In comparison to previous years, the 2015 models include a greater number of fuel efficient and low-emission vehicles in a broader variety of classes and sizes.
“Automakers’ innovation is thriving, and Americans are benefiting from new consumer choices that limit carbon emissions and slow the effects of climate change,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “This year’s guide is not just about how the latest models compare with one another; it’s about providing people with an excellent tool so that they can make informed decisions affecting their pocketbooks and the planet.”
“Today’s announcement builds on the Administration’s commitment to developing a transportation sector that minimizes harmful emissions and saves consumers’ money at the pump,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “This year’s guide provides the American people with user-friendly information for making the best decisions for their pocketbooks, while also helping create a more sustainable energy future.”
The best-in-class lists include multiple market segments, from two-seaters to large pickup trucks. Electric cars with the best MPG equivalent include the Chevy Spark (119 MPGe) and Volkswagen eGolf (116 MPGe). Toyota’s Prius toped the hybrid ranking, with 50 MPG. The least efficient car for 2015 is the 2-seater 10 MPG Bugatti Veyron.
You can find a broad range of information that can be helpful while shopping for a new vehicle—including an estimated annual fuel cost for each vehicle. The estimate is based on the vehicle’s miles per gallon (mpg) rating and national estimates for fuel prices.
The guide includes a GHG rating (from one to 10) for each model, giving consumers a quick way to identify vehicles with low GHG emissions.
EPA fuel economy estimates are the best way to compare fuel economy among vehicles. Official fuel economy testing is controlled, repeatable, and accounts for a variety of real-world conditions, like air-conditioning use and a variety of speed and temperature conditions. Individual mileage will vary depending on factors such as driving style, weather, air-conditioning use, and extra weight being carried or towed.
These standards are projected to cut 6 billion metric tons of GHG over the lifetimes of the vehicles sold, save families more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs, and reduce America’s dependence on oil by more than 2 million barrels per day. So far, automakers’ overall GHG and fuel economy performance was, on average, ahead of what the standards require.
Learn DOT’s New Rules for Lithium Battery Shipments
These changes are designed to ensure that lithium cells and batteries are able to withstand normal transportation conditions and are packaged to reduce the possibility of damage that could lead to an unsafe situation.
- Enhance packaging and hazard communication requirements for lithium batteries transported by air
- Replace equivalent lithium content with Watt-hours for lithium ion cells and batteries
- Adopt separate shipping descriptions for lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries
- Revise provisions for the transport of small and medium lithium cells and batteries including cells and batteries packed with, or contained in, equipment
- Revise the exceptions for small cells and batteries in air transportation
- Revise the requirements for the transport of lithium batteries for disposal or recycling
- Harmonize the provisions for the transport of low production and prototype lithium cells and batteries with the ICAO Technical Instructions and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
- Adopt new provisions for the transport of damaged, defective, and recalled lithium batteries
If you ship batteries by ground or air, you must comply with the latest DOT and IATA/ICAO regulations that specify how the batteries must be packaged, marked, labeled, and transported. The rules apply not only to batteries, but also to equipment or vehicles that contain batteries as well as batteries packed along with equipment. Virtually all types of batteries are regulated, including lithium, lead-acid, nickel cadmium, and metal hydride alkaline. According to 49 CFR 172.704, all personnel involved in the classification, packaging, marking, labeling, or shipment of batteries must receive initial and recurrent transportation training.
Orlando RCRA and DOT Training
Charlotte RCRA and DOT Training
Wilmington RCRA and DOT Training
Leading Edge Aviation Services Fined $700,000 for Unlawful Handling of Hazardous Waste
Leading Edge operated a commercial aircraft painting facility at Greenville’s Mid-Delta Regional Airport until mid-2013. The process of stripping paint from aircraft in preparation for repainting generated large volumes of hazardous wastes that Leading Edge was required to properly manage.
Judge Davidson sentenced Leading Edge to pay a criminal fine in the amount of $700,000. Leading Edge will pay a separate $275,000 civil penalty to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and a $25,000 community service payment to the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, a non-profit corporation. Leading Edge was also ordered to serve a term of probation of 12 months. The sentence further requires Leading Edge to complete cleanup of its Greenville facility, implement a corporate wide hazardous waste training program, hire an Environmental, Health and Safety Manager, obtain ISO 14001 environmental management certification for its operating facilities, adopt a corporate code of ethics policy, and conduct ethics training for senior management.
The activity to which Leading Edge plead guilty occurred prior to the company’s purchase by a new ownership group in April 2012. The company, under the direction of its new ownership, cooperated fully with the EPA’s investigation of this matter.
Today’s sentence ensures that these illegal practices will not continue. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi is committed to maintaining the health and safety of our citizens.”
“Our nation’s environmental laws help ensure that human health and safety is not endangered by companies looking to cut costs illegally,” said Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Mississippi. "The defendant’s actions callously placed the health of nearby residents at great risk. The paints and solvents used in this case were especially hazardous, requiring proper handling and disposal. This case sends a clear message that corporations that fail to properly manage hazardous wastes will be prosecuted and held accountable for their actions.”
This case was investigated by the EPA, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Pennsylvania RACT Rulemaking Will Impose More Stringent Requirements
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced it has revised its Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) final rulemaking to impose more stringent requirements than originally proposed in April to improve air quality, while still protecting grid reliability.
As defined by the EPA, RACT is the lowest emissions limitation that a particular source is capable of meeting by the application of control technology that is reasonably available, considering technological and economic feasibility.
“When implemented, this plan will result in considerable emissions reductions of ozone precursor emissions,” DEP Deputy Secretary for Waste, Air, Radiation and Remediation Vince Brisini said.
In April, the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) published the proposed RACT rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for public comment. As originally proposed, allowable emissions rates were lower than the current allowable rates, and certain EGU owners and operators would have needed to optimize existing control technology to meet reduction requirements.
The final proposed rulemaking requires all EGUs to operate emission control equipment. If operating conditions do not allow for the operation of control technology, EGUs must meet reduced NOx and VOC emission levels. A 30-day emission averaging period will provide operational flexibility and protect the reliability of the electric grid system. As revised, emission limits apply during all conditions, including start-ups, shutdowns, and malfunctions.
With the implementation of this RACT final rulemaking, and other previous regulations, NOx emissions from coal-fired EGUs will be reduced by over 85% from 1990 levels.
“The revised rule is the result of significant public input and the re-evaluation of achievable emission levels,” Brisini said. “The proposed final RACT requirements are yet another demonstration of our commitment to an open, transparent process and improving air quality for all Pennsylvanians.”
DEP received comments on the proposal from 134 commenters during the public comment period, which closed on June 30. Commenters included EPA, other states, industry representatives, environmental organizations, concerned citizens, and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.
The emissions reduction plan will be discussed by the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee (AQTAC) on November 7. At that meeting, DEP will request AQTAC to concur with the department’s recommendation to move the final rulemaking to the EQB for consideration.
The AQTAC meeting is open to the public and will be held from 9:15 am to 2:15 pm, adjourning for lunch from 11:45 am to 12:30 pm. The meeting will be held in room 105, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, Harrisburg.
RACT is required for non-attainment areas, and because Pennsylvania is located in the Ozone Transport Region, all major sources in the state are treated as being located in at least a moderate ozone non-attainment area. Based on monitoring data for 2012 through 2014 ozone season, all ozone monitors in the Commonwealth, except one, are measuring attainment of the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
Washington Environmental Penalties for Second Quarter 2014
The Washington Department of Ecology issued $564,465 in penalties of $1,000 or more July through September 2014. Ecology works with thousands of businesses and individuals to help them comply with state laws. Penalties are issued in cases where non-compliance continues after Ecology has provided technical assistance or warnings, or for particularly serious violations.
The money owed from penalties may be reduced from the issued amount due to settlement or court rulings. Funds collected go to the state’s general fund or to dedicated pollution prevention accounts.
Ecology strives to protect, preserve, and enhance Washington’s environment and promote wise management for current and future generations. When someone pollutes Washington’s air, land, or waters, Ecology enforces state and federal regulations in hopes of changing behavior and deterring future violations.
Stone Energy Corporation Fined $177,500 for Clean Water Act Violations
In a settlement with the EPA, Stone Energy Corporation will restore streams damaged by the company’s unauthorized discharge of dredged or fill material in Wetzel County, West Virginia.
Stone Energy has also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $177,500.
Without first obtaining the required permit, the company filled in approximately 680 feet of tributaries to Fishing Creek at the Weekley Well Pad, and 420 feet of Duerrs Run as well as an associated tributary at the Maury Well Pad. Both Duerrs Run and Fishing Creek are part of the Ohio River watershed.
Stone’s failure to apply for and receive a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers before dredged or fill material, such as dirt or stone, was discharged into the waterways resulted in the violation. This permit requirement protects important aquatic resources, and preserves their environmental, recreational, and economic functions, including flood control, water filtration, and wildlife habitat.
In an administrative settlement with EPA, Stone Energy has agreed to conduct a combination of stream mitigation and restoration of the affected streams. As part of the settlement, Stone Energy did not admit liability for the alleged violations.
Industrial Laundry Agrees to $75,000 Clean Air Act Settlement
A national industrial laundry company, AmeriPride Services, Inc., has voluntarily stopped laundering materials that emitted air pollutants from its Worcester, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut, facilities. These communities are expected to benefit from resulting lower air emissions.
This equipment was used to launder shop and print towels, which can be significant sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs include a variety of chemicals that may produce adverse health effects such as eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; nausea and damage to the liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Emissions of VOCs also contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone.
AmeriPride no longer launders shop or print towels at these facilities. In 2013, AmeriPride stopped laundering print and shop towels in Worcester, and ended all laundering operations in Hartford. “Print towels,” which are used to clean printing or graphic arts equipment, typically contain higher levels of VOC solvents. Industrial laundries can process hundreds of tons of soiled towels, uniforms and other textiles per year in washers that can handle single loads up to 450 lb. As a result, VOC emissions from these facilities can be significant.
EPA has conducted a series of emissions tests and inspections over seven years at industrial laundries in New England, focusing on those that supply and launder towels on a rental basis. AmeriPride was one of several industrial laundries issued notices of violations in the last several years by EPA. Earlier in 2014, UniFirst Corp., based in Massachusetts, and Cintas Corp., based in Ohio, together paid nearly $460,000 in penalties to settle EPA claims. Both companies operate industrial laundry facilities across the country, but the settlements addressed violations solely at the companies’ New England facilities. UniFirst and Cintas promised to follow a set of towel handling procedures, including not laundering print towels, to minimize VOC emissions, and to apply for state air permits. In addition, EPA has settled enforcement cases with G&K Services Co and Coyne Textile Services for similar violations of the Clean Air Act over the past few years.
AmeriPride cooperated with EPA in reaching settlements at these two facilities.
Three Subsidiaries of the World’s Largest Fertilizer Producer to Reduce Harmful Air Emissions
In a settlement with the US, three subsidiaries of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS), the world’s largest fertilizer producer, will take steps to reduce harmful air emissions at eight US production plants, the EPA and Department of Justice announced recently. The settlement resolves claims that these PCS subsidiaries violated the Clean Air Act when they modified facilities in ways that released excess sulfur dioxide into surrounding communities.
The settlement requires PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer, AA Sulfuric, Inc., and White Springs Agricultural Chemicals Inc. to install, upgrade and operate state-of-the-art pollution reduction measures, as well as install emissions monitors at eight sulfuric acid plants across facilities in Geismar, Louisiana (one plant), White Springs, Florida (four plants), and Aurora, North Carolina (three plants). The three companies will spend an estimated $50 million on these measures, and will pay a $1.3 million civil penalty.
“Large industrial facilities that break the law and pollute the air will be held accountable,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case will bring these companies into compliance and require additional action to cut pollution to benefit communities, especially those most vulnerable to air pollution.”
“This agreement, the largest so far in our ongoing Clean Air Act enforcement efforts against sulfuric-acid producers, will ensure cleaner air for citizens across the Southeast and will send a strong signal to the industry that noncompliance has serious consequences,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
EPA expects the actions that the companies have agreed to take will reduce harmful emissions by over 13,090 tons per year, which includes approximately 12,600 tons per year of sulfur dioxide, 430 tons per year of ammonia and 60 tons per year of nitrogen oxide. In the future, the companies can also retire plants to comply with the settlement.
The settlement also includes a “supplemental environmental project,” estimated to cost between $2.5 and $4 million, to protect the community around a PCS Nitrogen nitric acid plant in Geismar, Louisiana, and requires PCS Nitrogen to install and operate equipment to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia. This project is part of EPA’s commitment to advancing environmental justice by reducing the disproportionate environmental impacts on communities near industrial facilities—in this instance, by reducing fine particulates that can aggravate respiratory disease.
Sulfur dioxide, the predominant pollutant emitted from sulfuric acid plants, has numerous adverse effects on human health and is a significant contributor to acid rain, smog and haze. Sulfur dioxide—along with nitrogen oxide—is converted in the air to particulate matter that can cause severe respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death.
This settlement is part of EPA’s national enforcement initiative to control harmful emissions from large sources of pollution, which includes acid production plants, under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements. It is the 10th settlement reached under EPA’s National Acid Manufacturing Plant Initiative and the 7th settlement addressing pollution from sulfuric acid plants. The settlement covers more sulfuric acid production capacity—roughly 24,000 tons per day or approximately 14% of total US capacity—than all previous sulfuric acid settlements under this initiative combined.
The settlement also resolves alleged violations based on Louisiana law at the Geismar, Louisiana facility. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will receive $350,000 of the $1.3 million penalty.
Copar Quarries to Pay $80,000 in Clean Air Act Settlement
A rock quarry in Bradford, Rhode Island, Copar Quarries has agreed to settle claims by the EPA that it violated federal clean air standards. According to a complaint filed by EPA’s New England office, Copar Quarries failed to conduct the required emissions testing, keep proper inspection log books, and notify EPA when it began operating several pieces of equipment in this quarry in 2011.
Copar will pay $80,000 and correct the violations identified by EPA.
Copar operates a portable stone crushing and gravel processing plant with several crushers and screeners. Copar’s facility operates on about 150 acres near residential properties.
EPA asserted that the company violated these standards by failing to notify EPA when it started operations and by failing to do the required emissions testing. In addition, the company did not keep a logbook of inspections and corrective actions on its wet suppression system designed to control emissions of particulate matter and reduce dust.
Exposure to particulate matter air pollution—in this case stone dust—can aggravate lung disease, causing asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and may also increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. For people with heart disease, particulate matter air pollution has been linked to heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, heart failure, and stroke.
Copar has since corrected the violations identified by EPA, which will help to reduce Copar’s emissions of particulate matter to the air in the surrounding community.
Hyundai and Kia Clean Air Act Settlement
Automakers Hyundai and Kia will pay a $100 million civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations based on their sale of more than 1 million vehicles that collectively will emit approximately 4.75 million metric tons of GHG in excess of what the automakers certified to the EPA. The companies will forfeit GHG emission credits in order to put the companies in the place they would have been had they accurately reported the GHG emissions from these vehicles in the first place. The companies also will take measures to prevent future violations. On November 3, 2014, the EPA and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this settlement, and lodged a consent decree embodying the settlement in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Agilyx Corporation Fined $49,702 for Hazardous Waste Violations
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a $49,702 penalty to Agilyx Corporation for hazardous waste violations at its Tigard research facility. The facility operates a process that converts waste plastic into a synthetic crude oil.
DEQ also cited the company, without penalty, for failure to label containers holding hazardous waste near the point of waste generation.
DEQ issued this penalty because the improper management of hazardous waste threatens public health and the environment. Similar violations were identified during an environmental audit the company conducted of this facility in 2011.
In determining the civil penalty amount, DEQ considered the company's efforts to correct the violations, including making hazardous waste determinations, updating its contingency plan and addressing hazardous waste storage requirements identified during DEQ's October 2013 inspection of the facility.
Agilyx Corporation has until November 11 to appeal the DEQ penalty.
School Board in Louisiana Must Institute Asbestos Handling Training
US Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that his office has agreed to defer prosecution on the bill of information it filed against the Washington Parish School Board charging it with a felony violation of the Clean Air Act for failing to notify the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality of the 2011 demolition of the Old Pine High School which contained regulated asbestos containing material.
According to court documents, in 2011, due to persistent vandalism and an inability to sell the vacant former Pine High School, located at 27164 La. 62 in Franklinton, the school board decided to demolish the school and clear the site. Despite the fact that the school board had an asbestos management plan for the former Pine High School which showed that at the time of the last inspection in 2007 there was greater than 31,000 square feet of floor tile suspected of containing asbestos material, the school board failed to make any notification or report to DEQ that it intended to demolish the school in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 7413(c)(2)(B) and 40 CFR 61.145(b).
The School Board has since remediated the site and has begun steps to comply with a host of compliance requirements in the deferred prosecution agreement with the government, including training and instituting standard operating procedures for future handling of confirmed and suspected asbestos containing material wherever found during the maintenance of the school board’s remaining facilities as well as during construction and demolition of the school board’s properties. This includes a requirement that any contract for construction, renovation, remediation, demolition, or project that implicates environmental regulations or laws shall be let in accordance with Louisiana law and any solicitations for bid or proposal shall set forth specifically all environmental concerns and obligations of the contractor and the school board. In 2011, the demolition of the former Pine High School had not been let for public bid, but was privately negotiated and agreed to in a purchase order.
The school board will be under the deferred prosecution agreement for two years. If the school board is in full compliance with all of its obligations under the agreement and has not committed any negligent or knowing violations of state or federal criminal law at the end of the two years, the United States Attorney’s Office will request that the district court dismiss, with prejudice, the bill of information. This matter is currently pending before US District Judge Lance M. Africk.
US Attorney Polite praised the work of the EPA-CID and the investigators with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality-CID in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Greenfield is in charge of the prosecution.
$5,500 Penalty for Damaging Wetlands
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $5,500 penalty against Ridge View Realty Trust and Crabtree Development, LLC, to address damage caused by violations of the Wetlands Protection Act at their property located at Ridge View Heights, off Routes 2 and 110 in Ayer, Massachusetts.
Following a request for assistance from the Ayer Conservation Commission, a MassDEP inspector observed that erosion and sedimentation of unstable soils, steep unstable side slopes, and inadequate erosion controls had resulted in the discharge of sediments to bordering vegetated wetlands (BVW) and Bennett’s Brook.
In a settlement, Ridge View Realty and Crabtree Development have agreed to implement an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan and retain an Erosion Control Specialist to inspect the site after rainfall events of one-half inch or more. The specialist will report deficiencies of the erosion control plan and document the corrections made on-site. Through this action approximately 2,500 square feet of BVW and 2,500 square feet of Land Under Water Bodies within Bennett’s Brook and its tributaries will be restored and protected from additional erosion and sedimentation.
“Companies working near wetlands need to plan for and control erosion and sedimentation in order to protect the wetland resources of the Commonwealth,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “This is particularly important when construction projects include steep slopes, as this one did.”
$3,000 Penalty for Violating Wetlands Protection Requirements
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $3,000 penalty to Gerard E. Roy of Rochdale to address damage caused by violations of the Wetlands Protection Act on lot 2, Smith Road in Charlton.
Following a request for assistance from the Charlton Conservation Commission, a MassDEP inspector observed that Mr. Roy had removed trees and stumps, grubbed, graded and filled bordering vegetative wetlands (BVW) along a right-of-way to his property in Charlton. Mr. Roy had not obtained a permit from the Charlton Conservation Commission authorizing these activities, as required by law.
MassDEP issued an order requiring Mr. Roy to cease work within the wetland resource area, hire a wetlands specialist to review the damage and submit a plan for restoration of the impacted areas. Mr. Roy has since complied with the order, but he must also monitor the results of the wetlands plantings used in the restoration work over the next few years. Through the wetlands work, approximately 10,600 square feet of BVW will be restored.
"Residents working near wetlands resources should always check with their local conservation commission before starting a project to confirm that they have obtained the proper permits and that the planned work complies with the wetlands protection requirements," said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP's Central Regional Office in Worcester. "This precaution can save residents time and money and help to protect the environment."
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Trivia Question of the Week
Which of the following is the best in improving automotive fuel economy?
a) Replacing the air filter
b) Manual transmissions
c) Observing the speed limit
d) Using premium fuel