The original deadline was March 31, 2011. EPA previously announced its intent to extend the deadline on March 1, 2011.
With this reporting deadline extension, the new deadline for registering with e-GGRT is August 1, 2011.
Following conversations with industry and others and in the interest of providing high quality data to the public this year, EPA is extending this year’s reporting deadline to September 30, 2011. This extension will allow EPA to further test the system that facilities will use to submit data and give industry the opportunity to test the tool, provide feedback, and have sufficient time to become familiar with the tool prior to reporting.
In addition to the nine rulemakings necessary to comply with congressional direction for the program, over the past two years EPA has established a public help center that operates through their website and has provided efficient mechanisms for stakeholders to get answers from EPA experts to detailed technical questions. EPA has also conducted training sessions with each affected sector and held hundreds of meetings with stakeholders across the country.
EPA’s GHG Reporting Program, launched in October 2009, requires the reporting of GHG data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. The data will help guide policy decisions and the development of future programs which the Agency might implement to reduce these emissions. It will also help industries and businesses find ways to be more efficient and save money.
How to Prepare for OSHA Adoption of the GHS for Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
It is expected that in August, OSHA will announce U.S. employers must begin to adopt the GHS.
This means that virtually every chemical label, MSDS (soon to be called “safety data sheet”), and written hazard communication plan must be revised to meet the new standard. Worker training must be updated so that workers can recognize and understand the symbols and pictograms on the new labels as well as the new hazard statements and precautions on SDSs.
Theses dramatic changes will also impact other OSHA standards such as Flammable and Combustible Liquids, Process Safety Management (PSM), Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER), Fire Prevention and Protection, Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories, and many of the chemical-specific OSHA standards such as the Lead Standard.
At this live webcast, you will learn:
- GHS standards OSHA is adopting
- How the new standards differ from current requirements
- How to implement the changes
- Expected timetable for GHS implementation
Cary, North Carolina 24-Hr and 40-Hr HAZWOPER Courses
Personnel who are expected to stop, contain, and clean up on-site releases are required to have 24 hours of initial training. Personnel who are involved in cleanups at waste sites—including Superfund sites, RCRA corrective action sites, or even voluntary cleanups involving hazardous substances—must have 40 hours of initial classroom instruction.
Satisfy your training requirements by attending a comprehensive class that provides in-depth instruction on how to perform emergency response activities. Topics include hazard recognition, spill control and containment, worker protection, and waste site activities such as site characterization, waste handling, and decontamination. You will have the opportunity to apply your training during a hands-on simulated incident response.
Advertising Opportunities Available
Environmental Resource Center is making a limited number of advertising positions available in the Environmental Tip of the Week™, the Safety Tip of the Week™, and the Reg of the Day™.
EPA Proposes First National Standard for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants
In response to a court deadline, the EPA has proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury, arsenic, and other toxic air pollution from power plants. The new proposed standards would also provide particular health benefits for children, preventing 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 11,000 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year. The proposed standards would also avert over 12,000 emergency room visits and hospital admissions and 850,000 fewer days of work missed due to illness.
According to EPA, this rule will provide employment for thousands, by supporting 31,000 short-term construction jobs and 9,000 long-term utility jobs.
“Today’s announcement is 20 years in the making, and is a significant milestone in the Clean Air Act’s already unprecedented record of ensuring our children are protected from the damaging effects of toxic air pollution,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “With the help of existing technologies, we will be able to take reasonable steps that will provide dramatic protections to our children and loved ones, preventing premature deaths, heart attacks, and asthma attacks.”
Toxic air pollutants like mercury from coal- and oil-fired power plants have been shown to cause neurological damage, including lower IQ, in children exposed in the womb and during early development. The standards also address emissions of other toxic metals linked with cancer such as arsenic, chromium and nickel. Mercury and many of the other toxic pollutants also damage the environment and pollute our nation’s lakes, streams, and fish. In addition, cutting these toxic pollutants also reduces fine particle pollution, which causes premature death, heart disease, workdays lost to illness, and asthma.
“The American Lung Association applauds the release of this sensible public health measure. When it becomes final, the cleanup rule that the EPA is putting forward today will save lives, protect the health of millions of Americans and finally bring about an action that is 20 years overdue. This must happen,” said Charles D. Connor, president and CEO of the American Lung Association.
Power plants are the largest remaining source of several toxic air pollutants—responsible for half of mercury and over half of acid gas emissions in the United States. In the power sector alone, coal-fired power plants are responsible for 99% of mercury emissions. Currently, more than half of all coal-fired power plants already deploy the widely available pollution control technologies that allow them to meet these important standards. Once final, these standards will ensure the remaining coal-fired plants, roughly 44%, take similar steps to decrease dangerous pollutants.
The updated standards will provide a first-ever level playing field for all power plants across the country, ensure that they play by the same rules, and provide more certainty to business. The proposed rule provides up to 4 years for facilities to meet the standards and, once fully implemented, will prevent 91% of mercury in coal from being released to the air.
More than 20 years ago, the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments mandated that EPA require control of toxic air pollutants including mercury. Since then, EPA has taken action to reduce mercury emissions from many high-emitting sources however; there is still no national standard for mercury emissions from power plants. This announcement arrived 11 years after EPA announced it would set such limits for power plants, and following a February, 2008 court decision that struck down the previous Administration’s mercury rule. In October, 2009, EPA entered into a consent decree that required a proposal to be signed by March 16, 2011, and a final rule to be completed by November, 2011.
The proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are in keeping with President Obama’s Executive Order on regulatory reform. They are based on the latest data and provide industry significant flexibility in implementation through a phased-in approach and use of already existing technologies.
The proposed standards also ensure that public health and economic benefits far outweigh costs of implementation. EPA estimates that for every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants, the American public and American businesses will see up to $13 in health and economic benefits. The total health and economic benefits of this standard are estimated to be as much as $140 billion annually.
Also in keeping with the President’s Executive Order, the proposed standard puts a premium on important input and feedback from stakeholders to inform any final standard. The public comment period, which will last sixty days from posting to the Federal Register, will allow stakeholders including the public, industry, and public health communities, to provide important input and feedback, ensuring that any final standard maximizes public health benefits while minimizing costs.
As part of the public comment process, EPA will also hold public hearings on this proposed rule. Additional details on these events will be announced at a future date.
West Virginian DEP Provides Information about WV Mercury Emissions
In its announcement regarding the proposal of new air standards for mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, the EPA stated that more than half of the coal-fired plants in the nation have already implemented control technologies that allow them to meet the standards.
The bar chart shows that from 2000 to 2009, coal-fired power plants in West Virginia reduced mercury emissions by about 4,500 lb, or 64%.
The WV Division of Air Quality expects to see additional reductions in the 2010 data once it is received due to control devices that were installed by coal-fired power plants last year.
According to the WVDEP, beyond the actions taken by coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions over the past several years, other factors that affected the trends in toxic air releases from 2000 through 2009 included variability in coal composition, increased awareness of reporting, and changing demands on power output.
Deferral of Application of PSD and Title V Programs to CO2 Emissions from Bioenergy and Other Biogenic Sources
EPA is planning to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to defer for a period of three (3) years the application of the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting requirements to CO2 emissions from boienergy and other biogenic sources. The Agency intends to use this time to seek independent scientific analysis of the complex issues pertinent to the climate impacts of these emissions and to develop a rulemaking on how these emissions should be treated and accounted for in CAA PSD and Title V permitting.
Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards
EPA is planning to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish new standards for light-duty vehicles and their fuels in order to reduce emissions of criteria and toxic pollutants and their impact on air quality and health.
This action will establish a comprehensive approach toward regulating motor vehicles for non-GHG pollutants, as requested by a May 2010 Presidential memorandum. In addition, the CAA requires EPA to consider whether there will be adverse air quality effects of the renewable fuel volumes required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to issue fuels standards to mitigate them; this rule will quantify the impacts of renewable fuels on air quality and health and its standards will help mitigate these impacts. The standards in this rule will lead to reductions in ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and mobile source air toxics.
Withdrawal of Federal Water Quality Criteria for Certain States Covered under EPA’s 1992 National Toxics Rule
The 1992 National Toxics Rule (NTR) promulgated for 14 States, the chemical-specific, numeric criteria for priority toxic pollutants necessary to bring all States into compliance with the requirements of section 303(c)(2)(B) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). States determined by EPA to fully comply with section 303(c)(2)(B) requirements were not affected by this rule. The rule addressed two situations.
For a few States, EPA promulgated a limited number of criteria which were previously identified as necessary in disapproval letters to such States, and which the State had failed to address. For other States, Federal criteria were necessary for all priority toxic pollutants for which EPA had issued section 304(a) water quality criteria guidance and that were not the subject of approved State criteria. As States adopt and EPA approves criteria for priority toxic pollutants, states may be removed from the NTR via a Federal Rule Withdrawal.
EPA is planning to propose an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to withdraw aquatic life cyanide (CN) criteria for San Francisco Bay and numerous numeric toxic criteria for New Jersey and Puerto Rico from the NTR. In 1992, the NTR promulgated these criteria for these States. In the case of California, the NTR promulgated CN criteria for San Francisco Bay. In 2008, California adopted site-specific CN criteria for San Francisco Bay and EPA Region 9 approved the criteria, subject to completion of the ESA consultation, pursuant to ESA section 7(d). In the cases of New Jersey and Puerto Rico, the NTR promulgated numerous numeric toxic criteria. In 2006, EPA Region 2 approved revisions to New Jersey’s water quality standards (WQS) which contained the toxic criteria being withdrawn from the NTR. Similarly, in 2010, EPA Region 2 approved revisions of numerous numeric toxic criteria in Puerto Rico’s WQS. The proposed federal regulation withdrawal will enable California, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico to implement the EPA-approved criteria in these instances.
Greener Process for Key Ingredient in Everything from Paint to Diapers
Scientists are reporting discovery of an environmentally friendly way to make a key industrial material—used in products ranging from paints to diapers—from a renewable raw material without touching the traditional pricey and increasingly scarce petroleum-based starting material.
Weijie Ji, Chak-Tong Au, and colleagues note that acrylic acid is essential for making paints, adhesives, textiles, leather treatments, and hundreds of other products. Global demand for the colorless liquid totals about 4 million tons annually. Acrylic acid is typically made from propylene obtained from petroleum. With prices rising, manufacturers have been seeking alternative ways of making acrylic acid without buying propylene. One possibility involves making it from lactic acid. But current processes for using lactic acid are inefficient, less selective, and require higher temperatures and the accompanying high inputs of energy.
The scientists’ potential solution is a new catalyst that can convert lactic acid into acrylic acid more efficiently. Lactic acid is a classic renewable starting material, produced by bacteria growing in vats of biomass such as glucose and starch from plants. In laboratory studies, the scientists showed that the new catalyst can convert lactic acid to acrylic acid more selectively at lower temperatures. This could mean better use of lactic acid, lower fuel consumption, and less impact on the environment, the scientists suggest.
New Jersey Challenges Rule Allowing 60 Year Storage of Spent Fuel Rods at Power Plants
The challenge, filed with the U.S. Appellate Court for the District of Columbia Circuit, contends the NRC acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner in developing the new 60-year rule, and failed to perform an environmental impact statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
“We are joining in this challenge because of the potential of significant public health and safety implications, and the potential impact on New Jersey’s environment,’’ said Commissioner Martin. “The failure of the NRC to conduct an adequate environmental impact statement is troubling. The federal government has an obligation to develop a permanent plan for nuclear waste storage, and cannot avoid an answer by extending the time that radioactive waste is allowed to remain on sites in New Jersey and across the nation. That is not acceptable.’’
New Jersey has four operating nuclear reactors that are affected by NRC rules: Oyster Creek in Lacey Township, Hope Creek in Lower Alloways Creek, and two units at the Salem Nuclear Generating Station, also in Lower Alloways Creek. The NRC’s 60-year rule would apply to radioactive waste stored at each of those plants after they close.
The DEP and the Exelon Corp., which owns and operates Oyster Creek, entered into an Administrative Consent Order agreement in December that calls for Oyster Creek to cease operations by the end of 2019, which is 10 years earlier than its NRC license permits operation. That agreement allows Exelon to store its spent nuclear fuel on site until the federal Department of Energy (DOE) accepts it for permanent storage at a geological repository.
The NRC, however, has provided no assurances that such a storage facility will be available. The federal government last year announced it was ending consideration of creating a spent nuclear fuel depository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
The NRC in 1990 initiated its Waste Confidence Rule, finding that spent fuel from nuclear power plants could be stored safely and without significant environmental impacts for at least 30 years beyond the licensed life of a nuclear power plant. The NRC has subsequently issued an expanded 60-year rule.
In February, New York, Vermont, and Connecticut filed a petition for review of the NRC rule. The Natural Resources Defense Council, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, Riverkeeper, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, sought to join that action.
Radiation Monitors Confirm that No Radiation Levels of Concern Have Yet Reached the United States
The United States Government has an extensive network of radiation monitors around the country and no radiation levels of concern have been detected. The EPA’s RadNet system is designed to protect the public by notifying scientists, in near real time, of elevated levels of radiation so they can determine whether protective action is required. The EPA’s system has not detected any radiation levels of concern.
In addition to EPA’s RadNet system, the U.S. DOE has radiation monitoring equipment at research facilities around the country, which have also not detected any radiation levels of concern.
As part of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s International Monitoring System (IMS), the DOE also maintains the capability to detect tiny quantities of radioisotopes that might indicate an underground nuclear test on the other side of the world. These detectors are extremely sensitive and can detect minute amounts of radioactive materials.
On March 18, one of these monitoring stations in Sacramento, California that feeds into the IMS detected miniscule quantities of the radioactive isotope xenon-133. The origin was determined to be consistent with a release from the Fukushima reactors in Northern Japan. The levels detected were approximately 0.1 disintegrations per second per cubic meter of air (0.1 Bq/m3), which results in a dose rate approximately one-millionth of the dose rate that a person normally receives from rocks, bricks, the sun and other natural background sources. This validates a similar reading of 0.1 Bq/m3, taken from March 16 through 17 in Washington State.
Xenon-133 is a radioactive noble gas produced during nuclear fission that poses no concern at the detected level.
These types of readings remain consistent with the expectations since the onset of this tragedy, and are to be expected in the coming days.
Following the explosion of the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine in 1986—the worst nuclear accident in world history—air monitoring in the United States also picked up trace amounts of radioactive particles, less than one thousandth of the estimated annual dose from natural sources for a typical person.
As part of the federal government’s continuing effort to make our activities and science transparent and available to the public, the EPA will continue to keep all RadNet data available in the current online database.
Facts about Nuclear Energy in Japan, the OECD and the World
DOE Seeks Input on Revisions to International Green Construction Code
The first edition of the IgCC is currently being developed by the International Code Council (ICC) for anticipated publication in 2012.
EERE will be holding a public meeting to present and solicit public comment on proposed changes on April 14, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Holiday Inn on 550 C Street SW in Washington, D.C.
Supermarket Chain Agrees to EPA Penalty to Settle Environmental Reporting Violations
DeMoulas Super Markets, Inc., has agreed to pay $33,736 to settle claims by the EPA that it failed to follow federal reporting requirements at its Market Basket perishables distribution warehouse in Andover, Masachusetts.
According to a complaint filed last month by EPA’s New England office, the company failed to submit a material safety data sheet for Genetron 22, or a list of chemicals including Genetron 22, a hazardous chemical, to the state emergency response commission, local emergency planning committee, and the local fire department with jurisdiction over the facility. Records indicated DeMoulas acquired the chemical on March 4, 2008. Genetron 22 is a chemical containing chlorodifluoromethane and is used to service refrigeration systems.
DeMoulas Super Markets, Inc., also failed to file required chemical inventory forms on March 1, 2008 for the calendar year 2007 for sulfuric acid, considered an extremely hazardous chemical, and for lead, gasoline, diesel fuel, and R507, all considered hazardous chemicals, according to EPA. Sulfuric acid is extremely corrosive and presents significant risks from contact, including lung damage from inhalation of vapors. Diesel fuel is a flammable liquid and vapor and poses health risks from contact, including skin irritation and lung damage. Lead presents a reactivity risk and a threat to response personnel from contact, including skin and lung contact.
Lack of chemical inventory forms can compromise proper emergency planning and response by state and local emergency officials. Failure to file these forms also deprives the community of its right to know about chemicals present in the neighborhood.
Chemical Distributor Agrees to Pay $164,000 for Clean Air and Right-to-Know Violations
A company that blends commercial alcohols and stores chemicals for sale and distribution in Brookfield, Conn., has agreed to pay $164,109 to settle claims it violated federal CAA requirements meant to prevent chemical releases as well as federal community right-to-know laws.
The discovery of violations at Pharmco and a few other chemical warehouses in New England has led to a broader effort to inspect and ensure compliance at warehouses storing chemicals. Pharmco is one of several chemical warehouses or distribution companies in New England that have been found violating environmental law, and more enforcement actions are expected.
Pharmco was cooperative at all stages of EPA’s investigation and enforcement. To address the violations, Pharmco has come into compliance and has put into place a sophisticated inventory management system that should help prevent Pharmco from exceeding the regulatory thresholds of chemicals that are subject to the RMP regulations. The improved inventory system should also help the company accurately report its chemicals to emergency responders and the public, in compliance with the federal right-to-know law.
The need for better inventory management has been one of the key lessons learned from EPA’s chemical warehouse inspections. Chemical inventories can shift on almost a daily basis at these facilities. Accurate inventory tracking is crucial for compliance.
By inspecting chemical warehouses across New England, EPA New England learned that there are several areas where improvement is needed almost across the board. Although the Pharmco facility seemed relatively safe, the lack of reporting was not safe, and there have been real safety deficits at other warehouses EPA New England inspected.
Other lessons learned include the following (many of which are not applicable to Pharmco’s facility): incompatible materials should be appropriately separated; buildings should be structurally sound for storing flammable chemicals and equipped with the proper fire protections; secondary containment systems, tanks, drums and containers holding chemicals should be in good repair; and companies storing and distributing large quantities of chemicals must coordinate well with local emergency responders.
City of Compton Fined $48,000 for Diesel Truck and Equipment Violations
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has fined the City of Compton $48,800 for a variety of infractions pertaining to its diesel fleet vehicles, including failing to properly maintain and self-inspect its diesel trucks and register construction equipment, as required by state law.
ARB investigators cited the city for failing to test and maintain records of smoke levels from its fleet of heavy-duty diesel vehicles for 2008 and 2009. The city was also faulted for not updating its trash trucks with diesel particulate filters and affixing proper labels according to a pre-set schedule. Finally, the city failed to register and attach mandatory labels to its off-road fleet including skiploaders, frontloaders and other vehicles commonly used in construction.
“Diesel exhaust is a serious threat to community health,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “Fleets of diesel equipment and vehicles must meet clean-air standards and requirements in order to legally operate in California.”
Of the $48,800 owed by the city, $36,600.00 will be paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund to support projects and research to improve California’s air quality, while $12,200.00 will go to the Peralta Community College District to fund emissions education classes conducted by participating California community colleges under the California Council for Diesel Education and Technology program.
Ryden added that the City has a checkered diesel vehicle maintenance and recordkeeping history dating back several years.
Under terms of the penalty, the City of Compton must:
- Ensure that staff responsible for compliance with the diesel truck emission inspection program attend diesel education courses and provide certificates of completion within one year,
- Instruct vehicle operators to comply with the state’s idling regulations,
- Ensure that trucks have the most recent engine-operating software installed to limit the amount of NOx (NOx, or oxides of nitrogen, is a primary ingredient of smog),
- Provide documentation to ARB that the inspections are being carried out for the next three years,
- Ensure that all 1974 and newer diesel-powered vehicles are up to federal emissions standards for the vehicle model year and are properly labeled with an engine certification label,
- Install the latest, most effective and available emissions control technologies as required on applicable diesel vehicles, and
- Install and register equipment identification numbers on applicable off-road diesel equipment.
Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and over 40 other known cancer-causing compounds. In 1998, California identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death and other health problems.
Darigold Lynden Plant Fined $14,000 for Water Quality Violations
A one-day series of water quality violations and hazardous waste discharges last year at the Darigold Inc., milk-processing plant in Lynden, Washington put the city’s wastewater treatment plant at risk and prompted the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to issue a $14,000 penalty. The City’s plant operated within its permit limits.
Darigold pre-treats milk-processing wastewater from the plant before discharging the water into Lynden’s sanitary sewer system, under an Ecology water quality permit. The pre-treatment, when properly operated, protects against harm to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which has an Ecology permit for discharges to the Nooksack River.
On May 25, 2010, a series of errors at the plant resulted in discharges that violated the permit’s pre-treatment standards and its prohibition against discharging hazardous waste. Darigold notified the city’s treatment plant, where operators then took steps that prevented a violation of the city’s permit standards for discharges into the Nooksack River.
“In following up on this day’s events, we found a sequence of problems that compounded each other,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, Ecology’s water quality manager for the Bellevue regional office. “These errors were preventable. While Darigold later took steps to prevent future similar failures, this was an unusually serious incident.”
Darigold cleans and sanitizes production equipment with strong caustic and acidic chemicals, as required by food safety regulations. The plant’s wastewater pre-treatment system neutralizes these chemicals.
The violations began in response to scorched milk, which occurs from time to time in the production process. The dark liquid and flakes of solid matter can interfere with Darigold’s pre-treatment system, so an operator manually diverts the wastewater flow to a holding tank for alternate disposal.
During such an incident on May 25, 2010, an operator diverted scorched milk wastewater to the designated tank, but was called away from the control station. The diversion bypassed an automatic overflow alarm, and, with the operator away, approximately 46,000 gallons of the wastewater discharged via a bypass into the city sanitary sewer system.
At the time, the wastewater contained a caustic cleaning solution. Darigold’s pre-treatment permit sets an upper pH limit of 11. (The pH scale measures a chemical’s caustic or acid content, where seven is the mid-point, zero is acid and 14 is caustic.) City treatment plant staff detected incoming wastewater at 12.9 pH. Also, federal regulations classify wastewater with a pH greater than 12.5 as hazardous waste.
Later in the day, a measurement of incoming wastewater at the city treatment plant gave a very acidic pH measurement of 1.9. Darigold’s pre-treatment permit sets a lower pH limit of 5.0. Federal regulations define wastewater with a pH of less than 2.0 as hazardous waste.
The pH levels in both releases posed a chemical burn risk to treatment plant operators, in addition to the potential to disrupt the city’s treatment process.
Darigold’s pre-treatment permit requires the plant to monitor its wastewater discharges. During the bypass, the wastewater flowed around the plant’s sampling equipment. This resulted in a violation of the monitoring requirement.
Darigold responded to the incident with new preventive measures, including computer system improvements to monitor and control flows during a manual scorched-milk diversion. The company also added alarms, visible on all control screens, to warn operators when the holding tank is nearly full, and to give real-time pH level alerts.
“We sincerely regret this incident and have taken the necessary steps to prevent a future similar failure,” says Steven Rowe, Darigold Senior Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs. “In the last several years the company has invested over $1.8 million to address wastewater upgrades at the Lynden facility. Darigold takes its responsibility for the protection of the environment, the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Nooksack River very seriously.”
Darigold may appeal the penalty to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board. The company’s Lynden plant has incurred five Ecology water quality penalties over the past ten years.
Washington Seeks Comments on Fee Change for Air Permits
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking comments on a proposal to raise fees to cover the full cost of services the agency provides for pre-construction air quality permits.
Under Washington’s CAA, businesses or other entities that want to build a new source of air pollution, or modify an existing source, must obtain an air quality permit before they can start construction. By law, Ecology’s Air Quality Program charges a fee for this permit work.
The state Legislature has eliminated general taxpayer funding support for that permit work. Lawmakers authorized Ecology to increase the fee that applicants pay to cover the full cost of reviewing and approving their pre-construction permits.
Ecology will accept public comments on the proposed fee change through April 15, 2011. The agency also will hold public hearings in April in Lacey, Ellensburg, and Spokane.
“Increasing this fee covers the current cost of doing business. It doesn’t expand the program or add new staff. We’re simply changing the fee structure to make sure the applicants receiving the services pay the full cost of those services without the need to dip into General Fund tax dollars,” said Stu Clark, Air Quality Program manager.
Here’s how you can submit written comments through April 15:
- Mail comments to Elena Guilfoil, Air Quality Program, Washington Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.
Ecology will hold three public hearings to take public comments:
- 7:00 p.m. April 5 at Ecology’s headquarters, 300 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey
- 6:30 p.m. April 6 at the Hal Holmes Center, 209 N. Ruby St., Ellensburg
- 6:30 p.m. April 7 at Ecology’s Eastern Regional Office, 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane
An open house will start one hour before each hearing. That will give people time to look over information and talk with staff before the formal events begin.
Ecology expects to adopt changes no earlier than May 23. The fee would not take effect before July 1.
This action fits exemption criteria in Gov. Chris Gregoire’s November 17, 2010, executive order, which suspended non-critical rule work until the end of 2011. The revised fee will address a budget issue and allow the permit program to continue operating without delays in permit approval.
Building Owner Pleads Guilty to Asbestos Violations
The owner of the Equitable Building in Des Moines, Iowa, pleaded guilty in federal court in Des Moines to conspiracy to violate the CAA and to violating the CAA’s work practice standards related to asbestos removal, the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa announced.
Bob Knapp, 61, of Des Moines, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James E. Gritzner to one count of conspiracy to violate the CAA and one count of failing to remove all regulated asbestos containing material from the Equitable Building before commencement of the renovation project that occurred at the building from 2005 until 2008.
The CAA requires that owners of public buildings that contain asbestos follow federally-established work practice standards to ensure the safe removal of the asbestos. The required standards include providing notice to the EPA before commencing asbestos removal, adequately wetting the asbestos during the removal and before disposal, and properly disposing of the asbestos at an EPA-approved disposal site.
According to a plea agreement filed with the court, from 2006 through February 2008, Mr. Knapp oversaw the renovation project which involved converting several floors in the Equitable Building into luxury residential condominium units, and renovating other floors to attract additional commercial tenants.
Mr. Knapp admitted that he conspired with Russell Coco, who was also charged and pleaded guilty to the same counts on February 15, 2011, to remove asbestos containing materials from the Equitable Building without complying with the requirements of the CAA. While Mr. Knapp was overseeing the project, asbestos containing material was removed from the building and disposed of in an uncovered dumpster.
According to the plea agreement, Mr. Knapp has agreed that the characteristics of his offenses put his potential prison sentence in the 33 to 41 month range, and under the law, he may be subject to a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing date has been set for June 10, 2011.
The investigation was conducted by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa together with the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Consol Energy to Pay $5.5 Million Penalty and Install Wastewater Treatment Plant to Settle Clean Water Act Violations
The U.S. Department of Justice, EPA and the state of West Virginia announced that Consol Energy Inc., the largest producer of coal from underground mines in the United States, has agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty for CWA violations at six of its mines in West Virginia. In addition to the penalty, Consol will spend an estimated $200 million in pollution controls that will reduce discharges of harmful mining wastewater into Appalachian streams and rivers.
“In this settlement, Consol takes responsibility for its past failures to abide by the terms of its Clean Water Act permits,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “As a result of this enforcement action, Consol will install a state-of-the-art system to treat wastewater from multiple mines that will set the standard for the responsible management of discharges from underground mining operations in Appalachia. This settlement will ensure protection of human health and the environment for the benefit of the people who live in Appalachia.”
“Complying with the Clean Water Act is a critical responsibility of those who operate mines near our nation’s treasured rivers, lakes and streams,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The state-of the-art technology required by today’s settlement is an important step forward in protecting local waterways and the health of communities in Appalachia.”
“We are committed to cleaning up the waters of Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela watershed and holding those who pollute it accountable,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “The centerpiece of this settlement—a new advanced wastewater treatment plant—will substantially reduce pollution by keeping nearly 100 million lb of total dissolved solids, including chloride, from reaching these waterways each year.”
“This agreement between the state, the federal government and industry will create a complex waste water treatment facility that will significantly improve the water quality in the Monongahela watershed, and implement measures that will have positive effects on streams along the Ohio River, while allowing the mineral extraction industry to continue to have a positive economic impact in the region,” said Scott Mandirola, director of the Division of Water and Waste Management for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“Addressing the serious issues that affect our environment, by measures such as this one, will not only promote a healthier society and enhance our safety, but as recent studies are reporting, the expected investments in technology and alternative production methods may actually result in the creation of jobs,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II. “It is my sincere hope that this settlement will send a strong message that the federal government is serious about protecting the health of its citizens and ensuring that its laws are followed during the process of energy extraction.”
Consol has agreed to build and operate an advanced wastewater treatment plant using reverse osmosis technology near Mannington, West Virginia, to remove high levels of chloride from mining wastewater. When completed, the plant will be the largest such treatment plant in Appalachia and capable of treating 3,500 gallons of mine water per minute, substantially reducing chloride and other salts in mining waters discharged to streams. This treatment will eliminate over 96 million lb of total dissolved solids, including over 11 million lb of chloride. High levels of chloride and dissolved solids can harm aquatic life, clog irrigation devices and carry toxic chemicals that impact drinking water.
The U.S. complaint filed concurrently with the settlement agreement alleges that six Consol mines violated pollution discharge limits in their CWA permits hundreds of times over the last four years. The complaint alleges chronic exceedances of chloride discharge limits at the Blacksville No. 2, Loveridge, Robinson Run and Four States mines in the Monongahela watershed and the Shoemaker and Windsor mines discharging into tributaries of the Ohio River.
The complaint also alleges that discharges of high amounts of chloride and total dissolved solids from Consol’s facilities at Blacksville No. 2 and Loveridge contributed to severe impairment of aquatic life and conditions favorable for golden algae to thrive in Dunkard Creek. In September 2009, a species of golden algae bloomed in Dunkard Creek, killing thousands of fish, mussels, and amphibians.
TVA to Pay $450,000 Civil Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations
The EPA has entered into a consent agreement and final order with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that resolves EPA’s allegations that TVA has violated the CAA at the Widows Creek Power Plant in Stevenson, Alabama. TVA has fully cooperated with EPA throughout the enforcement proceedings and has agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to resolve the violations.
As part of the settlement, TVA voluntarily agreed to retired 931 sulfur dioxide (SO2) allowances and 13 nitrogen oxide (NOx) allowances under EPA’s NOx cap and trade and Acid Rain cap and trade programs. This will result in the elimination of 931 tons of SO2 and 13 tons of NOx emissions to the atmosphere that would otherwise be permissible.
The alleged violations resulted from ongoing and pervasive duct leaks from Unit 7 at the Widows Creek Plant that were not adequately repaired and that allowed SO2 and NOx to escape into the atmosphere from 2002 through 2005. The alleged violations include:
- Failure to Maintain Pollution Control Devices as Required by Permit,
- Failure to Report Non-Compliance with the Acid Rain Program as part of the required Title V Annual Certifications in 2004-2005.
High concentrations of SO2 and NOx, two key pollutants emitted from coal fired utility units, can have adverse impacts on human health, and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog, and haze.
The Acid Rain Program was established under the 1990 CAA Amendments and requires significant emission reductions of SO2 and NOx from the electric power industry. The Acid Rain program sets a permanent cap on the total amount of SO2 that may be emitted by electric generating units in the United States, and includes provisions for trading and banking emission allowances. The program is phased in, with last year phasing in the final 2010 SO2 cap set at 8.95 million tons, a level of about one-half of the emissions from the power sector in 1980.
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Trivia Question of the Week
Under the Globally Harmonized System for labeling hazardous chemicals, the label for chronic hazards is a diamond containing what appears to be which of the following?
a. An exclamation point
b. A man with a starfish on his chest
c. A bold letter X
d. A smiling skull and cross bones