage treatment facilities in St. Landry Parish. Trial in St. Landry Parish is set for December 2011.
A.A. Sydcol LLC to Pay $30,000 Penalty to Resolve Hazardous Waste Violations
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced that A.A. Sydcol, LLC, of Yuma, Arizona, has agreed to pay a $30,000 penalty for hazardous waste violations at its waste management plant in Yuma County.
The Sydcol facility serves as a transfer facility for waste from off-site generators and its services include recycling and consolidation of waste before it is transported by another company to landfills in the area.
During an inspection of the facility by ADEQ’s Hazardous Waste Inspections and Compliance Unit in September 2007, compliance officers noticed a strong odor of solvents coming from 85 55-gallon drums of waste paint, some of which were open, on a loading dock.
A company employee then poured the material from part of several drums into an open metal pan and lit it on fire with matches, a test he referred to as the “open flame ignitability” test. The recommended way to conduct the test is to send a sample to a State of Arizona certified laboratory for a flash-point determination or an equivalent test method approved by ADEQ.
Solid waste that is ignitable is a type of regulated hazardous waste which Sydcol cannot legally possess or send to a solid waste landfill for disposal.
A.A. Sydcol, LLC, was issued a notice of violation in February 2008 for failure to perform a proper waste determination, failure to follow preparedness and prevention requirements, and failure to properly manifest hazardous waste.
“In addition to these serious violations, the company employee put himself, co-workers and ADEQ inspectors at risk by striking a match in that environment,” ADEQ Director Henry Darwin said.
“Arizona companies must comply with the requirements that guide hazardous waste handling and disposal,” said Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne.
Charles River Pollution Control District Pays Penalty for Clean Water Violations
In March, EPA’s New England office filed a Complaint against the Charles River Pollution Control District, which operates a wastewater treatment facility in Medway, Massachusetts, alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharging phosphorus and suspended solids into the Charles River at levels above those allowed by its federal permit. The wastewater treatment facility serves the towns of Franklin, Medway, Bellingham, and Millis, Massachusetts. Its discharges into the Charles River ultimately flow into Boston Harbor and are regulated by a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit.
In a compliance order issued along with the Complaint, the District was also ordered to provide EPA with an engineering evaluation explaining how it would improve its operation in order to comply with its permit limits.
EPA alleged that over the last five years, the District has routinely violated its warm-weather total phosphorus monthly average concentration limit, which is in effect from April 1 through October 31 each year. According to the Complaint, operational deficiencies contributed to the District’s failure to comply consistently with its phosphorus limit. The District also routinely violated its monthly limits for total suspended solids, which include all particles suspended in water which will not pass through a filter.
Since being notified of EPA’s concerns and the formal Complaint, the District has been cooperative with EPA and expressed its intention to comply with permit requirements.
In addition to paying a $16,500 penalty, the District will spend $60,000 towards Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure stormwater improvements in Franklin, Massachusetts, which will include removing 2,000 square feet of impervious surface and installing a rain garden to improve the removal of solids and phosphorus and to provide an area for infiltration of stormwater. The project will also include installation of three deep sump catch basins and a Hydrodynamic Separator to further remove solids from stormwater in this area. It is estimated that these improvements will remove 5,740 lb/year of total suspended solids, 11 lb/year of phosphorus, and 64.5 lb/year of nitrogen.
The Charles River suffers from excess phosphorus levels from sources such as stormwater runoff and wastewater treatment plant discharges, as well as from discharges from the overflow of sewage pipes. With too much phosphorus in the water, algae, photosynthetic cyanobacteria, and aquatic weeds can now grow in abundance, altering the natural balance of the aquatic ecosystem.
For the past several years, in work unrelated to this Complaint, EPA has been working closely with the communities of Franklin, Bellingham, and Milford to design and implement pilot municipal programs to reduce high phosphorus levels in stormwater runoff.
Da Yang Seafoods Fined for Failing to Track Ozone-depleting Refrigerants
Da Yang Seafoods, in Astoria, Oregon, serviced their blast freezer at least 22 times and failed to properly document the dates of service from July 2006 through August 2007. Keeping detailed records, including properly documenting the date of maintenance and service, helps identify leaks or other releases of HCFCs into the environment. EPA has fined the company nearly $27,000 for the violations.
“Every pound of refrigerant that enters the environment is a blow to the Earth’s protective ozone layer,” said Edward Kowalski, EPA’s Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle. “Proper recordkeeping and conscientious management practices are critical to preventing releases of HCFCs into the environment.”
Federal laws regulating ozone-depleting substances protect people’s health and the environment by reducing emissions of HCFCs into the atmosphere. The stratospheric ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. When HCFCs are released into the air, they damage the stratospheric ozone layer and allow harmful UV radiation to reach the Earth. Overexposure to UV radiation can cause skin cancer, cataract formation, and damage to crops.
Da Yang has recently taken additional steps to improve their refrigeration maintenance program. They have purchased certified refrigerant recovery equipment and have trained two employees as certified refrigerant technicians.
Tradesmen International Inc. to Pay Ohio EPA Penalty for Wastewater Discharge Permit Violations
In a negotiated settlement with Ohio EPA, Tradesmen International, Inc., will pay a $14,370 penalty for past wastewater discharge permit violations at its facility located at 9760 Shepard Road in Macedonia, Ohio. The violations occurred between 2003 and 2010 and involved the facility’s on-site sewage treatment plant. Earlier this year, Tradesmen International decommissioned the poorly functioning plant and connected to the city of Twinsburg’s sanitary sewer system.
While the on-site system was operating, it repeatedly failed to meet permitted effluent limits for nitrogen, ammonia, total suspended solids, fecal coliform, and other parameters. In an effort to correct the compliance issues, Ohio EPA issued repeated Notice of Violation letters between 2005 and 2010. The company was cited for discharging pollutants to waters of the state and operating the system without a valid, unexpired permit.
Improperly treated sewage often contains high levels of bacteria and can pose a risk to human health and the environment when discharged. Unauthorized discharges also violate the CWA.
The civil penalty will help fund Ohio EPA’s water pollution control efforts, environmental education programs, and clean diesel school bus program.
Northeast States Partner to Promote Use of Electric Vehicles
A partnership of Northeast states and jurisdictions has just finalized an agreement to develop an electric vehicle network to promote and support energy-efficient transportation in the region—and a newly-announced grant of nearly $1 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) will kick start the new network’s first project.
The Northeast Electric Vehicle Network agreement involves the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Through the agreement, the partnership is committed to boosting economic growth, maintaining the region’s leadership role in the clean energy economy and reducing GHG emissions and dependence on oil by planning transportation infrastructure to support vehicles using fuel sources such as electric, biofuels, and natural gas.
The agreement was forged by the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), a consortium including the 10 states and the District of Columbia that formed in 2010 with the goal of developing clean-energy transportation-related projects. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) was awarded the $994,500 DOE grant in partnership with TCI, and 16 Clean Cities Coalitions, which are DOE-chartered local organizations that promote alternative fuel vehicles.
The network agreement will encourage the use of electric vehicles (EVs) through a variety of means: identifying obstacles to deployment, developing guidelines to locate reliable, convenient charging stations, and creating permitting and zoning language that can be adopted by local governments to make installation of charging stations easier. Work will also include training key stakeholders and promoting public awareness of the benefits of EVs.
The DOE Electric Vehicle Readiness Grant will be used to develop a plan to accelerate the introduction of a network of EV charging stations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions to ensure that travelers can drive electric vehicles with ease locally and region-wide, from northern New England to the District of Columbia. The grant project also seeks to attract private investment and encourage development of an EV market, both for consumers by making the EV experience common, standardized and easy to use, and for the EV industry by simplifying local regulations, building codes, and permitting processes.
The Transportation and Climate Initiative is a collaboration between 35 transportation, energy, and environmental agencies. The Northeast Electric Vehicle Network represents one of several regional projects TCI has launched. Other work includes efforts to improve the efficiency of freight movement throughout the region, expand the use of innovative information and communication technologies in the transportation sector, facilitate a range of alternative fuels and vehicles, and implement the recently announced regional agreement by TCI states to work together to build more sustainable communities.
Home Washing Machines Source of Potentially Harmful Ocean Microplastic Pollution
Scientists are reporting that household washing machines seem to be a major source of microplastic pollution—bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin—that they now have detected on ocean shorelines worldwide.
Mark Browne and colleagues explain that the accumulation of microplastic debris in marine environments has raised health and safety concerns. The bits of plastic contain potentially harmful ingredients which go into the bodies of animals and could be transferred to people who consume fish. Ingested microplastic can transfer and persist into their cells for months. How big is the problem of microplastic contamination? Where are these materials coming from? To answer those questions, the scientists looked for microplastic contamination along 18 coasts around the world and did some detective work to track down a likely source of this contamination.
They found more microplastic on shores in densely populated areas, and identified an important source—wastewater from household washing machines. They point out that more than 1,900 fibers can rinse off of a single garment during a wash cycle, and these fibers look just like the microplastic debris on shorelines. The problem, they say, is likely to intensify in the future, and the report suggests solutions: “Designers of clothing and washing machines should consider the need to reduce the release of fibers into wastewater and research is needed to develop methods for removing microplastic from sewage.”
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Trivia Question of the Week
According to the National Solar Jobs Census 2011, how many solar-related jobs are there in all 50 states?
a. 25,110
b. 51,300
c. 100,237
d. 425,999
