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Sufficiently Sensitive Testing Methods Rule—The Rationale Under the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) NPDES program, the EPA established and required “sufficiently sensitive” analytical methods be used by permit applicants and for “analysis of pollutants or pollutant parameters under an NPDES permit.” These “generally approved” methods under 40 CFR Part 136 and 40 CFR Chapter I, […]
How Two Schools Integrated Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency In 2006 the Blue Valley School District (BVSD) in Overland Park, Kansas, was the first school district in the nation to receive the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) IAQ Tool for Schools National Model of Sustained Excellence Award for its efforts to improve IAQ and energy […]
Impacts of Indoor Air Quality in Schools As older school buildings are replaced, renovated, or retrofitted with new equipment, there is the opportunity to make changes that will both improve IAQ for students and teachers and increase energy efficiency. Taken together, these improvements can have substantial benefits from a health and business perspective. In the […]
SPCC Inspection, Evaluation, and Testing—5 Specific Things Inspectors Are Looking For 1) Regular leak testing of tanks that are completely buried. Any completely buried tank that was installed on or after January 10, 1974, must be leak tested regularly “in accordance with industry standards or at a frequency sufficient to prevent leaks.” While there are […]
SPCC Inspection, Evaluation, and Testing—5 General Things Inspectors Are Looking For 1) A complete SPCC Plan that contains a description of “the scope and schedule of inspection, evaluation, and testing to be performed on bulk containers.” In its SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors, the EPA references the following sections of 40 CFR 112 that address […]
Steam Electric Power Plant Proposed Rule—Before and After Right now, in the United States, there are approximately 1,200 steam electric power plants powered by nuclear or fossil fuels. Of these, about 500 are coal-fired and considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be the primary source of the pollutants addressed by the proposed […]
Targeted Wastestreams in the Steam Electric Power Plant Proposed Rule Under the CWA, the EPA is required to periodically review ELGs to assess if revisions are necessary. However, for the steam electric power generating category, the last revisions were made in 1982. Even the EPA admits the current regulations are out of date, stating they […]
Settlement Will Substantially Slash Sulfuric Acid Emissions from Fertilizer Production Plants In a recent settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), three subsidiaries of the world’s largest fertilizer manufacturer will spend an estimated $50 million to reduce sulfuric acid (SO2) emissions at eight plants in Louisiana, […]
After the Flood: UST Response Tips Floods can be devastating events, causing billions of dollars in damage. When USTs are impacted by flooding, the damage can include releases of a variety of UST contents into the environment, adding to the destruction and the costs for USTs’ owners and operators. When a UST has been in […]
Before the Flood: UST Prep Tips One of the greatest natural threats affecting the United States is flooding that can result from a variety of events—from heavy rain to earthquakes and tsunamis to hurricanes. Floods can also result from man-made events like dam and levee breaches and poor stormwater management. Knowing what can happen and […]