Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed three bills to improve Illinois environment and water systems. The Governor signed House Bills 2056 and 3090 to improve and enhance pharmaceutical collection and disposal programs, as well as House Bill 248, to allow recycled, treated wastewater to be used for non-consumption purposes, such as watering golf courses.
“Pure and plentiful drinking water is every Illinois citizen’s right,” Governor Quinn said. “These bills will help Illinois conserve water, protect the safety of our drinking water supplies and ensure that unused medications are disposed of properly.”
Large-scale, non-consumption irrigation projects—such as the maintenance of parks and golf courses—use enormous quantities of drinking-quality water. House Bill 248, sponsored by Rep. Karen May (D-Highland Park) and Sen. Susan Garrett, (D-Lake Forest), allows the North Shore Sanitary District to supply sustainable, environmentally-friendly treated wastewater to identified partners. The recycled wastewater will save large volumes of treated drinking water.
House Bill 2056, sponsored by Rep. Joann Osmond (R-Antioch) and Sen. Suzi Schmidt (R-Lake Villa), creates a pharmaceutical collection and disposal program to ensure safe disposal of excess prescription medication. The legislation began as an initiative of students from Pontiac and Antioch High Schools, both of which have been active in efforts to collect and properly dispose of unused pharmaceuticals. The program is designed as a collaborative effort between communities, local pharmacies, police departments, hospitals, city officials and students to educate the public about the misuse and abuse of pharmaceuticals, as well as discarded pharmaceuticals’ impact on the environment. Numerous studies have shown that residue from many pharmaceuticals can be found in both drinking water sources and in finished drinking water.
House Bill 3090, sponsored by Rep. Luis Arroyo, (D-Chicago) and Sen. William Delgado (D-Chicago), allows a city, village, or municipality to authorize the use of its city hall or police department to display containers suitable for use as receptacles for used, expired, or unwanted pharmaceuticals.
“Every year families are left with excess prescription drugs that could be harmful if they are accessible to children who may accidently swallow them or youths who may use the drugs to get high,” Senator Delgado, Chairman of the Senate Public Health Committee said. “This legislation will allow for additional locations where people can safely dispose of prescription drugs that have expired or are not needed. This initiative addresses a vital public health and safety issue.”
House Bill 248 is effective immediately. House Bills 2056 and 3090 take effect January 1.
Safety Consultant/Trainer
Environmental Resource Center has a new opening for a safety consultant and auditor. We are looking for a former OSHA CSHO, OSHA trainer, or state inspector for this position in our Cary, North Carolina, office. Applicants should have excellent writing and speaking skills and be willing to travel 7–14 days per month. We are looking for an expert in all of the General Industry and Construction standards who is capable of performing audits of industrial facilities as well as conducting on-site training.
Strong consideration will be given to applicants who also have experience providing Hazwoper, Hazcom, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, and machine guarding training.
The position includes maintenance of training materials (books and presentations), working on consulting projects, development of classes and computer-based training programs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
Houston RCRA and DOT Training
Columbus RCRA and DOT Training
Advertising Opportunities Available
EPA Accepts First GHG Reporting Data and Launches Electronic GHG Reporting Tool
Prior to being finalized, more than1,000 stakeholders, including industry associations, states, and NGOs tested the electronic GHG Reporting Tool (e-GGRT) to ensure clarity and user-friendliness.
The data collected with e-GGRT will provide the public with important information about the nation’s largest stationary sources of greenhouse gas pollution. Industries and businesses can also use the data to help find ways to decrease carbon pollution, increase efficiency, and save money.
EPA expects to receive 2010 GHG data from approximately 7,000 large industrial GHG emitters and suppliers, including power plants, petroleum refineries, and landfills.
EPA’s GHG Reporting Program (GHGRP), launched in October 2009, requires the reporting of GHG data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors. Suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released, combusted, or oxidized are also required to report GHG data. Under this program, covered entities are required to submit GHG data to EPA annually and the first round of data will be submitted electronically by September 30, 2011. EPA plans to publish non-confidential GHG data collected through the GHGRP by the end of 2011.
New Auto A/C Recharging Canisters in California
Do-it-yourself auto mechanics who want to recharge their car’s air conditioning in California will find a redesigned self-sealing canister of refrigerant that is sold with a $10 deposit, refunded when the empty can is returned.
Known as R-134a, this chemical is 1300 times more effective at trapping atmospheric heat than carbon dioxide. Just 24 oz of R-134a has the global warming potential of one ton of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to the emissions from a car driven from Los Angeles to New York.
“This is a practical and cost-effective solution,” said Air Resources Board Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “No longer will partially spent canisters be tossed into the garbage allowing the remaining refrigerant to leak into the atmosphere as a powerful greenhouse gas. Now, that gas will be safely captured, and the can itself will be recycled.”
The $10 deposit will be refunded within 90 days upon return of the used canister with the original receipt.
The regulation is part of the state’s effort to quickly reduce climate-changing emissions as required by AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act.
The program which will eliminate the equivalent of over 250,000 metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year at a cost of about $1 per can is part of the state’s effort to reduce climate-changing emissions as required by AB 32.
The reductions are achieved through:
- Better canister technology—a self-sealing valve will prevent loss of remaining unused gas;
- Improved instructions for using the product;
- A deposit-and-recycling program to recover refrigerant remaining in a used canister; and
- A manufacturer-developed consumer education program for recharging an air conditioner.
ARB staff worked closely with manufacturers and distributors to develop the regulation, including a pilot project that created roll-out strategies and determined the amount of the deposit.
Fuel Found in Old Newspapers
Here’s one way that old-fashioned newsprint beat the Internet: Tulane University scientists have discovered a novel bacterial strain, dubbed “TU-103,” that uses paper to produce butanol, a biofuel that serves as a substitute for gasoline. The researchers are currently experimenting with old editions of The Times-Picayune newspaper with great success.
TU-103 is the first bacterial strain from nature that produces butanol directly from cellulose, an organic compound, says David Mullin, associate professor of cell and molecular biology.
“Cellulose is found in all green plants and is the most abundant organic material on earth. Converting it into butanol is the dream of many,” says Harshad Velankar, who was a postdoctoral fellow in Mullin’s lab. “In the United States alone, at least 323 million tons of cellulosic materials that could be used to produce butanol are thrown out each year.”
Mullin’s lab first identified TU-103 in animal droppings, cultivated it and developed a method for using it to produce butanol. A patent is pending on the process. “Most important about this discovery is TU-103’s ability to produce butanol directly from cellulose,” says Mullin.
He adds that TU-103 is the only known butanol-producing clostridial strain that can grow and produce butanol in the presence of oxygen, which kills other butanol-producing bacteria. Having to produce butanol in an oxygen-free space increases the costs of production.
As a biofuel, butanol is superior to ethanol (commonly produced from corn sugar) because it can readily fuel existing motor vehicles without any modifications to the engine. It also can be transported through existing fuel pipelines, is less corrosive and contains more energy than ethanol, theoretically resulting in improved mileage.
“This discovery could reduce the cost to produce bio-butanol,” says Mullin. “In addition to possible savings on the price per gallon as a fuel, bio-butanol produced from cellulose would dramatically reduce carbon dioxide and smog emissions in comparison to gasoline.” The innovative process also could have a positive impact on landfill waste.
Free Storm Water Workshops in Massachusetts
The fall portion of the Massachusetts Statewide Storm Water Seminar Series will kick off on September 13th in Westborough, with the first of 16 hands-on storm water workshops across the Commonwealth.
The workshops will cover up to 20 topics, including: Low Impact Development; Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination; Writing a Local Storm Water Ordinance; and Funding Local Storm Water Programs. These seminars describe practical actions that town officials and residents can take to reduce storm water pollution into local rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes.
“Whether it’s protecting local water supplies, meeting federal permit requirements or promoting sustainable development, many Massachusetts towns are looking for ways to improve how they manage storm water,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “These workshops are one more way that MassDEP is helping communities take specific actions that will reduce water pollution.”
“Storm water is a major problem in New England, which contributes to closures of beaches and shellfish beds, rampant weed growth in lakes and algae blooms. We can’t clean up New England’s water without addressing storm water,” said Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator of the US EPA’s New England office. “These workshops will give municipal leaders and environmental organizations information about ways to stop storm water from harming their local waterways.”
Funded by the MassDEP 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Competitive Grant Program, these seminars are presented by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., in collaboration with the Center for Watershed Protection, the Horsley Witten Group, and Stacey DePasquale Engineering. In addition, local organizations such as the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, the Merrimack River Watershed Council, and Save the Bay are hosting the seminars.
“We bring storm water experts and the most up-to-date information to these seminars,” said VHB’s Director of Storm Water Services Bethany Eisenberg. “This is a great way for DPWs and planners and finance committee members to find out what they can do to manage storm water at a local level. And, we offer different topics at each seminar so you can choose the topics that you are most interested in.”
Dates and locations are:
- September 13th – Westborough
- September 14th – Northborough
- September 15th – Rehoboth
- September 20th – Springfield
- September 21st – Everett
- September 22nd – Groton
- September 29th – Southbridge
- October 4th – Lawrence
- October 5th – Boston – West (Location TBD)
- October 6th – West Brookfield
- October 12th – Rutland
- October 18th – Boston – South (Location TBD)
- October 19th – Dudley
- October 20th – Pittsfield
- October 25th – Boylston
DOT Seeks Comment on Possible New Gas Pipeline Safety Measures
The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced that it is seeking information on whether or not to propose new safety requirements for gas transmission pipelines. In April, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood launched a national pipeline safety initiative to prevent potentially catastrophic incidents. The advanced noticed of proposed rulemaking process follows on Secretary LaHood’s call to action and seeks public comment on a range of pipeline safety issues.
“The safety of the American people is my top priority,” said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “I am committed to working with pipeline operators, utilities, local governments and members of the public to ensure our nation’s pipeline infrastructure is safe and well-maintained.”
This Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) asks the public to comment on whether certain regulatory exemptions for pipelines constructed before 1970 should be eliminated and whether integrity management requirements for pipelines should be strengthened and broadened.
“Incidents with significant consequences continue to occur on gas transmission pipelines, and this action will help us determine whether new requirements are needed to increase safety,” said PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman.
PHMSA is also considering whether to propose requirements reducing the operating pressure for some pipelines that were built before 1970 and were previously exempt from other requirements. Other matters under consideration include revising requirements on valves for new or existing pipelines, whether requirements for corrosion control of steel pipelines should be strengthened, and whether new regulations are needed to govern the safety of gathering lines and underground gas storage facilities.
In total, PHMSA is seeking public comment on 14 specific topics related to pipeline integrity management and pipeline system integrity. Integrity management programs combine periodic inspection and testing of a pipeline’s condition with continuous management processes to collect, integrate, analyze, and apply information about possible risks.
The public comment period for this notice ends 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.
Reporting of Certain GHG Data Elements Deferred Under GHG Mandatory Reporting Program
The deferral applies to direct emitters, including facilities that are subject to subparts C through JJ, as well as subparts RR, SS, and TT, of the GHGRP. The deferral also covers any direct emitter subparts that the agency finalizes in the future.
Because EPA is currently developing a process for determining the competitive harm likely to result from the public availability of each data element, the agency has deferred certain data elements, listed in the rule, according to how quickly the Agency anticipates completing this process for each. Reporting for data elements that are further along in the process is deferred until March 31, 2013, while reporting for other data elements is deferred until March 31, 2015.
Drinking Water Report on Small Systems Available Online
EPA first published this report in 1999, after the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, to serve as a source of information for small drinking water systems and stakeholders that work with small systems. The central purpose of generating this report is to share characteristics of small public drinking water systems to better understand their challenges and better target technical assistance to improve their technical, managerial, and financial capacity. This report updates the data on small systems based on the new information drawn from the 2006 Community Water System Survey, the 2007 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, the Safe Drinking Water Information Systems (SDWIS), the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund National Information Management System, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Colorado Issues Notice of Violation to Cotter Uranium Mill
None of the contaminated water left the restricted area on the Cotter property, but evaporated or seeped back into the ground to be collected again and pumped back to the primary impoundment at the facility.
There was no impact to public or worker health from this incident. Workers wore proper protective gear during the response, the public is not allowed in the area where the spill occurred, and the proper reporting and response was performed. “Any release to the environment concerns us,” said Steve Tarlton, radiation program manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “License conditions require that the area where this spill occurred be cleaned up separately as part of the mill closure.”
A broken flange resulted in the release when the lid to a vault containing pumps for the pumpback system was inadvertently left open overnight, causing the flange to freeze and rupture. The problem was discovered the next morning by Cotter personnel and corrected.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment inspectors verified Cotter followed proper protocol by telephoning notification to the department at the time of the incident and generating a report that was on file at the site and available for inspection. The notice of violation was issued for failure to maintain equipment in proper order. Because Cotter has corrected the problem and provided the appropriate documentation, no further enforcement actions are anticipated.
“Notification and reporting are required by the license when a release of more than 500 gallons occurs,” Tarlton explained. “This condition on the Cotter license is more strict than at any other uranium recovery facility, and is not required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) or Colorado regulations.” Cotter maintains a pumpback system to capture contaminated groundwater and pump it back to the primary impoundment for evaporation. This system prevents groundwater contaminated by the original mill that operated prior to 1978 from further contaminating the Lincoln Park groundwater.
$1 Million EPA Enforcement Action against Kettleman City Hazardous Waste Landfill
“Significant shortcomings at Chemical Waste Management’s lab compromised the company’s ability to accurately analyze the toxic waste to be disposed of in their landfill. As a result, EPA has assessed a significant penalty and required an outside lab be used for at least two years,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
The settlement is a result of a joint US EPA and California Department of Toxic Substances Control investigation in February 2010. An analysis of the landfill’s records showed that the facility’s laboratory had not been following proper quality control procedures since 2005. EPA made a preliminary recommendation that the company switch to using an outside laboratory, which it has done since May 2010. The investigation found records indicating the facility disposed of waste that did not fully meet standards for treatment prior to disposal. In addition, the facility disposed of hazardous waste leachate from the landfill without assuring the leachate met treatment standards.
There is no evidence to suggest that the landfill’s violations posed any danger to nearby communities or workers at the facility.
Under the terms of the settlement, the facility must use an outside laboratory for a minimum of two years to verify that its hazardous wastes meet treatment standards prior to disposal. The facility is required to install an advanced record management system, and purchase new equipment before it is allowed to perform all analyses in its own laboratory. It must also make physical and operational changes in its leachate management system. EPA will continue to vigorously monitor each of the improvements outlined in the settlement.
Earlier this year, EPA concluded in an air sampling study, that Kettleman’s waste ponds were not significant sources of harmful emissions (). A January 2011 EPA mandated study showed that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were not migrating offsite at concentrations that adversely affect the health of local residents or the environment ().
The Chemical Waste Management Kettleman Hills facility is a commercial hazardous waste facility located in Kings County, California. The facility handles the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, PCBs, and non-hazardous waste.
EPA Orders HOVENSA to Improve Plans to Prevent Chemical Releases and Promptly Detect Problems
EPA issued an order to HOVENSA LLC, in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, requiring the refinery to make numerous improvements to its programs and plans that help prevent chemical releases and provide prompt detection and response when incidents and releases do occur.
Under the Clean Air Act, facilities that manufacture, process, use, store, or handle regulated flammable and toxic chemicals above specified levels are required to develop risk management programs and submit risk management plans. Facilities are required to update and resubmit their risk management plans at least once every five years.
“There have been too many chemical releases and other potentially dangerous incidents at the HOVENSA facility in recent years, including three since January 2011 alone,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Equipment at the HOVENSA facility needs to be properly maintained and workers well trained to protect people living nearby from exposure to dangerous chemicals.”
EPA discovered the violations at HOVENSA’s refinery in St. Croix during a January 2011 inspection. While HOVENSA does have a risk management program and a plan in place, it was found to be inadequate. Among the violations identified in the order were: failure to maintain plant equipment; take steps to identify problems before they occur; provide training to employees on the control of hazards during operations; and ensure that established operating procedures were being followed. EPA is requiring HOVENSA to address these and other violations according to a schedule laid out in the order.
NEDAK Ethanol Fined for Failure to Develop Risk Management Plan
As part of an administrative civil settlement with EPA Region 7, NEDAK Ethanol has also agreed to spend at least $17,900 on a supplemental environmental project. As part of that project, the company has agreed to spend approximately $8,700 to purchase six headset radios and five handheld radios for the Atkinson Fire Department to enable more effective communications during emergency response operations. The company will also spend approximately $9,200 to purchase and install an ammonia leak detector system and combustible gases sensor at its Atkinson facility.
According to an administrative consent agreement filed by EPA in Kansas City, Kansas, the Agency inspected NEDAK Ethanol’s Atkinson facility in April 2010 and found that it had not developed a Risk Management Program nor had it filed a Risk Management Plan. Under the federal Clean Air Act, NEDAK Ethanol was required to take those actions because its facility had quantities of flammable pentane and butane in excess of regulatory thresholds. Flammable substances commonly used in the ethanol manufacturing process can make facilities subject to Risk Management Program regulations.
EPA enforces the Risk Management Program regulations of the Clean Air Act with a goal of preventing accidental chemical releases and minimizing the impact of releases or other accidents that may occur.
Establishment of Risk Management Programs and formulation of Risk Management Plans helps companies operate responsibly, assists emergency responders by providing vital information necessary for them to address accidents and other incidents, protects the environment by preventing and minimizing damage from accidental releases, and keeps communities safer.
Fabian Oil Fined for SPCC Violations
Fabian Oil, Inc., sells heating oil, gasoline, and other petroleum products from several facilities in Maine. According to EPA, Fabian failed to maintain and fully implement Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure () Plans at three of these facilities. After EPA performed inspections in 2009–2010, Fabian produced revised, updated SPCC Plans for the facilities and proceeded to implement them. The implementation work included installing concrete pads to contain potential spills from tank truck loading areas, updating spill control equipment, and performing oil tank integrity testing.
Because Fabian’s old SPCC Plans were out-of-date and only partially implemented, Fabian’s three facilities were not fully prepared to deal with oil spills or to prevent spills from having potentially serious environmental consequences. EPA’s oil spill prevention regulations and SPCC Plan requirements help ensure that tank failures or accidental spills from oil-storing facilities do not lead to oil contamination of surface waters, such as rivers or streams, which could harm human and ecological health. These regulatory requirements generally apply to facilities with above-ground oil storage capacity of more than 1,320 gallons. Fabian’s three violating facilities have storage capacities of 30,000 to 60,000 gallons.
“Because oil spills can do significant damage to the environment, it’s very important that facilities handling and storing oil do everything possible to minimize the risk of oil spills,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “It’s much easier and less expensive to prevent pollution before it occurs.”
$33,400 Fine for TRI Reporting Violations
A chemical processing facility in Cranston, Rhode Island, faces a penalty of $33,400 from EPA for failing to appropriately report chemicals used on site in violation of federal right-to-know laws.
According to EPA’s New England office, John R. Hess & Company failed to file Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Forms (TRI) listing chemicals processed, manufactured, or used at its facility at 400 Station St. The inventory forms are required by the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA or SARA Title III). The violations took place in the year 2008 and 2009. The complaint stems from an EPA inspection of the Hess facility on June 30, 2010.
According to EPA, Hess processed more than the established thresholds of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, ethylene glycol, and other regulated chemicals, but did not report these chemicals during the time period required. Hess submitted these forms after the due dates, resulting in five violations of EPCRA.
Failure of a facility to file TRI forms deprives the community of its right to know about the chemicals present in a neighborhood. The required information also protects the validity of health studies based on the TRI database and helps federal, state, and local authorities plan for cleaning up industrial pollution.
Two Plead Guilty, Sentenced for Dumping Truck Loads of Rocks and Other Material in Side Channel of the McKenzie River
Geraldine Betz and Stephen Ponder pled guilty recently in US District Court in Eugene, Oregon, to a violation of the Rivers and Harbors Act for the unlawful discharge of multiple truck loads of rock and other material into the side-channel of the McKenzie River.
The McKenzie River originates in the Cascade Mountains of Western Oregon and flows ninety miles into the Willamette River. The Willamette is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The McKenzie provides drinking water for Eugene-area residents and habitat for threatened species such as Chinook salmon and bull trout.
“Oregon’s navigable rivers are shared resources—not private fiefdoms—and we must all respect the laws designed to preserve our rivers and habitats for future generations,” said US Attorney Dwight C. Holton. “I commend the collaborative efforts by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Environmental Protection Agency–Criminal Investigation Division, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in investigating this case.”
According to statements made during the hearing, Betz and Ponder each owned property located along a side-channel of the McKenzie River. In the spring of 2008, the defendants discussed constructing a channel dam to stabilize the bank and reduce the flow of the channel. In November 2008, Betz hired a construction company to bring rock out to her property to build a dam. Multiple dump truck loads of rock and other material were placed into the entrance of the McKenzie River from the side-channel at the direction of Betz and Ponder. Neither defendant possessed, nor had they obtained, the necessary permit to authorize the discharge of such materials into the river. Under the Rivers and Harbors Act, it is unlawful without a permit to discharge or deposit any kind of refuse matter into any navigable water, or tributary of any navigable water of the US.
In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement, Betz and Ponder were sentenced to three years of probation. Betz was also sentenced to pay a $6,500 fine, as well as make a $3,500 community service payment to the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment. Ponder was sentenced to pay a $1,625 fine and make an $875 community service payment to the same fund. The Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment is a sustained granting fund managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to benefit the coastal areas and rivers and streams passing through the District of Oregon.
This case was investigated by the US EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by the US Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
Invasion of the European Water Chestnut
The prolific, invasive European water chestnut has invaded the Chesapeake Bay watershed and is now impacting smaller, local watersheds such as the Perkiomen Creek Watershed in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The floating foliage is disrupting aquatic systems by limiting passage of light into the water, reducing oxygen levels and the growth of native aquatic species. Help stop the spread and damage!
Environmental News Links
Trivia Question of the Week
How many species are estimated to be on Earth?
a. 87,000
b. 870,000
c. 8.7 million
d. 87 million