FAA PROPOSES $84,000 PENALTY AGAINST DIVISION OF MONSANTO CORP. FOR HAZMAT VIOLATIONS

The FAA, Southern Region, has proposed to assess an $84,000 civil penalty against Monsanto CorporationÆs Calgene Division of Davis, Calif., for allegedly violating Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations.

FAA alleges that Calgene knowingly offered to United Parcel Service a fiberboard box containing hazardous materials for transportation by air. The box contained one 500-milliliter glass container of ethyl acetate, one 500-milliliter glass container of acetone, and one four-liter glass container of ethanol. All are flammable liquids. The box also contained one 100-milliliter plastic container of acetic acid, one one-gallon plastic container of sodium hydroxide, and one one-gallon plastic container of hydrochloric acid. All are corrosives. Ground handling employees at the UPS sort facility at Louisville, Ky., discovered the shipment leaking.

Calgene offered the hazardous materials for transportation when they were not packaged, labeled, marked, classed, described, documented, or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. Calgene also failed to ensure employees were trained to properly package and handle hazardous materials, and did not make available at all times the required emergency response information.

EPA'S OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION ANNOUNCES WEB PAGE UPDATES AND ADDITIONS

EPA's Office of Environmental Information (OEI) announces the following web page updates and additions:

• The Environmental Data Registry (EDR) (http://www.epa.gov/edr/index.htm) provides current information on EPA approved data standards and associated business rules, current progress on development of data standards, and catalogs EPA's data collections. The EDR web site has been updated to reflect the EPA Quality and Information Council approval and adoption as final of the chemical identification and biological taxonomy data standards. Information pertaining to the four new areas for standardization that are currently being pursued by the State/Tribal/EPA Environmental Data Standards Council can also be accessed through the EDR. New search capabilities are enabled through the integration of the EDR with the following related systems:
• The Chemical Registry System (CRS) (http://www.epa.gov/crs/index.htm) provides information on chemical substances and how they are represented in EPA regulations and data systems
• The New Biology Registry System (BioRS) (http://www.epa.gov/biors/index.htm) provides information on biological organisms and how they are represented in the EPA regulations and information systems
• The New Substance Registry System (SRS) (http://www.epa.gov/srs/index.htm) serves as a portal to the BioRS and the CRS, providing capability to search for various substances in EPA regulations and information systems.
• The Terminology Reference System (TRS) (http://www.epa.gov/trs/index.htm) serves as a single resource of environmental terminology for the Agency by compiling collections of terms from EPA and other sources.

Visit OEI on-line at http://www.epa.gov/oei/.

EPA PUBLISHES PROPOSED RULE ON PAINT MANUFACTURING LISTING DETERMINATION

EPA proposes to amend the regulations for hazardous waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by listing as hazardous certain waste solids and liquids generated from the production of paint. EPA is proposing a concentration-based listing approach for each of these wastes. Under this approach, the identified paint production wastes are hazardous if they contain any of the constituents of concern at concentrations that meet or exceed regulatory levels. Generators must determine whether their wastes are listed hazardous wastes. If their wastes are below regulatory levels for all constituents of concern, then their wastes are nonhazardous.

EPA is also proposing a contingent management option for waste liquids. These wastes would not be subject to the listing if they are stored or treated exclusively in tanks or containers prior to discharge to a publicly owned treatment works or discharged under a Clean Water Act national pollutant discharge elimination system permit.

This proposal would also add the toxic constituents n-butyl alcohol, ethyl benzene, methyl isobutyl ketone, styrene, and xylenes found in these identified wastes to the list of constituents that serves as the basis for classifying wastes as hazardous, and to establish treatment standards for the wastes. Due to the uncertainties in assessment of the management of paint manufacturing waste liquids in surface impoundments, they are also considering an alternative proposal not to list paint manufacturing waste liquids. If these paint production wastes are listed as hazardous waste, then they will be subject to stringent management and treatment standards under Subtitle C of RCRA. Additionally, this action proposes to designate these wastes as hazardous substances subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and to adjust the one pound statutory reportable quantities (RQs) for these substances.

Other actions proposed in this notice would add acrylamide and styrene to the treatment standards applicable to multisource leachate and designate styrene as an underlying hazardous constituent. As a result, a single waste code would continue to be applicable to multisource landfill leachates and residues of characteristic wastes would require treatment when styrene is present above the proposed land disposal standards.

For more information or to download a copy of the prepublication Federal Register notice, visit http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/paint/index.htm.

GEORGIA POWER'S ELECTRIC VEHICLE EMPLOYEE LEASING PROGRAM SETS MILESTONE

Georgia Power's electric vehicle employee leasing program has set a milestone with more than one million commute miles.

Since its inception in December 1998, the employee vehicle leasing program began with eight electric vehicles and today has more than 140 electric vehicles in the program. The program is designed for Southern Company and Georgia Power employees living and working in the metro Atlanta area to commute to and from work by electric GM EV1s and Ford Rangers. The vehicles are also used for business-related meetings. Charging stations are available for employees to charge their vehicles at work, in their home garages, as well as at several malls in the metro Atlanta area.

"Our employees have really embraced this program," said Don Still, Georgia Power's electric transportation manager. "The majority of employees in the program began receiving their vehicles in December 1999 through January 2000, so this is a great accomplishment for the commute program," Still added.

An incentive enjoyed by employees other than the quiet ride and no visits to the gasoline station, is the use of the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Because electric vehicles are alternative fueled vehicles, employees are allowed to ride in the HOV lanes with just one occupant in the vehicle, resulting in shorter commute times. For more information on Georgia Power's employee leasing program, visit http://www.southernco.com/planetpower/ev/.

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), the nation's largest generator of electricity. The company is an investor- owned, tax-paying utility, serving customers in 57,000 of the state's 59,000 square miles. Georgia Power's rates are more than 15 percent below the national average and its 1.8 million customers are in all but six of Georgia's 159 counties.

FAA PROPOSES $70,000 PENALTY AGAINST KUBOTA TRACTOR CORP. FOR HAZMAT VIOLATIONS

The FAA, Southern Region, has proposed to assess a $70,000 civil penalty against Kubota Tractor Corp. of Suwanee, Ga., for allegedly violating Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations.

FAA alleges that Kubota knowingly offered to United Parcel Service a fiberboard box containing hazardous materials for transportation by air. The box contained a Kubota tractor battery filled with acid, a corrosive. The shipment was discovered when ground handling employee at the UPS sort facility at Southwest Florida International Airport in Ft. Myers discovered the shipment leaking.

Kubota offered the hazardous materials for transportation when they were not packaged, labeled, marked, classed, described, documented, or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. Kubota also failed to ensure employees were trained to properly package and handle hazardous materials, and did not make available at all times the required emergency response information.

FAA PROPOSES $84,000 PENALTY AGAINST TEXAS COMPANY FOR HAZMAT VIOLATIONS

The FAA, Southern Region, has proposed to assess a $84,000 civil penalty against Advanced Automotive Interior Design of Richardson, Tex., for allegedly violating Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations.

FAA alleges that Advanced Automotive Interior Design improperly offered a fiberboard box containing 10 air bag modules to Federal Express for transportation by air. Automotive air bag modules are classified as hazardous materials. Ground handling employees at the FedEx sort facility in Gadsden, Ala., discovered the shipment.

Advanced Automotive Interior Design offered the hazardous materials for transportation when they were not packaged, labeled, marked, classed, described, documented, or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. Advanced Automotive Interior Design also failed to ensure employees were trained to properly package and handle hazardous materials, and did not make available at all times the required emergency response information.

Advanced Automotive Interior Design has 30 days from receipt of the FAA notice to submit a reply to the agency.