EPA
EPA's Brownfields Grants Help Revitalize Communities
In DeKalb County, Ga., plans are underway to clean up and redevelop major industrial areas served by transit and infrastructure in community areas. Toledo, Ohio, will expand an urban agriculture growing area and make way for an expansion of a hospital and high school. These efforts and more are made possible by EPA's $69.3 million in Brownfields grants to help communities clean and redevelop contaminated properties, boost local economies and create jobs while protecting public health...
EPA: QEP Field Services Agrees to Pay $4 Million and Install Pollution Controls to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Clean Air Act
EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement with QEP Field Services Co., formerly Questar Gas Management Co., to settle claims that QEPFS's compressor stations – which remove water and compress natural gas for transportation through gas pipelines – are sources of air pollution. According to EPA, the compressor stations emit hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which can increase the risk of asthma attacks and are significant contributors to the formation of ozone. ...
Water Is Worth It: EPA Celebrates 40th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, EPA has an important message: Water is worth it...
EPA Proposes Significant New Use Rules for Certain Chemicals under TSCA
On March 20, EPA announced proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to compel companies to report all new uses of five groups of chemicals: polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), benzidine dyes, a short chain chlorinated paraffin, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and phthalate di-n-pentyl phthalate (DnPP)...
EPA’s FY 2013 Budget Proposal Focuses on Core Protections
The proposed FY 2013 budget of $8.344 billion for EPA is $105 million below the agency's enacted level for FY 2012. The budget focuses on what the agency describes as core environmental and health protections, such as safeguarding Americans from pollution in the air they breathe, the water they drink and the land where they build their communities ...
San Francisco Food Processor Settles with EPA Involving Anhydrous Ammonia Releases
San Francisco food processor Columbus Manufacturing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbus Foods LLC, has agreed to $6 million in upgrades and a nearly $700,000 fine following two incidents that caused the release of two hazardous ammonia clouds that left 17 people hospitalized....
EPA Offers First Look at Greenhouse Gas Reporting System Data
EPA recently announced the availability of the first wave of data from its new greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting system. Communities can access the 2010 GHG data from more than 6,700 facilities to identify nearby sources of GHGs, help businesses compare and track emissions and inform policy for state and local governments...
EPA Issues Historic National Standards for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants
EPA on Dec. 21 issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, the first national standards to protect Americans from power plant emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium and cyanide. The standards will slash emissions of these substances by relying on widely available, proven pollution controls that are already in use at more than half of the nation's coal-fired power plants. ...
Inspector General: EPA's Unapproved Asbestos Removal Methods May Put Workers, Public at Risk
In a Dec. 14 report, EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. addressed EPA's authorization of unapproved methods of asbestos removal at its own sites. Elkins called for a halt to these unapproved methods, which may violate OSHA requirements and potentially expose workers to carcinogens, and said the agency should notify any workers or residents who may have been exposed to asbestos as a result...
Chemical Safety Board: Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Sites Are Hazardous to the Public
At a press conference in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Oct. 27, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued recommendations to EPA, state regulators, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) aimed at reducing fires and explosions at oil and gas exploration and production facilities. A new report from CSB identifies 26 incidents since 1983 that killed 44 people and injured 25 others under the age of 25...
Louisiana Oil Company Pleads Guilty to Clean Air Act Violations, Faces $10 Million Fine
A recent plea agreement reached by Pelican Refining Co. LLC, the U.S. Department of Justice and EPA will make the Louisiana coastline safer for people, wildlife, fish and yes, pelicans...
Managing Compliance: Declassified Confidential Business Information: Is Your Product Next?
How will EPA’s more stringent policy for the review and submission of confidential business information impact your company?...
EPA Places Former Mine CEO on Its "Most Wanted" List
Peter Martin Kuhn, former president and CEO of French Gulch Nevada Mining Corp. and Bullion River Gold Corp., has earned a spot on EPA’s fugitive list. The agency claims that Kuhn engaged in a conspiracy to illegally dispose of mining wastes and then failed to surrender to authorities following his July 2010 indictment...
New EPA Rule Aims to Strengthen Chemical Reporting
In an effort to better identify risks to public health and the environment, EPA recently published the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule that will require chemical manufacturers to report more information about their chemicals...
Contamination from Coal Ash at Some Sites High Enough to Trigger ‘Open Dumping’ RCRA Provisions
A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) claims 33 coal ash dump sites in 19 states are contaminating groundwater with arsenic, lead and other toxins. According to EIP, these sites may be violating a federal ban on open dumping...
Managing Compliance: Hazardous Waste Management: Understanding EPA and State-Level Categories, Numbers and Reports
Many companies often are surprised to discover exactly how much hazardous waste they generate. A company can be considered a hazardous waste generator if it uses, produces or stores anything from oil-based paint to hydrofluoric acid...
EPA Reaches Landmark Clean Air Act Settlement with TVA
EPA and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have reached a settlement that will require TVA to invest an estimated $3-$5 billion to modernize its coal-fired power plants and provide state-of-the-art pollution controls and clean energy technology...
Relationship between Clean Air and Asthma Examined
A new report, analyzing detailed asthma incidence and cost data, concludes that the already staggering human and financial toll of asthma in the United States likely will increase if Congress acts to stop updates to the Clean Air Act (CAA)...
Managing Compliance: Enhancing Chemical Management within the Framework of Existing TSCA Regulations
Since its promulgation in 1976, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which is administered by EPA, has focused on human health and the environment, with the overarching goals of evaluating risks and assessing human health and environmental effects before a chemical is introduced into commerce...
Refinery to Pay More Than $5.3 Million Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations
EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached an agreement in which Hovensa LLC, owner of the second largest petroleum refinery in the United States, to pay a civil penalty of more than $5.3 million and spend more than $700 million in new pollution controls that will help protect public health and resolve Clean Air Act violations at its St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands refinery...
EPA Pulls the Permit for Arch Coal’s Mountain Top Mining
EPA on Jan. 13 revoked the permit for a controversial mine that proposed taking the tops off of some of West Virginia’s mountains. Mingo-Logan Coal Co.’s proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine has been controversial since the Bush administration in 2007 issued the company the permits necessary to move forward with the mountaintop mining operation in Logan County...
Managing Compliance: New Year, New Compliance Challenges
Environment, health and safety regulations are increasing in volume and complexity, which in turn makes the associated compliance tasks increasingly difficult to manage...
OMB Watch: Obama Administration Stepping Up Enforcement of Labor Laws
In a report released Dec. 8, OMB Watch examined the regulatory enforcement actions of the Obama administration at its midterm point and revealed that executive branch agencies have stepped up enforcement of a number of important labor, consumer protection and environmental laws and regulations...
Experts: Major Issues Facing EPA as it Turns 40
As EPA turns 40, two scientists who have served on research review panels for the agency talk about the challenges facing the agency...
EPA Identifies Areas Violating Lead Standards
EPA has determined that 16 areas across the country are not meeting the agency’s national air quality standards for lead. These areas, located in 11 states, were designated as “nonattainment” because their 2007 to 2009 air quality monitoring data showed that they did not meet the agency’s health-based standards...
