Tag: Compliance

Environmental Daily Advisor Top 10: Summer-in-Review

Wal-Mart’s BIG Fine for No RCRA Training   Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., has pleaded guilty in cases filed in California to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States. The Arkansas-based company also pleaded guilty in Missouri, to violating the […]

PCB Marking Requirements

Each of the following items must be marked with the large label as illustrated in this section. Where the large PCB mark is specified, but the PCB article or PCB equipment is too small to accommodate the smallest permissible size of the large mark, the small PCB mark may be used instead of the large […]

Lamp Recycler Fined for PCB Violations

According to EPA, the facility is permitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to manage and store PCB wastes. Separate permits allow the facility to recycle fluorescent lamps and ballasts, batteries, electronic wastes, and mercury devices. The facility also manages non-PCB ballasts, phosphorous powders, aerosol cans, and mercury-containing wastes. The company operates facilities in […]

14 Expert Tips for Responding to NOVs and Enforcement Orders

Have a procedure in place for responding to NOVs, enforcement orders, and other related issuances. Give a copy of an NOV or order to the person responsible for responding. If the alleged violation is significant, make sure to alert the proper management official. Immediately determine the validity of the NOV or order. Mark all documents […]

The Benefits of Blended Learning

Blended learning is a commonsense concept that results in great learning success. The blended learning approach is simply acknowledging that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to training. In a nutshell, blended learning means using more than one training method to train on one subject. Here are several good reasons to use a […]

$25,000 for Failing to Report Oil Spill

MassDEP received a telephone report from an environmental cleanup contractor on behalf of the building owner that a release estimated to be 260 gal of diesel fuel had occurred 6 days earlier during the transfer of oil from a basement tank to a rooftop generator when a pump had failed to cycle off. The oil […]

Everybody’s ‘Real’ Economic Impact is Different

Do a Google search on “Do environmental regulations hurt economic growth?” and you will come up with enough studies to cover a wall in your local public library.  If you review the studies themselves – or at least flip through the abstracts – you will find most of the researchers answer “no.” That answer is […]

LPG Odorants in Rail Tank Cars

But in what appears to be a regulatory lapse, the federal odorant standards overseen by the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) apply only to LPG rail shipments in cargo and portable tank containers; there is no comparable regulation for LPG transported in railroad tank cars.  In a safety advisory issued April 2012, the […]

Private Drinking Water Wells

Contaminants Groundwater that supplies wells can contain naturally occurring minerals (e.g., arsenic, boron, selenium, or radon).  Also, almost all private wells are in rural areas where agriculture occurs.  A wide variety of farming activities can affect groundwater that supplies wells.  These include the use of pesticides, overuse of fertilizers and animal manure, and discharges from […]