When visiting the website, users can click on any state for a list of EISs, including information about the potential environmental, social, and economic impacts of these projects.
For proposed projects with potentially significant impacts, federal agencies prepare a detailed EIS, which is filed with EPA and made available for public review and comment. EPA is required to review and comment on EISs prepared by other federal agencies.
“This interactive tool makes it easier for the public to be informed about the environment around them,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, which oversees NEPA compliance. “Major projects and decisions have the potential to affect the environment where you work and live. I encourage everyone to check out the tool, stay informed, and lend your voice.”
The user can click on a state in the map and is provided with comment letters submitted by the EPA on EISs within the last 60 days. The tool also provides users with the information they need to identify projects with open comment periods, including how to submit comments.
The tool supports EPA’s commitment to utilize advanced information technologies that help increase transparency of its enforcement and compliance programs. EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has recently launched the “Next Generation Compliance” initiative, designed to modernize its approach and drive improved compliance to reduce pollution.
Columbus RCRA and DOT Training
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Cary HAZWOPER, RCRA, DOT, and OSHA GHS Training
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard
OSHA has issued a final rule revising its Hazard Communication Standard, aligning it with the United Nations’ globally harmonized system (GHS) for the classification and labeling of hazardous chemicals. This means that virtually every product label, material safety data sheet (now called “safety data sheet” or SDS), 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.
Environmental Resource Center is offering live online training for you to learn how the new rule differs from current requirements, how to implement the changes, and when the changes must be implemented.
Evidence of Human-Caused Climate Change in Extreme Weather and Climate Events
Overall, 18 different research teams from around the world contributed to the peer-reviewed report that examined the causes of 12 extreme events that occurred on five continents and in the Arctic during 2012. Scientists from NOAA served as three of the four lead editors on the report.
The report shows that the effects of natural weather and climate fluctuations played a key role in the intensity and evolution of the 2012 extreme events. However, in some events, the analyses revealed compelling evidence that human-caused climate change, through the emission of heat-trapping gases, also contributed to the extreme event.
“Nonetheless, determining the causes of extreme events remains challenging.”
In addition to investigating the causes of these extreme events, the multiple analyses of four of the events—the warm temperatures in the US, the record-low levels of Arctic sea ice, and the heavy rain in both northern Europe and eastern Australia—allowed the scientists to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of their various methods of analysis. Despite their different strategies, there was considerable agreement between the assessments of the same events.
Thomas Peterson, Ph.D., principal scientist at NOAA’s NCDC and one of the lead editors on the report, said, “Scientists around the world assessed a wide variety of potential contributing factors to these major extreme events that, in many cases, had large impacts on society. Understanding the range of influences on extreme events helps us to better understand how and why extremes are changing.”
Key findings include:
Heat Wave and Drought in the US
- Human-induced climate change had little impact on the lack of precipitation in the central US in 2012.
- The 2012 spring and summer heat waves in the US can be mainly explained by natural atmospheric dynamics, however, human-induced climate change was found to be a factor in the magnitude of warmth and was found to have affected the likelihood of such heat waves. For example:
- High temperatures, such as those experienced in the US in 2012 are now likely to occur four times as frequently due to human-induced climate change.
- pproximately 35% of the extreme warmth experienced in the eastern US between March and May 2012 can be attributed to human-induced climate change.
Hurricane Sandy Inundation Probability
- The record-setting impacts of Sandy were largely attributable to the massive storm surge and resulting inundation from the onshore-directed storm path coincident with high tide. However, climate-change related increases in sea level have nearly doubled today’s annual probability of a Sandy-level flood recurrence as compared to 1950. Ongoing natural and human-induced forcing of sea level ensures that Sandy-level inundation events will occur more frequently in the future from storms with less intensity and lower storm surge than Sandy.
Arctic Sea Ice
- The extremely low Arctic sea ice extent in summer 2012 resulted primarily from the melting of younger, thin ice from a warmed atmosphere and ocean. This event cannot be explained by natural variability alone. Summer Arctic sea ice extent will continue to decrease in the future, and is expected to be largely absent by mid-century.
Global Rainfall Events
- The unusually high amount of summer rainfall in the United Kingdom in 2012 was largely the result of natural variability. However, there is evidence that rainfall totals are influenced by increases in sea surface temperature and atmospheric moisture which may be linked to human influences on climate.
- The magnitude of the extreme rainfall experienced over southeastern Australia between October 2011 and March 2012 was mainly associated with La Ni?a conditions. However, the likelihood of above-average precipitation during March was found to have increased by 5%–15% because of human influences on the climate.
- Extreme rainfall events such as the December 2011 two-day rainfall in Golden Bay, New Zealand, are more likely to occur due to a 1%
- 5% increase in available moisture resulting from increased levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.
- The July 2012 extreme rainfall events in North China and southwestern Japan were mainly due to natural variability.
The report was edited by Peterson, along with Martin P. Hoerling of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory, Peter A. Stott of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre, and Stephanie C. Herring of NCDC, and was written by 78 scientists from 11 countries.
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee Holds Emergency Meeting
The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) met in an emergency session recently to begin consideration of additional regulatory or other safety measures following the derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada earlier this summer.
“Safety is our top priority,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “While 2012 was the safest year in rail history, we are constantly reviewing our work to ensure the public’s safety on our nation’s rails and value the important input we are receiving from industry stakeholders.”
The RSAC is a technical and policy stakeholder advisory group that makes recommendations to the FRA on rail safety issues, and includes representatives from every facet of the rail industry.
EO 28 is a mandatory directive to railroads requiring them to undertake a number of immediate actions to ensure that trains transporting hazardous materials (hazmat) are secured and not left unattended. The directive also includes communication requirements. Failure to comply with the emergency order requirements will result in enforcement action.
The safety advisory contains recommendations issued jointly by FRA and DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to railroads and hazmat shippers, including requiring railroads to review their crew staffing requirements for transporting hazardous material, conduct system-wide evaluations to identify hazards that may make it more difficult to secure a train or pose other safety risks, and develop procedures to reduce those risks. The advisory served as the agenda for the recent meeting. The implications as well as potential costs and benefits of new or expanded safety requirements and initiatives, including possible new RSAC tasks to implement them, were also discussed.
“Today’s meeting brings together some of the best and brightest minds our industry has to offer in order to tackle issues of paramount importance,” said FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “The dialogue will serve to build upon the comprehensive regulatory framework we already have in place, and allow us to further enhance safety by eliminating additional risk from the railroad system.”
During the meeting, RSAC members voted to accept four task statements on: appropriate train crew size; requirements for the securement of trains; operational testing for employees to ensure appropriate processes and procedures for securing trains are followed; and hazardous materials issues relating to the identification, classification, operational control, and handling of such shipments in transportation. The RSAC will now establish working groups with the necessary expertise to examine each task, gather relevant facts, and develop a range of options. The recommendations of those working groups will be presented to the RSAC by April 2014.
“As greater quantities of hazmat are transported by rail and other modes, the risks increase and we have to make sure our regulations are keeping pace with market and technology forces,” said PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman. “We have to work together to identify gaps, be willing to acknowledge them and close them.”
Under current US DOT regulations, freight railroads are required to undertake safety and security risk assessments and implement procedures in order to transport certain hazardous materials, including creating a plan to prevent unauthorized access to rail yards, facilities, and trains carrying hazardous materials. Railroads that carry hazardous materials are required to follow established protocols while en route, and railroad employees are subject to background checks and must complete training. Railroad training programs and operating practices are reviewed and audited by the FRA routinely and are generally designed to be progressive so that as the level of risk increases, so does the level of safety and security required.
Safeway to Reduce Ozone-Depleting Refrigerant Emissions at 659 Stores Nationwide
Up to 133 Safeway stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are included in the recent settlement.
The settlement involves the largest number of facilities ever under the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) regulations governing refrigeration equipment.
The settlement resolves allegations that Safeway violated the CAA by failing to promptly repair leaks of HCFC-22, a hydro-chlorofluorocarbon that is a GHG and ozone-depleting substance used as a coolant in refrigerators, and failed to keep adequate records of the servicing of its refrigeration equipment. Safeway will now implement a corporate refrigerant compliance management system to comply with federal stratospheric ozone regulations. Safeway will also reduce its corporate-wide average leak rate from 25% in 2012 to 18% or below in 2015. The company will also reduce the aggregate refrigerant emissions at its highest-emission stores by 10% each year for three years.
“Safeway’s new corporate commitment to reduce air pollution and help protect the ozone layer is vital and significant,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Fixing leaks, improving compliance, and reducing emissions will make a real difference in protecting us from the dangers of ozone depletion, while reducing the impact on climate change.”
“This first-of-its-kind settlement will benefit all Americans by cutting emissions of ozone-depleting substances across Safeway’s national supermarket chain,” said Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “It can serve as a model for comprehensive solutions that improve industry compliance with the nation’s Clean Air Act.”
HCFC-22 is up to 1,800 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of global warming emissions. The measures that Safeway has committed to are expected to prevent over 100,000 lb of future releases of ozone-depleting refrigerants that destroy the ozone layer.
EPA regulations issued under Title VI of the CAA require that owner or operators of commercial refrigeration equipment that contains over 50 lb of ozone-depleting refrigerants and that has an annual leak rate greater than 35%, repair such leaks within 30 days.
HCFCs deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, which allows dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet rays from the sun to strike the earth, leading to adverse health effects that include skin cancers, cataracts, and suppressed immune systems. Pursuant to the Montreal Protocol, the US is implementing strict reductions of ozone-depleting refrigerants, including a production and importation ban by 2020 of HCFC-22, a common refrigerant used by supermarkets.
The settlement is part of EPA’s national enforcement initiative to control harmful air pollution from the largest sources of emissions, including large grocery stores.
Corporate commitments to reduce emissions from refrigeration systems have been increasing in recent years. EPA’s GreenChill Partnership Program works with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change by transitioning to environmentally friendlier refrigerants, using less refrigerant and eliminating leaks, and adopting green refrigeration technologies and best environmental practices.
Safeway, headquartered in Pleasanton, California, is the second largest grocery chain with 1,412 stores in the US and 2012 revenues of $44.2 billion. Safeway operates companies under the banner of Vons in southern California and Nevada, Randalls in Texas, and Carrs in Alaska. The settlement covers 659 Safeway stores—all Safeway stores in the US that have commercial refrigeration equipment regulated by the CAA, except for those stores in Safeway’s Dominick’s Division, which was the subject of a 2004 settlement with the US.
EPA and Coast Guard Reach Pollution Control Agreement with Carnival
EPA and Coast Guard have reached an agreement in principle with Carnival Corporation to develop advanced emission control technology to be used in waters surrounding US coasts.
Under the agreement, Carnival will develop and deploy a new exhaust gas cleaning system on up to 32 ships over the next three years to be used in Emission Control Areas (ECAs). The North American and US Caribbean ECAs create a buffer zone around US and Canadian coasts where ships must reduce harmful air pollution emissions.
These new controls combine the use of sulfur oxide (SOx) scrubbers with diesel particulate filters—thus combining technologies well known in the power plant and automotive sectors, but not previously used together on a marine vessel. The technological advances spurred by these programs will provide an opportunity for ECA compliance at a significant (50% or greater) reduction in cost and may yield emission reductions beyond those required by current requirements. The advanced technology can also provide additional benefits in the reduction of particulate matter and black carbon.
Carnival Corporation is the most recent of several shipping companies, including other cruise lines, that plans to use flexibility in the standard to support the development of advanced pollution control technology. EPA supports the initiative taken by Carnival and other marine companies to develop advanced emissions control technologies to comply with the ECA requirements, including SOx scrubbers or the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The ECAs were developed by the US and Canada through an agreement with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in order to protect human health and the environment by significantly reducing air pollution from ocean-going vessels. By 2020, ECA limits will reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 320,000 tons, particulate matter (PM) emissions by 90,000 tons, and SOx by 920,000 tons. Each year, the standard will also result in the prevention of tens of thousands of premature deaths while relieving respiratory symptoms for nearly five million people.
EPA and the Coast Guard are committed to ensuring the ECA is implemented utilizing the flexibilities allowed by the IMO for the development of advanced technologies while achieving health and environmental benefits. EPA and the Coast Guard continue to talk with several marine companies regarding other technology development programs which may be appropriate to support.
EPA Fines Shell for CAA Permit Violations During Offshore Oil Exploration in Alaska
Recently, EPA announced settlements with Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc., and Shell Offshore, Inc., for violations of their CAA permits for arctic oil and gas exploration drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, off the North Slope of Alaska.
In the recent settlements, Shell has agreed to pay a $710,000 penalty for violations of the Discoverer’s air permit and a $390,000 penalty for violations of the Kulluk’s air permit.
EPA issued the CAA Outer Continental Shelf permits for Shell’s operations in early 2012. The permits set emission limits; pollution control requirements; and monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements on the vessels and their support fleets of icebreakers, spill response vessels, and supply ships.
In January 2013, EPA issued violation notices for Shell’s Discoverer and Kulluk air permits. Shell did not operate in 2013 under the air permits.
EPA Requires HA International to Reduce Hazardous Air Emissions at Illinois Facility
HA International is also required to pay a $100,000 civil penalty and to complete environmental projects valued at $100,000 in the Oregon area. These projects include improving the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems at Oregon High School and the Creston School in Creston, Illinois. The projects will increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental asthma triggers in the schools. HA International will also upgrade dust collection equipment at the Oregon facility.
“As a result of this settlement, people in the Oregon area will breathe cleaner air,” said US EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman. “Children at Oregon and Creston schools also will benefit from improved indoor air quality.”
Following complaints from Oregon area residents about a persistent odor from HA International, the Agency inspected the facility and required testing of emissions from the company’s production lines. Test results showed that emissions of VOCs—primarily the hazardous air pollutants phenol and formaldehyde—exceeded limits in the Illinois CAA State Implementation Plan. EPA concluded that the company’s emissions of formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, also presented a health risk.
Coast Guard Responds to Sheen in New Bedford Harbor
The investigation into the source of the diesel fuel spill into New Bedford Harbor continues as US Coast Guard crews, along with New Bedford, Massachusetts, port officials, state emergency responders, and a private cleanup contractor concluded diesel-fuel sheen cleanup efforts in New Bedford Harbor recently.
Investigators from the Coast Guard and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) continue to inspect vessels in the harbor, review surveillance video taken in the area at the time of the spill, and test samples of the fuel recovered to determine the origin of the spill. Authorities are looking for help from the public and anyone with information about the source of the spill can contact the MassDEP emergency spill number at: 1-888-304-1133. Information provided to this line will be kept confidential.
“This was a significant fuel spill and we have not yet identified who is responsible for it. I urge the responsible party to do the honorable thing and report it to us immediately. Failure to do so will likely increase the penalty when we find you. And we will,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “I also want to thank local, state, and federal emergency responders for their excellent and professional work in assessing the spill and getting it cleaned up quickly.”
The Coast Guard received a report of a diesel-fuel sheen in New Bedford Harbor in the vicinity of Fish Island Bridge at approximately 8 a.m., August 29.
Response teams deployed more than 150 feet of boom to contain the spilled fuel and resulting sheen, and used absorbent pads to target specific areas for cleanup, with a focus on the Pier 3 area along the New Bedford shoreline. Following the spill cleanup, a revised spill volume estimate indicates that more than 500 gallons of diesel fuel was recovered from harbor waters since early August 29.
Responding were crews from:
- US Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment New Bedford
- MassDEP Emergency Response Unit
- New Bedford Fire Department
The Coast Guard and local state agencies worked with Frank Corp., of New Bedford, an oil spill response contractor, during the two-day clean up efforts to limit any pollution impact to the environment. There were no reports of any spill impact on birds, fish, or other species within the harbor ecosystem.
In an average year, the Coast Guard responds to 250 reports of pollution to waterways in the northeastern US.
Massachusetts Hospital Fined for Violating Hazardous Waste, Air Pollution Control Requirements
VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 7, Inc., the parent corporation that operates St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, has been assessed a $2,860 penalty by MassDEP for violating hazardous waste management and air pollution control requirements.
During a routine inspection of the hospital conducted by MassDEP personnel in December 2012, it was determined that the facility generated hazardous waste in excess of its registered status, failed to ensure all required information on hazardous waste manifests was correct, and failed to submit an annual source registration form. In a negotiated consent order, the parent company, VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 7, Inc., of Tennessee, agreed to maintain facility compliance with applicable regulations and pay the $2,860 penalty.
“During the inspection when the violations were identified, the facility immediately took steps to ensure compliance with applicable regulations, including its handling of hazardous wastes,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “MassDEP appreciates these measures and anticipates this level of attention will lead to on-going compliance.”
Washington Department of Ecology Announces Penalties for Second Quarter of 2013
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) issued $141,800 in penalties of $1,000 or more in the second quarter (April, May, June) of 2013.
Ecology issues individual news releases for penalties of $10,000 or greater. A particular penalty may be fully satisfied at this time or may be in the process of an appeal or settlement discussions.
Communities, families, and businesses depend on clean air, land and water, and on reliable water supplies. Complying with the state’s and nation’s laws helps assure this.
Ecology works with thousands of businesses and individuals to help them comply with these laws. Penalties are issued in cases where non-compliance continues after Ecology has provided technical assistance or warnings, or for particularly serious violations.
The money owed from penalties may be reduced from the issued amount due to a ruling by the Pollution Control Hearings Board or a negotiated settlement. Ecology doesn’t benefit from penalty payments. The final penalty amount owed and collected is deposited in special accounts that pay for:
- Environmental restoration and enhancement projects
- Research and development
- Permitting and regulatory programs
- Education and assistance
The most common accounts receiving collected penalties are:
- Coastal Protection (RCW 90.48.400 and RCW 90.48.390)
- Vessel Response (RCW 90.56.335)
- Underground Storage Tank (RCW 90.76.100)
- Air Pollution Control (RCW 70.94.015)
- Biosolids (RCW 70.95J.025)
- State Toxics Control (RCW 70.105D.070)
- Oil Spill Prevention (RCW 90.56.510)
- Reclamation (RCW 18.104.155 and RCW 89.16.020)
- Electronic Recycling (RCW 70.95N.130)
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Trivia Question of the Week
Putting solar panels on your home can cost between $20,000–$40,000 (before rebates and tax credits). With solar leasing and power-purchase agreements, homeowners in over 15 states can install solar panels—with zero money down—by renting the panels instead of buying them. In which of these states is solar leasing available?
a) Connecticut
b) Arizona
c) Maryland
d) All of the Above