Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Do You Recognize a Wetland when You See One? This checklist provides some general questions that can help you determine if a wetland is present at the site you want to enhance or develop. For some of the questions (especially 5–7), you may want to refer to the Corps’s Wetlands Delineation Manual. A “Yes” answer […]
NPDES permits establish allowable discharge limits or effluent limitations that include both concentration and volume of flow. Section 402(k) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) provides for what is known as a “permit shield.” This means that if you are in compliance with your NPDES permit, then you are deemed to be in compliance […]
NPDES permits establish allowable discharge limits or effluent limitations that include both concentration and volume of flow. Section 402(k) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) provides for what is known as a “permit shield.” This means that if you are in compliance with your NPDES permit, you are deemed to be in compliance with […]
Advisor: What is the average life span of a properly maintained rain garden? RT: Don’t know yet. They haven’t been used long enough in this manner to know when they are done. Research indicates that they do better as they get older. As the biota [Advisor Note: animal and plants of a particular region] in […]
The development and implementation of the BMP is what ultimately decides the effectiveness of an SWPPP. In managing stormwater, BMPs can be broken down into two types: structural BMPs and nonstructural BMPs. Today, we will focus on structural BMPs (which as you can imagine are physical structures) in the form of rain gardens. EcoGro, based […]
Owners of equipment with charges of more than 50 pounds (lb) of refrigerant are required to repair leaks in the equipment when the leak rates exceed a certain percentage of the charge over a 12-month period. For commercial and industrial process refrigeration, the leak rate requiring repair is 35 percent or more of the charge […]
Although it may seem obvious that if you ever owned or operated an underground storage tank (UST) that you are responsible for compliance or cleanup in case of a leak, the fact is that many USTs have long and complicated histories, and identifying the responsible party when, for example, the tank had multiple owners is […]
Ethanol is a renewable, domestically produced fuel that can be made from grains, such as corn or wheat, or from cellulose sources, such as prairie grass or agricultural, forestry, or municipal wastes. In the United States, ethanol is primarily made from corn. EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks regulates tanks storing petroleum and biofuels. Under […]
Twelve changes to the 2008 federal MSGP for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity are included in EPA’s draft 2013 MSGP. Coverage under the 2008 MSGP, which expired September 29, 2013, is administratively extended until the 2013 permit is issued, provided facilities submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to be covered by the new permit […]
Under the conditional no-exposure exclusion (found at 40 CFR 122.26(g)), operators of industrial facilities subject to stormwater regulations have the opportunity to certify to a condition of “no exposure” if their industrial materials and operations are not exposed to stormwater. Note: This no-exposure exclusion does not apply to construction activities, which are addressed under the […]