EPA recently released results of a survey showing that $384 billion in improvements are needed for the nation’s drinking water infrastructure through 2030 for systems to continue providing safe drinking water to 297 million Americans.
EPA’s fifth Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment identifies investments needed over the next 20 years for thousands of miles of pipes and thousands of treatment plants, storage tanks, and water distribution systems, which are all vital to public health and the economy. The national total of $384 billion includes the needs of 73,400 water systems across the country, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native Village water systems.
“A safe and adequate supply of drinking water in our homes, schools, and businesses is essential to the health and prosperity of every American,” said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “The survey EPA released today shows that the nation’s water systems have entered a rehabilitation and replacement era in which much of the existing infrastructure has reached or is approaching the end of its useful life. This is a major issue that must be addressed so that American families continue to have the access they need to clean and healthy water sources.”
The survey looked at the funding and operational needs of more than 3,000 public drinking water systems across the United States, including those in Tribal communities, through an extensive questionnaire. In many cases, drinking water infrastructure was reported to be 50-100 years old.
The assessment shows that improvements are primarily needed in:
- Distribution and transmission: $247.5 billion to replace or refurbish aging or deteriorating lines
- Treatment: $72.5 billion to construct, expand or rehabilitate infrastructure to reduce contamination
- Storage: $39.5 billion to construct, rehabilitate or cover finished water storage reservoirs
- Source: $20.5 billion to construct or rehabilitate intake structures, wells and spring collectors
EPA allocates Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grants to states based on the finding of the assessment. These funds help states to provide low-cost financing to public water systems for infrastructure improvements necessary to protect public health and comply with drinking water regulations.
Since its inception in 1997, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund has provided close to $15 billion in grants to all 50 states and Puerto Rico to improve drinking water treatment, transmission and distribution. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program has also provided more than $5.5 billion to protect drinking water in disadvantaged communities.
EPA is committed to utilizing the tools provided under the Safe Drinking Water Act to assist states and to better target resources and technical assistance toward managing the nation’s drinking water infrastructure. In addition to Drinking Water State Revolving Fund grants, EPA awarded nearly $15 million in funding in 2012 to provide training and technical assistance to small drinking and wastewater systems—those serving fewer than 10,000 people—and to private well owners to improve small system operations and management practices and to promote sustainability. EPA also works with states, municipalities and water utilities to strengthen the resiliency of drinking water systems against the potential impacts of severe weather events and climate change.
Newark RCRA and DOT Training
Dayton RCRA and DOT Training
Raleigh RCRA, DOT, and EHS Training
How to Implement OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
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.
United Airlines to Use Biofuel for Flights from Los Angeles Hub
United Airlines executed a definitive purchase agreement with AltAir Fuels for cost-competitive, sustainable, advanced biofuels at commercial scale, representing a historic milestone for aviation. With United’s strategic partnership, AltAir Fuels will retrofit part of an existing petroleum refinery to become a 30 million gallon, advanced biofuel refinery near Los Angeles, California. AltAir will produce low-carbon, renewable jet fuel and other renewable products. United has collaborated with AltAir Fuels since 2009 and has agreed to buy 15 million gallons of lower-carbon, renewable jet fuel over a three-year period, with the option to purchase more. The airline is purchasing the advanced biofuel at a price competitive with traditional, petroleum-based jet fuel, and AltAir expects to begin delivering five million gallons of renewable jet fuel per year to United starting in 2014. United will use the biofuel on flights operating out of its Los Angeles hub (LAX).
“This is a great day for United and the aviation biofuels industry. This agreement underscores United’s efforts to be a leader in alternative fuels as well as our efforts to lead commercial aviation as an environmentally responsible company,” said United’s Managing Director for Global Environmental Affairs and Sustainability Jimmy Samartzis. “We’re excited about what this strategic partnership with AltAir means for United, the industry, the environment, and for our customers.”
“United Airlines has been a strategic partner for several years as we work to establish our biofuel facility,” said AltAir’s Chief Executive Officer Tom Todaro. “We cannot overestimate how important this milestone is for the commercialization of sustainable aviation biofuels, and we at AltAir are proud that United is our first customer.”
AltAir has partnered with an existing oil refiner for the operation of its first commercial facility and use of the refiner’s existing refinery near Los Angeles, California. This partnership is taking idled refining equipment and retooling it to increase the nation’s energy supply—positively impacting the southern California economy and providing the opportunity to sustainably power LAX flights.
Through process technology developed by Honeywell’s UOP, AltAir is retrofitting the existing refinery to produce renewable biofuel. AltAir has worked extensively with Honeywell’s UOP to demonstrate the commercial viability of the Honeywell Green Jet process. Utilizing this technology, licensed from UOP, the AltAir facility will be the first refinery internationally to be capable of in-line production of both renewable jet and diesel fuels. The facility will convert non-edible natural oils and agricultural wastes into approximately 30 million gallons of low-carbon, advanced biofuels and chemicals per year.
These advanced biofuels are drop-in replacements for petroleum-based fuel, requiring no modification to factory-standard engines or aircraft, with which they are fully compatible. This fuel provides the same performance as conventional, petroleum-based jet fuel. AltAir Fuels’ renewable jet fuel is expected to achieve at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis.
“This refinery is important for two timely and significant reasons,” said AltAir’s President and COO Bryan Sherbacow. “First, the industry is delivering on the promise of commercial production of advanced biofuels that move beyond additives, like ethanol and biodiesel, to drop-in, replacement low-carbon fuels. Second, this project demonstrates the practical efficiencies these fuels allow by fully integrating into an operating petroleum refinery.”
United will support AltAir Fuels’ efforts to incorporate internationally recognized sustainability standards, such as those being developed by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). RSB is an international, multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together farmers, companies, non-governmental organizations, experts, governments, and inter-governmental agencies concerned with ensuring the sustainability of biomass production and processing.
Arizona Revises Stormwater Construction Permit
The permit is required under the federal Clean Water Act, and as part of the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program, for stormwater discharges from construction activities that disturb one acre or more. The permit is also required for construction sites less than one acre if they are part of a larger, common plan of development.
“We are continuously looking for ways to reduce unnecessary and time-consuming red tape, while maintaining the same or higher level of environmental protection,” said ADEQ Director Henry Darwin. “This improved stormwater permit is another example of how our agency is reaching that goal.”
One new aspect of the permit allows for submittal of a notice of termination if a demonstration can be made that stormwater discharges from the site don’t result in additional pollution from construction activity.
House Subcommittee Votes on Coal Ash Bills
The House Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy voted recently to pass three bills that the environmental group Earthjustice said could increase exposure to toxic coal ash, weaken the nation’s Superfund law and limit citizens’ access to sue federal agencies charged with protecting our environment. The two bills now await full committee consideration.
Specifically, the subcommittee voted on:
- The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013 , which:
- Prevents the EPA from finalizing federal regulations for the safe disposal of toxic coal ash
- Lacks a nationwide protective standard and minimum enforceable standards applicable to coal ash dumps in all states;
- Fails to establish adequate dam stability and toxic dust protections
The Reducing Excessive Deadline Obligations Act of 2013, which
- Eliminates a basis for a lawsuit where public interest and industry plaintiffs are seeking regulatory certainty and a reasonable timeline for the EPA to establish coal ash safeguards
- Weakens Superfund by placing new roadblocks on establishing adequate financial assurance requirements for classes of highly polluting industries
- Eviscerates Superfund by establishing insurmountable barriers to applying financial assurance requirements to specific polluting facilities by shifting the burden from the polluting industry to the EPA to demonstrate shortfalls in bonding for cleanups of hazardous substances
- Fails to ensure full liability for cleanup of contaminated sites
The Federal and State Partnership for Environmental Protection Act of 2013, which establishes roadblocks to listing new toxic sites on the National Priority List.
Andrea Delgado, legislative representative at Earthjustice, stated, “the only thing these bills are concerned about protecting is the polluter’s ability to get away with poisoning communities and leaving their mess behind for someone else to clean up. Protecting our water and air is simply not even a consideration for the proponents of these bills. They seem to think that by simply including the words ‘environmental protection’ into the title of their legislation this qualifies them as stewards of our natural resources. Unfortunately, we all know this isn’t enough. It’s a shame that this committee, which should be putting its time and resources into matters that will protect our health and environment, are more concerned with finding ways to destroy them.”
About the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, senior administrative counsel Lisa Evans said, “The bill still fails to correct the fatal deficiencies in public health protection identified so clearly by the Congressional Research Service. The bill cannot and will not ensure that the health and safety of thousands of communities are protected from toxic ash.”
Los Angeles Air Pollution Declining
The cleanup of California’s tailpipe emissions over the last few decades has not only reduced ozone pollution in the Los Angeles area. It has also altered the pollution chemistry in the atmosphere, making the eye-stinging “organic nitrate” component of air pollution plummet, according to a new study.
The scientists analyzed new data from research aircraft along with archived data going back a half-century to produce a comprehensive examination of air pollution in the Los Angeles region.
“This is good news: LA’s air has lost a lot of its ‘sting,’” said lead author Ilana Pollack, a scientist from NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Our study shows exactly how that happened, and confirms that California’s policies to control emissions have worked as intended.”
An article about the new findings by Pollack and her colleagues was accepted for publication last month in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
These precursors are directly emitted from various sources, primarily vehicle exhaust in LA but also from power-generating facilities, industry, and natural sources such as vegetation.
As studies began to identify the high levels of air pollution and its causes, policies and controls were implemented to restrict emissions of the NOx and VOC ingredients that result in ozone and other secondary air pollutants. Although the population in the Southern California region has tripled between 1960 and 2010, and the number of vehicles has increased by a similar factor, research studies have indicated that air pollution in the region has decreased—as a result of these policies.
To pin down the exact nature of the downward trends and the related changes in the chemistry causing the declining levels of pollutants, Pollack and her team examined new data from research aircraft and archived data from roadside monitors and ground-based instruments. In doing so, they generated a synthesis of information on ozone, other secondary pollutants and pollutant precursors from 1960 to 2010. This work included measurements of ozone and nitrogen oxides collected by Pollack and her colleagues over the South Coast Air Basin using instruments aboard NOAA’s P-3 research aircraft during a California-based mission in 2010.
The exhaustive approach paid off, and gave the scientists new insights into the changing chemistry of LA’s air.
“The emission reductions have ‘flipped’ some of the chemistry that takes place in the atmosphere,” said Pollack, who works at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. “The relevant precursors in the atmosphere now favor chemical pathways that are more likely to produce nitric acid, and less likely to make ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN).”
PAN is the organic nitrate compound historically associated with eye irritation (the “sting”) in Los Angeles smog.
“Compiling long-term trends in precursors and secondary products, then seeing all the data together on paper, really made changes in the chemistry stand out,” Pollack said.
The researchers’ analysis showed that emission control measures in Southern California have been effective. Although emissions of precursors have declined, motor vehicles remain the dominant source of emissions in Los Angeles.
Understanding the past and present chemistry in the atmosphere that creates air pollution is critical to being able to estimate how much pollution will be formed in future years, Pollack said. “To most people the big deal is that things have got a lot better,” Pollack said. “But as scientists we want to know how they have got better.”
The researchers hope that this new insight will provide useful information to the policy makers who will be crafting the next generation of policies aimed at improving air quality in the region.
“Our work aims to interpret the past and present observations, with an eye toward informing future decisions,” Pollack said.
EPA Files Complaint Against Timmonsville, South Carolina, for Water Violations
Recently, the US Department of Justice, acting on behalf of EPA, and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), acting on behalf of the State of South Carolina, filed a complaint in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina against the Town of Timmonsville, South Carolina, for wastewater and drinking water violations. The complaint requests that the Court order Timmonsville to address the imminent, substantial and potential risks to human health posed by discharges of raw sewage or partially-treated wastewater into the environment, as well as take steps necessary to bring the wastewater and drinking water systems into compliance with federal and state laws.
Raw sewage includes a variety of harmful pollutants, including disease causing organisms, metals, and nutrients that threaten human health and degrade water quality.
. Timmonsville has also failed to fully comply with numerous federal and state orders to correct deficiencies and, since 2012, the town has experienced increasing difficulty operating, maintaining and, in some instances, undertaking needed repairs to its wastewater and drinking water systems.
Since 2005, the EPA has issued two administrative orders directing Timmonsville to address threats to public health and the environment arising from failure to properly operate and maintain its wastewater system. The complaint documents how Timmonsville’s wastewater treatment plant has been discharging partially-treated wastewater nearly continuously since September 2012, and that the town’s sewer system has had several significant overflows of untreated, raw sewage from broken or blocked sewer lines.
The complaint also documents deficiencies DHEC identified with the drinking water system, including failure to maintain adequate levels of residual chlorine in the system, failure to maintain adequate fire hydrant flow pressures, and failure to properly operate and maintain water filters at the main water treatment plant. Since 2007, DHEC has issued three consent orders directing Timmonsville to address threats to public health arising from failure to properly operate and maintain its drinking water system.
EPA and DHEC have been meeting with Timmonsville to discuss how to address the ongoing environmental and public health threats posed by noncompliance. Timmonsville has announced plans to pursue transfer of ownership and operation of both its wastewater and drinking water systems to the City of Florence, South Carolina, and is putting this issue to a referendum vote in a special election on June 25, 2013.
On multiple occasions since May 2012, Florence has provided assistance to Timmonsville with respect to the operation and maintenance of the sewer system. Timmonsville also currently purchases a significant portion of the town’s drinking water from Florence.
$44,000 in Fines Paid by Yamaha Motor Corporation for Noncompliant Generators
The Air Resources Board announced that Yamaha Motor Corporation, a manufacturer of motorized vehicles and equipment, was fined $44,625 to settle clean air violations. Yamaha revealed to ARB that it unintentionally imported and sold 23 portable generators in California that were not in compliance with emission standards for small off-road engines.
The company also disclosed that 96 all-terrain vehicles sold in California were unintentionally mislabeled. An investigation by ARB revealed that those labels listed incorrect manufacture dates and model year designations for several engine families and models.
“We commend Yamaha’s efforts in taking responsibility for their actions,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “Companies are becoming more aware of the impact they have on the environment, and are taking the necessary steps to comply with air quality laws, including the need to accurately label engines.”
EPA Orders Century Aluminum to Address Contamination at Former Aluminum Production Site
EPA has ordered Century Aluminum of West Virginia to develop an updated cleanup plan for a former industrial facility in Ravenswood, West Virginia, that was used for the storage and disposal of hazardous materials that were byproducts of aluminum production.
EPA is currently overseeing cleanup activities at the site, located on Route 2 South, Century road, Ravenswood, West Virginia, where soil and groundwater is contaminated with cyanide, fluoride, lead, arsenic, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Cleanup work includes restoration of contaminated groundwater to drinking water standards and to control human and environmental exposure to hazardous wastes in the soil that remain in place at the plant.
Under the order announced recently, the company must develop a plan, known as a materials management plan, that identifies specific locations at the plant where contaminants remain, and put in place procedures and safeguards for any future construction or excavation in those areas. The plan must be approved by EPA and the West Virginia Department of the Environmental Protection. The plan must include a health and safety section for the safety of workers and contractors doing excavation or construction work in these known contaminated areas.
The order also restricts using groundwater beneath the property for drinking water. Using the property for any purpose other than industrial is prohibited unless it is demonstrated that there is no threat to human health or the environment.
Aluminum production began at the site in 1957 when Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation began operations. The facility included a plant that produced aluminum from alumina ore, and a plant that produced plate and coil aluminum alloy. The former Kaiser plant was sold in 1989 to Ravenswood Aluminum Corporation, which later changed its name to Century Aluminum of West Virginia. In 1999, Century Aluminum sold 500 acres of the facility to Pechiney Rolled Products but Century Aluminum retained the plant that produces aluminum, which covered approximately 350 acres. In February 2009, Century Aluminum shut down the aluminum production operation due to the low demand for aluminum.
HarenLaughlin Construction to Pay $27,286 Penalty for Failure to Use Lead-Safe Work Practices
HarenLaughlin Construction Company, of Lenexa, Kansas, has agreed to pay a $27,286 civil penalty to settle allegations that it failed to use proper lead-safe work practices during the renovation of a multifamily property built in 1922 at 811 E. Armour Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri, in violation of the Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule. It also failed to notify the property owner about lead-based paint risks before the company or its subcontractors performed renovation work at the site.
Under the agreement, HarenLaughlin will complete a supplemental environmental project valued at $24,500 to remove lead-based paint from the nearby Valentine Apartments, at 3560 Broadway Street, Kansas City, Mo. HarenLaughlin will pay the remaining $2,786 in the form of a cash penalty.
According to an administrative consent agreement and final order filed by EPA Region 7 in Lenexa, Kansas, HarenLaughlin was legally required to use proper lead-safe work practices during the renovation of the Armour Boulevard property, including posting signs, notifying the public, and placing plastic sheeting to minimize the spread of lead-based paint chips. HarenLaughlin also failed to provide owners of the property with an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet, known as the Renovate Right pamphlet, before starting renovations. The Renovate Right pamphlet helps homeowners and tenants understand the risks of lead-based paint, and how best to minimize these risks to protect themselves and their families.
The RRP rule requires that general contractors and subcontractors that work on pre-1978 dwellings and child-occupied facilities are trained and certified to use lead-safe work practices. This ensures that common renovation and repair activities like sanding, cutting, and replacing windows minimize the creation and dispersion of dangerous lead dust. EPA finalized the RRP rule in 2008 and the rule took effect on April 22, 2010.
This enforcement action addresses RRP rule violations that could result in harm to human health. Lead exposure can cause a range of adverse health effects, from behavioral disorders and learning disabilities to seizures and death, putting young children at the greatest risk because their nervous systems are still developing.
EPA Fines Phoenix Lamp Recycler More Than $70,000 for PCB Violations
EPA recently announced that it has settled with Lighting Resources, LLC, for $71,500 for violations relating to its handling of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at its Phoenix, Arizona, recycling facility.
“Exposure to PCBs is a concern whenever facilities are handling materials containing these toxic chemicals,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our goal is to safeguard worker health and nearby communities by ensuring that Lighting Resources takes the necessary steps to improve the safety of their recycling and disposal practices.”
Separate permits allow the facility to recycle fluorescent lamps and ballasts, batteries, electronic wastes, and mercury devices. The facility also manages non-PCB ballasts, phosphorous powders, aerosol cans, and mercury containing wastes. The company operates facilities in five states and is one of the nation’s largest ballast processors.
EPA inspections in 2008 and 2012 found that the Phoenix facility had not effectively decontaminated its PCB handling area, documented the transport and disposal of PCB-contaminated materials, or properly labeled PCB and hazardous waste containers.
. More than 1.5 billion lb. of PCBs were manufactured in the United States before the EPA banned the production of this chemical class in 1978, and many PCB-containing materials are still in use today.
When released into the environment, PCBs remain for decades. Tests have shown that PCBs cause cancer in animals and are suspected carcinogens in humans. Acute PCB exposure can also adversely affect the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems as well as liver function. Concerns about human health and the extensive presence and lengthy persistence of PCBs in the environment led Congress to enact TSCA in 1976.
Settlement Reached in Lead-Tainted Jewelry Lawsuit
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) announced a $115,000 settlement of its claims against Eastern Nationwide Supply, Inc., (ENS) and Joia Trading, Inc., for distributing jewelry that contained high levels of lead.
ENS, a New York company, and Joia, located in Southern California, allegedly supplied retailers with jewelry containing high concentrations of lead which is toxic to humans, especially young children.
“It is critical that industry comply with laws regarding toxic metals in jewelry because our children’s health is at stake,” said Brian Johnson, Deputy Director for DTSC’s Hazardous Waste Management Program.
The fines stem from a lawsuit that DTSC brought with the California Attorney General’s Office in July 2012 against ENS, Joia Trading Inc., and other companies for selling jewelry containing excess levels of lead in California. The civil complaint alleged that the businesses:
- Violated California’s Metal Containing Jewelry law
- Made untrue or misleading statements
- Made false or misleading advertising claims; and
- Engaged in unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices in violation of California’s unfair competition law.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, DTSC discovered more than 300 styles of tainted jewelry, most of which were imported from Asia, as part of its ongoing efforts to protect consumers from unnecessary toxic chemicals in everyday products.
Under the settlement agreement, which still needs court approval to become final, the companies agree to inform their suppliers of California’s lead standards and to have jewelry tested for lead before selling it or making claims about its lead content.
The companies also must pay civil penalties and reimburse DTSC and the Attorney General’s Office for a portion of their attorney’s fees and testing costs.
The settlement with ENS and Joia is similar to settlements that DTSC and the Attorney General’s Office previously reached with 12 other companies named in the original complaint. Total payments under the earlier settlements are $260,230.
California’ law prohibits the manufacture, shipping, sale, or offering for promotional purposes jewelry that contains excessive amounts of lead or cadmium, among other regulated toxic metals. Exposure to lead can cause negative health effects ranging from behavioral problems and learning disabilities to organ failure and even death.
Vance & Hines Fined $500,000 for Sales of Illegal Aftermarket Motorcycle Exhaust Systems in California
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) recently announced that Vance & Hines Performance, LLC, has been fined $500,000 for violations of air quality laws related to the sale of illegal aftermarket motorcycle exhaust systems in California.
In late 2012, an ARB investigation discovered that Vance & Hines sold, advertised, and offered for sale motorcycle exhaust systems that replaced original emissions-critical components, such as catalytic converters. California anti-tampering laws prohibit the sale, distribution, and installation of parts that modify the emissions control systems of vehicles unless the modifications are proven to neither reduce the effectiveness of those systems nor cause excess emissions.
At the time of the investigation, ARB found that Vance & Hines had not taken advantage of an industry-requested regulation adopted in early 2009. The regulation allows aftermarket motorcycle exhaust manufacturers to legally sell their products once they undergo an engineering evaluation to ensure they are durable and meet applicable emission standards. Parts successfully completing this process receive an Executive Order exemption that allows their sale and installation on pollution-controlled motorcycles.
Vance & Hines fully cooperated with ARB in the investigation and has implemented a compliance plan for its aftermarket exhaust systems. Vance & Hines is actively working with ARB to ensure that all of its exhaust systems do not reduce the effectiveness of the factory installed emissions control systems and that they have the required Executive Order exemptions prior to being offered for sale in California.
Funds collected will be paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, established to decrease air pollution through education and the advancement and use of cleaner technologies.
Modified vehicles that no longer meet California’s emission requirements pose a real danger to California residents. They create higher amounts of smog-forming pollutants, which can then exacerbate respiratory ailments and negatively affect other health conditions.
Pennsylvania DEP Fines PVR Marcellus Gas Gathering, LLC $150,000 for Illegal Discharges
The Department of Environmental Protection has fined PVR Marcellus Gas Gathering, LLC, of Williamsport, Lycoming County, $150,000 for discharge violations that occurred during construction of the Coal Mountain pipeline in four Lycoming County townships during fall 2011.
“The number and ongoing nature of these violations, which impacted High Quality and Exceptional Value streams, have resulted in a significant penalty,” DEP Director of District Oil and Gas Operations John Ryder said. “The department’s Oil and Gas Program takes enforcement actions like this when industry violations are not appropriately corrected.”
The department began its investigation following a complaint in September 2011 and immediately discovered violations at the Second Fork of Larry’s Creek, where bentonite had been discharged to the creek from a stream boring operation, and PVR failed to report the spill to DEP in a timely manner.
Follow-up inspections of the pipeline project by DEP documented multiple and continuing violations of the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, and various related environmental regulations, including sediment discharges into High Quality and Exceptional Value streams.
The department also determined that large sections of earth disturbance and open pipeline trenches contributed to the violations. PVR had almost five miles of open trench ahead of the pipe installation. The violations do not appear to have caused any long-term impacts to the streams.
A compliance order issued by the Oil and Gas Program in early October 2011 required PVR to immediately cease all earth disturbance activities and implement specific best management practices to minimize the potential for accelerated erosion and sedimentation.
The company complied with the requirements of DEP’s order in November 2011 and was authorized to resume earth disturbance activities under certain conditions. The department documented additional violations during the remainder of the pipeline construction project. By March 2012, when work on the project was nearly complete, PVR came into compliance with the noted violations.
The Coal Mountain pipeline is a 13-mile, 30-inch diameter gas-gathering pipeline that crosses Cogan House, Cummings, Lycoming and Mifflin townships.
Miami-Dade Agrees to $1.6 Billion Upgrade of its Sewer System to Eliminate Sewage Overflows
Under a settlement with the US Department of Justice and the EPA, Miami-Dade County in Florida has agreed to invest in major upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants and wastewater collection and transmission systems in order to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows. The state of Florida and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) are co-plaintiffs with the United States in this action.
Under the terms of the consent decree, Miami-Dade will rehabilitate its wastewater treatment plants and its wastewater collection and transmission system within 15 years. The county will also develop and implement management operation and maintenance programs to help ensure the sewer system is properly operated and maintained in the future. By implementing these measures, Miami-Dade is expected to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows from its wastewater collection and transmission system and achieve compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.
“Sewage overflows are a significant problem in the Southeast because of inadequate and aging infrastructure,” said Stan Meiburg, Acting Regional Administrator of EPA’s Southeastern office. “This agreement demonstrates the county’s commitment to address its sewage problems. Eliminating overflows of raw sewage will comply with the Clean Water Act and benefit the Miami-Dade community by providing a cleaner and healthier environment.”
“Miami-Dade County is one of the world’s premier resort destinations and is home to America’s Everglades, two aquatic preserves as well as Bill Baggs Cape Florida, Oleta River, and The Barnacle Historic state parks,” said Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “This agreement will bring lasting environmental and recreational benefits to the citizens and visitors of Miami-Dade County by reducing the threats posed by untreated sewage overflows that degrade water quality and contribute to beach closures,”
Between January 2007 and May 2013, Miami-Dade reported 211 sanitary sewer overflows totaling more than 51 million gallons. Such overflows included a number of large volume overflows from ruptured force mains. At least 84 overflows, totaling over 29 million gallons of raw sewage, reached navigable waters of the United States. Miami-Dade’s Central District wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) also experienced several violations of the effluent limits contained in its NPDES permit. EPA also documented numerous operation and maintenance violations at this same WWTP during inspections in September 2011, April 2012, and April 2013.
Miami-Dade estimates it will spend approximately $1.6 billion to complete the upgrades required by the consent decree and come into compliance with the Clean Water Act. Under the settlement, Miami-Dade will also pay a civil penalty of $978,100 ($511,800 to be paid to the United States and $466,300 to FDEP) and complete a supplemental environmental project costing $2,047,200.
Miami-Dade’s supplemental environmental project involves the installation of approximately 7,660 linear feet of gravity sewer mains through the Green Technology Corridor, an area that is currently using septic tanks. Businesses in the area have been unable to connect to the sewer system because sewer lines are lacking. Disconnecting industrial users from septic tanks will improve water quality in the Biscayne aquifer and nearby surface waters and prevent future contamination.
The terms and conditions of the settlement announced recently will update, replace, and supersede two existing consent decrees between the United States and the county, the 1994 First Partial Consent Decree and the 1995 Second and Final Partial Consent Decree. Both of these existing consent decrees will be terminated upon entry of the new, proposed consent decree. The parties to this settlement recognized that since entry of the previous consent decrees, conditions within and circumstances surrounding Miami-Dade’s sewer system have changed over the last 18 years, including the causes and locations of sanitary sewer overflows. As a result, appropriate modifications and updates to the previous settlements are included in the new settlement.
The recent announcement is the latest in a series of Clean Water Act settlements, including sanitary sewer overflow remediation and combined sewer overflow control plans that will reduce the discharge of raw sewage and contaminated stormwater into US rivers, streams, and lakes. Reductions in sanitary sewer overflows are accomplished by obtaining municipal utilities’ commitments to implement timely, affordable solutions to these problems.
New All-Solid Sulfur-Based Battery Outperforms Lithium-Ion Technology
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today’s electronics. The ORNL battery design, which uses abundant low-cost elemental sulfur, also addresses flammability concerns experienced by other chemistries.
Scientists have been excited about the potential of lithium-sulfur batteries for decades, but long-lasting, large-scale versions for commercial applications have proven elusive. Researchers were stuck with a catch-22 created by the battery’s use of liquid electrolytes. On one hand, the liquid helped conduct ions through the battery by allowing lithium polysulfide compounds to dissolve. The downside, however, was that the same dissolution process caused the battery to prematurely break down.
The ORNL team overcame these barriers by first synthesizing a never-before-seen class of sulfur-rich materials that conduct ions as well as the lithium metal oxides conventionally used in the battery’s cathode. Liang’s team then combined the new sulfur-rich cathode and a lithium anode with a solid electrolyte material, also developed at ORNL, to create an energy-dense, all-solid battery.
“This game-changing shift from liquid to solid electrolytes eliminates the problem of sulfur dissolution and enables us to deliver on the promise of lithium-sulfur batteries,” Liang said. “Our battery design has real potential to reduce cost, increase energy density and improve safety compared with existing lithium-ion technologies.”
The new ionically-conductive cathode enabled the ORNL battery to maintain a capacity of 1200 milliamp-hours (mAh) per gram after 300 charge-discharge cycles at 60 degrees Celsius. For comparison, a traditional lithium-ion battery cathode has an average capacity between 140-170 mAh/g. Because lithium-sulfur batteries deliver about half the voltage of lithium-ion versions, this eight-fold increase in capacity demonstrated in the ORNL battery cathode translates into four times the gravimetric energy density of lithium-ion technologies, explained Liang.
The team’s all-solid design also increases battery safety by eliminating flammable liquid electrolytes that can react with lithium metal. Chief among the ORNL battery’s other advantages is its use of elemental sulfur, a plentiful industrial byproduct of petroleum processing.
“Sulfur is practically free,” Liang said. “Not only does sulfur store much more energy than the transition metal compounds used in lithium-ion battery cathodes, but a lithium-sulfur device could help recycle a waste product into a useful technology.”
Although the team’s new battery is still in the demonstration stage, Liang and his colleagues hope to see their research move quickly from the laboratory into commercial applications. A patent on the team’s design is pending.
“This project represents a synergy between basic science and applied research,” Liang said. “We used fundamental research to understand a scientific phenomenon, identified the problem and then created the right material to solve that problem, which led to the success of a device with real-world applications.”
The study is published as “Lithium Polysulfidophosphates: A Family of Lithium-Conducting Sulfur-Rich Compounds for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.” In addition to Liang, coauthors are ORNL’s Zhan Lin, Zengcai Liu, Wujun Fu and Nancy Dudney.
The research was sponsored by the US Department of Energy, through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office. The investigation of the ionic conductivity of the new compounds was supported by the Department’s Office of Science.
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Trivia Question of the Week
How much energy from a coal power plant makes it to customers as electricity?
a. A quarter
b. A third
c. Half
d. Two-thirds