Oil Spill
How should Restore Act money be spent?
Jul 24, 2012 5:53 AM CDT
WLOX
Beth Jowers enjoys her early morning beach walk. Looking out over the
beauty of the water, she wants Restore Act money to keep it that way.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19091463/how-should-restore-act-money-be-spent
Research team checks "flow" around oil spill site
WLOX
Scientists are tossing strange-looking devices into the waters around the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill site.
It's part of a half-million dollar research effort looking at ocean flow.
http://www.wlox.com/story/19092272/research-team-checks-flow-around-oil-spill-site
Scientists drop drifters in Gulf of Mexico to study small currents
Updated: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 7:30 AM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- About 300 drifters are being deployed in the Gulf
of Mexico around the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill site to help
scientists develop a better model for predicting how material travels in
the currents.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/07/scientists_drop_drifters_in_gu.html
Research expedition could help with future oil spills, search and rescue
Sun Herald
Research expedition could help with future oil spills, search and rescue
By GEOFF PENDER — glpender@sunherald.com
GULFPORT -- Scientists hope data from special buoys can help guide response
to oil spills and other pollution disasters in the ocean, aid in
search-and-rescue operations and predict the movement of red-tide dead
zones.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/07/23/4078759/research-expedition-could-help.html
Board: BP missed the big hazard issues in spill
AP
HOUSTON — BP focused too much on the little details of personal worker
safety instead of the big systemic hazards that led to the 2010 Gulf of
Mexico oil spill and wasn't as strict on overall safety when drilling rigs
involved other companies that they hired, a government safety panel
concludes.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120724/NEWS03/120724001/Board-BP-missed-big-hazard-issues-spill-?odyssey=tab|
topnews|text|Home
Largest oil-spill health study needs volunteers
Updated: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 7:31 AM
By The Associated Press
HOUMA, Louisiana -- Scientists studying long-term effects of the Gulf of
Mexico oil spill are looking for 15,000 more people who helped with the
cleanup, even for one day.
Nearly 25,000 former oil spill workers already have signed up for what the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says is the largest
study ever of long-term effects in oil spill workers.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/07/largest_oil-spill_health_study.html
National News
Wood-Fired Plants Generate Violations
Wall Street Journal
By JUSTIN SCHECK and IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN
BLUE LAKE, Calif.—Malodorous brown smoke from a power plant enveloped this
logging town on April 29, 2010, and several hundred residents fled until
it passed.
Six months later, the plant got $5.4 million from a federal program to
promote environmentally preferable alternatives to fossil fuel.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303740704577524822063133842.html
Devon Energy, Texas Sue EPA Over Ozone Limits Set by Bush
Bloomberg
Devon Energy Corp. and the state of Texas sued the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to challenge the way ozone emission limits set by
President George W. Bush's administration are being implemented.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-23/devon-energy-texas-sue-epa-over-ozone-limits-set-by-bush
Citing drought, livestock groups push bill to limit production of ethanol
The Hill
By Zack Colman - 07/23/12 05:03 PM ET
Livestock producers are backing legislation that would let the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit the amount of corn used for
biofuels.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/239553-bipartisan-bill-looks-to-limit-ethanol-production-during-corn-shortages
Senate committee to vote on chemical policy overhaul
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 07/23/12 12:56 PM ET
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee is slated to vote
Wednesday on Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) sweeping plan to toughen
federal chemicals regulation, Capitol Hill aides and environmentalists say.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/239485-senate-committee-to-vote-on-chemical-policy-overhaul
WV Farm Bureau seeks to intervene in EPA lawsuit
State Journal
The West Virginia Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation filed
a motion to intervene in a lawsuit regarding EPA's authority to regulate
poultry and livestock farms under the Clean Water Act.
http://www.statejournal.com/story/19091584/wv-farm-bureau-seeks-to-intervene-in-epa-lawsuit
EPA agrees to air pollution limits for Florida
AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The federal Environmental Protection Agency has agreed
to set deadlines for limiting haze-causing air pollution from aging power
plants and factories in Florida.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57478121/epa-agrees-to-air-pollution-limits-for-florida/
Press Releases
EPA Awarded Highest Honor at Annual GIS Conference
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was
awarded the Esri President's Award at the annual Esri International User
Conference in San Diego, Calif. Esri is a company specializing in GIS
mapping software. The President's Award is given to one organization each
year that exemplifies a model for others to follow in implementing
geographic information systems (GIS) successfully, as well as making a
positive impact on the environment and society.
EPA was recognized for their pioneering use of GIS in protecting the
nation's environment, efficiently organizing their GIS assets, and bringing
geospatial thinking to the public. One example of EPA's use of GIS to help
people use environmental information to make important health decisions is
the AirNOW program – which provides local air quality data in real time.
Additionally, EPA recently launched their Geospatial Platform, which is
intended to support internal data sharing and operations, as well as the
publication of public maps and data services.
This award has been given to 20 different organizations in the past two
decades and winners are chosen from among hundreds of thousands of GIS
users across the world.
More information on the Esri conference:
http://www.esri.com/events/user-conference/index.html
More information on EPA's Geospatial program:
http://www.epa.gov/geospatial/
EPA Fines Violators for Failure to Report Chemical Data
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued
complaints seeking civil penalties against three companies for alleged
violations of the reporting and recordkeeping requirements under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA). The alleged violations involved the
companies' failure to comply with EPA's TSCA section 8 Inventory Update
Reporting (IUR) regulations, which require companies to submit accurate
data about the production and use of chemical substances manufactured or
imported during a calendar year. Under TSCA, penalties can be assessed up
to $37,500 per day, per violation.
Formerly known as the IUR, the TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Rule requires
the collection of information about existing chemicals on the market by
requiring periodic reports about the production and use of chemicals to
help understand the risks they may pose to human health and the
environment. The data collected by EPA is the most comprehensive source of
information for chemicals currently in commerce in the U.S.
The reporting deadline for the 2006 IUR rule ended in March of 2007. EPA's
enforcement efforts have led to 43 civil enforcement actions and
approximately $2.3 million dollars in civil penalties against companies
that failed to report required chemical data information. The reporting
deadline for the 2012 submission period of the Chemical Data Reporting Rule
is August 13, 2012.
The three most recent cases are against Chemtura Corporation, Bethlehem
Apparatus Company, and Haldor Topsoe, Inc., and resulted in penalties
totaling $362,113.
The Chemtura Corporation is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa. and has a
facility located in El Dorado, Arizona. In a May 31, 2012 complaint, EPA
alleged that the facility failed to report two chemicals pursuant to the
2006 IUR rule and assessed a penalty of $55,901. The company corrected the
violations, paid the penalty and a final order was issued by the
Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) on June 25, 2012.
During an inspection of the Bethlehem Apparatus Company, located in
Hellertown, Pa., EPA found that the facility was in violation of the 2006
IUR Rule for one chemical substance. EPA also determined during the
inspection that the company had failed to comply with the export
notification requirements as required under TSCA section 12(b) and the
import certification requirements as required under TSCA section 13 on a
number of occasions for the same chemical substance. The company corrected
the violations and paid a $103,433 penalty proposed in a May 31, 2012
complaint.
Haldor Topsoe, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is subject to a TSCA
complaint that was filed on June 20, 2012. The complaint alleged that that
the company had violated the 2006 IUR rule for 13 chemical substances. The
complaint assessed a proposed penalty of $202,779, which the company paid
on July 2, 2012.
More information about the settlements and EPA's TSCA enforcement program:
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/civil/tsca/tscaiur.html
More information about TSCA reporting requirements: http://www.epa.gov/iur/
EPA Scientists Receive Presidential Honor
WASHINGTON –Today two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists
were named as recipients of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for
Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This award, which is being given to
EPA's Dr. Mehdi Hazai and Mr. Adam Eisele, is the highest honor bestowed by
the U.S. government on outstanding science and engineering professionals in
the early stages of their independent research careers. The purpose of the
award is to encourage the development of science leaders and highlight the
importance of science and technology.
Dr. Hazari was nominated for demonstrating how inhalation of low levels of
air pollutants like particulate matter and ozone could increase
susceptibility to cardiac events, such as heart attacks. His research is
receiving international recognition and is under consideration for
inclusion in the update of worldwide standards.
Mr. Eisele developed and used automated air sampling instrumentation in a
project that was the first to identify and characterize local sources of
air pollution in high altitude areas (5,000 to 10,000 feet above mean sea
level). His research is being used to identify community health risks due
to air pollution, and to develop a mobile measurement approach that allows
for remote emission assessment of oil and gas production sources.
Dr. Glenn Paulson, EPA's Science Advisor, sent his congratulations to Dr.
Hazari and Mr. Eisele for receiving this prestigious award, "EPA scientists
continue to be leaders in the environmental and public health research
arenas." Paulson said, "This year's winners are not only conducting
groundbreaking research, but they are also engaging their communities and
inspiring the next generation to become scientists and researchers."
In addition to their innovative research, which is advancing EPA's mission
to protect the environment and public health, both Dr. Hazari and Mr.
Eisele have also demonstrated strong commitments to community service
through their leadership in various mentoring, teaching, and community
outreach activities. They will be presented the award with other recipients
at a ceremony to be held shortly in Washington, D.C.
Today, President Obama named 96 researchers across the Federal Government
as PECASE recipients. The PECASE awards embody the Obama Administration's
commitment to producing outstanding scientists and engineers by granting
recipients a five-year research grant to further their study in support of
critical government missions.
Secretary Vilsack Announces Proposed Rule to Help Utilities Assist Home and
Business Owners' Energy Conservation Efforts
Posted by Dawn Bonsell, Pennsylvania USDA Public Information Officer, on
July 20, 2012 at 10:33 AM
As Harrisburg, Penn., temperatures reached 93 degrees on Tuesday and
continued to climb throughout the afternoon, it seemed an appropriate time
for Secretary Tom Vilsack to announce a new proposed Federal Rule that
could help rural homeowners and entrepreneurs save on their utility bills
and create jobs in rural areas. The new energy efficiency effort will make
federal loans available for rural electric cooperatives to re-lend to
electric cooperative customers throughout America who want to make their
homes and businesses more energy efficient. The partnership demonstrates a
new "pathway to prosperity" according to Secretary Vilsack, and is "a
reminder of President Obama's commitment to stronger rural communities, a
stronger rural economy, and strengthening rural values."
The Secretary unveiled the details of the plan during a meeting with the
Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association in downtown Harrisburg—a meeting
attended by over 50 residents and businesses. The electric cooperatives,
which distribute electricity in rural areas, will manage the loans and will
collect payments on utility bills, allowing customers to spread out the
loan payments. Homeowners and businesses will be able to seal air leaks and
replace inefficient heating and air-conditioning systems through the
program.
In addition to helping homeowners and businesses, the energy efficiency
program will also create jobs for contractors who retrofit homes to make
them more energy efficient and will help to reduce our dependence on
foreign oil.
USDA Rural Development is accepting comments on the proposed Rule for 60
days. To find out more, click here. To hear audio of the Secretary's
announcement, click here.
