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Recap: What are Nanoscale Materials? Nanomaterials are chemical substances that have structures with dimensions at the nanoscale—approximately 1 to 100 nanometers. To get an idea of their size, a human hair is approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide. These materials are currently used in hundreds of consumer products, including electronics, cosmetics, clothing, food, and medicines. […]
Although it might seem obvious what renewable energy is, there is some debate about how renewable energy is defined, which has a definite effect on policy and regulation. What seems clear from various readings is that renewable energy does not include resources from fossil fuels or waste products from fossil fuel sources. According to the […]
Note: This article is directed toward businesses looking to build or expand possibly on remediated brownfields, not those that are interested in purchasing a site and cleaning it up themselves. EPA Grants The EPA recently announced its latest round of brownfields grants. Grants investments totaling $54.3 million went to 243 projects in 147 communities nationwide. […]
CARE About Your Community EPA’s CARE (Community Action for a Renewed Environment) program encourages community leaders to be in the forefront of learning about and reducing environmental risks and impacts. While CARE used to provide grants to communities, at this point it does not because of a lack of congressional funding. However, the Agency is […]
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 […]
In 1989, the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Program recommended observing July 11 as World Population Day. The reason given was to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues in the context of overall development plans and programs and the need to find solutions for these issues. The world population […]
According to the EPA, while information on sources and causes of releases show that releases from tanks are less common than they once were, releases from piping and spills and overfills associated with deliveries have emerged as more common problems. The Agency attributes the lack of proper operation and maintenance of UST systems as a […]