The complaint, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, alleges the company illegally introduced dust containing lead, arsenic, cadmium, and selenium into the manufacture of its wine bottles. DTSC has no evidence that consuming wine stored in these bottles poses a health threat. The contaminated dust is generated by air pollution equipment used to capture regulated pollutants that would otherwise be released into the air from its furnaces. The dust is considered a hazardous waste and must be properly managed and disposed of under California law.
Gallo asserts it was recycling the waste by putting it into materials fed into the furnaces and heated to form molten glass used to make bottles. Gallo’s operations generate hundreds of pounds of hazardous dust a day.
“DTSC promotes and supports legitimate recycling. The Department’s mission is to protect Californians and their environment from exposure to hazardous waste,” said Deputy Director for the Hazardous Waste Management Program Elise Rothschild. “Facilities that generate hazardous wastes have to handle, store, and dispose of them in compliance with our laws. DTSC is ensuring they do.”
DTSC’s complaint cites Gallo for additional violations of the hazardous waste control law, including illegal storage and treatment of the dust and used oil, failure to minimize releases to the environment, failure to train personnel, and failure to notify DTSC of various fires that occurred during 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011.
The complaint also demands Gallo pay an unspecified amount of penalties and calls on the court to prohibit Gallo from future violations of hazardous waste laws, including Gallo resuming the practice of adding hazardous waste dust into its bottles.
Gallo agreed in May 2014 to stop using the hazardous waste dust in the manufacture of its bottles. DTSC discovered the violations during inspections in 2009 and 2011. Gallo Glass Company is considered a large quantity generator of hazardous waste and is subject to compliance inspections.
EPA Approves New Climate-Friendly Refrigerants
“Today’s rule is an example of how we can turn the challenge of climate change into an opportunity to innovate our way to a better future,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “By working together, businesses and EPA are bringing new, climate-friendly refrigerants to market that better protect our health and the environment.”
This final rule expands the list of SNAP-approved substitutes to include more low-global warming potential (GWP) alternatives that can replace both the ozone-depleting substances and high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The approved substitutes have GWPs that range from 3 to 675 and can replace older compounds with GWPs between 1,400 to 4,000.
After receiving input from industry, environmental groups, and others, EPA is approving additional low-GWP hydrocarbon refrigerants, subject to use conditions, in the following refrigeration and air conditioning applications:
- Ethane in very low temperature refrigeration and in non-mechanical heat transfer
- Isobutane in retail food refrigeration (stand-alone commercial refrigerators and freezers) and in vending machines
- Propane in household refrigerators, freezers, or combination refrigerators and freezers, in vending machines, and in room air conditioning units
- The hydrocarbon blend R-441A in retail food refrigeration (stand-alone commercial refrigerators and freezers), in vending machines, and in room air conditioning units
- HFC-32 (difluoromethane) in room air conditioning units. HFC-32 has one-third the GWP of the conventional refrigerants currently being used in room air conditioning units.
These refrigerants are already in use in many of these applications in Europe and Asia.
Learn DOT’s New Rules for Lithium Battery Shipments
- 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.
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EPA Issues Significant New Use Rule
This action requires persons who intend to manufacture (including import) this chemical substance for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this final rule to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification will provide EPA with the opportunity to evaluate the intended use and, if necessary, to prohibit or limit that activity before it occurs.
New Green Chemistry Guide Available
The City of Los Angeles and the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) announced the availability of the Green Chemistry Guide collaborated on by renowned university professors, industry professionals, and the City of Los Angeles’s engineers.
EPA Allows Under Ground Injection of Spent Pickle Liquor to Continue
As required by 40 CFR 148, AMBH has demonstrated, to a reasonable degree of certainty, that there will be no migration of hazardous constituents out of the injection zone or into an underground source of drinking water (USDW) for at least 10,000 years. This final decision allows the continued underground injection by AMBH of a specific restricted waste, Spent Pickle Liquor (SPL) into one Class I hazardous waste injection well specifically identified as SPL #1; and of waste ammonia liquor (WAL) into three Class I hazardous waste injection wells specifically identified as WAL #1, WAL #2 and WAL #3 at the AMBH facility. This decision constitutes a final EPA action for which there is no administrative appeal.
Leaktite Corp. Fined $3,292 for Violating Air Pollution Control and Hazardous Waste Regulations
MassDEP inspected the facility in December, 2013 and found that the company failed to obtain an Air Quality Plan Approval and generated hazardous waste in excess of its registered status. The company must comply with the applicable regulations and pay the penalty.
“Companies must manage hazardous waste to stay within the regulated limits for generation and storage,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “They can contact MassDEP staff or consult MassDEP’s extensive web site for assistance.”
PCBs to be Removed from Washington Schools
Although federal law banned PCBs in 1979, there are widespread reservoirs of this toxic chemical in fluorescent light ballasts, old caulk, electrical transformers, and paint. In addition, new PCBs are generated as byproducts of some manufacturing processes, such as making pigments and dyes.
PCBs are persistent in the environment, build up in the food chain, and can cause adverse health effects in humans and wildlife, including cancer and harm to immune, nervous, and reproductive systems. Light ballasts are a particular concern because they can fail, dripping PCB-laden oil in classrooms and other public areas—although they do not pose an immediate health risk if they are not leaking.
As much as 3,300 lb of PCBs a year in Washington may be released from light ballasts, although there needs to be more research on how many PCB-containing ballasts are still in use. Some school districts have replaced these light fixtures, but there is no complete census of where they are or how many still remain. Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has a program that assists local schools in replacing these PCB-containing light fixtures with more energy-efficient lighting.
“Getting decades-old light ballasts that contain PCBs out of schools and away from kids is an investment in the future of our state,” said State Superintendent Randy Dorn. “It protects our students, protects the environment, reduces electricity use, saves money, and produces higher-quality lighting. It’s a smart move every step of the way.”
Along with replacing PCB-containing light ballasts, the plan recommends a number of other measures to prevent PCBs from getting into the environment, such as taking additional precautions when demolishing old buildings. The plan also calls for more environmental monitoring for PCBs and additional research on how PCBs are generated as manufacturing byproducts.
“We need to clean up the remaining sources of PCBs that pollute our water and fish,” said Maia Bellon, Ecology’s director. “This plan gives us a playbook to do just that, protecting the environment and the health of our kids.”
Ecology and Health developed the PCB plan with input from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, local governments, businesses, and health and environmental organizations
“Widespread toxic pollution is an invisible threat to the health of people in Washington, especially our kids,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “We must continue to find and remove these sources of toxics, including PCBs. This plan will continue that work and help to prevent health effects for generations to come.”
This is Washington’s fifth chemical action plan. Previous plans have addressed toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and the flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ether. Like PCBs, these chemicals stick around in the environment and accumulate in people and animals.
More Effective Carbon Capture Method May Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants and various industries could play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the future. But current materials that can collect CO2—from smokestacks, for example—have low capacities or require very high temperatures to work. Scientists are making progress toward a more efficient alternative, described in the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials, that could help make carbon capture less energy-intensive.
T. Alan Hatton and colleagues note that although industry and governments are increasingly turning to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, the world will continue to rely on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future—but at a cost. According to the International Energy Agency, burning fossil fuels emits more than 30 gigatons per year of CO2, a primary GHG. Some solid systems that aim to capture these emissions, such as zeolites, are sensitive to water in the gas streams. Others, such as clays and metal oxides, have to be heated up to more than 900 degrees Fahrenheit, which requires a lot of energy. Hatton’s team wanted to find a way to cut this latter strategy’s energy requirements.
The researchers studied a new class of materials based on magnesium oxide (MgO), which can capture larger quantities of carbon at much lower temperatures than many other substances being investigated. They discovered that coating MgO particles with substances called alkali metal nitrates boosted the amount of CO2 that material could take up by more than 10-fold. The MgO captures a significantly higher amount of CO2 (2-10 times) than other systems for a given volume. This translates into smaller equipment needs and lower plant costs. Additionally, the particles themselves are readily prepared with low-cost materials.
Oil Tank Fails, Spilling Oil to Washington’s Yakima River
The spill created a sheen seen as far south as Prosser.
Department of Ecology spill responders Sunday afternoon deployed absorbent pads and protective boom at multiple locations, including about 900 feet upstream from the mouth of Sulphur Creek and at a fish hatchery on the Yakima River in Prosser.
The environmental cleanup company NRC has been hired by Ecology and is using vacuum trucks to remove the remaining oil. Local, state, and tribal officials are jointly responding to the incident.
The cause of the failure of the tank, which occurred at a former feedlot property, is still under investigation.
Sulphur Creek is used as an irrigation return drain by the Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District.
Western Operating Company Fined $122,900 for Clean Air Violations
The agreement resolves alleged violations of the risk management planning requirements of the CAA and the hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements under EPCRA.
The risk management planning provisions of the CAA require facilities that store chemicals in amounts exceeding regulatory thresholds to develop and implement plans to assist with emergency preparedness, chemical release prevention, and the minimization of any releases that may occur. Western Operating Company’s Wiggins Gas Plant processes flammable chemical mixtures over the 10,000 lb threshold level.
An EPA inspector found that the facility had not adequately implemented the risk management planning requirements for flammable substances at the facility. Specific deficiencies included failure to timely resolve equipment maintenance problems identified by a contractor, failure to provide employees with accurate written operating procedures, failure to implement maintenance procedures on piping, and failure to properly test gas detection equipment.
According to the EPA settlement, Western Operating Company also failed to submit annual hazardous chemical inventory forms, also known as Tier 2 reports. Failing to file these reports deprives state and local emergency responders of information needed to plan and respond to spills and chemical releases. State and local response authorities use this information to facilitate emergency training and prepare for responding to hazardous chemical incidents. The company has agreed to file the required reports and remedy identified risk management planning deficiencies.
“Risk management plans and hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements protect communities by making sure that facilities provide transparent information and have procedures in place to prevent and respond to potential releases of the chemicals they use,” said Suzanne Bohan, EPA’s enforcement program director in Denver. “EPA appreciates Western Operating Company’s efforts to address these deficiencies.”
Rhode Island Recycled Metals LLC and AARE LLC Cited for Oil Discharges
Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit and Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin filed a complaint in Superior Court recently against two companies for environmental violations arising from a scrap metal recycling operation along the Providence waterfront. The court action follows a Notice of Violation issued by DEM against the entities in 2012, demonstrating that the compliance problems date back many years.
The complaint was filed against Rhode Island Recycled Metals, LLC (RIRM), which operates a business at 434 and 444 Allens Avenue that is engaged in the recycling of metal; AARE, LLC (AARE), the property owner; and Edward Sciaba, Sr., the on-site manager of and for RIRM. The complaint is for violations of Rhode Island’s Oil Pollution Control Act and Water Pollution Act, and DEM’s Water Quality Regulations, RI Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (RIPDES) Regulations, and Oil Pollution Control Regulations.
The DEM Director and the Attorney General are also asking the Court to impose penalties against the companies for failing to comply with a Consent Agreement that was executed with the DEM on July 25, 2013.
“These corporations failed to obtain the permits that were required to begin operations, ignored the law, and then did not comply with the agreement they reached with DEM to resolve their environmental violations,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “By failing to invest in the equipment and other measures necessary to prevent pollution, their actions harmed the environment. As government officials work together to stimulate the economy, it’s so important that we ensure compliance with our laws to provide an even playing field.”
“A clean and unpolluted waterfront and Narragansett Bay is a vital component to our economic development, and we cannot allow any company to violate the state’s environmental statutes for quick profit,” said Attorney General Peter Kilmartin. “Despite several attempts to address the violations through administrative procedures, these companies have failed to clean up their act and we have no choice but to have this matter resolved in court.”
On May 2, 2013, RIRM obtained authorization from the DEM for coverage under the 2008 General Permit for Construction Activity through the issuance of a Water Quality Certificate. On May 7, 2013, RIRM obtained an amended authorization from DEM for coverage under the Multi Sector General Permit to discharge stormwater.
On July 25, 2013, RIRM entered into a Consent Agreement to resolve a Notice of Violation the DEM issued against the company on May 7, 2012 for discharging stormwater to the Providence River without a permit. RIRM agreed to maintain short-term mitigative actions to prevent pollution to the Providence River; complete all construction of stormwater controls by September 30, 2014, in accordance with the permits as required by the Agreement; and complete the removal of all derelict vessels from the Providence River and restore the shoreline of the river by December 30, 2014 to its condition prior to the unauthorized activities by RIRM.
Inspections by DEM in October and December 2014 and January and February 2015, and inspections by the United States Coast Guard in January 2015 revealed that the companies failed to: comply with the mitigative measures; install the stormwater controls required by the Agreement; remove the derelict vessels and restore the shoreline; and prevent oil spillage to the land and water.
Company Manager Pleads Guilty to Illegal Discharges from the Platinum Creek Mine
Robert Pate, 63, of Spokane, Washington, entered his guilty pleas in federal court in Anchorage, Alaska.
Pate was XS Platinum, Inc.’s, general manager and a senior member of its office staff in Seattle, Washington, from February 2010 to June 2012. According to the plea agreement, Pate documented unpermitted discharges of turbid effluent process water into the Salmon River beginning on July 3, 2010. Turbid process water from the placer mining at the Platinum Creek Mine contained pollutants such as suspended particles and sediments and may have also included waste such as dissolved metals that posed a potential threat to aquatic life. After documenting the first discharges of turbid effluent process water, Pate supervised the construction of a ditch to divert the effluent directly into nearby Squirrel/Platinum Creek, also without a permit. Turbid discharges, which XS Platinum, Inc., never reported to regulators as required, continued into the Salmon River for much of the remaining season. When Pate filed XSP’s annual water quality report in January 2011, he falsely wrote that the Platinum Creek Mine had experienced no discharges in 2010. The discharges continued in 2011.
“The defendant had a responsibility to ensure the wastewater at the Platinum Creek Mine was handled safely and responsibly but instead took specific actions that posed serious risks to the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden. “By pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted responsibility and will be held accountable under our nation’s environmental laws.”
“Enforcement of our environmental laws is a priority for federal law enforcement in Alaska,” said US Attorney Loeffler. “It is essential to balance the importance of resource extraction to Alaska with the importance of doing it safely and in accordance with the law and regulations. Mr. Pate’s guilty pleas to federal felonies sends the proper message that there are consequences to illegal actions and we will vigilantly enforce environmental laws.”
“The wastewater produced at Platinum Creek Mine contained pollutants that posed a potential threat to both aquatic life and human health,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jay M. Green of the EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Program in Alaska. “As general manager of XS Platinum, the defendant knew first-hand about the discharges of mine wastewater into the Salmon River. Unpermitted discharges of turbidity and suspended solids have a negative impact on the diverse, complex and sensitive ecosystems contained in our Nation’s waters. Today’s plea demonstrates that if companies and their managers skirt environmental laws, EPA will hold them accountable.”
“This guilty plea highlights the importance that mining permittees adhere to the regulations that govern their operations, and how important it is for them to be open and transparent in their reporting obligations,” said State Director Bud Cribley of BLM-Alaska. “BLM continues to support the responsible development of federal public lands where appropriate. We are working closely with our state and federal partners as well as with the current claim owner to bring the Platinum Creek Mine back into production in a manner that will protect the Salmon River and restore it to a functioning condition.”
The Honorable Sharon Gleason set sentencing for September 2, 2015, and will ultimately decide what sentence to impose. According to the plea agreement, the United States will recommend a sentence that will include both imprisonment and home confinement. Pate also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine.
Rhode Island Officials, EPA Celebrate Successful Climate Showcase Communities Partnership
Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation recently joined the EPA, elected officials, and community leaders to celebrate innovative work accomplished by four Ocean State communities to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions in municipal and residential buildings. The communities—East Greenwich, North Providence, South Kingstown, and Warwick—received a $497,492 EPA grant in 2010 to establish and implement climate change initiatives.
More than 450 cities and towns nationwide applied, and ultimately EPA selected 25 projects to be Climate Showcase Communities.
In Rhode Island, the four towns focused on measuring their energy use and implementing energy efficiency and conservation measures, as well as training their building operators, employees, and students on how to reduce their energy use. Lighting and heating retrofits were implemented, and over 6,000 old, inefficient refrigerators were recycled. Under the program, more than 7,000 home energy assessments were conducted, approximately 2,000 residential weatherization projects were completed, and over 1,500 small businesses participated in an energy efficiency program led by National Grid.
Based on the success of the program, the Rhode Island Public Energy Partnership, led by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources, is now working with municipalities statewide to help them become more energy efficient and lower their operating costs and reduce GHGs. Additionally, the University of Rhode Island will continue to train the next generation of energy professionals to continue reducing energy use in Rhode Island.
The Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program is administered by EPA, providing technical assistance, tools, and guidance to help state, local, and tribal governments implement policies and programs to mitigate climate change. The goal of the Climate Showcase Communities grant program is to create replicable models of sustainable community action that generate cost-effective GHG reductions.
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Trivia Question of the Week
According to the RCRA hazardous waste regulations, a solid waste is defined as
a) A waste that fails the paint filter liquids test
b) A waste that has no free liquids
c) Any discarded material that is abandoned, recycled, inherently waste-like, or a military munition
d) Any spent, discarded, or off-specification material that is not recycled
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