On June 28, 2004, DOT's Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda was published in the Federal Register. The entire DOT agenda can be viewed here. Each agency publishes a list of the issues they are, or have recently, addressed, with an approximate timeline for those actions to be completed. A complete list of RSPA hazardous materials related agenda items may be viewed on our website at http://www.ercweb.com/news/rspaagenda.pdf. When available, there is a link to the Federal Register referred to in the timeline for each action. Contact names are provided if you wish to communicate with the person responsible for that particular rulemaking.
FMCSA to Require Special Safety Permit For Carriers of Highly Hazardous Materials
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that trucking companies planning to haul certain highly hazardous materials must have a special safety permit, beginning Jan. 1, 2005. FMCSA said it is requiring the special permit because certain highly hazardous materials would be more dangerous in crashes or if used in terrorist attacks.
The safety permit will be required for motor carriers hauling certain types and amounts of radioactive materials, explosives, toxic inhalant materials and compressed or refrigerated liquid methane or natural gas.
The FMCSA estimated that the annual safety benefits to the U.S. economy resulting from fewer accidental releases alone of hazardous materials will be $3.7 million, which over a 10-year period will result in safety benefits totaling more than $26 million after being adjusted for inflation.
Under guidelines outlined in a final rule issued June 30, the nation's approximately 3,100 hazardous materials carriers must meet all federal operational, safety and security standards and must communicate regularly with drivers by phone or other electronic device. Carriers with less-than-satisfactory safety ratings will be prohibited from transporting the hazardous materials requiring these special permits. To prevent unnecessary interruptions of commerce, temporary safety permits may be issued to carriers without safety ratings for a period of 180 days pending the outcome of a compliance review.
FMCSA is also implementing a process to deny, suspend and revoke safety permits in this final rule. Safety permits will be denied if a carrier does not have a "Satisfactory" safety rating. Permits will be suspended or revoked from carriers failing to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Hazardous Materials Regulations or similar state requirements.
This final rule is in the Federal Register and will be on the Internet at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/. It also can be viewed in the DOT Docket Management System, http://dms.dot.gov by searching for docket number FMCSA-97-2180.
RCRA Regulatory Agenda Released
On June 28, 2004, EPA's Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda was published in the Federal Register. The entire EPA agenda can be viewed here. Each agency publishes a list of the issues they are, or have recently, addressed, with an approximate timeline for those actions to be completed. A complete list of RCRA hazardous and solid waste related agenda items may be viewed on our website at http://www.ercweb.com/news/rcraagenda.pdf. When available, there is a link to the Federal Register referred to in the timeline for each action. Contact names are provided if you wish to communicate with the person responsible for that particular rulemaking.
NJ DEP to Step Up Enforcement of Idling Vehicles
NJ Department of Environmental Protection regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:27-14 prohibit diesel-powered vehicles from idling for more than three consecutive minutes if the vehicle is not in motion. As part of a statewide effort by the DEP to implement measures to reduce diesel emissions in New Jersey, the DEP will be targeting various types of diesel-powered vehicles that operate on the roadways of the state. These include charter buses, public-transportation buses, long-haul trucks and short-haul delivery trucks to ensure their owners and operators are complying with the idling regulations.
The idling of diesel-powered vehicles produces a wide variety of air pollutants, including particulates, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and other toxic air pollutants. Some of these air pollutants are known carcinogens. Particulate matter can cause health problems ranging from difficulty in breathing to heart attacks. While the DEP has responded to citizen complaints about idling vehicles for many years now, it is especially important to reduce idling during the warmer months when poor air quality impacts vulnerable parts of the population, such as children, the elderly and people with respiratory or coronary disease. In fact, the number of premature deaths in New Jersey each year caused by exposure to particulates exceeds the number of deaths from homicides and motor vehicle accidents.
In addition to the environmental risks, idling vehicles unnecessarily consume fuel and increase long-term engine maintenance costs. Idling is also an occupational hazard as it exposes drivers to dangerous levels of particulates and other toxins.
DEP inspectors will target bus staging areas, convenience stores, public entertainment venues, retail centers, truck yards, warehouse distribution centers and loading/unloading areas to ensure that diesel-powered vehicles are complying with all applicable regulations. They also will respond to resident complaints with the help of the local environmental health agencies throughout the state. Failure to comply with the idling standards will result in enforcement actions and civil administrative penalty assessments for the property owner and the vehicle operator, starting at $200 per day.
Carefully review the following general guidelines to ensure compliance:
- Ensure that diesel-powered vehicles do not idle for more than three consecutive minutes if the vehicle is not in motion (some allowable exceptions to this requirement are noted in the following two bullet points). Consider posting a sign on your property if trucks frequently idle at your location.
- Ensure that diesel-powered motor vehicles at the vehicle operator’s place of business (i.e., home base) do not idle except when absolutely necessary, but never for more than 30 consecutive minutes.
- Ensure that diesel-powered motor vehicles that are not located at the operator's place of business do not idle except when absolutely necessary. These vehicles are permitted to idle for a maximum of 15 minutes if the vehicle engine has been stopped for three or more hours.
- Adopt a no-idling policy for your fleet drivers and encourage them to do their part. It will save you money and protect their health.
- Explore alternatives to idling, such as engine block heaters for cold weather starts or in-cabin heaters.
Top 10 Most Frequently Encountered Compliance Issues at New Jersey Marinas
In order to provide marina owners and operators with information on environmental practices aimed at reducing impacts on the coastal environment, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) conducted a two-year marina compliance assistance project. Through the combined efforts of eight participating New Jersey counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Hudson, Middlesex, and Sussex) and DEP's Office of Local Environmental Management (OLEM), 123 marinas received scheduled on-site visits to assist them in complying with a wide-range of regulatory issues. Upon completion of the Marina compliance assistance project, OLEM evaluated all findings from the project and identified the top 10 most frequently encountered environmental issues.
This is NOT a complete list of requirements affecting marinas you need to follow but is offered to help you avoid the most common transgressions.
- A stormwater permit is required if there are fueling activities of any kind (both aboveground (AST) and underground (UST) storage tanks), mechanical/engine repair activities, or boat maintenance activities (sanding, scraping, and power washing) at the marina.
- Marinas are required to have a Spill Response Plan in place, emergency phone numbers of the Coast Guard and DEP posted, and absorbent booms and pads stored near the waterway.
- An air permit is required if the marina dispenses gasoline or other volatile fuel products from an aboveground or underground storage tank greater than 2,000 gallons in volume.
- Marinas are required to provide containers with lids for both solid waste and recyclable materials. These containers must also be clearly labeled.
- Used batteries collected at marinas are required to be stored either under cover or inside a sheltered area. The batteries must also be clearly labeled as “Used Batteries”.
- Used oil tanks at marinas are required to be in a secure location and clearly labeled as “Used Oil”.
- Most marinas are not required to have a hazardous waste generator identification number due to small quantities. However, any container that stores or contains hazardous waste must be clearly labeled identifying its contents.
- As of December 1988, all USTs at a marina must have mandatory spill, overfill and corrosion protection. All USTs must also have a verifiable leak detection method and have a current registration with the DEP.
- Any used tires must be properly disposed or stored under cover to prevent the collection of rainwater, which attracts and provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This will help to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus.
- All antifreeze collected at marinas must be containerized, labeled and recycled.
A marina owner or operator may also wish to contact DEP’s Land Use Regulation Program to determine if a Waterfront Development permit and/or Tidelands License is required. Please note that these requirements were not part of the compliance assistance project but may be applicable.
Hazardous Waste Generators Not Required to Submit Copies of Manifests to Ohio EPA
Any company/business that generates hazardous waste (based on either the exhibition of characteristics such as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity or because the waste is listed in the Code of Federal Regulations as a hazardous waste) and sends their waste to the State of Ohio for treatment or disposal is affected by this new initiative.
Some state hazardous waste regulations require hazardous waste generators to ensure that the Consignment State (the State receiving the hazardous waste for treatment or disposal) receives copies of the completed manifest(s) containing the handwritten signature of the owner operator of the designated hazardous waste generator’s facility. Officials from the State of Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency have notified other states that they do not require copies of the manifest(s) submitted to their state.
For more information on how this affects you, contact your state Department of Environmental Protection. Some states may still consider not providing a manifest to Ohio a violation of state law or may be amending their requirements to reflect Ohio's request. For example, in New Jersey, Hazardous Waste Enforcement has stated that it will utilize its enforcement discretion to not issue a notice of violation to New Jersey hazardous waste generators for failing to submit copies of hazardous manifests to the State of Ohio’s EPA. This results in a paperwork reduction for hazardous waste generators.
EPCRA º313 Reporting Year 2002 Data Released
EPA's Office of Information Analysis and Access has posted on the Internet the 2002 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Public Data Release Report (EPA260-R-04-003) and state data files. The Public Data Release Report provides an overview of national statistics of the 2002 TRI reporting year data for toxic chemical releases and waste management activities. The 2002 TRI data are available at http://www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri02/index.htm