Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
What Is a CBP3? The EPA has been promoting CBP3 programs to help municipalities meet their stormwater management program needs. A traditional P3 is a performance-based contract between the public sector and the private sector to arrange financing, delivery, and typically long-term operations and maintenance of public infrastructure. The CBP3 includes many features of the […]
It’s a decision you have to make based on the needs at your facility. Do you want the headache of maintaining an on-site emergency generator or the headache of scrounging around for one should the need arise? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has offered some tips for water/wastewater systems on just this subject that […]
Have you ever lost power and needed an emergency or backup generator to continue operations? Do you have an emergency generator onsite or do you have a plan to find one when a situation arises? Today we will discuss some operation and maintenance (O&M) tips for on-site emergency generators and some safety tips for portable […]
After 27 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new regulations for underground storage tanks (USTs). Expanding on the 1988 regulations, the new regulations aim to curb releases of petroleum and hazardous substances into the environment. The EPA estimates that 6,000 UST releases are discovered annually. To minimize these releases, the revisions focus directly […]
Who Will Be Paying the Compliance Costs? The EPA estimates $160 million in annual compliance costs for the final UST regulation. Motor fuel retailers, which account for roughly 80 percent of UST systems, are expected to bear approximately 70 percent of the total costs. Previously deferred tanks—emergency generator tanks, airport hydrant fuels distribution systems, and […]
The Washington, D.C., area has been struggling with CSOs for years. Under a 2005 Clean Water Act Consent Decree, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) was required to implement its Long Term Control Plan (LTCP), which primarily consisted of the construction of a system of pumps and three underground storage tunnels […]
Here’s the Problem About 700 U.S. cities, concentrated in the Northeast, the Great Lakes region, and the Pacific Northwest, have combined sewer systems (CSSs). CSSs link sanitary sewers and stormwater conveyances to outfalls to surface water bodies. When the weather is dry or moderately wet, the CSS carries both urban street runoff and sanitary sewage […]
Note: Industrial facilities that want coverage under the 2015 MSGP must submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) by September 2 to be covered by the new permit. No NEPA Review for New Sources The EPA prepared an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to determine the potential environmental impact of the […]
Who Gets WOTUSed? Do the waterbodies near where you want to either develop or expand meet the new definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS), requiring you to get a permit? Here are some things to consider. You Need to Get a Permit if the Water … Is currently in use, was used at […]
What WOTUS Does Briefly, WOTUS redefines which waters are waters of the United States and, by doing so, decides whether your project will need a permit. According to the EPA, the rule does not alter existing exemptions from Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction, including exemptions for normal farming, ranching, and silviculture activities. The major and most […]