EPA is adding some new data elements and revising some existing data elements on the Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Forms (Tier I and Tier II) under Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). State and local implementing agencies requested that EPA add the new data elements since the additional information would be useful to develop or modify their community emergency response plans. EPA is also revising some existing data elements in the chemical reporting section of the Tier II inventory form to make reporting easier for facilities and make the form more user-friendly for state and local officials.
Also, the Tier I and II inventory forms will require facilities to indicate if the location where the hazardous chemicals are stored is manned or unmanned. In addition, instead of requiring facilities to report the number of full-time employees, EPA is requiring facilities to report the maximum number of occupants that may be present at the facility at any one time. EPA decided not to require the facility phone number on the Tier I and Tier II inventory forms, but will include it as an optional data element on the revised inventory forms.
The rule is requiring facilities to provide contact information for the facility emergency coordinator, Tier I and Tier II contact information, as well as the email addresses of the owner or operator and emergency contact(s). EPA is also adding data elements to indicate if the facility is subject to EPCRA section 302 and if the facility is subject to Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112(r), also known as the Risk Management Program (RMP). Page one of the revised Tier II inventory form would also include the table of range codes and amounts for reporting maximum amount and average daily amount.
This final rule is adding separate data fields for reporting pure chemical and mixtures in the chemical reporting section of the Tier II inventory form, as proposed. In addition, this final rule requires facilities to provide a description for the storage types and conditions rather than reporting codes.
EPA to Hold Two Public Hearings on Proposed Clean Air Standards for Particle Pollution
A federal court ruling required EPA to update the standards based on best available science. The proposed updates, which meet that requirement, build on steps already taken by EPA to reduce pollution in communities across the country.
Macon RCRA and DOT Training
Greensboro RCRA and DOT Training
Dallas RCRA and DOT Training
How to Prepare for OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
- July 18
- August 15
- October 2
IEA Sees Renewable Energy Growth Accelerating Over Next Five Years
Renewable power generation is expected to continue its rapid growth over the next five years, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that acknowledges the coming-of-age of the renewable energy sector. The report says that despite economic uncertainties in many countries, global power generation from hydropower, solar, wind, and other renewable sources is projected to increase by more than 40% to almost six 400 terawatt hours (TWh)—or roughly one-and-a-half times current electricity production in the US.
The study marks the first time the IEA has devoted a medium-term report to renewable power sources, a recognition of the dynamic and increasing role of renewable energy in the global power mix. The study examines in detail 15 key markets for renewable energy, which currently represent about 80% of renewable generation, while identifying and characterizing developments that may emerge in other important markets. It completes a series of IEA medium-term market reports also featuring oil, natural gas, and coal. Like the others, it presents a forecast of global developments and detailed country projections over the next five years.
Renewable generation will increasingly shift from the OECD to new markets, with non-OECD countries accounting for two-thirds of this growth. Of the 710 GW of new global renewable electricity capacity expected, China accounts for almost 40%. Significant deployment is also expected in the US, India, Germany, and Brazil, among others.
This growth is underpinned by the maturing of a portfolio of renewable energy technologies, in large part due to supportive policy and market frameworks in OECD countries. However, rapidly increasing electricity demand and energy security needs in recent years have been spurring deployment in many emerging markets—both large and small. These new deployment opportunities are creating a virtuous cycle of improved global competition and cost reductions.
“Renewable energy is expanding rapidly as technologies mature, with deployment transitioning from support-driven markets to new and potentially more competitive segments in many countries,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said during the launch. “Given the emergence of a portfolio of renewable sources as a crucial pillar of the global energy mix, market stakeholders need a clear understanding of the major drivers and barriers to renewable deployment. Based on these factors, this report forecasts global renewable development and, in so doing, provides a key benchmark for both public and private decision makers.”
The report’s release comes amid profound changes and the uncertainties associated with a cautious macroeconomic outlook. First, governments in several key markets are deliberating significant changes to renewable policies and deeper electricity market reforms as renewable deployment scales up. Second, the cost and availability of financing will act as a key variable, with a need for more investment sources and structures. Finally, some parts of the renewable industry are going through a period of dramatic upheaval, with supply chains restructuring and shifting geographically while delivering cost reductions. Ultimately, such a consolidation should lead to a more mature and robust renewable sector.
The report presents detailed forecasts for renewable energy generation and capacity for eight technologies—hydropower, bioenergy for power, onshore wind, offshore wind, solar photovoltaics (PV), concentrating solar power (CSP), geothermal, and ocean power. This first edition focuses on renewable energy in the electricity sector, though it also examines solar thermal heating.
Other key findings of the report include:
Hydropower continues to account for the majority of renewable generation and it registers the largest absolute growth (+730 TWh) of any single renewable technology over 2011–17, largely driven by non-OECD countries.
Non-hydropower renewable technologies continue to scale up quickly. Between 2011 and 2017, generation from these technologies increases by over 1 100 TWh, with growth equally split between OECD and non-OECD countries.
Onshore wind, bioenergy, and solar PV see the largest increases, respectively, in generation after hydropower. Offshore wind and CSP grow quickly from low bases. Geothermal continues to develop in areas with good resources. Ocean technologies take important steps towards commercialization.
EPA Reaches $14.6 Million Settlement for Groundwater Cleanup at Superfund Sites
Construction of the treatment system is the first step in the cleanup of groundwater contaminated by chemicals used to manufacture DDT and synthetic rubber over three decades.
Once operational, the system will extract up to 700 gallons of water per minute, or a total of a million gallons each day, removing monochlorobenzene and benzene, and re-injecting the cleaned, treated water back into the aquifer. The treated water will not be served as drinking water, but will instead be re-injected to surround the contamination and prevent it from any further movement into unaffected groundwater areas. Construction of the treatment system is expected to be completed in 18 months. EPA will pursue further settlements with the four companies and other parties to ensure that additional cleanup actions are taken and the groundwater treatment system is operated and maintained until cleanup levels are met.
Montrose Chemical Corporation of California manufactured the pesticide DDT from 1947 until 1982. Monochlorobenzene was a raw material used in making DDT. The Montrose site was placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989. The Del Amo Superfund site, located adjacent to the Montrose site, was formerly a synthetic rubber manufacturing facility that used benzene, naphthalene, and ethyl benzene. The Del Amo site was placed on the NPL in September of 2002. Groundwater contamination from both sites has co-mingled and will be cleaned up by this single treatment system.
The four responsible parties for this settlement are: Montrose, Bayer CropScience Inc., News Publishing Australia Limited, and Stauffer Management Company LLC. In addition to constructing the treatment system, these parties will also pay oversight costs incurred by EPA and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.
To date, extensive investigations and cleanup actions have been performed at both sites. EPA’s DDT soil removal actions in the neighborhood near the Montrose site were completed in 2002. In 1999, Shell began cleaning-up the Del Amo Superfund site, constructing a multi-layer impermeable cap over the waste pits and installation of the soil-vapor extraction and treatment system. Additional soil and soil gas cleanups at the Del Amo site are slated to begin in 2013.
Beef Feedlot Agrees to Pay $145,000 Civil Penalty for Illegal Discharges
Adams Land and Cattle Company, a beef feedlot near Broken Bow, Nebraska, has agreed to pay a $145,000 civil penalty to the EPA for violating the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit related to discharges of pollutants into Mud Creek.
In December 2010, EPA Region 7 inspected Adams’ facility, located just south of Broken Bow. The facility confined approximately 83,000 cattle at the time of the inspection. Inspectors reviewed facility operations, required recordkeeping, and waste management practices, and also visually inspected the facility. EPA inspectors documented that Adams had allowed its waste storage basins to overfill with manure solids and sediment to the point they could no longer store runoff from large rain events. A follow-up inspection was performed in December 2011.
Through these inspections and a review of records provided by Adams, EPA concluded that the facility discharged process wastewater to an unnamed tributary of Mud Creek, a water of the US, on 13 occasions between April 2007 and October 2010. The discharges were a result of inadequate storage capacity in holding basins, lack of controls necessary to prevent the Mud Creek tributary from flooding the holding ponds, and/or failure of piping associated with land application practices. Adams estimated that approximately 140 million gallons of process wastewater was released during these discharges, impacting Mud Creek and its tributary.
On August 10, 2011, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) filed a penalty action against Adams that addressed one of the discharges. The action required Adams pay a $5,800 penalty along with a $5,800 payment to the Broken Bow, Nebraska, Chapter of Pheasants Forever. EPA’s penalty action penalizes Adams for the other 12 discharge events and related permit violations.
EPA and NDEQ share legal authority and responsibility for protecting water quality in Nebraska. Given the recurrent nature of the violations, EPA made the decision to exercise the enforcement authority that it shares with the State of Nebraska to resolve the issue.
By agreeing to the settlement, Adams Land and Cattle Company has certified that it is in compliance with the CWA.
Lawson Products Self-Reports, Settles Air Quality Violations with $126,000
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has accepted $126,000 from Lawson Products to settle clean-air violations caused by the company’s sales of consumer products that exceeded the legal limits of smog-causing and toxic air contaminants.
Lawson discovered the non-compliant products during an internal audit in 2009, reported the infractions to the ARB, and worked with the state agency to assure no other violations would occur.
In the 2009 audit Lawson, which is based in Chicago, discovered several products they sold in California did not comply with state clean air regulations for so-called volatile organic compounds and toxic air contaminants. Lawson supplies chemical, automotive and specialty coating products for commercial, institutional, and maintenance, repair, and operations customers. Further examination coordinated with the ARB revealed more violations. Because the company reported the issues to the ARB, however, the penalty was significantly reduced.
State regulations limit use of volatile organic compounds because when mixed with other pollutants and exposed to sunlight they can create ozone and particulate matter, the main ingredients of smog. Both ozone and particulate matter are a health threat exacerbating cardiopulmonary diseases.
Toxic air contaminants are compounds recognized by the state as causing or contributing to an increase in deaths or serious illnesses, or posing hazards to human health. Health effects occur at extremely low amounts and it is typically difficult to identify levels which do not produce adverse health effects. For this reason these compounds are banned from use in consumer products.
ARB reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds and toxic air contaminants from the widest possible range of sources in order to comply with the federal CAA.
To date, ARB consumer-product regulations have eliminated 225 tons per day of volatile organic compound emissions compared to 1990 levels. However, ARB estimates that emissions from consumer products continue to produce 245 tons per day, about 12% of the state’s total burden of these smog-forming compounds.
ARB’s mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.
Citation Oil and Gas Corporation Fined for Oil and Salt Water Discharge
The EPA has fined the Citation Oil and Gas Corporation of Houston, Texas, $22,000 for violating the federal CWA. The announcement settles a CWA violation for an 11,970-gallon spill of oil and salt water into Clear Boggy Creek and adjoining shorelines in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. The settlement requires the company to pay the civil fine within 30 days.
The CWA prohibits the discharge of oil or a hazardous substance into or upon the navigable waters of the US or adjoining shorelines in such quantities that have been determined may be harmful to public health. The EPA is charged with enforcing the Act and ensuring that public health and the environment are protected from harmful impacts of these violations.
DEP Fines Pittsburgh Companies for Asphalt Tank Violations in Four Counties
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has signed a consent order and agreement with Russell Standard and Hammaker East LTD, both of Pittsburgh, for violations of the Storage Tank Act and associated regulations.
The agreement requires the companies to pay a $20,000 civil penalty for removing and installing storage tanks without the proper state-certified oversight and failing to obtain permits for tanks at asphalt plants in Adams Township, Butler County; Le Boeuf Township, Erie County; Greene Township, Franklin County; and Springfield Township, Mercer County.
“The asphalt emulsions stored in these 26 tanks, which range in size from 6,000 to 158,000 gallons, are a regulated substance under the Storage Tank Act. The tanks should have been permitted accordingly,” DEP Northwest Regional Director Kelly Burch said. “Certified installers must also be used for removing and installing tanks like these, and it is apparent that also did not occur.”
Asphalt emulsions are blends of asphalt, solvents, water, and other agents and are used as sealants and binding agents in road paving.
Russell Standard and Hammaker East must hire an independent, third-party, certified inspector to examine the tanks; register all tanks with DEP; and apply for any outstanding permits. The civil penalty will be paid to the state’s Storage Tank Fund, which is used to permit, inspect, and enforce the regulations on storage tanks around the state.
Installation and removal of storage tanks must be done by state-certified installers to ensure the process is done safely. Aboveground storage tanks with capacities greater than 21,000 gallons must be permitted by DEP.
Russell Standard manufactures asphalt at its Mars Plant in Adams Township, Butler County; the Wheelertown Road Plant in Le Boeuf Township, Erie County; and the Mercer Plant in Springfield Township, Mercer County. It is a limited partner of Hammaker East, which manufactures asphalt at its Chambersburg Plant in Greene Township, Franklin County.
Denbury Onshore, LLC, Fined a Second Time for Violating the CWA
The EPA has fined Denbury Onshire, LLC, of Alvin, Texas, $19,927 for violating the federal CWA. The announcement settles a CWA violation for a 14,700-gallon oil spill into an unnamed tributary of Crystal Creek, and adjoining shorelines in Montgomery County, Texas. The settlement requires the company to pay the civil fine within 30 days.
In July 2011, the company was also fined $13,905 for a 7,560-gallon spill into Crystal Creek, a tributary of the San Jacinto River, and adjoining shorelines in Montgomery County.
California ARB Makes Forms Available Solvent and Paint Thinner Products Special Reporting Requirements
Section 94513(g) of the Consumer Products Regulation requires Responsible Parties for Multi-purpose Solvent and Paint Thinner products to submit specific data for products sold, supplied, offered for sale, or manufactured for sale in California. The data are necessary as part of Air Resources Board (ARB) staff’s assessment on the feasibility of the three percent by weight volatile organic compound (VOC) limits scheduled to become effective on December 31, 2013. Responsible Parties or formulators for Multi-purpose Solvent and Paint Thinner products must report the following information:
- Data regarding product sales and composition for the year 2011, including the information listed in section 94513(a), and the entire product label; and
- A written update of the research and development efforts undertaken to achieve the three percent VOC limits specified in section 94509(a). The written update must include detailed information about the raw materials evaluated for use; maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) values for any VOC or Low Vapor Pressure—Volatile Organic Compound (LVP-VOC) used or evaluated; the function of the raw material evaluated; the testing protocols used; the results of the testing; and the cost of reformulation efforts.
To help the ARB fully evaluate the feasibility of the three percent VOC limits, you should report the same data for products that are labeled as acetone, denatured alcohol, linseed oil, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), mineral spirits, naphtha, odorless mineral spirits, or turpentine as the product name or part of the product name. You should also report data on any products that meet the definition of multi-purpose solvents and/or paint thinners except they are sold in a form other than liquid (for example, aerosol). Also report products designed for paint cleanup and/or surface preparation.
You may be aware that ARB is considering future amendments that would change how VOC content is determined for these categories. One approach would be to count LVP-VOC content when determining compliance with the limits. Other potential amendments would clarify the types of paint thinning products that are not subject to the VOC limits (e.g. Industrial Maintenance Coating Thinners). The ARB will also use these data to evaluate whether the definitions for multi-purpose solvent and paint thinner should include all product forms (not just liquid). The goal of these amendments would be to ensure that predicted emission reductions from adoption of Rule 1143: Consumer Paint Thinners and Multi-Purpose Solvents in the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the State’s regulation are achieved. In completing these forms you may want to consider these potential changes and the impacts on your research and development efforts.
ARB staff requests that all information required be submitted by September 17, 2012. The forms provided below can be used to fulfill the reporting requirements:
Two Dairies Fined for Water Discharge Violations
The inspections were part of routine monitoring of the Tillamook Watershed, which drains to Tillamook Bay.
River End Dairy was found to be discharging wastewater in violation of their NPDES permit from the Main Barn to the Nehalem River. EPA subsequently signed a settlement with River End Dairy that included a $6,300 penalty.
Dila Dairy was also found to be discharging to the Nehalem River in violation of its NPDES Permit from several locations, including discharges from a dry storage area and two barns. Dila Dairy’s infractions were resolved after they signed a settlement with EPA and paid a $10,000 penalty.
Kellwood Company Agrees to Conduct Cleanup at Superfund Site
Kellwood Company has entered into a settlement with EPA and the State of Missouri, to clean up contamination associated with its former metal fabrication plant in New Haven, Missouri.
The settlement requires Kellwood to clean up soils and ground water contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, also known as PCE, a common industrial degreaser, at what is known as the Riverfront Superfund Site, Operable Units 2 and 6. Kellwood has also agreed to pay past and future response costs incurred by EPA and the State of Missouri associated with those two Operable Units (OUs).
The Riverfront Superfund Site was listed on EPA’s NPL in 2000 and consists of six Operable Units. Operable Unit 2 is the site of a former metal fabrication plant, owned and operated by Kellwood from approximately 1973 until 1985. Operable Unit 6 is the ground water contaminant plume emanating from OU 2, which has contaminated residential drinking water wells in the area. Kellwood has supplied whole house water filtration systems for the affected homes.
In 2011, EPA issued a Record of Decision setting forth the remedial actions to be taken at OUs 2 and 6.
Connecticut Takes Action Against Suspected Illegal Discharge Of Wastewater by Car Wash
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has taken action to block a commercial car wash in Old Saybrook from discharging wastewater in violation of its permit and state environmental laws.
A complaint alleges Carisma Car Wash, LLC, of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and Steve Tsialas, its owner and operator, have been illegally discharging wastewater containing water, soaps, and cleaning solvents, to a wooded area behind the business since at least October, 2011.
The court agreed to the state’s request and Wednesday issued a temporary injunction aimed at stopping any unauthorized discharges immediately. A hearing on the motion is scheduled July 23. The state is also seeking court orders to stop the practice permanently, as well as civil penalties and other costs associated with detecting, investigating, controlling, and abating the violations, and to remediate the site as necessary.
DEEP said there are no drinking water wells in the immediate area of the business, which is served by a public water supply.
According to the complaint, between 2006 and 2009, DEEP inspectors determined the business was not properly managing wastewater generated from the car wash operation. In November 2010, the company received a certificate of registration for a Discharge of Vehicle Maintenance Wastewater permit. The permit required Carisma to discharge its wastewater to either a sanitary sewer, or to a holding tank, where it would be held before being taken to a sewage treatment plant. The business had two wastewater holding tanks.
The complaint also alleges that following an October, 2011 inspection, DEEP learned Carisma was pumping wastewater out of a holding tank at least three times a week to the ground surface behind the car wash. DEEP issued a notice of violation against the company. During another inspection on January 24, 2012, the DEEP learned Carisma was discharging water directly from the holding tank to the subsurface.
Further, the complaint alleges that on June 26, 2012, a DEEP inspection determined that one of the holding tanks had an attached pipe that allowed untreated wastewater to flow into the ground more than 30 feet away, in violation of the permit.
In addition to temporary and permanent injunctions, the state has asked the court to order the subsurface pipe sealed and to require the company to provide weekly receipts to DEEP showing the wastewater is being taken to a treatment facility; to install a groundwater monitoring well in the wooded area behind the business to determine whether pollutants have impacted the groundwater; and to provide the DEEP with a detailed as-built drawing of the facilities wastewater system.
Cadiz Agrees to Improve Sewers, Protect Public Health and Environment
Specifically, the village will (among other actions):
submit applications to Ohio EPA to improve its north, central, and south trunk lines, sewerage systems, and wastewater treatment plant (or submit an application to construct a new wastewater treatment plant);
study its sewerage systems’ flow rates and submit a corresponding report; conduct inspections as agreed upon; and
eliminate the infiltration/inflow of clean water to its wastewater treatment plant during heavy rain events.
Cadiz has attempted to alleviate its infiltration/inflow problem by taking actions such as smoke testing, installing flow meters for data collection, purchasing sewer cameras, and mapping manholes. The village is required to comply with its permit and maintain its plant in good working order at all times.
Since a compliance evaluation inspection in 2008, Ohio EPA has noted that clean water infiltration/inflow into the collection system causes collection system overflows, and surges of clean water in Cadiz’s plant adversely affect the plant’s ability to comply with its permit to discharge wastewater. The plant has exceeded its average daily design hydraulic flow of 0.60 million gallons on numerous occasions for extended periods since 2009. Additionally, the plant exceeded effluent limits for nitrogen, ammonia, and other parameters in 2011 and 2012. Other violations, namely obstructions in the sewerage line, came to the Agency’s attention in 2010 and 2012.
While several businesses are being allowed to connect to the sewerage systems, the settlement provides for a standard connection ban to prohibit most additional connections/extensions to the sewerage systems and wastewater treatment plant unless repairs can demonstrate public health, welfare and the environment are being protected.
Shell Oil Company Challenged for Inadequate Oil Spill Response Plans
The plans, approved by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), describe how the company says it will prepare for and respond to a major oil spill caused by exploration drilling in America’s Arctic Ocean. A decision in this lawsuit would be the first in a challenge to offshore oil spill response plans in the US.
Environmental News Links
Trivia Question of the Week
Which US State has the most Superfund sites?
a. California
b. North Carolina
c. Texas
d. New Jersey