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Sufficiently Sensitive Testing Methods Rule—The Rationale Under the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) NPDES program, the EPA established and required “sufficiently sensitive” analytical methods be used by permit applicants and for “analysis of pollutants or pollutant parameters under an NPDES permit.” These “generally approved” methods under 40 CFR Part 136 and 40 CFR Chapter I, […]
Record of Noncompliance with CWA Ends in Hefty Penalty for Oil Company In April 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performed an inspection at an oil storage facility in Ingleside, Texas, that included review of the facility’s physical condition, the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan and its Facility Response Plan (FRP). Following the […]
How Two Schools Integrated Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency In 2006 the Blue Valley School District (BVSD) in Overland Park, Kansas, was the first school district in the nation to receive the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) IAQ Tool for Schools National Model of Sustained Excellence Award for its efforts to improve IAQ and energy […]
Impacts of Indoor Air Quality in Schools As older school buildings are replaced, renovated, or retrofitted with new equipment, there is the opportunity to make changes that will both improve IAQ for students and teachers and increase energy efficiency. Taken together, these improvements can have substantial benefits from a health and business perspective. In the […]
Landlord to Clean Up Act and Sites Impacted by Lead–Based Paint In a joint announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, a settlement was reached with a Cincinnati property manager for failure to inform tenants that […]
New Voluntary Manufacturers Program to Control Pesticide Drift Pesticides that drift onto neighboring properties increase risk of exposure for human populations in schools, homes, and adjacent fields and can negatively impact water, the environment, and wildlife. Even as the EPA is more strictly regulating pesticides and farmworkers, the reality of pesticide drift or volatilization has […]
Chemical Safety Key in EPA Settlement In 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspected a Fall River, Massachusetts, chemical facility and found numerous “dangerous conditions” related to the company’s use, storage and handling of ammonia and chlorine. Although the chemicals are manufactured for beneficial use in disinfecting drinking water, wastewater, and swimming pools, they can […]
SPCC Inspection, Evaluation, and Testing—5 General Things Inspectors Are Looking For 1) A complete SPCC Plan that contains a description of “the scope and schedule of inspection, evaluation, and testing to be performed on bulk containers.” In its SPCC Guidance for Regional Inspectors, the EPA references the following sections of 40 CFR 112 that address […]
Shipyard CWA Settlement an Educational Experience for Many Following an inspection in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that up until the summer of 2011, a Gloucester, Massachusetts, shipyard had directly discharged process waters from its boat-washing operations into Smith Cove, which opens into Gloucester Harbor. The discharges contained mixed wastes, including paint […]
Superfund Site Redevelopment—Removing Barriers Although the SRI has a great track record of getting Superfund sites returned to use, some sites still remain undeveloped despite being cleaned up years ago because barriers remain that hamper site desirability. To address these barriers, the SRI implemented the RTU Initiative with the goal of removing or modifying barriers […]