| EPA Proposes Approval of Public Participation Rules in Texas’ Clean-Air Plan
(DALLAS – November 30, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to approve the Texas clean-air plan that covers public notification requirements for facilities applying for air permits. The proposed approval applies to existing facilities that plan to make major changes as well as new projects.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) clarified the clean-air plan’s procedures for citizens to submit comments on permit applications, as well as how TCEQ is to respond to comments. The revised rules give citizens two opportunities to provide comments on air permits. The first notice occurs when a facility applies for a permit, and the second notice occurs when the TCEQ submits a proposed permit. The second notice will also include expanded technical documents to ensure citizens and interested groups have as much information as possible on pending permits.
“Robust public participation is an essential element of the Clean Air Act,” said EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry. “The revised rules assure that Texas has all the relevant information and public input to make their permitting process as transparent and effective as possible.”
After extensive cooperation and dialog between TCEQ and the EPA, the State revised the public participation rules to apply to new and existing facilities that are classified as major or minor sources of pollution and submitted a State Implementation Plan for EPA action.
The proposed action will be published in the Federal Register in 7 to 10 days and be available for a 60 day public comment period. After careful consideration of any comments received from the public, the EPA will publish a final decision.
The Federal Register Notice is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/newsevents/index.html
More information about the Clean Air Act is available at http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/peg/
More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html
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For more information contact Dave Bary, Austin Vela or Jennah Durant at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov
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Friday, November 30, 2012
News Release: EPA Proposes Approval of Public Participation Rules in Texas' Clean-Air Plan
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency News Releases: New England Region (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, 10 tribes) Update : Settlement Repays Cleanup Costs for Whitman Cistern Site in Whitman, Mass.
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News Release Contact: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017 Settlement Repays Cleanup Costs for Whitman Cistern Site in Whitman, Mass. (Boston, Mass. – Nov. 30, 2012) – EPA has reached a settlement with two related companies for reimbursement of EPA’s past costs for the remediation of contamination at the Whitman Cistern Site, located in Whitman, Mass. The settlement, recently lodged in U.S. District Court, requires Brown Shoe Co. Inc. and Brown Group Retail, Inc. to pay $450,000. The Site is an undeveloped 20-acre lot, located south of 401 South Avenue in Whitman, Mass. The former buildings at the Site were demolished about 1973. The Site is adjacent to an eastern tributary of the Shumatuscant River, also known as Beech Hill Brook. Regal Shoe Co. manufactured shoes at the Site from about 1903 to 1954, when the company merged into Brown Shoe Co. Shoe manufacturing continued at the Site for several more years under different ownership. The liability of the later owners eventually passed to Brown Group Retail, Inc. through a series of mergers. The Site is not listed on the Superfund National Priorities List. Between Dec. 2005 and June 2006, EPA conducted a removal action to address hazardous substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead and mercury, which posed threats to human health and the environment. Specifically, EPA removed about 2,800 tons of contaminated soils, demolished and removed three interconnected settling tanks or “cisterns,” and removed about 10,000 gallons of contaminated sludge contained within the cisterns. The proposed Consent Decree is subject to a 30-day comment period, which will end on December 28, 2012. The settlement requires approval by the U.S. District Court before becoming final. More information: Proposed settlement and how to comment: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/5857.htm . # # # Learn More about the Latest EPA News & Events in New England (http://www.epa.gov/region1/newsevents/index.html) Follow EPA New England on Twitter (http://twitter.com/epanewengland) More info on EPA's Environmental Results in New England (http://www.epa.gov/region1/results/index.html)
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