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In this Environmental Daily Advisor video, Advisor editor Kelly Lagana talks with Tim Fagan about EPA’s Final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for Power Plants. Tim Fagan is the editor for air topics for BLR’s environmental compliance content.
Under the CAA’s maximum achievable control technology (MACT) approach to reducing emissions of air toxics, the MACT floor must be at least as stringent as the average emission limitation achieved by the best performing 12 percent of existing sources in the category (for which EPA has emissions information) or the best performing 5 sources for […]
What is a multimedia inspection? In multimedia inspections, the regulatory authority evaluates a facility’s overall compliance with environmental control or safety programs, rather than assess facility compliance on a media-specific basis. Multimedia inspections may also address environmental or safety performance issues, such as pollution prevention, that offer safety or environmental benefits beyond what is required […]
Know the Answers Typically, an inspector will assess the effectiveness of your facility’s environmental and safety programs by asking environmental, operations, and maintenance staff to answer a series of general questions. Know the answers to these questions to stay ahead of the game. Need an answer fast? Relax. Our editors guarantee a personalized response to […]
Simply put, antidegradation means that no pollutant discharges or activities will be permitted if these may cause surface waters already meeting water quality standards to drop below those standards. But the various colorations within that general meaning provide states with many opportunities to permit activities that do in fact degrade surface waters. As EPA notes […]
EPA estimates that there are 156,000 water systems in the United States, with more than 94 percent serving fewer than 3,300 persons. Obtaining a representative financial picture for such a large universe of regulated entities is a complex undertaking. However, the Agency periodically attempts to do so in its Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and […]
Industrial stormwater requirements are contained in national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permits; the critical element in such permits is development and implementation of a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). These compliance tips cover key points that are sometimes overlooked in company SWPPPs and related compliance activities. Except in a relatively few cases where individual […]
Do I need a NPDES permit if my stormwater exposure is only in the parking lot? It may depend on several factors, including, but not limited to, the proximity of the parking lot to surface waters; the size of the parking lot; and the type of parking lot surface. A possible option that may apply […]
Now, the interest in Florida is high because it is the first time EPA has taken over a water quality standards-setting process from a state. Stakeholders are wondering if this precedent will be repeated in other regions of the country. EPA’s Action In November 2010, EPA issued new numeric water quality criteria for phosphorus and […]
These new threats are so widespread that EPA has released a strategy to place more emphasis on protecting healthy waters. And, existing resources may have to be spread even thinner to meet standards. According to EPA, sources of stress vary regionally, but mainly comprise agriculture; stormwater runoff; habitat, hydrology and landscape modification; invasive species; the […]