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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 […]
Overall Strategies for Flood Recovery and Resilience—Part 2 After fully assessing policies and regulations at both the local and state levels, the next strategy is amending zoning, subdivision, and stormwater policies and regulations to match plans. Although the team recommends tailoring options to the specific needs and attributes of each community, they established four categories […]
Overall Strategies for Flood Recovery and Resilience—Part 1 The 2011 flooding in Vermont damaged more than 500 miles of roadways and about 200 bridges; released hazardous wastes into water, sediment, and soil; caused wastewater treatment plants to overflow; and damaged agricultural crops and buildings. The damage to roads and bridges alone was estimated at $175 […]
National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship—Accomplishments On America Recycles Day in November 2010, President Obama established the Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stewardship with the goal of developing a long-term strategy for managing electronics from cradle to grave. In the first update to the 2011 National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES), the Task Force outlined some […]
EPA’s Audit Policy—Nine Things to Remember The EPA promulgated the first Audit Policy in 1995 and revised it in 2000, expanding availability, clarifying language, and conforming to Agency practices. Today, it remains a valuable option for regulated facilities to take advantage of benefits such as elimination or reductions in civil “gravity-based” penalties, no recommendations for […]
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 […]
Coal-Fired Utility NSR Violations Power plants and other major sources of air pollution in attainment areas are required to comply with NSR requirements for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) when constructing new sources and when making major modifications at existing sources. These requirements include installing best available control technology (BACT) and undertaking an air quality […]
New Insect Repellent Graphic Will Aid Consumers Using insect repellents to protect against the increasing threat of insect-borne diseases may become as common as using sunscreen to protect against skin cancer. At least that is the hope of the EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their joint effort to encourage the […]
CDC and EPA Combine Forces Against Insect-Borne Diseases In the United States, mosquito bites used to be more annoying than anything else, requiring old-fashioned remedies and maybe a bandage to ward off infection. That all changed in 1999, when the CDC revealed that mosquito-borne West Nile virus was detected in the United States, a disease […]