“Knowing the exact quantity of GHG every major source pumps into the atmosphere is the foundation of an effective cap-and-trade program,” said Mary D. Nichols, ARB Chairman. “Thanks to our rigorous reporting program we know the amount of GHGs each source emits down to the ton. This new application provides an easy way to pinpoint those sources on a map, and allows everyone to see at a glance how it compares to other facilities in the same county, or throughout the state.”
The new application links ARB’s database of the state’s largest sources of GHGs with Google’s mapping technology, including satellite photography that shows details of each facility. The Google Earth module features a graphic representation of the relative size of each facility’s annual GHG emissions in relation to others throughout the state.
The application allows viewers to choose which sources they wish to see by sector (such as only choosing cement manufacturers, refineries, or power stations) and also displays specific counties, air basins, and air districts. The application also shows six out-of-state facilities that provide some of the electricity imported into California.
The EPA recently released a national mapping tool to display major GHG emitters, however, that application does not yet feature the Google Earth capabilities.
For the past three years, some 625 facilities in California with emissions exceeding 25,000 tons of GHG emissions a year have been reporting their annual emissions to ARB. The results are independently verified by GHG emissions verifiers, trained and accredited by ARB. California’s is the only system in the nation to require third-party verification of GHG reporting.
This accurate and verified mandatory emissions reporting is the foundation of California’s cap-and-trade GHG emissions reduction program. The total number of tons of GHG emissions each company reports is equivalent to the number of permits (known as allowances) it must provide to ARB. In the beginning of the program, starting in 2013, the majority of those allowances are provided by ARB free of charge. The remainder needed to cover a company’s annual emissions can be bought at an auction held four times each year by ARB, or on the open market where companies that have made reductions offer surplus allowances for sale.
Over time, the total number of allowances ARB issues drops about two or three percent from one year to the next. This effectively limits and then lowers year over year the amount of GHGs that all the major sources in the state can emit. Accurate and verified reporting demonstrates precisely how companies statewide are meeting the lowered cap on emissions.
Pittsburgh RCRA and DOT Training
Charlotte RCRA and DOT Training
Nashville RCRA and DOT Training
How to Prepare for OSHA’s Globally Harmonized Hazard Communication Standard (GHS)
- August 15
- October 2
Defendants Perpetrated $1 Million E-Waste Fraud
While there have been several administrative actions taken for non-compliance with the recycling payment system and hazardous waste rules, this is the first criminal prosecution in California.
Earlier this month, Tung Tai Group Inc., of San Jose, its executive vice president John Chen and yard supervisor, Jason Huang pleaded no contest in Santa Clara County Superior Court to a total of 13 felony charges including: three counts of forgery; five counts of false documents; three counts of filing false payment claims with the State of California; and two counts of illegal storage of hazardous electronic and residual waste.
The defendants attempted to collect more than $1 million for millions of pounds of electronic waste the company never collected nor recycled. The plea agreement bars them from future participation in the state’s e-waste program and orders them to pay penalties and prosecution costs.
Huang’s plea resolved the charge of forgery for illegally inflating the weight of materials Tung Tai received for recycling. Additionally, the felony plea agreement resolved charges that Huang lied about the amount of e-waste that was being recycled and presented false claims to the state for reimbursement. The corporation’s plea settled charges of illegal storage of hazardous and universal wastes, violations regarding dismantling operations, and failure to label or list hazardous waste accumulation start dates. The plea agreement also settled two felony counts of storing hazardous electronic waste at an unauthorized location in California.
“CalRecyle is dedicated to protecting the financial integrity of the state’s landmark electronic waste recycling program,” CalRecycle Director Caroll Mortensen said. “This case demonstrates that those who make false claims for payment from CalRecycle will not only have their claims denied, but face the prospect of severe consequences resulting from criminal prosecution. We will continue to be vigilant in maintaining strong oversight of this highly successful recycling program.”
Tung Tai’s criminal activities were uncovered by DTSC’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) following a tip in 2008 from CalRecycle staff who review e-waste payment claims for discrepancies. OCI’s investigators uncovered accounting records that revealed inflated amounts of e-waste the company reported receiving from other organizations and subsequently claimed. In one instance, the company claimed it had received nine times the amount of e-waste it actually received.
“California consumers are going to be protected against the rip-off of their environmental fees,” said Edward Doty, Supervising Criminal Investigator for OCI. “We investigate e-waste fraud to ensure that the money that Californians pay when they buy new computers and other electronics is being used for legitimate recycling purposes.”
As part of the plea, Tung Tai Group, Chen, and Huang must withdraw as certified recyclers and approved collectors in the state’s Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Program, and must stop shredding, dismantling, or processing electronic devices. In addition, Chen and Huang are required to each perform 100 hours of community service. Tung Tai, Chen, and Huang also must pay the court $75,000 in penalties plus $50,000 in costs to the California Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the case.
Scientists Find 50-Year Decline in Some Vehicle-Related Pollutants
In California’s Los Angeles Basin, levels of some vehicle-related air pollutants have decreased by about 98% since the 1960s, even as area residents now burn three times as much gasoline and diesel fuel.
“The reason is simple: Cars are getting cleaner,” said Carsten Warneke, a NOAA-funded scientist with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder.
VOCs, primarily emitted from the tailpipes of vehicles, are a key ingredient in the formation of ground-level ozone which, at high levels, can harm people’s lungs and damage crops and other plants.
The magnitude of the drop in VOC levels was surprising, even to researchers who expected some kind of decrease resulting from California’s longtime efforts to control vehicle pollution.
“Even on the most polluted day during a research mission in 2010, we measured half the VOCs we had seen just eight years earlier,” Warneke said. “The difference was amazing.”
The study was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
The 98% drop in VOCs in the last 50 years does not mean that ozone levels have dropped that steeply; the air chemistry that leads from VOCs to ozone is more complex than that. Ozone pollution in the Los Angeles Basin has decreased since the 1960s, but levels still don’t meet ozone standards set by the EPA.
Requirements for catalytic converters, use of reformulated fuels less prone to evaporate, and improved engine efficiency of new vehicles have all likely contributed to overall declines in vehicle-related pollution, including VOCs.
The improvement in this one measure of air quality in Los Angeles may not surprise many longtime residents, Warneke said. People who lived in the city in the 1960s often couldn’t see nearby mountains through the smog; today, they often can.
For the new study, Warneke and his colleagues evaluated Los Angeles air quality measurements from three sources: NOAA-led research campaigns in 2002 and 2010, which involved extensive aircraft sampling of the atmosphere; datasets from other intensive field campaigns reaching back five decades; and air quality measurements from the California ARB monitoring sites, which reach back two to three decades.
Overall, VOCs dropped by an average of 7.5% per year. “This is essentially the kind of change we would expect, and it is very good to find that it is actually taking place,” Warneke said.
A few specific VOCs, such as propane and ethane, did not drop as quickly. Those chemicals come from sources other than vehicles, such as the use and production of natural gas. Another recent study led by CIRES and NOAA researchers and published online August 4 in Geophysical Research Letters, also an AGU journal, has shown that one VOC, ethanol, is increasing in the atmosphere, consistent with its increasing use in transportation fuels.
Warneke said that he would expect the decrease in emissions of VOCs by cars to continue in Los Angeles, given that engine efficiency continues to improve and older, more polluting vehicles drop out of the fleet of all vehicles on the road.
Ohio Joins Multi-State Water Quality Trading Plan
The State of Ohio has joined Indiana and Kentucky in the formation of a multi-state water quality trading plan that will have a positive impact on the rivers, streams and lakes in all of the states.
The Ohio River Basin Water Quality Project Pilot Trading Plan was signed by the states of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio and marks the start of the first consensus plan for interstate trading to reduce nutrients. The agreement provides businesses and municipalities a more economically viable option to efficiently reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loading in rivers, lakes, and streams through agricultural conservation and best management practices in a watershed.
For example, a municipality or business that needs to meet water quality standards by reducing phosphorus can work with an agricultural partner upstream and provide financial assistance to farmers for conservation or best management practices to improve water quality in the watershed. These partnerships offer municipalities and businesses a more cost effective water quality improvement tool while helping to promote and encourage agricultural best practices and conservation in the watershed.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture (Ohio Agriculture) are all partners in this multi-state pilot project. The program is unique in that all states will operate under the same rules and water quality credits in one state can be applied to another state.
“This is a win-win for everyone involved and is just another example of the innovative partnerships we are creating in Ohio to help improve water quality in our state,” said Ohio EPA Director Scott Nally. “By leveraging the resources at our state agencies, our universities, our research institutions and private businesses, we will continue to promote a healthy economic climate while protecting the environment.”
“We are partnering with neighboring states to implement a cohesive interstate trading program, which will establish an efficient and cost-effective option for improving water quality in the Ohio River Basin,” said ODNR Director James Zehringer. “This partnership was established because all parties involved recognize the importance of expedited action when dealing with the cleanliness of our water.”
“Ohio farmers are stepping up to learn more about nutrient management and about modern conservation technologies. I look forward to partnering with Indiana and Kentucky and learning how we can work together to improve water quality in our region,” said Ohio Agriculture Director David T. Daniels.
New Approaches Needed for Uncovering, Identifying, and Treating Buried Chemical Warfare Materials
An alternative or modified approach is needed to remediate the Redstone Arsenal and other such projects on active and former US Department of Defense (DOD) sites and ranges.
Additionally, the report recommends that the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Army each select a single office to manage and fund recovered chemical warfare material (RCWM) remediation activities for DOD. Currently, authority and funding for RCWM activities depend on how and where the materiel is discovered, and could fall under multiple offices of either the secretary of defense or the Army Secretariat. The Army mission for RCWM remediation is turning into a much larger program that will rival those for conventional munition and hazardous substance cleanup, the report says, and is expected to cost billions of dollars over several years. A clear organizational structure and long-term funding are needed.
The secretary of the Army should also establish a new position at the level of the senior executive service (civilian) or a general officer (military) to lead the RCWM program. The secretary should delegate full responsibility and accountability for RCWM program performance to this person, including for planning, budgeting, and execution and for day-to-day oversight, guidance, management, and direction of the program.
Following a 1985 directive from Congress, the Army has undertaken the monumental task of destroying the existing US stockpile of chemical weapons. To date, 90% of the stockpile has been destroyed, and the remaining 10% is expected to be destroyed by 2022. However, during the early- to mid-20th century, chemical weapons and chemical warfare materiel were often disposed of by open pit burning and burial at approximately 250 sites in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories. Remediation of this buried materiel, in addition to environmental cleanup of the burial sites, therefore poses significant challenges to the nation and DOD. The report examines important regulatory issues that ultimately affect the need, timing, and costs of remediating these sites. Federal and state environmental remediation policies address whether buried CWM must be excavated and destroyed or contained in place.
To destroy any intact chemical munitions uncovered during remediation efforts, teams will most likely use either the Army’s Explosive Destruction System (EDS) or one of three commercially available technologies. The EDS is an effective and reliable technology, and the Army has an active research and development program under way to improve the throughput rate, or speed at which chemicals can be identified. The three commercially available destruction technologies have higher throughput rates, but reliability problems were encountered when one of these—the Dynasafe Static Detonation Chamber—was recently used to destroy a portion of stockpiled munitions in Anniston, Alabama. The report recommends ways to alleviate these problems and suggests alternatives to the EDS and commercial systems. Also explored is the potential use of robotic systems to access and remove buried CWM.
The lack of an accurate inventory of buried munitions and of a reliable cost estimate for the RCWM program makes it difficult to establish precise, long-term budget requirements and draw up a funding plan for an RCWM program going forward that has the level of certainty typically associated with DOD project implementation. The report recommends as a matter of urgency that the secretary of defense increase funding for the remediation of chemical warfare materiel to enable the Army to complete the inventories of known and suspected buried chemical munitions no later than 2013 and develop a quantitative basis for overall funding of the program, with updates as needed to facilitate accurate budget forecasts. Pending establishment of a final RCWM management structure, this task should be assigned to the director of the Army’s Chemical Materials Agency as chair of the provisional RCWM integrating office.
Redstone Arsenal facility in Alabama—the site with the largest quantity of buried CWM in the US, and which has groundwater contamination—is presented as a case study to show how issues raised in the report can be practically applied.
Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania Have Worst Toxic Air Pollution from Power Plants
Residents of Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are exposed to more toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants than in any other state, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
At the same time, the report found a 19% decrease in all air toxics emitted from power plants in 2010, the most recent data available, compared to 2009 levels. The welcomed drop, which also includes a 4% decrease in mercury emissions, results from two key factors.
One is the increasing use by power companies of natural gas, which has become cheaper and is cleaner burning than coal; the other is the installation of state-of-the-art pollution controls by many plants—in anticipation of new health protections issued by the EPA.
“Toxic pollution is already being reduced as a result of EPA’s health-protecting standards,” said John Walke, NRDC’s clean air director. “Thanks to the agency’s latest safeguards, millions of children and their families in the states hardest hit by toxic air pollution from power plants will be able to breathe easier.”
“But these protections are threatened,” Walke said, “because polluters are intent on persuading future Congresses or presidential administrations to repeal them.”
Finalized in 2011, EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics standards will cut mercury air pollution by 79% from 2010 levels, beginning in 2015.
The report also ranks the states by the amount of their toxic air pollution levels.
In an earlier assault on the EPA’s new standards, the House passed a bill to gut them last year; but a similar measure in June failed in the Senate.
Compared to 2010 levels, the standard will reduce mercury pollution from 34 tons to seven tons, a 79% reduction, by 2015. Sulfur dioxide pollution will be reduced from 5,140,000 tons in 2010 to 1,900,000 tons in 2015, a 63% reduction. Another dangerous acid gas, hydrochloric acid, will be reduced from 106,000 tons in 2010 to 5,500 tons in 2015, a 95% reduction.
With those and other pollution reductions resulting from the standard, as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks, 5,700 hospital visits, 4,700 heart attacks, and 2,800 cases of chronic bronchitis will be avoided in 2016. The public health improvements are also estimated to save $37 billion to $90 billion in health costs, and prevent up to 540,000 missed work or sick days each year.
Franz Matzner, NRDC associate director of Government Affairs, said: “For too long, Americans have had no choice but to breathe toxic air pollution. Thanks to the EPA, the air is getting cleaner. But we need lawmakers who will help clean up the air we all breathe—not lawmakers who do the bidding of Big Polluters trying to repeal safeguards that protect children’s health. This and future Congresses should let the EPA do its job so all Americans can breathe easier.”
Despite the overall reductions in total emissions, 18 of the Toxic 20 from 2009 remain in the 2010 list, although several states have made significant improvements highlighted in the report.
The states on the Toxic 20 list (from worst to best) are:
1. Kentucky
2. Ohio
3. Pennsylvania
4. Indiana
5. West Virginia
6. Florida
7. Michigan
8. North Carolina
9. Georgia
10. Texas
11. Tennessee
12. Virginia
13. South Carolina
14. Alabama
15. Missouri
16. Illinois
17. Mississippi
18. Wisconsin
19. Maryland
20. Delaware
Of the Toxic 20 list, both senators from eight states supported a resolution by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, to stop the mercury and air toxics safeguard: Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. Meanwhile, both senators from three states: Michigan, Maryland, and Delaware voted against the measure. The remaining nine states had mixed votes among their senators.
The EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, known as the TRI, is a national database of toxic emissions self-reported by industrial sources. Power plants report emissions of mercury, hydrochloric acid, and other hazardous metals.
NRDC released the first Toxic 20 report in July 2011. The analysis used publicly available data in the TRI to rank states by air pollution levels from 2009. Using the same methodology, this analysis compared TRI emissions reported for 2010 from the electric utilities sector to those from other sectors and ranked sources by total emissions by sector. The analysis identifies top emitting power plants based on toxic emissions reported to TRI.
Icicle Seafoods Fined $430,000 for Leaks of Ozone-Depleting Refrigerants
The company has agreed to repair leaks in its vessels and facilities, make repairs at a lower leak rate and pay a penalty.
The settlement concerns the improper release and management of R-22, an ozone-depleting refrigerant used on the company’s vessels and at its seafood processing facilities. The consent decree includes Icicle Seafoods Inc., and several of its subsidiaries.
According to the settlement, the company had a series of CAA violations between 2006 and 2008 associated with the refrigerant R-22. The violations include:
Failure to repair refrigerant leaks in a timely manner
Failure to ensure adequate repairs to refrigeration appliances before resuming operation
Failure to possess a certified refrigerant recovery device for use when performing service on refrigeration appliances
Inadequate records of repair service on refrigeration appliances
R-22 is among a set of refrigerants being phased out of use due to their high ozone depletion potential under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Stratospheric ozone depletion can cause increased ultraviolet radiation to reach the Earth and has been linked to skin cancer, cataracts, and impaired immune systems. It can also damage crops and reduce crop yields. Some scientists suggest that marine phytoplankton, the base of the ocean food chain, may be under stress from ultraviolet radiation.
Icicle Seafoods Inc., is a seafood processing company that harvests and processes salmon, crab, Pollock, halibut, Pacific cod, Black cod, and fish roe. The company has agreed to pay a $430,000 penalty.
The consent decree was signed by Icicle Seafoods Inc., Evening Star Inc., Icicle Acquisition Subsidiary ILLC, and LFK, Inc., The consent decree is available for public comment.
Groups Challenge Weak Regulations to Clean Up Haze in National Parks
The groups are challenging a recent EPA rule that allows aging coal plants to avoid installing up-to-date emission controls if they are located in states that participate in an emissions trading program.
Earthjustice filed the suit on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and the Sierra Club. The groups stress that the proposed Clean Air Act (CAA) exemption, which would apply in the 28 states subject to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), would significantly set back long overdue progress on cleaning up poor air quality at many of the nation’s most treasured public lands.
“Americans deserve to breathe clean air and actually see the magnificent views when they visit our National Parks,” said Earthjustice Coal Program Director Abigail Dillen.
Haze pollution contributes to heart attacks, asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, respiratory illness, and even premature death.
“Thirty-five years ago, a bipartisan Congress recognized the importance of clean air in our nation’s most treasured public lands like Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah national parks,” said NPCA Clean Air Counsel Stephanie Kodish. “By mandating the cleanup of outdated coal plants and other polluting facilities near these areas, Congress sought to guarantee access to fresh, clear, clean air for future generations of Americans. It is the EPA’s obligation to fulfill the promises made in the CAA, instead of undermining this important legislation.”
Exempting some of the oldest and highest polluting coal-fired power plants from installing the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) threatens the health of national parks, wilderness areas and wildlife refuges across the eastern US states, and of the communities connected to them.
“Our parks and public lands are a national treasure and we must ensure that they are protected from dirty and dangerous coal-fired pollution,” said May Anne Hitt Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “These places should stand as an example of America’s best work to ensure a clean and healthy future for our children, our communities, and our wild places. We call on the EPA to enforce the CAA for all polluters in order to preserve these beautiful spaces and protect the people who call them home.”
EPA’s own data shows that visibility is impaired “virtually all the time at most national parks and wilderness areas.” Visibility in the western US is about 60–100 miles, or half to two-thirds what it would be without human-caused air pollution. In the eastern US, the average visual range is less than 20 miles, or approximately one-fifth of the visibility range under natural conditions.
Cleanup and Natural Resources Improvement Agreement Reached at Ashland Lakefront Superfund Site in Wisconsin
. The 40-acre site is located on the shore of Chequamegon Bay in Lake Superior and was used for various industrial purposes for more than a century, resulting in the release of VOCs, such as benzene, and semivolatile organic compounds, such as naphthalene, at the site.
Under the agreement, Northern States Power will design, construct, and implement the cleanup plan for the on-land portion of the site. The on-land cleanup is expected to cost approximately $40 million. The US will also require additional cleanup of sediments in Chequamegon Bay, and expects that Northern States Power and any other responsible parties will perform the rest of the cleanup. That work is not part of the agreement filed with the Court.
The agreement also requires Northern States Power to transfer approximately 990 acres of land along the Iron River to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and 400 acres within the reservation of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians to the Bad River tribe. These parcels, worth about $1.9 million, will be preserved by the state and the Bad River tribe to enhance natural resources in the area that have been harmed by pollution from the site, such as fisheries in Chequamegon Bay and its rivers. In addition, the state of Wisconsin will transfer 114 acres of land to the Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. That land will also be managed to preserve natural resources. NOAA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) also serve as trustees for natural resources in the area and joined the settlement on behalf of the US.
“This agreement will begin the long-awaited cleanup of contamination at the Ashland Lakefront site,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The agreement will result in the preservation of land in the Chequamegon Bay watershed, including tribal lands, to conserve and enhance natural resources and aquatic habitat that have been harmed by more than a century of pollution at the site.”
“Chequamegon Bay and Lake Superior will be better protected as a result of this agreement,” said EPA Region 5 Regional Administrator Susan Hedman. “Removing the most highly contaminated soil from the site and controlling the flow of contaminated groundwater will prevent polluted water from entering the bay and harming fisheries.”
For more than a century, the Ashland site has been home to various industrial uses, including sawmills, railroads, and a city wastewater treatment plant. The primary source of pollution at the site was the manufactured gas plant operated by Northern States Power’s predecessor company between 1885 and 1947. Pollution from the manufactured gas plant contaminated both the on-land portion of the site and the sediment in the bay.
The on-land cleanup will include removal of source material and impacted soil in Kreher Park and the adjacent bluff area and recovery wells designed to remove pollution from the Copper Falls aquifer. The work Northern States Power will perform under this agreement is expected to take approximately two to three years.
EPA will oversee the work to ensure that it follows the cleanup plan and complies with the agreement signed by the parties. The state of Wisconsin will support EPA in overseeing the work.
EPA Finalizes Settlement with Companies for Cleanup at Mercury Refining Superfund Site
Under the terms of the legal agreement, the Gillette Company, KeySpan Gas East Corp., Energizer Battery Manufacturing, Inc., Union Carbide Corporation and Spectrum Brands, Inc., will address soil, sediment, and ground water contaminated with mercury. Mercury is an extremely toxic metal that can cause health problems, especially in children. Exposure to mercury can harm the heart, kidneys, lungs, immune, and nervous systems. In addition, the settlement provides for 19 federal agencies and 46 additional entities also responsible for the contamination to make payments into an escrow account to fund the cleanup work at the site. The current owner of the site is also part of the settlement and will take responsibility for land use restrictions to be put into place at the site.
“This agreement allows EPA to finish the important work that began several years ago to clean up the site so that people and the environment are protected,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “The agreement also ensures that the parties responsible for the contamination at the site will also be held accountable for cleaning it up at their own expense, rather than at the expense of taxpayers.”
From the 1950’s until 1998, mercury from batteries and other materials, such as thermometers, pressure regulators, and electrical devices, was recovered, refined, and marketed by the Mercury Refining Company. Through the reclamation process, mercury contaminated the site, including soil and stormwater draining off the site and into an unnamed tributary to the Patroon Creek. Mercury reclamation activities ended at the site in 1998; however, some precious metal recovery continues today.
In 1983, the Mercury Refining site was placed on the federal Superfund list. Until 1999, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation oversaw various cleanup actions at the site. The EPA assumed the lead for the cleanup in 1999. After an extensive investigation and evaluation of various options for cleanup of the site, the EPA selected its final cleanup plan for the site in 2008. That plan requires a combination of soil excavation and treatment of the soil and ground water. The design work for that cleanup plan is underway and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2013.
Under the agreement, the five companies will conduct the cleanup work at the site. Contaminated soil at the surface, which is more easily accessible to people, will be excavated and taken off-site to a secure facility. Contaminated soil that is deeper will be treated using a technology that treats the contaminated soil and ground water by locking the mercury in a mixture of Portland cement and another agent, preventing it from moving into the surrounding soil and ground water. In addition, the cleanup plan calls for the removal of contaminated sediment from a tributary to Patroon Creek, which receives rainwater runoff from the Mercury Refining property. Water will be removed from the excavated creek sediment and disposed of at an off-site landfill. According to the agreement, the owner of the site will be responsible for taking action to secure legal land use restrictions to ensure that people aren’t exposed to contaminants on-site and to ensure that the treated soil and groundwater is not disturbed. The five primary companies will be ultimately responsible for conducting all the cleanup work called for in EPA’s cleanup plan.
The value of the cleanup work to be performed under the agreement is estimated at $9.3 million.
$700,000 Fine for Dumping Partially Treated Sewage to River
The discharges occurred between June 2010 and January 2011.
Two of the incidents involved partially-treated sewage being discharged from VVWRA’s wastewater treatment facility. The remaining three discharges involved raw sewage released from VVWRA’s sewer system. The most significant discharge resulted from storms in December 2010 that ruptured a large sewer pipe under the Mojave River within the Upper Narrows area. The pipe lost nearly 43 million gallons of raw sewage over 15 days until a nearly mile-long bypass could be constructed. The Federal Emergency Management Agency declared a federal emergency for all areas affected by the December 2010/January 2011 storms, including the Mojave River area.
Water Board and VVWRA staffs agreed upon the $700,000 settlement following the process and criteria provided by the State Water Resources Control Board’s Enforcement and Supplemental Environmental Project Policies. If accepted by the Lahontan Water Board, nearly half of the fine would fund the Mojave Water Agency’s development of a salt and nutrient management plan for the Mojave groundwater basin. The plan would identify existing and future sources of salts and nutrients and management measures for protecting groundwater quality and beneficial uses.
EPA Reaches Agreement with Carmeuse Lime to Control Dust from its Chicago Plant
The EPA has reached agreement with Carmeuse Lime, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to resolve CAA violations at its Chicago lime manufacturing facility. The company will pay a $350,000 fine and spend $125,000 on lead abatement in south side neighborhoods.
EPA and the City of Chicago conducted a joint inspection of the Carmeuse plant in response to complaints from local residents about excess dust. The inspection revealed poor maintenance at the facility, which led to the release of dust into the surrounding neighborhood.
The consent decree requires Carmeuse to upgrade and replace equipment and to improve maintenance and housekeeping practices. By implementing these changes, which have been/will be incorporated in the facility’s air permit, Carmeuse will dramatically reduce the amount of dust released into the neighborhood.
Under terms of the consent decree, Carmeuse will also hire a nonprofit organization to install new energy-efficient windows in neighborhood homes that have window frames with lead-based paint. Window replacements will occur in the houses of low income residents with young children in the Englewood, West Englewood, and South Chicago neighborhoods.
Carmeuse is a major lime producer, with 35 facilities in the US and Canada.
$50,600 Penalty Imposed on Farming Operation for Waste Discharge Violations
Failure to do this resulted in sediment laden discharges from a 375-acre farm operation, which contributed to or threatened to violate water quality objectives in the San Joaquin River. Del Mar Farms operates on more than 7,500 acres of land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.
Central Valley Water Board staff conducted three investigations during the 2011 crop season and found significant volumes of sediment-laden irrigation water discharging from the farmland to a local tributary to the San Joaquin River. The San Joaquin River has been identified by the State as impaired by toxicity and various pesticides that can be associated with sediment.
In its tenth year of implementation, the regulation of agricultural runoff is not new to the Central Valley. Ten years ago, the Central Valley Water Board allowed growers to form coalitions to address water quality problems in rivers and creeks. The growers on the west side of the San Joaquin River had identified sediment runoff as a high priority to address a number of water quality concerns. The coalition acknowledged agricultural runoff was a significant contributor to the water quality problems. The Central Valley Water Board required the growers to develop a management plan to address the concerns, which included commitments to implement practices that would reduce sediment discharges from all fields within the management plan area. The Board found that Del Mar Farms had the resources and ability to put in effective practices, but failed to do so.
Central Valley Water Board Executive Officer Pamela Creedon said, “The agriculture regulatory program has been a high priority program for the Board. We are now in the tenth year of its implementation and the Board is increasing its compliance and enforcement activities to address water quality impacts. Del Mar farms is a large farming operation and is aware of the requirements of the Board. Delaying implementation of protective practices for a year or more is not acceptable, especially because the area was subject to an approved Management Plan and discharges to an impaired water body.”
The maximum penalty allowed under the California Water Code for these violations was $1.7 million. Staff proposed a penalty of $123,191. The Central Valley Water Board ultimately agreed unanimously to a penalty of $50,600, taking in to consideration Del Mar Farms’ installation of subsurface drip irrigation systems in 2012.
Creedon said the Central Valley Water Board’s decision to reduce the recommended penalty shows the Board’s willingness to exercise leniency when the farmer has made long-term improvements.
EXCO Resources Fined $47,500 for Operating Unpermitted Transfer Stations
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined EXCO Resources (PA) LLC, of Warrendale, Pennsylvania, $47,500 for operating unpermitted residual waste transfer stations in Lycoming and Sullivan counties in 2011 and earlier this year, which violated the state’s Solid Waste Management Act.
“For each transfer station, EXCO should have applied to DEP for a Solid Waste Processing permit that has specific requirements for the safe storage, processing, and transfer of residual wastes,” DEP North-central Regional Director Marcus Kohl said. “These permit requirements ensure proper protection of the environment as well as public health and safety.”
In October 2011, DEP inspectors visiting an EXCO site in Anthony Township, Lycoming County found 19 hydraulic fracturing tanks that were three-quarters full of flowback water. A conductivity meter placed in the water registered a high reading, and there was a leak between the first and second tanks with fluid accumulating in the containment area. It was apparent that flowback water from nearby EXCO well pads was being piped to the frack tanks. A standard frack tank can hold up to 21,000 gallons.
The agency issued a notice of violation to EXCO in November 2011, instructing that the flowback water be transported to a permitted facility and that no additional flowback water be transported to the site until a permit was obtained from DEP.
A DEP inspection in January 2012 confirmed that the tanks had been emptied but 10 roll-off containers were discovered, six of which contained waste sand. A follow-up inspection in February found that all the roll-off containers and 14 of the tanks had been removed. The two remaining tanks were empty.
In January, DEP discovered similar violations involving seven frack tanks at an EXCO site in Shrewsbury Township, Sullivan County. The agency sent the company a notice of violation later that month, and a follow-up inspection in February confirmed that all the tanks had been removed.
Staff from DEP’s Waste Management and Oil and Gas programs worked together on the investigations, and the fine has been paid to the Solid Waste Abatement Fund.
Cox Operating, LLC Fined for Violating SPCC Regulations
A January 24, 2012, inspection at the facilities found numerous violations including failure to conduct adequate self-inspections as required by SPCC regulations, failure to provide adequate documentation of SPCC training and failure to provide adequate secondary containment and oil collection equipment.
The oil production facilities inspected and fined were:
Chandler Sound Block 71 Facility, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, $20,300
Eloi Bay Central Facility, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, $9,100
SPCC regulations require onshore production and bulk storage facilities to provide oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasures to prevent oil discharges. The SPCC program helps protect our nation’s water quality since a spill of one gallon of oil can contaminate one million gallons of water.
Three Utah Facilities to Pay Penalties for RMP Violations
Three facilities in Utah—Olympic Park (Park City), Duchesne Valley Water Treatment Plant (Duchesne), and Ashley Valley Water Treatment Plant (Vernal)—have agreed to pay civil penalties and correct violations associated with the safe management and use of hazardous chemicals.
By agreeing to the settlements, all three facilities have certified that they are now in compliance with federal RMP regulations. Utah Olympic Park will pay total penalties of $7,000. Duchesne Valley Water Treatment Plant will pay total penalties of $2,470. Ashley Valley Water Treatment Plant will pay total penalties of $2,180. Duchesne Valley and Ashley Valley are both owned and operated by the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.
EPA inspected the three facilities in 2011 and found various violations of RMP regulations designed to prevent accidental chemical releases and minimize the impact of releases or other accidents that may occur. The three Utah facilities are subject to these regulations because they store highly toxic chemicals above regulatory thresholds.
The establishment of effective risk management plans help companies, industries, and municipalities operate responsibly, assist emergency responders by providing vital information necessary to address accidents and other incidents, protect the environment by preventing and minimizing damage from accidental releases, and keep communities safer.
Handy Trucking & Bobcat Services Penalized $11,000 for Wetlands Violations at Residence in Tisbury
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) penalized Handy Trucking & Bobcat Services, LLC, $11,000 for Wetlands Protection Act violations that occurred at a single-family residence in Tisbury, Massachusetts. The contractor, which is based in Edgartown, failed to assess the wetlands resource area and excavated 11,600 square feet of freshwater marsh.
“There is no reason for an experienced and knowledgeable contractor to either fail to follow, or ignore their responsibility, in complying with the Wetlands Protection Act,” said Elizabeth Kouloheras, chief of the Wetlands Program at MassDEP’s Southeast Regional Office in Lakeville. “The property owner in 2006 had obtained an order of conditions from the Tisbury Conservation Commission that clearly delineated the wetland and upland boundaries on the property, and yet the contractor violated it by working in a wetland area that was clearly restricted.”
The Tisbury Conservation Commission determined during an inspection of the site on February 11, 2011 that approximately 11,600 s.f. of freshwater marsh had been excavated and stockpiled on site, and subsequently requested MassDEP assistance.
Under the order, Handy Trucking agrees to cease all activities at those portions of the property under wetlands jurisdiction unless authorization is issued by MassDEP or the Tisbury Conservation Commission and to ensure that all necessary permits and plans are in hand before performing work in any wetland resource areas.
Handy Trucking will also pay $4,500 of the assessed penalty and MassDEP agrees to suspend the remaining $6,500 provided all conditions are met and no additional violations occur for a period of three years.
Capital Contractors, Inc. Assessed $11,056 Penalty for Violating Air Pollution Control, Solid Waste Requirements
Capital Contractors, Inc., of Natick, Massachusetts, which formerly operated a masonry and landscape construction service in Holliston, Massachusetts, was assessed an $11,056 penalty by MassDEP for violating state Air Pollution Control and Solid Waste Management regulations.
In August of 2010, MassDEP personnel, working with the Holliston Fire Chief on another matter, responded to the Whitney Street location and observed illegal open burning of construction and landscape debris, which caused excessive fugitive emissions to the ambient air.
In a consent order, the company agreed to immediately comply with all applicable regulations, and to pay $1,200 of the assessed penalty, with the remaining $9,856 suspended provided that there are no violations of the order for a one-year period.
“Open burning of construction debris causes air pollution and constitutes illegal disposal of solid waste,” said Lee Dillard Adams, acting director for MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “Small businesses must abide by the same regulations as large corporations.”
MassDEP Assesses $12,500 Penalty on Dufour Escorted Tours for Environmental Violations
Dufour Escorted Tours, Inc., a bus company located in Hinsdale, has been assessed a $12,500 penalty by MassDEP to address a diesel fuel spill, hazardous waste management, and open burning violations at the company’s facility at 133 South Street.
Dufour failed to notify MassDEP within two hours of becoming aware of a 20-gallon diesel fuel spill that occurred during the fueling of a bus at the facility on June 17, 2011. Dufour did notify MassDEP of the release on June 20, 2011; however, state regulation requires that MassDEP be notified as soon as possible, but in no case greater than two hours after the owner and operator of the facility became aware of a spill of greater than 10 gallons of petroleum.
MassDEP personnel conducted an inspection of the facility on June 23, 2011, and observed a number of hazardous waste management violations, including: Dufour was not correctly registered with MassDEP as a generator of waste oil; was burning waste oil in space heaters without notification to MassDEP; and the company was allowing the open burning of pressure-treated wood and pallets in 55-gallon drums at the rear of the facility.
Since the initial inspection, Dufour has initiated steps to correct the hazardous waste violations at the facility, has ceased open burning of wood materials, and has arranged for assessment and cleanup of the diesel fuel spill. In order to resolve the violations, Dufour must pay the $12,500 penalty, and re-train its personnel on response to releases of oil and hazardous materials.
Colorado Ethanol Plant to Pay $5,850 Penalty for RMP Violations
Yuma Ethanol, LLC, has agreed to pay a $5,850 civil penalty and correct violations relating to the storage and use of toxic and flammable substances at its ethanol plant in Yuma, Colorado. An EPA inspection of the plant in October 2011 found the company had violated RMP regulations under the CAA. By agreeing to the settlement, the company has certified that the facility is now in compliance with these regulations.
Under the CAA, the Yuma Ethanol facility was required to maintain a risk management plan because it exceeded the 10,000lb storage threshold for anhydrous ammonia, an extremely hazardous chemical, and natural gasoline, a flammable substance used to denature ethanol. Yuma Ethanol was storing approximately 97,000lb of anhydrous ammonia at the time of the EPA inspection.
This enforcement action will benefit the community, which includes minority and low-income areas. Minority populations comprise nearly half of the residents within a five-mile radius of the facility and 45% are below poverty level. Approximately 35% of the area’s population is Hispanic.
EPA enforces the RMP regulations of the CAA with the goal of preventing accidental chemical releases and minimizing the impact of releases or other accidents that may occur. The establishment of effective risk management plans helps companies, industries, and municipalities operate responsibly, assists emergency responders by providing vital information necessary to address accidents and other incidents, protects the environment by preventing and minimizing damage from accidental releases, and keeps communities safer.
EPA Orders a Stop Sale of Unregistered Pesticides
The EPA has issued a Stop Sale, Use, or Removal Order (SSURO) to D-mand Better Products, LLC, (D-Mand) located in Alpharetta, Ga. directing the company to immediately halt the sale, use, or distribution of M-1 Algae Remover, Barn and Stable Wash, M-1 Sure Cote, M-1 Deck and Roof Cleaner Concentrate, M-1 Deck and Fence Cleaner Concentrate, and M-1 Driveway and Patio Cleaner Concentrate.
The SSURO also applies to D-Mand’s M-1 Advanced Mildew Treatment product which the EPA determined to be misbranded following a review of this product’s label.
The SSURO was issued to D-Mand for selling and distributing the unregistered and misbranded pesticides in violation of the FIFRA. Before selling or distributing any pesticide in the US, companies must register the pesticide with the EPA. Each producer, seller, and distributor is required, under federal law, to ensure that the registered pesticide is labeled in accordance with EPA requirements.
This action follows a review of the D-Mand’s website. On the website statements making pesticidal claims were discovered in reference to the above unregistered products. Because D-Mand advertises claims on its website that these products remove and kill pests including mildew and algae, the products are subject to FIFRA pesticide registration requirements.
FIFRA is a federal law that requires the registration of pesticide products and the proper labeling of pesticides. This requirement protects public health and the environment by ensuring safe production, handling, and application of pesticides and by preventing false or misleading product claims.
Illinois EPA Asks Illinois Attorney General’s Office to Take Enforcement Action over Swine Manure Release
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Interim Director John Kim has asked the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to proceed with an enforcement action and seek immediate injunctive relief related to a discharge of swine manure into Beaver Creek and Hooper Branch in late July that resulted in a large fish kill in the streams.
The parties named in the referral are Hopkins Ridge Farms, LLC, which has more than 2,500 hogs; Belstra Milling Company of DeMotte, Indiana, which constructed and supports Hopkins Ridge Farms; Livestock Engineering Solutions, Inc., the consulting engineering firm for Belstra Milling; and Lebert Mercier, the owner of the land application area that received a mixture of liquid swine manure from Hopkins Ridge for irrigation spraying that occurred between July 20 and July 23 and is the possible cause of the extensive fish kill.
“Due to the threat of future and further release of the contained livestock waste to Hooper Branch and Beaver Creek, and Hopkins Ridge, Belstra, and Mercier’s apparent unwillingness to more aggressively address the problem, the Illinois EPA believes an immediate order should be obtained in this matter compelling Hopkins Ridge, Belstra, and Mercier to case future and further discharges of livestock waste-contaminated water into Hooper Branch and Beaver Creek and begin an aggressive cleanup of the affected waterways,” the Illinois EPA has requested of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Illinois EPA alleges that the parties named in the referral violated the Illinois Environmental Protection Act by placing contaminants on land in a manner so as to create a water pollution hazard, and caused the discharge of contaminants into the waters of the state without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) Permit.
The referral also alleges the parties violated state environmental regulations by creating offensive conditions and offensive discharges, causing Beaver Creek to exceed ammonia nitrogen standards, violating field application of livestock waste requirements, violating handling and storage of livestock waste requirements, violating water quality standards, and failing to have an NPDES Permit for very large operators.
A fish kill was first reported to Illinois EPA on July 25. Agency field staff, along with investigators from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, conducted initial on-site investigations on July 25 and July 26, observing water that was dark in color and dead fish and conducting interviews with the parties cited in the referral to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
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