On November 16, 2009, U.S. EPA announced it will propose to significantly tighten the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). U.S. EPA is also proposing to set a new primary (health-based) standard at a level between 50 and 100 parts per billion (ppb), compared to the existing primary standards of 140 ppb, maximum 24-hour concentration, and 30 ppb, maximum annual concentration. The agency is proposing to revoke the existing annual and 24-hour standards. The proposal does not deal with the current secondary (welfare-based) standard of 500 ppb, 3-hour average, which will be reviewed in a separate rulemaking. The form of the standard would be changed to a statistical form (99th percentile of 1-hour concentrations in 3 years).
Nine U.S. counties are currently designated as nonattainment for the current primary standards. Based on SO2 air quality data from 488 monitors in 2006-2008, 45 counties across the country would violate a 100 ppb 1-hour standard and an additional 62 counties would violate a 50 ppb standard. Ongoing regulatory programs will continue to reduce SO2 emissions, even in the absence of a tighter SO2 NAAQS.
U.S. EPA indicates it plans to promulgate a revised SO2 NAAQS by June 2010 and designate nonattainment areas under the new standard by June 2012. The proposal will be published in the Federal Register in the near future, followed by a 60-day public comment period and a pubic hearing in January.
For more information, contact EQ’s Kent Berry at 800-229-5299 or Jeff Slayback at 800-229-7495.
On November 13, 2009, the U.S. EPA published a final rule that makes limited changes and minor corrections to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) amendments finalized in December 2008.
The final rule is effective January 14, 2010, the same as the new SPCC amendments.
The U.S. EPA amended the SPCC rule on December 5, 2008 to provide increased clarity, to tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and to streamline certain requirements for those facility owners or operators subject to the rule. On April 1, 2009 U.S. EPA extended the effective date of this rule to January 14, 2010.
The new rule removes the following provisions from the SPCC amendments: the exclusion of farms and oil production facilities from the loading/unloading rack requirements; the exemption for produced water containers at an oil production facility; and the alternative qualified facility eligibility criteria for an oil production facility.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice, visit the U.S. EPA website or contact EQ's Mike Arozarena or Ken Hardesty at (800) 229-7495.
On November 13, 2009, U.S. EPA published a final rule designating 31 areas in 18 states as nonattainment with respect to the 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM2.5 (see the November 2009 issue of the EQ newsletter for more information). The effective date of the nonattainment designation is December 14, 2009.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice or contact EQ’s Kent Berry at 800-229-5299 or Jeff Slayback at 800-229-7495.
On October 28, 2009, U.S. EPA proposed to withdraw a determination made by former U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, which concluded that the risk remaining after the application of the technology-based National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) rules for petroleum refineries (originally set in 1995) was acceptable. This “residual risk” determination, along with a determination that there was no need to revise the 1995 technology-based standards, was signed in the final days of the Bush Administrator but never published in the Federal Register as a result of President Obama’s freeze on such rules signed but not yet published. U.S. EPA intends to revisit its residual risk policies and obtain additional emissions data to better characterize refinery residual risk. This action has implications for residual risk determinations for other NESHAP rules in the future.
For more information, see the Federal Register notice or contact EQ’s Kent Berry at (800) 229-5299.
The U.S. EPA will propose technology-based standards to control emissions of mercury and other air toxics from fossil fuel-fired power plants by March 2011, according to a proposed consent decree with several environmental and public health organizations.
The proposed consent decree, filed on October 22 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also requires U.S. EPA to issue final maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for hazardous pollutant emissions from power plants by November 16, 2011.
The proposed consent decree is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2008 on behalf of 12 organizations seeking “a mandatory and enforceable schedule” for U.S. EPA to issue the hazardous air pollutant standards for power plants.
The federal Clean Air Act requires U.S. EPA to set and periodically review air toxics limits for a variety of sources. The final hazardous emissions standards for coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units were due in December 2002.
In 2005, the U.S. EPA issued the Clean Air Mercury Rule that would have created an interstate trading program for mercury emissions from power plants. However, the mercury rule was overturned by judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in February 2008.
U.S. EPA announced its intention to issue MACT standards for power plants in February 2008 after voluntarily withdrawing a petition before the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to reinstate the mercury emissions trading rule.
Nationwide, 491 coal-fired power plants emit 48 tons of mercury annually, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found a 90 percent reduction in mercury emissions is feasible using sorbent injection systems. The GAO report said that the average cost of a sorbent injection system and monitoring equipment is $3.6 million per boiler. Adding fabric filters to a sorbent injection and monitoring system increases capital costs significantly, GAO noted, raising the average capital cost to $15.8 million.
For more information, contact EQ’s Kent Berry at 800-229-5299 or Jeff Slayback at 800-229-7495.
On November 16, 2009, a Department of Transportation official announced that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will issue a proposed rule in 2010 to prohibit transportation of hazardous liquids in the external piping of cargo tank trucks.
The upcoming rule will address concerns raised by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) about the dangers posed by the use of so-called wetlines in cargo tanks.
In related news, a new bill called the Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Act of 2009 was introduced on November 4 in the House. The bill seeks to reauthorize DOT’s hazardous materials safety program, prohibit the transport of flammable liquids in the external piping of cargo tank trucks, and require rules for the transport of lithium cells and batteries.
According to Bob Chipkevich, director of the Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations for NTSB, in the last 10 years, six deaths have been directly attributed to the release of flammable liquids from wetlines in automobile accidents.
The text of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Act (H.R. 4016) is available online.
For more information, contact EQ’s Steve Letany at 800-229-7495.
In October 2009, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its preliminary list of the top 10 most frequent workplace safety violations for 2009. The number of violations in the top 10 increased almost 30% over the same time period in 2008.
The violations are:
1. Scaffolding: 9,093
2. Fall protection: 6,771
3. Hazard communication: 6,378
4. Respiratory protection: 3,803
5. Lockout/tagout: 3,321
6. Electrical (wiring): 3,079
7. Ladders: 3,072
8. Powered industrial trucks (forklifts): 2,993
9. Electrical: 2,556
10. Machine guarding: 2,364.
This preliminary list was released at the National Safety Council’s annual congress and expo in Orlando, Florida. OSHA will update these numbers later in 2009.
For further information, contact EQ’s John Kominsky at (800) 229-7495.
Ohio EPA’s Division of Hazardous Waste Management (DHWM) is launching new Web-based software called “eDRUMS” for the electronic completion and submittal of Annual Hazardous Waste Reports. This software will replace the DRUMS Data Entry Module (DEM) that DHWM has offered to the regulated community since 2000.
DHWM has also created a 2009 HW Annual Report web page that contains key information for the 2009 reporting cycle.
eDRUMS will be available to users in early January through the Ohio EPA’s eBusiness Center, which is already used for air and water reports. In the interim, users can establish their accounts and Responsible Officials can request a PIN if they don't already have one. Your existing DRUMS DEM PIN must be replaced with an eDRUMS PIN.
There are numerous advantages to reporting electronically, such as:
Ohio EPA plans to offer several Webinar training conferences on the new application.
For more information about the new software and the eBusiness Center, please visit this Ohio EPA website or contact the eBusiness Center Help Desk by email or by phone (877) 372-2499.
You may also contact EQ’s Judy Stroeh at 800-229-5299.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is offering pollution prevention grants to Indiana industrial facilities to help reduce toxics. IDEM was awarded the grant funding from the U.S. EPA.
Facilities with ideas for pollution prevention projects, including those identified by an IDEM pollution prevention opportunity assessment, are eligible to submit a pre-application for an Indiana Pollution Prevention Grant by June 11, 2010.
Projects that reduce the use of any chemical on the Resource Conservation Challenge Priority Chemicals list or the Regional Priority Chemical list or replace a listed chemical with a less toxic substance will receive additional points toward their overall score when evaluated for funding.
Also, projects identified by an IDEM assessment conducted between June 2009 and June 2010 will receive additional points toward their overall score when evaluated for funding.
IDEM offers free and confidential pollution prevention opportunity assessments to industries and communities.
To schedule a pollution prevention assessment, contact IDEM at (800) 988-7901.
To pre-apply for the grant and see a complete list of priority chemicals, visit the IDEM website.
EQ collected and disposed of more than 130,000 pounds of agricultural chemicals and some household hazardous waste in July from the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
One two-day collection event was held on the island of Guam, and three one-day events were held on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. All are U.S. territories. The events were open to the residents and farmers on each island.
About 15 to 20 different waste streams were collected for disposal, including some pesticides that are banned in the U.S. The wastes were transferred to treatment, storage and disposal facilities on the U.S. mainland via China by barge.
EQ conducted this $570,000 project for the U.S. EPA under its Region 9 Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contract. Guam’s EPA requested the work due to wide-spread improper storage of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals by farmers.
“These types of projects, located in the remote Pacific, require a tremendous amount of planning and logistics to be successful,” said Jason Coury, EQ Project Manager. “This project was particularly challenging because we conducted four events over five days on four different islands.”
For more information, contact EQ’s Jason Coury at 425-673-2900.
Did you know it is estimated that between Thanksgiving and the New Year an extra million tons of waste are generated nationwide each week? Over 38,000 miles of ribbon are thrown away each year - enough to tie a bow around the Earth! (California Integrated Waste Management Board)
Here are some easy green tips to contribute less waste this holiday season:
Gifts:
Trees:
There are many other ways to be creative and greener this holiday season. You can do your small part to make a collective difference!
Visit http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/publiced/Holidays/ for more ideas on how to green your holidays!
To learn more about EQ’s Sustainability Program, visit our website or contact EQ’s Tom Robertson at (800) 229-5299.
For your engineering needs, please contact EQ Engineers at 219-844-3500, or email Ron Hawks
For questions about EQ's capabilities, please contact
Bob McCullough or Laurie Buckman, or call (800) 229-7495.
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