5/12/2001
EPA REGION 1 LAUNCHES HOME CHECKLIST WEB SITE
Environmental
This new site packages together all of EPA New
England?s home-related environmental subjects. The
site includes information on where hazardous waste
sites are located in specific communities; and
pollution related information on such topics as
lead, arsenic, asbestos, indoor air quality, pests
and pesticides, and radon. The site also contains
links to information on energy efficiency and a
geographically-based web site called In My
Backyard. This site identifies the many home-related
environmental issues that New Englanders should be
aware of, whether they live in an urban, suburban
or rural setting, said Ira Leighton, acting
regional administrator at EPA?s New England
Office. I?m sure it will be of great interest to
homeowners and renters alike.
The site is available at
http://www.epa.gov/region1/homechecklist/index.html
EPA PENALIZES ORO VALLEY DEVELOPER $60,000 FOR STORM WATER VIOLATIONS
EPA penalized Sharpe and Associates and Palisades
Development Company $60,000 today for storm water
pollution violations at a development site in Oro
Valley, Ariz.
Sharpe and Palasades failed to stabilize disturbed
areas and did not take other measures needed to
prevent sediment laden runoff during grading and
construction of the 50 acre Catalina Shadows Phase
Four Development Site. As a result, rain eroded
bare soil and carried excessive amounts of
sediment into Big Wash in the Canada del Oro
watershed, a tributary to the Santa Cruz River.
This penalty could have been avoided if the
developer had used effective sediment and erosion
controls, said Alexis Strauss, director of the
Water Division of the EPA?s Pacific Southwest
office. Land owner, developers, and their
contractors have a long-standing legal obligation
to maintain management practices that ensure
sediment in storm water does not pollute
waterways.
For sites five acres or larger, the federal Clean
Water Act requires that developers and contractors
implement storm water pollution prevention plans
that include effective erosion and sediment
control measures so that sediment discharges do
not increase above what normally occurs prior to
grading. Sharpe did not properly carry out its
storm water pollution prevention plan.
Sediment from construction sites can clog up city
storm drains or end up in streams and rivers,
choking plant and animal life. Many pollutants
such as oil and grease from various sources also
bind to sediments, and are then transported into
waterways along with the sediment.
EPA FINES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA $9,350 FOR PCB VIOLATIONS
EPA last week fined the University of California
$9,350 for failing to register three electrical
transformers containing PCBs at its Los Angeles
and San Diego campuses.
In addition to paying the fine, the University of
California will dispose of the old transformers
and install replacements that do not contain PCBs.
PCBs are a highly toxic substance, said Enrique
Manzanilla, the EPA?s regional Cross-Media
Division director. EPA is aggressively
inspecting facilities to ensure compliance with
1998 federal requirements so we know where PCB
transformers are located and how they are being
handled.
This case was initiated after inspections found
that two PCB transformers at UCLA and one PCB
transformer at UCSD were not registered with the
EPA. The federal Toxic Substances Control Act
requires PCB transformer registration in order to
track the use and proper disposal of such
equipment. Records are required to document the
condition of the equipment and warnings are
required to ensure workers and the public are
aware that a hazardous substance is present.
This is the third of several enforcement actions
the EPA is taking to encourage owners of PCB
transformers to register and properly handle their
equipment. In the past year, the EPA has also
taken actions against Pacific Tube of City of
Commerce, Calif. and Nevada Cement Company of
Fernley, Nev., for similar PCB violations.
Information on the UC case, and previous PCB
transformer cases, can be found at
http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/r9press.nsf/news.
Visit http://www.epa.gov/pcb/ for information on
PCBs, as well as a list of companies that have
registered PCB transformers. Or go to
http://www.epa.gov/region09/toxic/pcb/ for
information on PCB activities in Region 9.
EPA, CATALYTICA SETTLE RIGHT-TO-KNOW CASE FOR $71,000
EPA recently settled a complaint against an East
Palo Alto-based pharmaceutical and pesticide
manufacturer that requires the company to pay
$71,673 for alleged federal community
right-to-know violations.
The agency alleged that the Catalytica facility at
1990 Bay Road failed to file complete and accurate
reports estimating its releases of toxic chemicals
to the environment. The chemicals requiring
disclosure under the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act included methanol,
hexane and several other compounds.
Companies that handle hazardous chemicals owe it
to their employees and the surrounding community
to accurately report how those materials are being
used, stored and disposed of, said Enrique
Manzanilla, director of the EPA?s Cross Media
Division in San Francisco. We intend on making
sure that communities remain aware of chemical use
in their neighborhood.
EPA staff discovered the alleged violations during
an inspection in June 1998, and issued a complaint
to Catalytica in September 1999. The EPA alleged
one count of failure to submit a timely Toxic
Chemical Release Inventory Form, nine counts of
failures to submit complete and accurate forms,
and eight counts of failures to maintain complete
records supporting forms.
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Act requires annual reports to the EPA and the
state from facilities that use or manufacture
certain toxic chemicals over a specified amount.
The reports provide estimates of the amounts of
each toxic chemical released to the environment,
treated or recycled on site, or transferred
off-site to another facility. Each year the EPA
publishes a report entitled the Toxic Release
Inventory, which summarized the prior year?s
submissions and provides detailed trend analysis
of toxic chemical releases.
A copy of the TRI Public Data Release can be
obtained by calling (800) 535-0202. Environmental
databases, including TRI data, can also be
accessed via the Internet by visiting U.S. EPA
Envirofacts Warehouse Home Page at
http://www.epa.gov/enviro.
ST. LOUIS NONATTAINMENT DATE DELAYED
EPA is postponing the effective date - from May
18, 2001 to June 29, 2001 - of EPA?s determination
that the St. Louis area did not attain the ozone
(smog) standard by its deadline. This delay in the
effective date of the nonattainment determination
enables regulated entities in the St. Louis area
to prepare for compliance with the new
requirements that would become applicable in the
area upon the effective date of the nonattainment
determination and reclassification.
The postponement also allows EPA to complete its
rulemaking on whether the St. Louis area should be
granted an extension of its attainment date on
grounds that pollution from upwind areas
contributes to ozone levels in the St. Louis area.
EPA has proposed that if the agency approves an
attainment date extension, EPA would withdraw its
March 19 determination of nonattainment and notice
of reclassification for the St. Louis area. The
comment period on our proposal to extend the
attainment date ended May 3 and EPA is currently
evaluating all comments received.
If EPA withdraws the nonattainment determination
and grants an extension to the attainment date,
the St. Louis area would retain its moderate
classification while working to attain the 1-hour
ozone standard by November 2004 and serious area
requirements would not be triggered in the St.
Louis area.
The St. Louis area includes Madison, Monroe, and
St. Clair counties in Illinois; and the city of
St. Louis and Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles and
St. Louis counties in Missouri.
Contacts for this action are Ed Doty, EPA Region
5 - Chicago, IL at (312) 886-6057; or Lynn
Slugantz, EPA Region 7 - Kansas City, KS at
(913)551-7883.
MISSOURI MAN INDICTED ON CLEAN WATER ACT CHARGES
Gary L. Smith, owner of Warren County Water and
Sewer District in Warren County, Mo., was indicted
on charges that he violated the Clean Water Act.
The charges allege that Smith intentionally
allowed raw sewage to be discharged into Incline
Village Lake frequently used for recreation. Raw
sewage can contain bacteria and pathogenic
organisms which can cause infections and its
discharge into recreational waters can make them
unsafe for swimming and other recreational
activities. The case was investigated by EPA?s
Criminal Investigation Division with the
assistance of EPA?s National Enforcement
Investigations Center and is being prosecuted by
the U.S. Attorney?s Office in St. Louis. An
indictment is merely an accusation and all
defendants are presumed innocent unless or until
proven guilty in a court of law.
FOURTEEN SENTENCED FOR FRAUDULENT TESTING IN PENNSYLVANIA
On May 2, 14 persons from six states-Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina and
Texas-were sentenced on federal charges arising
from the improper testing of gasoline underground
storage tanks in Pennsylvania. Falsifying
underground storage tank data can allow leaking
tanks to remain undiscovered, and any leakage can
contaminate surrounding soil and lead to
groundwater contamination. Kevin Moriarty of Boca
Raton, Fla. and Gary Ebel, formerly of Silver
Springs, Texas each were sentenced to 33 months in
prison and two years probation. Steven Becsey of
Bradenton, Fla. was sentenced to 13 months in
prison and two years probation. Katherine R.
Wilson of Sherwood, Ark., Michael Doss of
Rossville, Ga., Dana Smith of Maumelle, Ark.,
Lawrence Finnell of Sherwood, Ark., Joseph
Moriarity of Ocean Isle, N.C., and Phillip Gordon
of Beckville, Texas were sentenced to five months
house arrest as part of two years probation.
Bernard Butler of Indianapolis, Ind., and Diane
Roth of Pflugerville, Tex. were sentenced to four
months house arrest. Mark Smith of Little Rock,
Ark., and Joseph Ricotta of Austin, Texas were
sentenced to three months house arrest. Milton
Barren of Kurten, Texas was fined $500. Testing of
underground storage tanks is required by EPA
regulations under the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act and by state law. During the 1990s,
all of the defendants were involved with one or
more of three underground storage tank testing
companies, AST and ASTI in Little Rock, Ark., AUST
in Austin, Tex. The companies claimed to use a
method to test the tanks that should take about
three hours to perform. However, various employees
of the three companies either did not stay on site
long enough to properly conduct the tests, or did
not have the proper equipment to do the tests, or
sent in falsified results by mail or by telefax.
The case was investigated by EPA?s Criminal
Investigation Division, the FBI and the Defense
Criminal Investigative Service with assistance
from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection and the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission. The case was prosecuted
by the U.S. Attorney?s Office in Pittsburgh.
OHIO OWNER AND RSV COMPANY SENTENCED
On April 26, Robert S. Vukelic of Richmond, Ohio,
owner of RSV, Inc. was sentenced to six months in
prison, two and one-half years supervised release
and a $5,000 fine following conviction on charges
of felony corruption. Vukelic illegally paid
$171,500 to a public official to obtain Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency grants for his
Pine Hollow landfill in Steubenville. Members of
the Northern Ohio Valley Air Authority, Patsy J.
DeLuca, Ronald DeLuca, and Vincent Zumpano, have
already been sentenced for their involvement in
the unlawful payment scheme. The RSV company was
sentenced to pay a $150,000 fine and serve three
years probation for violating the Clean Air Act.
RSV violated the Clean Air Act by failing to
comply with required asbestos removal practices
when it demolished the Federal Paperboard site in
Steubenville. The improper removal of asbestos can
cause workers to inhale airborne asbestos fibers
which is a known cause of lung cancer, a lung
disease, known as asbestosis, and mesothelioma,
which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal
cavities.
CONSTRUCTION SITES MUST MANAGE STORM WATER PROPERLY
Changing the landscape with new and useful
buildings, homes and industrial developments is
the crux of the construction industry. But in the
forefront of all construction projects should be a
constant concern for the environment.
The mid-Atlantic region of the Environmental
Protection Agency is trying to spread this message
to those in the construction industry by
increasing awareness of permit requirements and
pollution prevention measures to control storm
water runoff.
With development on the rise, it?s imperative
that we protect our waterways from unnecessary
runoff from construction sites so that our streams
and lakes can continue to support aquatic life and
be available for recreation, said Thomas
Voltaggio, EPA acting regional administrator.
Under the Clean Water Act, developers/contractors
at construction sites of five acres or more must
obtain a permit before discharging storm water
runoff into surface waters. The permit requires a
storm water pollution prevention plan and may
contain discharge limits and monitoring
requirements.
Neeraj Sharma, an EPA enforcement officer, said
the agency is stepping up its efforts to see that
the law is followed throughout the mid-Atlantic
region, which includes Virginia, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and the District
of Columbia.
We have spent the last two years reaching out to
the regulated community to make them aware of what
is required to comply with the law, said Sharma.
Despite these efforts, we are still finding
widespread non-compliance.
Recently, the EPA?s mid-Atlantic region took
enforcement action in a construction case by
ordering Airston Group developers of Centerville,
Va. to draft a dredging plan and correct severe
erosion and storm water pollution problems at a
housing construction site in Fairfax County, Va.
The order alleges that the developers never
applied for the proper permits to control runoff
from construction activity, which included the
drainage of a farm pond on the site. Uncontrolled
runoff from construction and work on the pond
increased the amount and velocity of water flowing
through a tributary on the site. This resulted in
the discharge of pollutants and severe bank
erosion, allowing mud and silt to flow downstream
into small lake, where it accumulated as a small
island.
Sharma and other EPA inspectors are working with
state environmental agencies to inspect
construction sites to ensure developers and
contractors comply with storm water requirements.
If a site is found in non-compliance, EPA or the
appropriate state or local agency may take
enforcement action on that could include an
appropriate penalty.
If you are interested in obtaining permit
coverage, contact your local state environmental
agency. For more information about EPA?s National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Storm Water Program, including state permit
contacts for construction activities, go to EPA?s
website at:
http://www.epa.gov/owm/sw/construction.
Beginning May 15, 2001, the Water Protection
Division in EPA?s mid-Atlantic office will have
sample Storm water Pollution Prevention Plans
(SWPPPs) and information on environmental impacts
from storm water runoff available via its web site
under Programs and Initiatives at
http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/.
EPA ASSESSES CCA-TREATED WOOD
On May 9, 2001 EPA met with representatives of the
wood-treatment industry, including manufacturers
and retailers, and with representatives of
environmental and public interest groups, to
discuss the current status of EPA?s reassessment
of CCA-treated wood and to evaluate efforts for
informing the public about the safe use and
handling of pressure-treated wood. Both meetings
featured constructive and direct discussion
regarding safety information available to
consumers about CCA-treated wood. Industry
participants committed to submit a proposal to EPA
in two weeks for strengthening consumer safety
materials. A public meeting will be convened in
early June involving EPA and all stakeholders, to
further discuss efforts to strengthen consumer
safety information related to CCA-treated wood.
EPA is currently reviewing all available
scientific information to conduct a thorough and
comprehensive reassessment of CCA-treated wood. As
part of this reassessment, the Agency is
expediting a risk assessment, expected to be
completed in June, focusing on children?s
potential exposure from playground equipment
constructed with CCA-treated wood. EPA remains
committed to ensuring ample opportunity for public
involvement in all aspects of this process.
NORTHEASTERN STATES SHOW SUCCESS OF NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSION TRADING PROGRAM
A new report shows the continued success of an
innovative, market-based, emission trading program
to control nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions in
northeastern states. NOx is a prime ingredient in
the formation of the nation?s most pervasive air
pollutant, ground level ozone (smog), which can
irritate the respiratory tract, impair breathing
ability and cause various other respiratory
problems. In participating states, NOx emissions
were reduced 11 percent below legal limits, and
more than 60 percent below 1990 levels. This
program, begun in 1999, represents the first
implementation of an air emission cap and trade
approach to an issue other than acid rain, where
the trading strategy has been used successfully
nationwide since 1995 to control sulfur dioxide
(SO2) emissions from power plants. Today?s report
was released by the Ozone Transport Commission
(OTC) which Congress created under the 1990 Clean
Air Act Amendments to better coordinate the
efforts of northeastern states in reducing NOx
emissions. In a unique partnership between federal
and state government, the OTC asked EPA to help
implement their NOx program. The trading program
demonstrates that EPA and state organizations such
as OTC can successfully partner to make
substantial reductions in NOx emissions using
least-cost approaches. The 2000 OTC NOx Budget
Program Compliance Report can be found at:
http://www.sso.org/otc/ or at:
http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/cmprpt/index.html. For
further technical information, contact Kenon Smith
at 202-564-9164 (e-mail: smith.kenon@epa.gov).