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Settlement Preserves Rare Wetlands In mid-August 2014, the EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with the owners of a California ranch for violations of the CWA involving the destruction of more than 80 acres of rare wetlands in Tehama County. According to the EPA, the wetlands, known as “vernal pool” wetlands […]
Environmental Cleanups—A Changing Landscape In the United States, according to the EPA, 51 percent of the population live within three miles of one of the 156 million sites involved in cleanup under control of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). Of these, 30% (or 91 million) are brownfields, 35% (or 106 million) […]
SPCC Plan Compliance FAQs for Production, Drilling and Workover Facilities Q: Are there SPCC Plan requirements that apply to all covered oil production, drilling and workover facilities? A: Yes. 40 CFR part 112.7 provides the general requirements for SPCC Plans at all facilities covered by the regulations. Although these requirements are extensive, there are a […]
SPCC Applicability FAQs for Production, Drilling and Workover Facilities Q: What different types of activities at non-transportation, onshore oil production, drilling and workover facilities are covered under the SPCC rule? A: The SPCC rule defines “facilities” as “any mobile or fixed, onshore or offshore building, property, parcel, lease, structure, installation, equipment, pipe, or pipeline (other […]
$2.8 Million Penalty for UST Violations in Fraud Settlement In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited a Dover, Delaware-based petroleum company for underground storage tank violations (USTs) at five of its gas stations in Maryland. In 2006, the complaint was settled, requiring the company to complete compliance measures for its USTs and imposing a […]
EPA’s Strategy for Saving Our Urban Waters EPA’s Urban Waters program was created in alignment with the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative launched by President Obama to reconnect people with conservation and outdoor recreation. While the Urban Waters program is not a regulatory program per se, it embraces a range of activities that may include […]
UST Enforcement Finds Leak Detection Lacking In June and July 2014, the EPA announced enforcement settlements that illustrate the need for all UST owners and operators, from the largest to the smallest, to comply with regulatory requirements. In early June, for example, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Virginia certified it was in compliance with […]
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 […]
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 […]