Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Major Findings from the Second Integrated Urban Air Report to Congress Under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990, the EPA was tasked with taking action to reduce toxic air emissions and associated human health risks. In 1999, the EPA developed the Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy for reducing air toxics risks from all […]
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 […]
$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 […]
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 […]
Wood-Burning Heaters—Safety and Efficiency Tips 1) Replace wood burning appliances manufactured before 1990 and only use EPA-Certified or EPA-Qualified appliances. According to the EPA, there are 12 million residential wood stoves in use in the United States and 9 million of those are older, not certified by the EPA and may be as much as […]
EPA Issues Refrigerant Warning EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Program (SNAP), evaluates and regulates refrigerants proposed as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) that are being phased out. Unless a new refrigerant is reviewed and approved by the EPA, it cannot be marketed legally in the United States. Unfortunately, at least one unapproved and potentially dangerous refrigerant […]
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 […]
The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) receives wastewater from seven East Bay wastewater collection agencies in the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Piedmont, and the Stege Sanitary District which serves El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond. Together the EBMUD and its satellite systems serve a population of approximately 650,000 […]
Even as we swat away the last bees of summer and watch the occasional butterfly flit among flowers, agriculturalists are feeling the impact of the dwindling numbers of the pollinators we depend on for food crops. According to the White House, honey bees alone provide pollination for “at least 90 commercially grown crops in North […]
Safer Substitutes for Flame Retardants Flame- retardant chemicals have long been incorporated into different products like furniture, carpets, electronics, appliances, and building products to meet state and federal flammability requirements designed to decrease ignitability and inhibit combustion. Unfortunately, monitoring and testing studies found that certain flame- retardant chemicals exhibit undesirable characteristics such as being persistent […]