EPA Updates Water Quality Standards

EPA has updated the federal water quality standards (WQS) regulation to provide a better-defined pathway for states and authorized tribes to improve water quality and protect high quality waters. 

Specifically, this rule:

• Clarifies what constitutes an EPA Administrator’s determination that new or revised WQS are necessary
• Refines how states and authorized tribes assign and revise designated uses for individual water bodies
•  
• Establishes stronger antidegradation requirements to enhance protection of high quality waters and promotes public transparency
• Adds new regulatory provisions to promote the appropriate use of WQS variances
• Clarifies that a state or authorized tribe must adopt, and EPA must approve, a permit compliance schedule authorizing provision prior to authorizing the use of schedules of compliance for water quality-based effluent limits (WQBELs) in NPDES permits

EPA provides a comparison document showing the revisions made by this final rule, and a second document showing the revisions made between the proposed and final rule. 

In total, these revisions to the WQS regulation enable states and authorized tribes to more effectively address complex water quality challenges, protect existing water quality, and facilitate environmental improvements. The final rule also leads to better understanding and proper use of available CWA tools by promoting transparent and engaged public participation. This action finalizes the WQS regulation revisions initially proposed by EPA on September 4, 2013.

 

New Exclusions for Solvent Recycling and Hazardous Secondary Materials

EPA’s new final rule on the definition of solid waste creates new opportunities for waste recycling outside the scope of the full hazardous waste regulations. This rule, which went into effect on July 13, 2015, streamlines the regulatory burden for wastes that are legitimately recycled.

The first of the two exclusions is an exclusion from the definition of solid waste for high-value solvents transferred from one manufacturer to another for the purpose of extending the useful life of the original solvent by keeping the materials in commerce to reproduce a commercial grade of the original solvent product.

The second, and more wide-reaching of the two exclusions, is a revision of the existing hazardous secondary material recycling exclusion. This exclusion allows you to recycle, or send off-site for recycling, virtually any hazardous secondary material. Provided you meet the terms of the exclusion, the material will no longer be hazardous waste.

Learn how to take advantage of these exclusions at Environmental Resource Center’s live webcast where you will learn:

• Which of your materials qualify under the new exclusions
• What qualifies as a hazardous secondary material
• Which solvents can be remanufactured, and which cannot
• What is a tolling agreement
• What is legitimate recycling
• Generator storage requirements
• What documentation you must maintain
• Requirements for off-site shipments
• Training and emergency planning requirements
• If it is acceptable for the recycler to be outside the US

 

EPA Issues New Industrial Stormwater General Permit

 If you were permitted under the 2008 MSGP and need to obtain coverage under the new permit, you must submit your Notice of Intent (NOI)—in accordance with the 2015 MSGP’s updated NOI requirements—by September 2, 2015.

 

You will learn how to:

• Obtain a stormwater discharge permit
• Develop and implement an effective SWPPP
• Select and implement effective control measures (including best management practices)
• Develop and document inspection procedures
• Implement an effective monitoring and sampling plan
• Meet your permit’s training requirements
• Comply with reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Certify no-exposure
• Comply with permit renewal requirements
• Terminate permit coverage

 

Houston RCRA and DOT Training

 

 

Charlotte RCRA, DOT, and Stormwater Training

 

Nashville RCRA and DOT Training

 

 

EPA Proposes to Cut Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Sector

 

Methane, the key constituent of natural gas, is a potent GHG with a global warming potential more than 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Methane is the second most prevalent GHG emitted in the United States from human activities, and nearly 30% of those emissions come from oil production and the production, transmission, and distribution of natural gas.

“Today, through our cost-effective proposed standards, we are underscoring our commitment to reducing the pollution fueling climate change and protecting public health while supporting responsible energy development, transparency and accountability,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Cleaner-burning energy sources like natural gas are key compliance options for our Clean Power Plan and we are committed to ensuring safe and responsible production that supports a robust clean energy economy.”

The proposed standards for new and modified sources are expected to reduce 340,000 to 400,000 short tons of methane in 2025, the equivalent of reducing 7.7 to 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. EPA estimates the rule will yield net climate benefits of $120 to $150 million in 2025. Those standards are also expected to reduce 170,000 to 180,000 tons of ozone-forming VOCs in 2025, along with 1,900 to 2,500 tons of air toxics, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Ozone is linked to a variety of serious public health effects, including reduced lung function, asthma attacks, asthma development, emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and early death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes. Air toxics include chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects.

To cut methane and VOC emissions, the proposal requires:

• Finding and repairing leaks
• Capturing natural gas from the completion of hydraulically fractured oil wells
• Limiting emissions from new and modified pneumatic pumps
• Limiting emissions from several types of equipment used at natural gas transmission compressor stations, including compressors and pneumatic controllers

This flexible program has the potential to foster significant cost-effective emission reductions across the oil and gas sector and to provide transparency on the progress partner companies are making to reduce emissions.

As part of the proposal, the agency is updating the 2012 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to address methane as well as VOC emissions for sources covered in that rule. EPA’s proposal would also require that industry reduce VOC and methane emissions from hydraulically fractured and refractured oil wells, which can contain significant amounts of natural gas along with oil. In addition, the proposal means methane and VOC reductions “downstream” from wells and production sites, covering equipment in the natural gas transmission segment of the industry that was not regulated in the agency’s 2012 oil and natural gas rules. Additionally, the agency proposes to clarify and streamline Clean Air Act permitting requirements in states and Indian country.

The recent proposal includes proposed guidelines for states to reduce VOC emissions from existing oil and gas sources in certain ozone nonattainment areas as well as mid-Atlantic and Northeast states that are part of the Ozone Transport Region.

EPA will take comment on the proposals for 60 days after they are published in the Federal Register. The agency will hold public hearings and will announce details soon. 

New Technology Can Expand LED Lighting, Cutting Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Highly efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could slash the world’s electricity consumption. They are already sold in stores, but more widespread adoption of the technology has been hindered by high costs due to limited availability of raw materials and difficulties in achieving acceptable light quality. But researchers will report that they have overcome these obstacles and have developed a less expensive, more sustainable white LED.

The scientists will discuss their research at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. The national meeting, which takes place here through Thursday, features more than 9,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

“If more people in the US used LEDs in their homes and businesses, the country’s electricity consumption could be cut in half,” says Zhichao Hu, Ph.D., a member of the Rutgers University team that performed the research under the direction of Jing Li, Ph.D. At that time, he was a graduate student. He is now a postdoc at Rutgers and is studying the recovery of rare-earth elements there. Zhichao adds that studies show substituting one LED light for a common incandescent light bulb in every American household could save the nation $700 million annually in energy costs.

To achieve the common, soft white light that consumers expect, current LED technologies typically use a single semiconductor chip to produce light, usually blue, and then rely on a yellow-emitting “phosphor” coating to shift the color to white. That’s because LEDs do not emit a white light. The phosphor is made from materials, such as cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet, that are composed of rare-earth elements. These elements are expensive and in limited supply, since they are primarily available only from mining operations outside the US. Additionally, the light output of these phosphors tends to be harsh, “cold” colors.

Li’s team is developing hybrid phosphor-based technologies that are much more sustainable, efficient and low-cost. They combine common, earth-abundant metals with organic luminescent molecules to produce phosphors that emit a controllable white light from LEDs. By varying the metal and organic components, the researchers can systematically tune the color of the phosphors to regions of the visible light spectrum that are most acceptable to the human eye, Hu and Li note. The team is continuing to experiment and develop other rare-earth-free LED phosphors based on different metals and organic compounds.

Many material combinations are possible, so they use a computational approach to initially sort through the possibilities and to predict what color of light the various metals and organics combinations will emit. They then test the best combinations experimentally.

Their approach allows a systematic fine tuning of band gaps and optical emissions that cover the entire visible range, including yellow and white colors. As a result, their LEDs can be fine-tuned to create a warmer white light, similar to cheaper but inefficient incandescent lights. Their approach shows significant promise for use in general lighting applications.

“One of challenges we had to overcome was to figure out the right conditions to synthesize the compound,” Hu notes. “Like cooking, the synthesis requires a ‘recipe.’ It’s often not the case that one can simply mix the starting materials together and get the desired product. We optimized the reaction conditions—temperature and the addition of a solvent—and developed an easy procedure to make the compound with high yield.”

Experiments with some materials have shown that the team’s technology can cut LED costs by as much as 90% from current methods that rely on rare-earth elements. They have several granted and pending US patents and are exploring manufacturing possibilities.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation and Rutgers University. Hu is currently funded by the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute.

‘Diamonds from the Sky’ Approach Turns CO₂ into Valuable Products

Finding a technology to shift carbon dioxide (CO₂), the most abundant anthropogenic GHG, from a climate change problem to a valuable commodity has long been a dream of many scientists and government officials. Now, a team of chemists says they have developed a technology to economically convert atmospheric CO₂ directly into highly valued carbon nanofibers for industrial and consumer products.

The team will present brand-new research on this new CO₂ capture and utilization technology at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS is the world’s largest scientific society. The national meeting, which takes place here through Thursday, features more than 9,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

“We have found a way to use atmospheric CO₂ to produce high-yield carbon nanofibers,” says Stuart Licht, Ph.D., who leads a research team at George Washington University. “Such nanofibers are used to make strong carbon composites, such as those used in the Boeing Dreamliner, as well as in high-end sports equipment, wind turbine blades and a host of other products.”

Previously, the researchers had made fertilizer and cement without emitting CO₂, which they reported. Now, the team, which includes postdoctoral fellow Jiawen Ren, Ph.D., and graduate student Jessica Stuart, says their research could shift CO₂ from a global-warming problem to a feed stock for the manufacture of in-demand carbon nanofibers.

Licht calls his approach “diamonds from the sky.” That refers to carbon being the material that diamonds are made of, and also hints at the high value of the products, such as the carbon nanofibers that can be made from atmospheric carbon and oxygen.

Because of its efficiency, this low-energy process can be run using only a few volts of electricity, sunlight, and a whole lot of carbon dioxide. At its root, the system uses electrolytic syntheses to make the nanofibers. CO₂ is broken down in a high-temperature electrolytic bath of molten carbonates at 1,380 degrees F (750 degrees C). Atmospheric air is added to an electrolytic cell. Once there, the CO₂ dissolves when subjected to the heat and direct current through electrodes of nickel and steel. The carbon nanofibers build up on the steel electrode, where they can be removed, Licht says.

To power the syntheses, heat and electricity are produced through a hybrid and extremely efficient concentrating solar-energy system. The system focuses the sun’s rays on a photovoltaic solar cell to generate electricity and on a second system to generate heat and thermal energy, which raises the temperature of the electrolytic cell.

Licht estimates electrical energy costs of this “solar thermal electrochemical process” to be around $1,000 per ton of carbon nanofiber product, which means the cost of running the system is hundreds of times less than the value of product output.

“We calculate that with a physical area less than 10% the size of the Sahara Desert, our process could remove enough CO₂ to decrease atmospheric levels to those of the pre-industrial revolution within 10 years,” he says.

At this time, the system is experimental, and Licht’s biggest challenge will be to ramp up the process and gain experience to make consistently sized nanofibers. “We are scaling up quickly,” he adds, “and soon should be in range of making tens of grams of nanofibers an hour.”

Licht explains that one advance the group has recently achieved is the ability to synthesize carbon fibers using even less energy than when the process was initially developed. “Carbon nanofiber growth can occur at less than 1 volt at 750 degrees C, which for example is much less than the 3–5 volts used in the 1,000 degree C industrial formation of aluminum,” he says.

The team’s research has been funded primarily by the National Science Foundation.

EPA Updates Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing and Phosphate Fertilizer Production NESHAP

EPA recently completed the residual risk and technology review conducted for the Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing and Phosphate Fertilizer Production source categories regulated under national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP). 

Based on this review, EPA published final amendments to the Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing NESHAP on August 19, which include: numeric emission limits for previously unregulated mercury (Hg) and total fluoride emissions from calciners; work practice standards for hydrogen fluoride (HF) emissions from previously unregulated gypsum dewatering stacks and cooling ponds; clarifications to the applicability and monitoring requirements to accommodate process equipment and technology changes; removal of the exemptions for startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM); adoption of work practice standards for periods of startup and shutdown; and revised recordkeeping and reporting requirements for periods of SSM. The final amendments to the Phosphate Fertilizer Production NESHAP include: clarifications to the applicability and monitoring requirements to accommodate process equipment and technology changes; removal of the exemptions for SSM; adoption of work practice standards for periods of startup and shutdown; and revised recordkeeping and reporting requirements for periods of SSM.

The revised NESHAP for Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing facilities will mitigate future increases of mercury emissions from phosphate rock calciners by requiring pollution prevention measures. Further, based on the 8-year review of the current NSPS for these source categories, the EPA determined that no revisions to the numeric emission limits in those rules are warranted.

 

Illinois Property Sealed Due to Environmental Hazards from Abandoned Chemicals

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa Bonnett has issued an order to seal the property identified as Advanced Asymmetrics, Inc., located at 109 South Kossuth, in Millstadt, St. Clair County, from public access due to health and safety concerns from chemicals remaining in the abandoned laboratory.

The Seal Order restricts public access to the site, and prohibits entry by anyone except authorized personnel in the performance of official duties. Those entering the site must also comply with applicable OSHA regulations.

 The Illinois EPA has asked that US EPA become the lead agency to oversee the proper removal of the remaining chemicals and dismantling of the remaining portions of the laboratory.

Advanced Asymmetrics, Inc., and its President and Registered, Lawrence D. Rutledge, abandoned the facility. Utilities to the building were disconnected in 2012. The facility is bordered by residential homes and a senior living facility.

The Illinois EPA inspected the site on August 14 and discovered that the facility had several unlocked doors and broken windows with missing glass. Inspectors could detect an odor from the outside of the building and took precaution by wearing Level B protection with self-containing breathing apparatus prior to entering the premises. Upon entering the building, inspectors found analytical equipment, labeled and unlabeled chemical bottles, and broken bottles on the floor. Several containers labeled hazardous waste were also found on the property. Thousands of containers ranging from a few milliliters to 55-gallon drums were discovered during the inspection.

The abandoned laboratory poses an increased danger to the public due to the quantity of known and unknown chemicals that were found to be unsecured on the property. The Illinois EPA believes that the site poses an immediate health threat to anyone entering the site.

The Seal Order will remain in effect until rescinded by Director Bonnett.

Ardagh Glass Inc. Fined over $103,000 for Stormwater Violations

Wastewater discharged by a glass manufacturing company in Milford, Massachusetts, into wetlands adjacent to the Charles River will be cleaner as a result of a recent settlement between the manufacturer and the EPA. Ardagh Glass, Inc., agreed to pay a $103,440 penalty and to fund three environmental projects costing a total of about $121,700 to settle claims it was discharging wastewater in violation of its permits.

In addition, the company will buy firefighting equipment and materials for the Town of Milford Fire Department.

 

“We are glad that action has been taken to make sure wastewater and stormwater discharged by the company complies with federal permits and standards designed to protect our environment,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “This action will ensure that the Charles River is protected.”

During a September 2013 inspection of the facility, EPA inspectors found that the company was not consistently in compliance with permit effluent limitations for maximum daily flow, acidity, temperature, and residual chlorine concentrations in cooling water it discharged between 2010 and 2014.

EPA also alleged that the company did not comply with the conditions in its stormwater discharge permit. While Ardagh maintained a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, it was not fully implementing certain terms and conditions required by the permit and in the plan, including: conducting and documenting all the required routine facility site inspections, quarterly visual assessments for discharges to the wetlands, and annual comprehensive site inspections; illustrating required information in a facility site diagram; installing adequate control measures to minimize the exposure of industrial materials stored outside from coming into contact with stormwater; and managing stormwater runoff to minimize soil erosion and reduce pollutants in discharges to the wetlands and ultimately the Charles River.

Finally EPA alleged that the company discharged untreated process wastewater into adjacent wetlands without a permit.

The law also requires that industrial facilities, such as glass manufacturers, have controls in place to minimize pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. Each site must have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that sets guidelines and best management practices that the company will follow to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants. Without on-site controls, runoff from industrial facilities can flow directly to the nearest waterway and can reduce water quality resulting in, for instance, siltation of rivers, beach closings, fishing restrictions, and habitat degradation. As stormwater flows over these sites, it can pick up pollutants, including sediment, used oil, and other debris. Polluted process water discharges and stormwater runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality.

Pennsylvania Water Utility to Reduce Sewage Discharges to Delaware River and Local Creeks

 In a proposed consent decree, DELCORA has agreed to develop and implement a plan to control and significantly reduce overflows from its sewer system, which will improve the water quality of the Delaware River, Chester Creek, and Ridley Creek near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Based on information submitted by DELCORA, EPA estimates that the Authority could spend as much as $200 million to implement an overflow control plan that complies with the terms of the Clean Water Act. Once the specific pollution control measures are selected and approved, the settlement requires DELCORA to implement the plan as quickly as possible, with a 20-year deadline from when the settlement is filed in court to complete the necessary controls. DELCORA must also pay a $1.375 million penalty for prior violations, which will be split between the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a co-plaintiff in this case.

“This settlement means cleaner water for communities in the greater Philadelphia area, including many that have historically been overburdened by water pollution,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “These communities have demonstrated how effective long-term planning and public participation can protect clean water in a way that’s achievable and cost effective.”

“This important agreement will protect residents from sewers that discharge raw sewage and other contaminants into local waterways,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “It is the latest in a series of settlements with municipalities across the country to address aging and inadequate sewer infrastructure, particularly in older communities where residents have had to deal with sewer overflows for generations. Agreements like this one are a victory for environmental justice.”

 According to DELCORA, the volume of combined sewage that overflows from the system is approximately 739 million gallons annually.

Exposure to raw sewage can cause a range of illnesses from stomach cramps and diarrhea to life-threatening ailments such as cholera, dysentery, infectious hepatitis, and severe gastroenteritis. Children, the elderly, people with weaker immune systems, and pregnant women face greater risks to the health impacts of exposure to sewage.

DELCORA’s wastewater facilities serve approximately 500,000 people in the greater Philadelphia area, including many low-income communities. Once fully implemented, the settlement will help reduce the direct exposure of low-income and minority populations in the service area to raw sewage. DELCORA must also seek input from the public on the long-term control plan, including from Chester and surrounding communities that have historically been overburdened by pollution.

The consent decree also requires DELCORA to notify the public of CSO discharges using a visual notification system, including warning lights and flags at CSO outfalls, where a sewer empties into local waterways.

Keeping raw sewage and contaminated storm water out of the waters of the United States is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives. EPA is working to reduce discharges from sewer overflows by securing commitments from cities to implement timely, affordable solutions.

 

Coastal Energy Penalized for Clean Water Act, Emergency Planning Violations

 The settlement requires Coastal to pay $25,000 in cash penalties and complete more than $175,000 in supplemental environmental projects.

Coastal Energy manufactures asphalt oil and stores approximately 2.8 million gallons of liquid asphalt, ethanol, and diesel fuel at this facility, which is directly adjacent to the Eleven Point River.

“The proposed settlement today represents a significant step forward in ensuring Coastal Energy Corporation is taking the necessary actions toward protecting the Eleven Point River, and the communities it serves,” said EPA Region 7 Acting Regional Administrator Mark Hague.

EPA inspected the facility in early 2014. Coastal lacked a facility response plan and did not have an adequate spill prevention, control and countermeasure plan. It also failed to provide required secondary containment for oil storage. These Clean Water Act requirements are intended to prevent accidental releases, and to ensure facilities are better able to respond to releases that do occur.

This requirement seeks to ensure that state and local officials, and the public, have access to information about the general hazard types and locations of hazardous chemicals.

The company also submitted the required information about propane storage at its facility that it had previously failed to provide.

The proposed settlement agreement requires the company to spend at least $107,347 on the installation of technology to monitor its asphalt and ethanol tanks for accidental releases 24 hours a day. Coastal personnel will be automatically notified of a loss from one of these tanks during off-hours, reducing the chance of a release affecting the local environment. In addition, the company is required to spend a minimum of $73,200 in enhancing the emergency response capability of local emergency responders. The company will provide firefighter protective clothing, air packs, emergency oxygen, and containment boom to the Willow Springs Fire Department.

The technology improvements and response equipment are considered Supplemental Environmental Projects. A SEP is intended to be a project that produces environmental or public health and safety benefits, earning partial credit by EPA to offset the cost of the penalty.

“This Supplemental Environmental Project is an example of how using advanced monitoring technologies coupled with real time e-reporting can protect the environment and drive compliance,” said EPA Region 7 Acting Regional Administrator Mark Hague.

The proposed settlement document is subject to a 40-day public comment period before it becomes final. 

The Iowa Fertilizer Company and Orascom E and C USA Cited for Clean Water Act Violations

 

 EPA Region 7 inspected the facility in June 2014 to evaluate the site’s compliance with its stormwater permit. Of the 369-acre site, construction-related activity had occurred on nearly 323 acres.

 EPA observed that the violations resulted in sediment-laden stormwater leaving the site and entering a tributary of the Mississippi River.

Construction projects have a high potential for environmental harm as they disturb large areas of land and significantly increase the potential for erosion. The Clean Water Act requires construction sites to have controls in place to limit pollution from being discharged via stormwater into nearby waterways. 

The Clean Water Act seeks to protect streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. Protecting streams and wetlands is also part of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea level rise, stronger storms, and warmer temperatures.

Following EPA’s inspection, the companies took actions to address the violations observed during the inspection and to return the site to compliance with the Clean Water Act. The proposed settlement is subject to a 40-day public comment period before it becomes final.

Mississippi Phosphates Corp. Pleads Guilty to Clean Water Act Violation and Agrees to Transfer 320 Acres to Grand Bay National Estuary

Mississippi Phosphates Corp. (MPC), a Mississippi corporation which owned and operated a fertilizer manufacturing facility located on Bayou Casotte in Pascagoula, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to a felony information charging the company with a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and US Attorney Gregory K. Davis for the Southern District of Mississippi.

As part of the guilty plea, MPC admitted discharging more than 38 million gallons of acidic wastewater in August 2013. The discharge contained pollutants in amounts greatly exceeding MPC’s permit limits, resulting in the death of more than 47,000 fish and the closing of Bayou Casotte. MPC also admitted that, in February 2014, MPC discharged oily wastewater from an open gate on a storm water culvert into Bayou Casotte, creating an oily sheen that extended approximately one mile down the bayou from MPC.

MPC entered its guilty plea before Chief Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Because MPC is in bankruptcy and is obligated to assist in funding the estimated $120 million cleanup of its site, the court accepted the parties’ agreement for MPC to transfer 320 acres of property near to its Pascagoula plant to become a part of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, which is managed by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

“With this plea, Mississippi Phosphates has accepted responsibility for having discharged millions of gallons of industrial pollutants that killed tens of thousands of fish, damaged marine habitats and polluted recreational waterways,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hirsch. “Mississippi Phosphates has acknowledged its misconduct and has been sentenced to transfer property it owns that is adjacent to the Grand Bay National Estuary, thus protecting and potentially rehabilitating a vital marine resource that this company’s pollutant discharges had severely damaged.”

“When operators break the law, they can harm natural resources and communities such as those around Bayou Casotte and neighboring waterways,” Acting Special Agent in Charge said Andy Castro of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Mississippi. “Over the years, state, local, and federal governments have spent billions of dollars restoring the delicate Gulf Coast ecosystem. Illegally discharged wastewater compromises that hard work. EPA will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to hold companies fully accountable for their conduct, and to ensure they comply with laws that protect the public and from harm.”

As the felony information describes, when it was in full production, MPC manufactured diammonium phosphate fertilizers from phosphate rock which it received by ship and rail and from sulphur which was piped to its facility from a neighboring oil refinery. In its production of fertilizer, MPC generated a variety of pollutants and hazardous wastes. In the manufacturing process, strong acids, and ammonia were produced. If improperly discharged, acids and ammonia can be highly toxic to fish and to other forms of marine life. MPC was obligated to comply with permits issued by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) under the authority of the EPA as prescribed by the Clean Water Act. These permits regulated the storage and discharge of MPC’s stormwater and wastewater, prescribing the circumstances under which they could be discharged into Bayou Casotte and limiting the concentration and quantity of the pollutants they could contain.

As detailed in the felony information, since January 2000, MPC has been cited by MDEQ in numerous notices for hundreds of violations of its Clean Water Act permit for discharging wastewater exceeding its pollutant limits. MPC was also cited for its failure to maintain adequate wastewater storage capacity, its discharge of untreated wastewater from its sulfuric acid plant directly through MPC’s main outfall, its combined release of untreated and undertreated stormwater and process wastewater from other outfalls, and its failure to implement required remedial measures to prevent the pollutant discharges and environmental harm it has caused for decades. An April 2005 discharge resulted in the release of more than 17 million gallons of highly acidic wastewater into waterways adjacent to its facility, including Bayou Casotte, Tillman Creek and Bangs Lake of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. These waters are some of the most productive nurseries for aquatic species on the Gulf Coast. MPC’s massive discharge of pollutants resulted in the death of thousands of fish and other forms of marine life as well as the destruction of marsh grass, trees, and shrubs. In the years following this environmental catastrophe, in spite of MDEQ’s orders and MPC’s remedial proposals, MPC never implemented the measures necessary to prevent the release of pollutants from its facility and the discharge of an even larger torrent of wastewater destroying even more marine life.

EPA Quietly Rolls Back School PCB Safeguards

 If followed, this guidance would result in thousands of students and teachers occupying schoolrooms containing illegal levels of PCBs, a bio-accumulating carcinogen linked to disruption of the immune, endocrine, and neurological systems.

Caulk in schools built between 1950 and 1980 often has high levels of PCBs which can contaminate adjacent materials such as masonry or wood. 

In the last week of July, EPA quietly replaced guidance from its website with new documents which barely mention the TSCA prohibition EPA is supposed to enforce. Instead, the new guidance to schools:

• Fails to recommend testing caulk for PCBs regardless of the risk level for human exposure unless the buildings are going to be demolished or reconstructed
• Downplays the need for air testing of exposure except in extreme circumstances
• Downgrades the categorization of air testing from “health” or “maximum concentration” levels to factors for “thoughtful consideration” which “should not be interpreted nor applied as ‘bright line’ or ‘not-to-exceed’ criteria.” At the same time, EPA has significantly raised the exposure levels for young children—doubling levels to be “thoughtfully considered” for 3 to 6-year olds and raising them for most other age groups.

“EPA is basically advising school districts to fly blind—not recommending caulk testing and discouraging air testing for PCBs,” stated PEER Senior Counsel Paula Dinerstein, pointing out that EPA does not display the research that led it to increase human exposure limits. “Without any public discussion, EPA has retreated to a perverse ‘don’t-ask-don’t-tell’ toxic enforcement approach for protecting school children and teachers.”

This passive posture is playing out in a federal lawsuit by PEER, on behalf of teachers, and America Unites, on behalf of parents and students in the public schools in Malibu, California. Despite findings of ultra-high PCB levels (some in excess of 50% of tested caulk and over 11,000 times the legal limit), EPA has refused to direct district officials to conduct comprehensive testing or to take any enforcement action under TSCA. The suit seeks removal of all illegal levels of PCB by court order.

In prior years, by contrast, EPA pursued enforcement consent orders which, for example, directed the removal of all caulk and surrounding material after limited sampling showed PCB levels above the statutory threshold in one case, and removal of 900 windows in another case based on only a dozen samples showing caulk above 50 ppm.

“Under EPA’s new guidance, these enforcement cases would never have been brought and the PCB-laden materials would still be in place, because the testing would never have been done,” added Dinerstein, noting that school systems can still choose to be more protective and test and remediate PCB-containing materials. 

KDHE Recognizes Businesses for Pollution Prevention and Waste Removal Efforts

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has announced the 2015 Pollution Prevention (P2) Award recipients. The announcement was made during an awards luncheon at the Kansas Environmental Conference, held August 18-20, at the Ramada Downtown Hotel and Conference Center in Topeka.

John Mitchell, KDHE Division of Environment Director, presented awards to the following companies: Via Christi Health in Wichita, DoubleTree Hotel in Wichita, General Motors Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City, Sherwin-Williams in Andover, and Kyle Railroad.

The Kansas Pollution Prevention Program promotes pollution prevention as an environmental ethic to achieve improvements in public health and environmental quality. The awards are presented to entities that have reduced or eliminated waste at the source, reduced air emissions or practiced energy and/or water conservation. 

“We are happy to honor these companies with this year’s P2 awards for their success in planning and implementing a variety of waste reduction and conservation projects,” Mitchell said. “In addition to recognizing these companies for their environmental accomplishments, the P2 awards allow us to showcase specific efforts that other Kansas businesses can incorporate into their manufacturing processes.”

• Via Christi Health in Wichita is a provider of health care services in Kansas. Via Christi Health is being awarded for its “Greening the OR” initiatives and efforts in energy conservation. Operating Room teams at Via Christi use hundreds of single use devices and instruments every week. Instead of discarding the devices, Via Christi Health now works with a vendor to reprocess and reuse these devices. Nearly five tons of devices that used to be incinerated or landfilled are now reprocessed annually, at a cost savings of approximately $159,000. Each of Via Christi Health’s nineteen surgical rooms has one light fixture that supports two spotlights. By upgrading the original spot lights in all nineteen OR surgical rooms, Via Christi Health saved 84,840 kilowatts per hour (kWh) and experienced a savings amounting $8,484. Via Christi Health also replaced their conventional lighting in underground passageways that connect the hospital to the distribution and energy centers, parking lots, garages, and ongoing remodeling projects. The lighting fixtures replacement documented savings of 135,200 kWh/year, representing a 50% reduction in energy use.
• DoubleTree by Hilton at the Wichita Airport is a hotel serving Kansas. DoubleTree is being awarded for its efforts in reducing energy and water usage. Lighting upgrades involving the replacement of incandescent lights in the lobby and restaurant areas with fluorescent lighting, and the upgrade of incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) in each of the 302 guest rooms’ ten lamps resulted in a decrease of 327,436 kWh/year. DoubleTree also changed out all 302 guest room sink aerators from 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) flow to 0.5 gpm resulting in the conservation of 1,201,387 gallons annually.
• General Motors Fairfax Assembly in Kansas City assembles the Chevrolet Malibu and the Buick Lacrosse. General Motors is receiving an award for its Purge Thinner Reduction Project. The main purpose of this project was to reduce the usage of the thinner that is used to purge paint from the lines (piping) to the painting equipment and used to clean the painting equipment between color changes. By creating a Purge Reduction Committee that met monthly and examined everything related to how the thinner was used, General Motors decreased its thinner use by 101,894 gallons, lessoned emissions by 92,700 lb, and experienced a savings of $405,500 over 12 months.
• Sherwin-Williams in Andover manufactures protective and marine paint coatings. Sherwin-Williams is receiving an award for its reduction in aquifer water and energy usage. The facility’s prior fire suppression system made use of two 200,000 gallon tanks that drew 26.1 gallons per minute of ground water from an aquifer. Installation of an enhanced fire suppression system resulted in less than 30,000 gallons of ground water needed for the facility’s protection. An employee Sustainability Team was created to focus on electricity usage reduction and their efforts have reduced the amount of electricity being consumed for every 100 lb of product produced from 10.18 kWh in 2013 to 8.52 kWh in 2014.
• Kyle Railroad was also honored for its work in disposing waste ties associated with railroad construction. Kyle Railroad operates 447 miles of track in the northwestern/north central section of Kansas. From 2013 through 2015, the Kyle Railroad worked on repairing their track from the City of Downs to the City of Solomon. The distance was approximately 110 miles of track and nearly 73,000 waste ties were generated. Kyle Railroad developed a plan to properly dispose of these ties at a permitted Construction and Demolition landfill. By carrying out this clean up and disposal work, Kyle is helping protect the environment and the scenic beauty of Kansas.

Congratulations to the 2015 P2 award recipients and Kyle Railroad.

General Motors Plant Receives Top Environmental Recognition by Ohio EPA

Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler recently presented General Motors Toledo Transmission plant with the Agency’s highest award for environmental stewardship, the Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) program Gold-level Award.

“GM is a leader in environmental stewardship. GM’s efforts are conserving energy and water, improving Ohio’s air quality and, by making the plant more efficient, benefitting the company financially. Indeed, good environmental policy is good economic policy,” Director Butler said.

GM’s Toledo Transmission plant manufactures automatic transmissions for GM’s light duty trucks, sport utility vehicles, cross-over vehicles and cars. The plant has produced more than 67 million transmissions in its history.

The plant is a landfill-free facility and hosts Ohio’s largest rooftop solar array. It received a Silver-level E3 award from Ohio EPA in 2013 and continued to pursue projects and efficiencies that further reduced the 2.2 million square foot facility’s environmental footprint to earn the Gold-level award.

“This is our community and we believe in being good neighbors,” said Joe Choate, plant manager. “Our people go to work with a sustainability mindset, providing us with innovative ways to build transmissions with less environmental impact.”

The Toledo Transmission plant’s environmentally beneficial activities include:

• Meeting US EPA’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry in 2013 by reducing energy intensity by 27% in three years
• Using renewable landfill gas to power 19% of the facility’s energy needs and a 1.8Mw solar array to power 3% of its electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions
• Changing a machined parts cleaner solution to a cleaner that performed at room temperature, saving the water and energy needed to heat the previous cleaner
• Replacing metal halide and high pressure sodium lighting with energy efficient T8 fluorescent and LED lights
• Installing variable frequency drives to machining operations to save more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity and reduce coolant use
• Recycling, reusing, or converting to energy waste from plant operations
• Installing four bio-swales to filter and reduce storm water runoff to Silver Creek and creating an additional three acres of no-mow zones to help filter stormwater

Ohio EPA’s E3 program acknowledges Ohio businesses and other organizations for completing environmentally beneficial activities and serves as an incentive to commit to ongoing environmental stewardship. The program has three levels: Achievement, Silver, and Gold. To earn a gold-level award, a business must have an excellent environmental compliance record, exceed regulatory compliance obligations, and commit to long-term strategies to reduce waste, lower emissions, and improve environmental performance. The award is open to business, industry, professional, and trade organizations and government entities in Ohio.

 

Environmental News Links

 

Trivia Question of the Week

 

What is the California Department of Water and Power using to lessen the impact of the drought?

 

a) Recycled fracking water

b) Plastic shade balls

c) Landfill leachate and runoff

d) Cloud seeding with real seeds