9/4/14
State
MDEQ closes section of Biloxi beach due to bacteria levels
Mississippi Press
Warren Kulo
BILOXI, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) has ordered the closure of a 2.5 mile section of Biloxi beach due to
the city's stormwater construction which has raised bacteria levels.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/09/mdeq_closes_section_of_biloxi_1.html
A section of Biloxi's beach is closed
WLOX
A section of Biloxi's beach was closed Wednesday. The Mississippi
Department of Environmental Quality closed the beach from St. Peter Street
east to Dukate Street because of bacteria levels.
http://www.wlox.com/story/26438807/high-bacteria-levels-force-beach-closure
Meridian's Household Hazardous Waste Day Sept. 6
WTOK
Meridian Public Works will host the bi-annual Household Hazardous Waste Day
Saturday, Sept. 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/Meridians-Household-Hazardous-Waste-Day-Saturday-273818581.html
Regional
Watchdog calls for EPA to do more on Gulf of Mexico dead zone
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog wants it to do more
to reduce the runoff pollution that causes the Gulf of Mexico's massive
dead zone.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216503-watchdog-wants-epa-to-do-more-on-gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone
Kentucky joins 11 other states in lawsuit against Environmental Protection
Agency
WYMT
Today, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway along and others joined an
effort to sue the Environmental Protection Agency. Legislators in 12 states
joined the suit challenges the EPA's authority to regulate carbon emissions
from coal fired power plants. Conway along with others spoke at a news
conference in Ashland.
http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/Kentucky-joins-11-other-states-in-lawsuit-against-Environmental-Protection-Agency-273826591.html
Kentucky approves new coal-permit rules to protect water, but
environmentalists file suit
BY BILL ESTEP
Lexington Herald-Leader
The state this week finalized new rules on coal-mining permits that include
upgraded water-quality standards.
http://www.kentucky.com/2014/09/03/3410102/kentucky-approves-new-coal-permit.html
National
GOP: Documents show green group's 'close relationship' with EPA
The Hill
Senate Republicans released documents Wednesday that they say prove a
"close relationship" between a major environmental group and the
Environmental Protection Agency.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216544-gop-documents-show-green-groups-close-relationship-with-epa
Press Releases
US settles with Costco to cut ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas
refrigerant emissions nationwide
WASHINGTON– Costco Wholesale Corporation, the nation's second largest
retailer, has agreed to cut its emissions of ozone-depleting and greenhouse
gas chemicals from refrigeration equipment at more than half of its stores
nationwide.
In the settlement announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ), Costco will pay $335,000 in
penalties for federal Clean Air Act violations and improve refrigerant
management at 274 stores at an estimated cost of $2 million over the next
three years.
"Cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions is a national priority for EPA,
and this settlement will lead to significant reductions of an
ozone-depleting gas that is 1,700 times more potent than carbon dioxide,"
said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement
and Compliance Assurance. "Fixing leaks of refrigerants, improving
compliance and reducing emissions will make a real difference in protecting
us from the dangers of ozone depletion, while reducing the impact on
climate change."
"Compliance with the nation's Clean Air Act is key to protecting all
Americans from air pollution that damages our atmosphere and changes our
climate," said Sam Hirsch, acting assistant attorney general for the
Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Industry
needs to lead the way in abandoning harmful chemicals in favor of using and
developing greener, environmentally friendly alternatives to protect our
health and our climate."
Costco violated the federal Clean Air Act by failing to repair leaks of the
refrigerant R-22, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon and a powerful ozone-depleting
substance, between 2004 and 2007. Costco also failed to keep adequate
records of the servicing of its refrigeration equipment, required by the
Clean Air Act to prevent harmful leaks.
Under the settlement, Costco will implement a refrigerant management system
to prevent and repair coolant leaks and reduce its corporate-wide average
leak rate by one-fifth (from 24 percent in 2011 to 19 percent or less by
2017). Costco will install and operate environmentally friendly glycol
secondary loop refrigeration systems and centrally monitored refrigerant
leak detection systems at all new stores for three years. As required by
the settlement, Costco will retrofit commercial refrigeration equipment at
30 stores, reducing ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas emissions.
The measures required of Costco by the settlement are expected to prevent
more than 105,000 pounds of future releases of ozone-depleting refrigerants
that destroy the ozone layer. Destroying the ozone layer results in
dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet solar radiation striking
the earth, increasing skin cancers and cataracts.
R-22 is also a potent greenhouse gas with 1,700 times more global warming
potential than carbon dioxide or CO2. The measures required by the
settlement are expected to reduce Costco's greenhouse gas emissions by the
equivalent of approximately 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The settlement is part of EPA's national enforcement initiative to control
harmful air pollution from the largest sources of emissions, including
large grocery stores.
Clean Air Act Title VI requires owners or operators of commercial
refrigeration equipment with over 50 pounds of ozone-depleting
refrigerants, and with an annual leak rate greater than 35 percent, to
repair all leaks within 30 days.
Corporate commitments to reduce emissions from refrigeration systems have
been increasing in recent years. EPA's GreenChill Partnership Program works
with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their
impact on the ozone layer and climate change by transitioning to
environmentally friendlier refrigerants, using less refrigerant and
eliminating leaks, and adopting green refrigeration technologies and best
environmental practices.
Costco, headquartered in Issaquah, Wash., operates 466 stores in 43 U.S.
states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and additional stores
worldwide, with revenues of $105.2 billion in 2013. The settlement covers
274 Costco stores that have commercial refrigeration equipment regulated by
the Clean Air Act.
The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and
final court approval.
Read the proposed settlement at:
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/costco-wholesale-corporation-clean-air-act-settlement
