EPA Fines Western Refining Southwest Inc. for Illegally Disposing of Hazardous Waste and Improper Sampling
EPA fined Western Refining Southwest Inc. for failing to adequately monitor benzene discharges and illegally disposing hazardous waste. The company is in noncompliance of a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) filed in August 2009...
HPI Products Inc. and Owner to Pay $150,000 in Environmental Penalties
HPI Products Inc., of St. Joseph, Mo., along with an affiliated property holding corporation and the owner of both companies, have agreed to pay a total of $150,000 in civil penalties, in addition to covering undetermined cleanup costs at six of their chemical processing and manufacturing facilities, to settle a series of alleged violations of state and federal environmental laws...
New York Air Monitoring Firm, Supervisors Found Guilty of Fraud and Conspiracy
EPA and the U.S. Justice Department announced today that a federal jury in Utica, N.Y. has found Certified Environmental Services Inc. (CES); two of its managers, Nicole Copeland and Elisa Dunn; and one of its employees, Sandy Allen, guilty of conspiring to aid and abet Clean Air Act violations, commit mail fraud and defraud the United States...
EPA Proposes to Add Nine Sites to Superfund’s National Priorities List
EPA is proposing to add nine hazardous waste sites that pose risks to human health and the environment to the general Superfund section of the National Priorities List (NPL). Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country...
EPA’s Clean Air Act Turns 40
As part of the activities commemorating EPA’s 40th anniversary, the agency is highlighting progress made under the 40 years of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at a conference in Washington, D.C...
EPA Proposes Improvements to Chemical Reporting
As part of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, EPA is proposing several actions to improve reporting on chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)...
EPA Responds to Enbridge Kalamazoo River Spill
EPA has assumed the role of federal on-scene coordinator in response to the Enbridge oil spill in the Kalamazoo River. In that role, EPA will coordinate the response activities carried out by federal and state officials and will direct the response efforts carried out by Enbridge Inc...
McWane Inc. Settles with EPA, Agrees to Resolve Violations at Manufacturing Facilities in 14 States
EPA, the Justice Department, and the states of Alabama and Iowa announced that McWane Inc., a national cast iron pipe manufacturer headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve more than 400 violations of federal and state environmental laws...
EPA to Seek Employee Participation in Chemical Safety Inspections
EPA has released an interim guidance that would provide greater transparency in the agency’s chemical safety inspections process. Under the interim guidance, EPA inspectors will offer employees and employee representatives the opportunity to participate in chemical safety inspections...
EPA Supports Superfund “Polluter Pays” Provision
EPA sent a letter to Congress in support of reinstating the lapsed Superfund “polluter pays” taxes. Superfund is the federal government's program that investigates and cleans up the nation's most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites...
EPA Challenges Manufacturing Industry to Improve Energy Efficiency
On May 6, EPA recognized the first group of manufacturing sites that have met the Energy Star Challenge for Industry by reducing their energy intensity by 10 percent within 5 years or less. The agency encourages others within the manufacturing industry to strive for this goal to fight climate change and save money through improvements in energy efficiency...
EPA Announces Plans to Regulate Coal Ash
On May 4, EPA announced it is proposing national rules to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants...
Congress Introduces Safe Chemicals Act to Reform U.S. Chemical Management
On April 15, both houses of Congress introduced legislation that would overhaul the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) and the way the federal government protects the public from toxic chemicals...
EPA Issues Mountaintop Mining Guidance to Reduce Environmental Impact
EPA has announced a set of actions to clarify and strengthen environmental permitting requirements for Appalachian mountaintop removal and other surface coal mining projects to prevent significant and irreversible damage to watersheds...
EPA Releases Public Database on Risk Assessments
On March 24, EPA released the Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO) database to provide access to the scientific studies used in making key regulatory decisions, including EPA’s periodic review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six major pollutants...
Cummins Inc. Agrees to Pay $2.1 Million Penalty for EPA Clean Air Act Violations
EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with Cummins Inc., a major motor vehicle engine company based in Columbus, Ind., which will will pay a $2.1 million penalty and recall 405 engines. The agreement resolves violations of the Clean Air Act...
EPA’s Budget Seeks Increased Environmental Protection
The Obama administration proposed a budget of $10 billion for EPA that includes $1.3 billion for cleanup of Superfund sites, $215 million for cleanup of brownfields and $27 million for the agency’s new Healthy Community Initiative...
EPA Strengthens Air Quality Standard for Nitrogen Dioxide
The first new NO2 standard in 35 years will improve air quality for millions, according to EPA, protecting millions of Americans from peak, short-term exposures that primarily occur near major roads. Short-term exposures to NO2 have been linked to impaired lung function and increased respiratory infections, especially in people with asthma...
EPA Strengthens Smog Standard
EPA has proposed the strictest health standards to date for smog, rolling back limits set by the Bush administration and proposing to set the “primary” standard, which protects public health, at a level between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million (ppm) measured over 8 hours...
NHCA Offers NRR Recommendations to EPA
In response to the impending changes to the Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) for hearing protection devices, the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) provided recommendations to EPA to improve the utility of hearing protection devices for occupational hearing conservation programs and for personal use...
EHS TODAY ROUNDTABLE: Economics, Regulations, Connections and Mentoring
We questioned EHS leaders about current and future regulations, the issues impacting the practice of occupational health and safety and the importance of mentoring future leaders. Here is what they had to say...
EPA Calls for Best Projects for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Funding
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is looking for a few good projects to fulfill the goals of President Barack Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative...
EPA’s Energy Star Program Hits 1 Million Milestone
EPA has reached a milestone for the Energy Star program by passing the 1 millionth Energy Star qualified home mark. Houston, Dallas and Las Vegas top the list for the most Energy Start homes...
EPA’s Jackson Unveils Framework for Chemical Management Reform
In a recent speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced core principles that outline the Obama administration’s goals for legislative reform of this country’s chemical management law, the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)...
Health and Environmental Groups Plan to Sue Over Clean Air Act Violations
A coalition of Illinois health and environmental groups notified Midwest Generation LLC of their intent to sue the company because its coal plants release what the groups claim are illegally high amounts of particulate matter that lead to respiratory illnesses and premature deaths in nearby communities...
