EPA has announced that it has assumed the responsibility for implementation of provisions of the Clean Air Act Asbestos Program in Georgia. Due to budget constraints, Georgia has discontinued asbestos inspections, complaint follow-up, and enforcement. By mutual agreement between Georgia and EPA, the State will continue to process notifications for asbestos renovation, encapsulation and/or demolition, issue asbestos contractor licenses, and approve asbestos supervisor training courses. EPA will conduct inspections and enforcement of asbestos abatement renovation, disposal, and demolition projects for commercial, public, industrial, and certain types of multi-family residential structures.
EPA has established programs to collect information related to the asbestos violations. When necessary, EPA will pursue federal enforcement in cases where violations are found. The law allows for fines of up to $37,500 per day, for each violation.
Asbestos exposure has a direct, and substantially adverse, impact on human health. EPA’s requirements for working with asbestos are those found in the Clean Air Act’s National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Asbestos. These regulations are designed to minimize exposure to asbestos.
High concentrations of airborne asbestos can occur after asbestos-containing materials are disturbed by cutting, sanding, or other remodeling activities. Improper attempts to remove these materials can release asbestos fibers into the air increasing asbestos levels and endangering people occupying these structures.
EPA Wants You to Use New Software for RMP Reporting
EPA asks that submissions for all facilities use this new method to submit RMPs because it is easy to use, will improve data quality, and will enable you to access your RMP 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
EPA updated several guidance documents and fact sheets relating to the RMP.
Brian Karnofsky Jailed for Muscular Dystrophy
Brian has been arrested and will be put in jail for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) lock-up. We need to collect $2,000 for the MDA to help bail him out. Your tax deductible donation will help MDA continue research into the causes and cures for 43 neuromuscular diseases.
If you enjoy reading the Environmental Tip of the Week, now is the time to help us give hope to kids and families that need our help.
Brian is the President of Environmental Resource Center. Many of you helped bail him out in 2007 and 2008, but he’s on his way back to jail this year. Don’t bother asking what crimes he’s committed—just know that we need your help bailing him out.
Cynthia J. Giles Nominated for EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance
Cynthia J. Giles has been nominated for EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance. Giles is currently the Vice President and Director of Conservation Law Foundation’s Rhode Island Advocacy Center, where she has focused on state and regional advocacy to combat climate change. From 2001 to 2005, Cynthia served as head of the Bureau of Resource Protection at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Giles worked for the U.S. EPA in a variety of capacities from 1991 to 1997.
From 1995-1997, she was Enforcement Director for Region 3 and developed a “results-targeted” approach to enforcement. Her responsibilities included overseeing enforcement of federal laws regulating toxics and protecting air, drinking water and surface water. She also chaired a regional ozone compliance initiative which developed strategies for reducing smog-causing emissions from stationary sources.
Prior to joining EPA, Giles was an Assistant United States Attorney, where she prosecuted violations of federal environmental laws. She holds a BA from Cornell University, as well as a JD from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MPA from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She is admitted to the bar in the State of Rhode Island, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, and State of Pennsylvania.
EPA Issues Latest Information on Toxic Chemical Releases
Releases to air decreased 7% and releases to water decreased 5%.
“Serving the public’s right to know is the crucial first step in reducing toxic chemicals in the places where we live, work, and raise children.”
“I’m also pleased,” Jackson added, “that Congress under the leadership of Senator Lautenberg took action to restore the rigorous reporting standards of this vital program.”
The report shows increases in the releases of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals like lead, dioxin, mercury, and PCBs. Overall PBTs releases increased 1%. The increases were primarily due to a handful of facilities, and most of the releases reported were not to the air or water.
Total disposal or other releases of mercury increased 38%, but air emissions of mercury were down 3%. The majority of mercury releases were reported by the mining industry.
PCB releases went up 40%. EPA banned the production of PCBs in the U.S. in 1979 and disposing of it safely to permitted, hazardous waste landfills is the final important step in removing it from use. Dioxin releases or disposal increased 11%. Lead releases increased by 1%. The majority of lead released was by the mining industry to land.
This year’s annual publication of the data includes 650 chemicals from 22,000 facilities. TRI provides the American public with vital information on chemical releases to communities and is an important tool industry can use to gauge its progress in reducing pollution. TRI reporting includes toxics managed in landfills and underground injection wells as well as those released into water and the air.
TRI tracks the chemicals and industrial sectors specified by the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA or SARA Title III) and its amendments. The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 also mandates that TRI reports include data on toxic chemicals treated on site, recycled, and burned for energy recovery. Together, these laws require facilities in certain industries to report annually on releases, disposal, and other waste management activities related to these chemicals.
Recently, TRI reporting changed with the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 11. The new law returns TRI to the more comprehensive reporting requirements that were in effect before December 21, 2006.
EPA Sued over Deregulation of Hazardous Waste
This last-minute rule from the Bush administration redefines the hazardous waste as “fuel,” allowing facilities that generate, store, and transport it to avoid federal requirements for preventing leaks, spills, and toxic emissions. Earthjustice is representing the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and the Sierra Club in their lawsuit.
“Here in Louisiana, we know all about the devastating health effects that result from exposure to hazardous chemicals,” said Marylee Orr, Executive Director of Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN). “The whole point of regulating hazardous waste is to provide communities like ours with some protection against these poisons, and it is absolutely outrageous that the Bush administration would deprive us of that protection just to enrich the oil and chemical companies that generate this waste.”
The rule will not only allow facilities that store and transport the exempted waste to avoid the tracking, permitting, closure and financial assurance requirements in the RCRA. It also will allow the waste to be burned in ordinary boilers and process heaters instead of facilities designed and permitted to burn hazardous waste safely.
“This rule is wrongheaded,” said Marti Sinclair, chair of the Sierra Club’s Clean Air Team. “Americans are counting on cleaner, greener fuels, efficiency and alternative fuels to improve our health, environment, and economy. This Bush-era rule fails on all counts by allowing sloppy handling and disposal of dirty dangerous wastes. This lawsuit seeks to put an end to this dead-end gambit.”
Hazardous waste often contains extremely dangerous levels of toxic chemicals, exposure to which can cause cancer, heart, and lung disease, and other serious health impacts. This rule allows waste that contains highly toxic chemicals such as benzene and toluene, both potent carcinogens, to be stored, transported, and burned as fuel without the stringent safeguards imposed on hazardous waste.
“I urge the Obama administration to agree with us that this rule is unlawful,” said James Pew, Earthjustice attorney.”It was irresponsible for the previous administration to pretend that it could make hazardous waste any less hazardous just by giving it another name.”
The Bush administration signed the controversial rule into law on December 19, 2008, despite the protests of members of Congress and environmental groups who called on EPA to require further study and allow additional comment on the environmental records of the facilities that would handle and burn hazardous waste. This rule is the third of three midnight regulations from the Bush administration that exempt various hazardous wastes from regulation.
Earthjustice and Sierra Club are also challenging EPA’s redefinition of solid waste, and Earthjustice is representing both Sierra Club and LEAN in their challenge of the hazardous waste gasification rule. Through these three rules the EPA has exempted nearly two million tons of hazardous waste annually from regulation, increasing human exposure to hundreds of toxins and carcinogens.
EPA to Hold March 31 Public Meeting on TSCA Proposed Rule Regarding Testing of Certain High Production Volume Chemicals
EPA will hold a public meeting on March 31 in Washington, D.C., to give members of the public an opportunity to comment on a proposed rule under section 4(a)(1)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which would require manufacturers, importers, and processors of certain high production volume (HPV) chemical substances to conduct testing to obtain screening level data for health and environmental effects and chemical fate.
EPA published the proposed rule in the July 24, 2008 Federal Register (). EPA has preliminarily determined that each of the 19 chemical substances included in that proposed rule is produced in substantial quantities and that there is or may be substantial human exposure to each of them; there are insufficient data to reasonably determine or predict the effects on health or the environment of the manufacture, distribution in commerce, processing, use, or disposal of the chemicals, or of any combination of these activities; and that the testing program proposed is necessary to develop such data.
Opportunity to present oral comment was provided in the proposed rule, and in response to that opportunity, two requests to present oral comments were received.
States Release Results of Third Auction for RGGI CO2 Allowances
The March 18th auction was the first since compliance obligations under RGGI’s first three-year control period began January 1, 2009.
All of the 31,513,765 allowances for the 2009 vintage sold at a clearing price of $3.51 per allowance. In a parallel offering, the RGGI states also auctioned allowances for the second three-year control period beginning in 2012, providing a first-look at future market prices for RGGI CO2 allowances. The 2,175,513 allowances for the 2012 vintage cleared at a price of $3.05 per allowance. By the end of 2009, the RGGI states will have offered for sale 5% of the total supply of 2012 vintage allowances.
The auction raised $117,248,629.80 for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other consumer benefit programs in the ten RGGI states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont).
“The states are very pleased with the results from the latest RGGI auction,” said Pete Grannis, Chair of the RGGI Board of Directors. “Our continued success provides further support for President Obama’s position that a national cap and trade program with allowance auctions is the right policy for the country and the right approach for addressing the most pressing environmental and economic issue of our time: climate change.”
Potomac Economics, RGGI, Inc.’s independent market monitor, observed the auction and confirmed that it was fair and consistent with noticed auction procedures. In its “Auction Report,” Potomac found that there was “no material evidence of collusion or manipulation by bidders” and that the results were “consistent with competitive expectations.” 50 separate entities submitted bids to purchase 2.5 times the available supply of 2009 allowances, and 20 entities submitted bids to purchase 2.3 times the available supply of 2012 allowances. A total of 42 entities won allowances for the 2009 offering, in which bid prices ranged from $1.86 (the minimum bid allowed) to $10.00. 12 bidders won allowances for the 2012 offering, in which bid prices ranged from $1.86 to $4.40.
The Auction Report, issued by the market monitor following each RGGI auction, includes data on the dispersion of bids, provides summaries of purchased allowances, allowances won by bidders and bid prices, and, in accord with the Auction Notice for Auction 3, a list of Potential Bidders for Auction 3. Potential bidders are defined as “each Applicant that has been qualified and submitted a complete Intent to Bid.” The list of 63 potential bidders demonstrates broad participation from compliance entities, financial institutions, and environmental organizations.
According to Potomac, compliance entities and their affiliates won 78 percent of the 2009 allowances and 93% of 2012 allowances. The high percentage of allowances won by compliance entities at auction continues a trend established in the two “pre-compliance” auctions held in September and December 2008 in which compliance entities won 80 percent and 85 percent of allowances, respectively.
“Once again RGGI, Inc. has administered a fair and competitive auction for RGGI CO2 allowances,” said Jonathan Schrag, Executive Director of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. “The report by our market monitor ensures a high level of transparency for RGGI auctions and confirms that our contractors, especially World Energy Solutions, are doing excellent work.”
Compliance obligations for fossil fuel-fired electric generators under the 10-state CO2 Budget Trading Programs took effect on January 1, 2009. RGGI’s participating states held two “pre-compliance” auctions in September and December 2008, at which the clearing prices were $3.07 and $3.38, respectively. The RGGI participating states will hold quarterly auctions ensuring bidders ample opportunity to obtain the CO2 allowances they need for compliance across the entire 10-state region. The next auction is scheduled for June 17, 2009.
General Maritime Management (Portugal) Fined $1 Million for Environmental Crimes
A federal judge in Corpus Christi, Texas, has sentenced General Maritime Management (Portugal), the operator of a fleet of tanker vessels, and two crewmembers of the motor tanker Genmar Defiance for making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard and failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book designed to prevent pollution of the world’s oceans as required by United States and international law.
General Maritime Management (Portugal) LDA, has been sentenced to pay a $1 million fine. In addition, the company was sentenced to serve five years of probation. Special conditions of the probation require the company to rehire the whistleblowers if they reapply for employment; submit monthly reports, under oath, regarding compliance; and allow a court appointed official to perform three audits of each vessel and three audits of its shore side office during the probation period. Violations of the terms of probation could result in one or more of the company’s ships being banned from U.S. territorial waters during the term of the probation.
Chief Engineer Antonio Rodrigues was previously sentenced for the same violations on February 10, 2009, to three months of confinement in a half-way house, a $500 fine, a special assessment of $200, and five years of probation. First Engineer Cavadas was likewise sentenced on February 10, 2009, to six months of confinement in a half-way house, a $500 fine, a special assessment of $200, and five years of probation.
The company and two crewmembers were found guilty on all counts by a jury on November 25, 2008. During the hearing, the court awarded $250,000 to the five whistleblowers to be divided on a proportional basis for their actions and cooperation.
Waste Hauler Fined $22,500 for Emissions Violations
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) fined a Los Angeles area waste collection company $22,500 last month for emissions violations in 2007.
An ARB investigation showed United Pacific Waste, based in Pico Rivera, California, failed to properly inspect their diesel powered vehicles. In addition, they did not comply with the solid waste collection vehicle rule by neglecting to install proper emission-reduction devices required by law.
“Incredible technological progress has been made to cut diesel emissions from solid waste vehicles,” said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “Applying these technologies is part of doing business in California.”
The law requires owners of California-registered truck fleets to regularly inspect their vehicles to ensure that their engine emissions meet state air quality standards.
As part of the settlement, the waste collection company is required to:
- Guarantee employees responsible for conducting the inspections attend a training class on diesel emissions compliance testing and provide certificates of completion within one year;
- Provide documentation to ARB that the inspections are being carried out for the next four years;
- Ensure all heavy-duty diesel vehicles have their software updated with the latest low-NOx (oxides of nitrogen emissions) programming;
- Instruct vehicle operators to comply with the state’s idling regulations;
- Retrofit the appropriate number of solid waste collection vehicles with the best available control technology;
- Comply with all requirements applicable to solid waste collection vehicles; and,
- Ensure all diesel truck engines are up to federal emissions standards for the vehicle model year and are properly labeled with an emission control certification label.
Craigmont Air Services, Inc. Fined Over $8,000 for Failure to Monitor UST
Craigmont Air Services, Inc., and its President, Stan Bybee, who own and operate an underground storage tank (UST) at Craigmont Air Services in Craigmont, Idaho, have agreed to pay a $8,191 penalty for failure to monitor the UST monthly for releases to the environment. The Craigmont facility is located within the boundaries of the Nez Perce Tribe’s Reservation.
EPA and Nez Perce Tribe’s environmental staff inspected Craigmont Air Services, located at Craigmont Airport, and found that Mr. Bybee and his company were not conducting monthly leak tests of the automatic tank gauge connected to their 12,000-gallon petroleum UST, which is a RCRA violation. EPA cited Craigmont Air Service for the same violation in June 2006. The company paid a $300 fine and corrected the violation, but violations occurred again at the facility from at least November 1, 2006 through May 31, 2008.
A & E Salvage, Inc. Ordered to Cease Violations of Federal Asbestos Laws and to Clean Up Contamination
On March 12, 2009, EPA issued an Immediate Compliance Order to A & E Salvage, Inc., its President, Elisa J. Guevara Smith, Vice-President Mark Sawyer, and other officers, directors and employees requiring them to cease violations of federal asbestos regulations and to clean up and properly dispose of asbestos contamination at the former Liberty Fibers Rayon plant in Morristown, Tennessee. The Order alleges that A & E Salvage violated the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Asbestos under the Clean Air Act, and also violated the terms of a consent agreement entered into by A & E Salvage and EPA on Aug. 8, 2008. Under the agreement, A & E Salvage agreed to thoroughly inspect the property, and develop and carry out plans for removal and proper disposal of asbestos waste materials that had been improperly disposed around the facility.
In September 2006, A & E Salvage began conducting extensive salvage and demolition activities at the bankrupt Liberty Fibers plant. Most of the buildings, structures, associated piping and some of the salvaged and/or demolished equipment contained friable asbestos and non-friable asbestos that can be made friable during such operations. During salvaging and demolition activities, A & E improperly handled, stored, and disposed on-site asbestos-containing building waste materials in violation of the Asbestos NESHAP. Most of this waste material has been improperly stored in a building and disposed around the property in waste piles.
A & E Salvage violated the Asbestos NESHAP regulations by:
- Failing to conduct a thorough inspection of the facility;
- Failing to properly notify state officials of the work prior to beginning salvage/demolition operations;
- Failing to keep all asbestos waste materials adequately wet at all times to prevent asbestos fiber release;
- Failing to remove all asbestos-containing waste materials before conducting salvage and demolition work that broke up, dislodged and disturbed the materials and precluded access to the material for subsequent disposal;
- Failing to properly dispose of asbestos- containing waste materials as soon as practical;
- Failing to properly supervise workers who handled asbestos waste materials; and
- Hiring workers who were not properly trained in asbestos abatement work, and allowing the workers to handle asbestos materials without proper protection against exposure to asbestos.
A & E Salvage’s violations of the Asbestos NESHAP have placed, and continue to place workers who handle asbestos materials without proper safety equipment, proper training and supervision, and others present at the facility during such activities, at a potentially serious risk of harm due to exposure to asbestos fibers.
On March 12, 2009, EPA rescinded and terminated the August 2008 consent agreement and issued the Immediate Compliance Order. The Order requires Liberty Fibers to cease any further activity at the facility that results in the handling of asbestos which may disturb, dislodge, break up, crush, or otherwise cause potential release and emissions of asbestos fibers, and to conduct activities that include, but are not limited to:
- Securing the facility against unauthorized access by persons who could come into contact with asbestos that is scattered around the property;
- Submitting Revised Bagged Asbestos Waste Disposal Plan;
- Submitting Report to EPA Describing Areas Where Asbestos Was Found/Disposed; and
- Submitting Work Plan for Disposal of Asbestos Found in Waste Piles and Buried On-Site
Airborne asbestos fibers, when inhaled into the lungs, can increase the risk of asbestosis, a debilitating lung disease, and may also increase risks for various types of cancers. EPA recognizes no safe level of exposure to airborne asbestos.
EPA Announces $211 Million of Recovery Act Funding Available to Reduce Diesel Emissions, Spur Redevelopment, and Create Jobs
State and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and tribal agencies can now apply for up to an estimated $211 million in funding that will help create jobs for redevelopment nationwide and protect communities and the environment from diesel emissions. This is EPA funding available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 that President Obama signed into law on February 17, 2009.
Diesel grantees will use the total estimated $206 million to implement clean diesel projects that would cut thousands of tons of diesel emissions, including particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. As a result, the projects would also reduce premature deaths, asthma attacks and other respiratory ailments, lost work days, and many other health impacts every year.
Brownfields grantees will use the total estimated $5 million to provide training for jobs and to facilitate job creation in the assessment, remediation, or preparation of brownfields sites for sustainable reuse. EPA anticipates awarding 10-12 cooperative agreements, whose maximum value each shall not exceed $500,000.
Preference will be given to projects that can be started and completed expeditiously.
EPA Joins Pasadena for NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Superfund Site Water Treatment Plant Groundbreaking
A groundbreaking ceremony has taken place on a facility that will remove perchlorate and other chemicals from the groundwater near the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Superfund site in the Pasadena, California area. Through the treatment process, perchlorate, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will be removed from ground water and this treated water will later be chlorinated and will serve as drinking water for area residents.
The JPL is a 176-acre site in Pasadena, which was placed on EPA’s Superfund list in 1992. Approximately 120,840 people live within four miles of the site, and an estimated 68,000 people obtain drinking water from municipal wells within that area. Surrounding Pasadena water wells have been shut down due to perchlorate and volatile organic compounds contamination.
Perchlorate is a component of solid rocket fuel and certain types of fertilizers, and can affect the thyroid gland. VOCs are used as industrial cleaning solvents, and can cause nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, and liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage.
The City of Pasadena will own and operate the plant. NASA is funding construction and operating costs with completion anticipated in 2010.
EPA Awards STAR Grants to Projects Measuring the Progress of Environmental Programs in Protecting Human Health
EPA has awarded 10 grants totaling $5 million to universities, state departments of public health, and one research institute to develop a new generation of markers or indicators that measure progress in environmental programs in protecting human health. The new projects were awarded through EPA’s Science to Achieve Results () research program, and will help environmental managers evaluate the effectiveness of programs in protecting human health and the environment.
Under one of the grants, Johns Hopkins researchers will develop state level indicators of environmental pollution, population exposure, and population health risks by applying EPA national indicators to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection population data.
Under another grant, the University of California at Los Angeles will combine existing environmental monitoring and health survey data to develop health outcome indicators that focus on asthma-related emergency department visits, doctor’s visits, absences from school and work, medication use, and frequency of asthma symptoms.
Four Pharmaceutical Plants Earn EPA’s Energy Star
EPA is recognizing the first four pharmaceutical plants to earn the Energy Star for performing in the top 25% of energy performance nationwide. Compared to similar pharmaceutical plants across the country, these facilities on average use nearly 35% less energy and together prevent the equivalent of 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
The plants are Allergan’s Waco, Texas facility; AstraZeneca’s Westborough, Massachusetts plant; AstraZeneca’s Newark, Delaware plant; and Schering-Plough’s Cleveland, Tennessee facility.
The pharmaceutical sector spends more than $800 million on energy annually. EPA worked in partnership with pharmaceutical companies across the United States to develop the Energy Performance Indicator, which is available to all pharmaceutical companies and enables companies to benchmark their energy performance against others in the industry.
Partnership Addresses Climate Change and Children’s Health
Examining how climate change (e.g., extreme weather, air pollution, infectious diseases, and heat) may affect children’s health is a starting point to explore changing climate’s affect on children’s health.
Campaign partners pledge to inform others how climate change affects children’s health, encourage young people to become climate ambassadors to teach others, promote the climate change and children’s health education campaign, and participate in events and activities to address climate change and children’s health. There is a presentation and a sample proclamation that can be issued by community, school, or organizational leaders.
Environmental News Links
Trivia Question of the Week
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, how much treated drinking water is lost each day in the U.S. through system leaks?
a. 6 million gallons
b. 60 million gallons
c. 600 million gallons
d. 6 billion gallons