National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Electronic Reporting Rule: Phase 2 Extension

EPA has published a final rule that has postponed the compliance deadlines for implementation of Phase 2 of the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule (NPDES eRule). The NPDES eRule requires EPA and states to modernize CWA reporting. The final rule also provides states with additional flexibility to request additional time as needed. The rule also eliminates some duplicative or outdated reporting requirements.

 

These changes are designed to save the NPDES authorized programs considerable resources, make reporting easier for NPDES-regulated entities, streamline permit renewals, ensure full exchange of NPDES program data between states and EPA, enhance public transparency, improve environmental decision-making, and protect human health and the environment. The final rule is effective on 4 January 2021.

 

 

To help you get the training you need, Environmental Resource Center has added a number of dates to our already popular live webcast training. Stay in compliance and learn the latest regulations from the comfort of your office or home. Webcast attendees receive the same benefits as our seminar attendees including expert instruction, comprehensive course materials, one year of access to our Answerline^TM service, course certificate, and a personalized user portal on Environmental Resource Center’s website.

 

Upcoming hazardous waste and DOT hazardous materials webcasts:

 

 

 

The DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has issued a final rule in response to industry petitions to reduce regulatory burdens for cylinder requalification requirements.  To ensure safety during use, Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) require the periodic testing of DOT-specification cylinders through certain non-destructive testing methods to verify integrity. The final rule amends the timeframe previously required by the HMR to requalify certain commonly used cylinders.  The final rule also provides regulatory relief, as well as reduced requalification costs for propane marketers, distributors, and others in the non-corrosive gas service without reducing safety.

 

The new rule authorizes 12-year initial and subsequent requalification periods for volumetric expansion testing and a 12-year initial requalification period for proof pressure testing. The rule does not modify the existing 10-year subsequent requalification periods for proof pressure testing. It makes clarifying and conforming edits to the requalification table in § 180.209(a) and the text in paragraph (e). The rule provides regulatory relief by reducing requalification-related costs for propane marketers, distributors, and others in non-corrosive gas service without reducing safety. PHMSA also withdraws its Statement of Enforcement Discretion issued on March 17, 2017, as of the effective date of this final rule.

 

OSHA has issued respiratory protection guidance focused on protecting workers in nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care facilities (LTCFs) from occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus. The action marks the Department’s latest step to ensure the availability of respirators and follows President Donald J. Trump’s Memorandum on Making General Use Respirators Available.

 

Source control measures are recommended for everyone in healthcare facilities, including LTCFs, even if the wearer does not have symptoms of the coronavirus. The guidance describes various source control measures, including cloth face coverings, facemasks, and FDA-cleared or authorized surgical masks. Healthcare providers should wear source control products/devices at all times while inside a LTCF, including in breakrooms or other spaces where they might encounter other people.

 

Healthcare providers who are in close contact with a LTCF resident with suspected or confirmed coronavirus infection must use a NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or equivalent or higher-level respirator, as required by OSHA’s Respiratory Protection standard. Employers should reassess their engineering and administrative controls, such as ventilation and practices for physical distancing, hand hygiene, and cleaning/disinfecting surfaces, to identify changes that could avoid over-reliance on respirators and other personal protective equipment. In light of the essential need for adequate supplies of respirators during the coronavirus pandemic, OSHA has temporarily allowed for some enforcement flexibility regarding respirators. Visit OSHA’s COVID-19 webpage for information on various respirator enforcement memoranda.

 

 

A new Tel Aviv University study compares the effects of two types of disposable dishes on the marine environment — regular plastic disposable dishes and more expensive bioplastic disposable dishes certified by various international organizations — and determines that the bioplastic dishes had a similar effect on marine animals as regular plastic dishes. Moreover, the study finds that bioplastic does not degrade rapidly in the marine environment.

 

The research was led by research student Guillermo Anderson and Prof. Noa Shenkar of the School of Zoology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies, Tel Aviv University. The study was published online in the journal Environmental Pollution. It will be published in the print version of the journal in January 2021.

 

“People buy expensive disposable dishes and utensils with the special bioplastic standard seal of compliance on the assumption that they are being environmentally responsible,” Prof. Shenkar says. “Our study proves that while this may be good for their conscience, it can still damage the environment.”

 

Environmental pollution caused by plastics in general and at sea in particular is a well-known crisis. According to various assessments, some 350 million tons of plastic goods are produced every single year, half of which is disposable dishes and utensils thrown away after a single use. Plastic is a very durable polymer made of chemicals derived from fossil fuels. Marine animals ingest plastic microparticles containing toxic additives that are integral to these harmful microparticles.

 

“In recent decades, substances called ‘bioplastics’ came on the market,” Anderson explains. “Bioplastics are made of natural, renewable materials, and biodegrade relatively fast under certain conditions. Disposable dishes and utensils made of bioplastics were granted various international standard seals and are marketed to consumers as environmentally friendly. We wanted to test the supposedly environmentally friendly disposable dishes to see if they do, in fact, meet expectations.”

 

The study compared disposable cups made of regular plastic and bioplastic and their effects on ascidians, a type of a marine invertebrate; examined the extent, if any, to which these marine invertebrates were capable of digesting particles of the regular plastics and bioplastics; then observed the recruitment of marine organisms to the materials.

 

At least in the short term, both types of plastic have a similar detrimental effect, Prof. Shenkar says. “Bioplastics are made of natural materials and, in that sense, they are more beneficial environmentally speaking. But they may also contain toxins just like regular plastic dishes and they do not biodegrade quickly in the aquatic habitat. In fact, the standard appearing on the label is dated. It doesn’t refer at all to different kinds of plastic additives and speaks of biodegrading within 180 days, but that is specifically under conditions available only in industrial composting settings.”

 

 

The California Air Resources Board announced a settlement of $160,000 with Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. to resolve clean-air violations related to the sale of small off-road engines, typically used as replacements in lawn mowers and leaf blowers, in California. This is the first time that a manufacturer has been cited for failing to comply with the regulation specifically as it relates to replacement engines since its adoption in 1990.

 

The Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) Regulation requires that all small off-road engines sold in California be covered by an Executive Order certifying that the engine meets and was tested to the required exhaust emission standards. In addition, certification requires that the engines have an emissions label, be covered by specific warranty provisions, and be subject to manufacturer reporting requirements. Manufacturers are required to comply with all portions of the certification regulation in order for the engines to be legal for sale in California.

 

Kawasaki self-reported its violations of the SORE regulation to CARB staff, specifically that they had manufactured and sold replacement engines for model years 2002, 2004- 2006, and 2008-2018 and did not properly label. In addition, they failed to report the actual numbers of engines sold for each of those years as required by reporting mandates.

 

“We commend a major manufacturer such as Kawasaki coming forward to report lapses in meeting our certification requirements,” said Todd Sax, CARB’s Enforcement Division Chief. “Reporting is a required part of our regulations and to not do so undermines our certification programs and hinders our ability to effectively enforce California’s anti-pollution laws.”

 

In light of its decision to self-report, CARB worked with Kawasaki and determined that to resolve these violations, the company will implement a compliance plan to ensure that they adhere to California’s SORE regulations and pay a settlement of $160,000. Half of the funds will go to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, while the remaining $80,000 will be paid to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton Environmental Justice Program, a Supplemental Environmental Project. These funds will be used to install air filtration systems at George Washington Elementary School.

 

 

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) entered into a settlement agreement and stipulated final compliance order with CCI San Juan, LLC (CCI) to resolve alleged statutory, regulatory, and permit violations at the company’s San Juan River Gas Plant near Farmington.

 

CCI was cited for illegally emitting more than 1.6 million pounds of pollutants, including hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds between October 2016 and November 2018.

 

“The Environment Department is 100% committed to holding polluters accountable,” said NMED Cabinet Secretary James Kenney. “We will vigorously pursue civil enforcement to the maximum extent the law allows.”

 

Pursuant to state law, the $950,000 penalty will be reverted to State of New Mexico’s general fund. The general fund is the primary state fund from which the ongoing expenses of state government are paid.

 

Failure to comply with emissions limits results in emissions of harmful levels of air pollutants that can impact public health and the environment, including contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone and other hazardous air quality conditions.

 

 

Representing groups from communities near and downstream of coal plants in the Carolinas, the Southern Environmental Law Center challenged the Trump administration’s rewrite of a rule—known as the Effluent Limitation Guidelines or ELG Rule for power plants—that allows coal plants to discharge more polluted water into rivers and lakes. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the challenge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of the Stokes County Branch of the NAACP, Winyah Rivers Alliance, Appalachian Voices, and Good Stewards of Rockingham.

 

“This illegal rollback of clean water protections by the Trump administration allows dirty coal-burning plants to dump more toxic substances into our rivers, lakes, and drinking water reservoirs and exposes our communities to more cancer-causing pollution,” said Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The technology to prevent and treat toxic water pollution from these plants is widely available. Instead of protecting people, this administration made it easier for the most polluting and worst run coal-fired plants to dump poisons into the waterways our communities depend upon.”

 

At least 30% of all toxic water pollution from all industries in America comes from coal-fired plants, according to EPA. In the Southeast, the percentage is likely even higher because of the prevalence of polluting coal-fired power plants.  According to the groups suing EPA, by rewriting this rule at industry’s request, EPA will allow polluters to dump more arsenic, mercury, and selenium into our lakes and rivers—even though available technologies to control this pollution are working at coal-fired plants across the South and the nation.

 

 

A $2.5 million settlement has been reached between Plains Pipeline, L.P., and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board as part of an over $60 million state and federal multi-agency settlement for a pipe failure in 2015 that discharged crude-oil near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County.

 

The settlement requires the company to pay penalties, natural resource damages and assessment costs, and response costs. It also requires improvements to its nationwide pipeline system that bring it into compliance with federal and state pipeline safety laws.

“The 2015 oil spill had a devastating impact on our region’s coastline and wildlife,” said Dr. Jean-Pierre Wolff, chair of the Central Coast Water Board. “We take oil spills and the impact on our coastlines and wildlife very seriously. This lengthy settlement process demonstrates our commitment to collaborate with federal and state governments, and dischargers, to protect and restore our region’s waters.”

 

On May 19, 2015 a pipeline owned and operated by Plains Pipeline, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., failed and discharged approximately 2,934 barrels of heavy crude-oil near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County. The oil spill caused the oiling of the Pacific Ocean and other shorelines and beaches resulting in beach and fishing closures and adverse impacts to natural resources such as birds, fish, marine mammals, and shoreline and subtidal habitat.

 

On July 30, 2015, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board requested assistance from the California Office of the Attorney General to pursue civil liability and injunctive relief against Plains to resolve California Water Code violations caused by the oil spill. A settlement was reached and a consent decree was entered as a final judgment in federal district court on October 14, 2020.

 

As part of the over $60 million multi-agency settlement, the company will pay $24 million in penalties, of which the statutory maximum penalty of $2.5 million will be paid to the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account.

 

Plains will also pay approximately $22.3 million in natural resource damages that will be used to fund projects to restore wildlife, and habitat injured, lost, or destroyed as a result of the oil spill and to compensate the public for the impacts to recreation; $10 million to reimburse natural resource damage assessment costs; and $4.26 million to reimburse U.S. Coast Guard clean-up costs.

 

 

Once the novel coronavirus emptied college campuses across the world, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) leapt into action to figure out how to bring students back safely in the fall. A new article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, details how UIUC’s efforts to establish a campus-wide COVID-19 screening program can impart valuable lessons to the rest of the world.

 

Researchers at UIUC began working on their COVID-19 testing and tracing program in early May, giving them only a few months to get it off the ground before students were expected back for the fall semester. The result is Shield, which aims to screen students, faculty and staff for SARS-CoV-2 and help prevent the spread of the virus, writes Special Correspondent Mark Peplow. Shield now processes over 10,000 saliva tests each day, with undergraduate students getting tested two or three times each week. The team at UIUC in charge of Shield, which includes chemists, epidemiologists, IT specialists and event planners, invested in new diagnostic technology, along with stringent public hygiene measures and contact tracing, to prevent outbreaks on campus and the broader community.

 

The Shield team decided to use saliva tests over the more common nasal swabs because they require fewer trained healthcare workers and simplified the logistics of testing, as well as being more comfortable for those being tested. The research team was given a blank check by the university to order materials and equipment to refine their testing strategy, and by early July, the program was up and running. UIUC also developed a mobile app to provide testing results, and the school collects data for a public dashboard. Because students need negative test results to access campus facilities, overall compliance has been good. As of late October, the UIUC case positivity rate declined to 0.47% with over 600,000 completed tests. UIUC’s success has led to the creation of a statewide Shield-Illinois, and governments are hoping to establish similar programs at an even larger scale.

 

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Oct. 29, 2020, OSHA has issued citations arising from 179 inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $2,496,768.

 

OSHA inspections have resulted in the agency citing employers for violations, including failures to:

 

OSHA has already announced citations relating to the coronavirus arising out of 144 inspections, which can be found at dol.gov/newsroom. In addition to those inspections, the 35 inspections below have resulted in coronavirus-related citations totaling $471,337 from OSHA relating to one or more of the above violations from Oct. 23 to Oct. 29, 2020. OSHA provides more information about individual citations at its Establishment Search website, which it updates periodically.

 

 

A full list of what standards were cited for each establishment – and the inspection number – are available here. An OSHA standards database can be found here.

 

Resources are available on the agency's COVID-19 webpage to help employers comply with these standards.

 

 

Annual hazardous waste training is required for anyone who generates, accumulates, stores, transports, or treats hazardous waste. Learn how to manage your hazardous waste in accordance with the latest state and federal regulations. Learn how to complete EPA’s new electronic hazardous waste manifest, and the more than 60 changes in EPA’s new Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule. Environmental Resource Center’s Hazardous Waste Training is available via live webcasts. If you plan to also attend DOT Hazardous Materials Training, call 800-537-2372 to find out how you can get your course materials on an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet at no extra charge.

 

 

 

The health and wellbeing of our employees, customers and our communities is what matters most to all of us. To continue serve you, our seminars have been converted to live online webcasts. You can find a list of upcoming live webcasts at this link.

 

If you have enrolled in a seminar through December, in most cases the seminar will be held on approximately the same dates and at the same times via online webcast. We will contact you by phone or email regarding the details on how to attend the class. On-site training and consulting services are proceeding as usual. If you wish to convert these to remote services, please call your Environmental Resource Center representative or customer service at 800-537-2372.

 

Because many of our live and on-site training sessions have been postponed or canceled, we have staff available to assist you in coping with COVID-19 as well as your routine EHS requirements. If you have EHS staff that have been quarantined, we can provide remote assistance to help you meet your ongoing environmental and safety compliance requirements. For details, call 800-537-2372 x 224.

 

Environmental Resource Center has openings for EHS consultants and trainers. If you are looking for a new challenge, send your resume and salary requirements to Brian Karnofsky at brian@ercweb.com.