Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Hydraulic Fracturing—5 Reasons to Consider Wastewater Recycling 1) Hydraulic fracturing requires the use of millions of gallons of freshwater per well. Although hydraulic fracturing water volumes vary across the United States, a single well generally requires the use of one million to five million gallons of water, and the U.S. Department of Energy notes that […]
Hydraulic Fracturing—5 Things to Know About Risk in Wastewater Recycling 1) Operators need to establish treatment targets. To minimize the risk of choosing the wrong equipment for the job, and gain a performance guarantee, well operators should provide equipment suppliers with both the influent water chemistry and the specific output treatment objectives (as determined in […]
Six Tips for a Successful LUST Closure Tip #1: Understand how the UST program works. Because of the number and diversity of underground storage tanks (USTs) in use nationwide, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized early on that state and local governments were in the best position to oversee UST programs. To ensure state programs […]
Risk-Based Decision Making Basics RBDM is used more and more to facilitate effective and appropriate characterization and cleanup of UST releases. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), RBDM “is a process that utilizes risk and exposure assessment methodology to help UST implementing agencies make determinations about the extent and urgency of corrective action and […]
Wood-Burning Heaters—Safety and Efficiency Tips 1) Replace wood burning appliances manufactured before 1990 and only use EPA-Certified or EPA-Qualified appliances. According to the EPA, there are 12 million residential wood stoves in use in the United States and 9 million of those are older, not certified by the EPA and may be as much as […]
Radon Testing and Mitigation FAQs Q: Are there state requirements for radon testing and mitigation activities? A: States have radon and/or radiation programs with varying requirements and regulations. At this time, 15 states (CA, DE, FL, IA, IL, IN, KY, ME, NE, NJ, OH, PA, RI, VA, and WV) regulate or require qualification, certification, and/or […]
7 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Radon Risk 1. Radon is a radioactive element that is derived from the decay of radium (uranium) that occurs in almost all soils. At normal temperatures, radon is an extremely toxic, colorless, invisible gas that moves up through the ground to the air above and can enter […]
Proposed UST Operator Training Program Elements EPA’s proposed UST regulatory revisions encompass many aspects of UST systems, including extensive changes to the requirements for UST operator training, as we discussed yesterday. Although EPA’s intention is to require operator training that is consistent with the grant guidelines for states under the Energy Policy Act, the Agency […]
Highlights of Expanded UST Operator Training The Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended Subtitle I of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which is the federal statute authorizing the UST program. One of the provisions is UST operator training that is required for all states receiving Subtitle I funds, whether the state is approved to […]
SPCC Secondary Containment Impracticability FAQs Q: How does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) define “impracticability” in regard to secondary containment? A: According to the EPA, the meaning of “impracticability” relative to SPCC secondary containment requirements is the determination that a “facility owner/operator cannot install secondary containment by any reasonable method.” Q: What considerations are acceptable […]