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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
EzineArticles Alert: Real-Estate
Awards and Recognition News Release (HQ): EPA Recognizes Sustainable Communities with Smart Growth Awards
CONTACT:
Richard Yost
yost.richard@epa.gov
202-564-7827
202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2010
EPA Recognizes Sustainable Communities with Smart Growth Awards
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today recognized five projects with the 2010 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement for their comprehensive approach to improving quality of life. The projects make cities safer and more pleasant for pedestrians and bicyclists, manage growth to ensure long-term prosperity and health, and revitalize existing neighborhoods to provide new opportunities.
“We have a vision of American communities that are clean, healthy, environmentally responsible and economically resilient,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “The amazing work of the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement winners brings us closer to realizing that vision, and helps everyone – from government and business to everyday citizens – take part in addressing the urgent environmental and economic challenges we face as a nation.”
The recipients of the 2010 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement are:
· Overall Excellence: Smart.Growth@NYC, New York, New York
PlaNYC 2030, New York City’s blueprint for planning future growth, provided the inspiration for multi-agency coordination on innovative policies and projects to improve the quality of life in the city. PlaNYC prepares for more population while adding small public spaces throughout the city, improving air and water quality, and improving public health with better access to fresh food and more options for walking and biking.
· Smart Growth and Green Building: Miller’s Court, Baltimore, Maryland
Miller’s Court, a renovated tin can factory, offers new housing and commercial space in the center of a neighborhood that is gaining new life as a thriving, convenient urban setting. The project has spurred new economic activity nearby, from a small boutique bakery to a 200,000-square-foot retail and office development.
· Policies, Programs, and Regulations: 2040 Growth Concept, Portland Metro, Oregon
Metro, the elected regional government of the Portland, Oregon, area, is making sure that future population growth can be accommodated through its “Making the Greatest Place” effort. Building on the 2040 Growth Concept, this effort helps protect current and future residents’ quality of life by providing access to transportation choices, investing in compact communities, and preserving farms and forests.
· Rural Smart Growth: The Gateway 1 Corridor Action Plan, Maine
The Gateway 1 Corridor Action Plan covers a 100-mile stretch of Maine’s central coast along U.S. Route 1, from Brunswick to Stockton Springs. The collective effort by 20 towns to protect rural and scenic resources is a noteworthy achievement to preserve the environment and strengthen the economy along this regionally significant corridor.
· Civic Places: Mint Plaza, San Francisco, California
Mint Plaza, in downtown San Francisco, is a formerly dilapidated city-owned alley converted into a public plaza and festival space with an innovative stormwater system. The project’s contemporary design respects its historic context while also providing a flexible public space for the surrounding neighborhood that brings people together.
These award winners embody the principles behind EPA’s work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The agencies are improving access to affordable housing and providing more transportation options and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment. By investing in existing communities and valuing the unique assets found in rural, suburban and urban settings, they are also finding ways to spur new economic development and opportunity.
EPA created the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2002 to recognize exceptional approaches to development that protect the environment, foster economic vitality, and enhance quality of life. The agency’s Smart Growth Program helps America’s communities turn their visions of the future into reality through research, tools, partnerships, case studies, grants, and technical assistance.
More information on the winners: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards/sg_awards_publication_2010.htm
More information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/partnership
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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
Science Wednesday: The Future is Sustainability
Science Wednesday: The Future is Sustainability
Wed, 01 Dec 2010 09:30:02 -0600
By Paul Anastas Wow! November 30th was an amazing day for the EPA. Not only are we in the midst of commemorating four decades of accomplishments in protecting the health and the environment, but Administrator Jackson also made a landmark speech at the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Science on the future [...]
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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Trash and Recycling News Release (HQ): EPA Announces 2010 Game Day Challenge Winners
CONTACT:
Richard Yost
yost.richard@epa.gov
202-564-7827
202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2010
EPA Announces 2010 Game Day Challenge Winners
Seventy-seven colleges and universities divert 500,000 pounds of waste from landfills
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the 2010 Game Day Challenge winners. U.S. colleges and universities competed to reduce the most amount of waste during a home football game.
“Disposing of valuable materials in the waste stream represents a lost opportunity for our economy and for our efforts to protect the environment,” says Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “Through participation in the Game Day Challenge, these colleges and universities are encouraging our society’s future leaders to improve the ways we manage our resources.”
During the month of October, 77 participating schools targeted more than 2.8 million fans at football games. The schools together diverted more than 500,000 pounds of waste from landfills, which prevented the release of nearly 940 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 179 cars.
Participating schools tracked the amount of recycled, composted, reused, donated, and disposed of waste during one home football game. Winners were determined based on the amount of waste that was diverted from the landfill in relation to the amount of generated waste and the number of people at the game.
2010 Winners:
Waste Minimization Champion: Ithaca College and University of Tennessee at Martin
Diversion Rate Champion: University of California, Davis
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Champion: University of Central Oklahoma
Recycling Champion: University of Central Oklahoma
Organics Reduction Champion: Marist College
The competition was sponsored by EPA’s WasteWise program, a voluntary program through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes, benefiting their bottom line and the environment. Launched in 1994, the program has more than 2,700 members.
More information on participant results: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/partnerships/wastewise/challenge/gameday/results.htm
More information on how the results are determined:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/partnerships/wastewise/challenge/gameday/measure.htm
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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
(Region 9): U.S. EPA Fines Kettleman City Landfill
For Immediate Release: November 30, 2010
Media Contact: Nahal Mogharabi, mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov
U.S. EPA Fines Kettleman City Landfill
Chemical Waste Management Fails to Meet EPA Requirements for PCB Storage and Disposal
Chemical Waste Management Fails to Meet EPA Requirements for PCB Storage and Disposal
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today fined Chemical Waste Management, Inc. (CWM) more than $300,000 for failure to properly manage PCBs at its Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Landfill. In order to protect human health and the environment, EPA regulations and facility specific permit requirements require that PCBs are properly tracked, stored and disposed. EPA vigorously enforces PCB requirements and will continue to monitor this facility and other PCB storage and disposal facilities.
The CWM Kettleman Hills Facility is a commercial hazardous waste facility located in Kings County, CA. The facility handles the treatment, storage and disposal of PCBs, hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The Kettleman Hills Landfill is the only landfill in California federally regulated to handle PCBs, and is just one of ten PCB regulated landfills in the country.
“Companies charged with safely disposing of society’s most toxic materials need to rigorously follow the protective laws established to secure both the public safety and public trust. Violations of federal environmental laws at the Kettleman hazardous waste facility are unacceptable,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
During a series of 2010 inspections, EPA investigators found that CWM improperly managed PCBs at the facility. Further analysis revealed spills next to the facility’s PCB Storage and Flushing Building. Samples taken by EPA and CWM in and around the building detected PCBs at elevated levels ranging from 2.1 parts per million (ppm) up to 440 ppm. These levels are above the regulatory limit of 1 ppm and, in soil, demonstrate that PCBs were improperly disposed of in violation of federal law.
In January 2010, EPA committed to working with the State of California and the community of Kettleman City to both investigate compliance with federal laws and research environmental stressors. The current fines relate to the mismanagement of PCBs within the confines of CWM’s property. There is no evidence to suggest that the current spills posed any danger to adjacent communities. The question of whether there is any human health or environmental risk of PCBs migrating off site is being evaluated by a PCB congener study that is nearing completion.
PCBs are liquids that were used in electrical transformers, capacitors, circuit breakers, voltage regulators/switches, plasticizers, and additives in lubricating and cutting oils. Tests have shown that PCBs cause cancer in animals and are suspected carcinogens in humans. Acute PCB exposure can also adversely affect the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems as well as liver function.
The EPA’s Hazardous Waste Program oversees the safe management and disposal of hazardous waste including PCBs. Concerns about human health and the extensive presence and lengthy persistence of PCBs in the environment led Congress to enact the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976. The Act authorized EPA to secure information on all new and existing chemical substances, as well as to control any of the substances that were determined to cause unreasonable risk to public health or the environment.
In addition to the PCB releases, CWM failed to fully comply with information and decontamination requirements. A PCB container label and some materials containing PCBs did not display essential data required by federal law. EPA investigations also found that CWM failed to decontaminate PCB handling areas prior to continued use.
CWM has cleaned up PCB releases at the facility under a cleanup plan approved by EPA and the State of California, Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). The plan was submitted to the agencies and approved in September and October 2010. DTSC issued a Corrective Action Order on October 18th that required CWM to clean up PCB contamination in accordance with state and federal requirements. CWM will be submitting a final report documenting its cleanup to both agencies.
For more information on PCB violations found at the Kettleman Hills Facility, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region9/kettleman/index.html
For more information on PCB regulation and enforcement as well as the Toxic Substances Control Act, please visit: http://epa.gov/region9/toxic/pcb/index.html
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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
Research News Release (HQ): EPA Administrator and NAS President Recognize EPA 40th Anniversary, Announce Groundbreaking National Research Council Study
CONTACTS:
LaTisha Petteway (News Media Only)
petteway.latisha@epa.gov
202-564-3191
202-564-4355
Dale Kemery (News Media Only)
kemery.dale@epa.gov
202-564-7839
202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2010
EPA Administrator and NAS President Recognize EPA 40th Anniversary, Announce Groundbreaking National Research Council Study
WASHINGTON – Today, at an event recognizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s 40th anniversary, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and National Academy of Sciences (NAS) President Ralph Cicerone announced that EPA has commissioned a National Research Council (NRC) study that will help the agency build upon its expertise in protecting human health and the environment. The study will define how to incorporate sustainability concepts into EPA programs.
The event is part of EPA’s week-long commemoration of the agency’s 40th anniversary. The week began with an event at the Aspen Institute, which unveiled a list of 10 ways EPA has strengthened America. The administrator and EPA offices across the country will be participating in events to highlight the impact of its efforts to clean up the air Americans breathe, the water they drink and the communities they live in. These events will also focus on some of the unfinished business of the environmental movement.
The agency has asked the NRC to develop the Green Book, a groundbreaking effort to incorporate sustainability into the way the agency approaches environmental protection. This tool will assist EPA in its work to find links and coordinate among its various functions, including air, water and land protection. The announcement signifies an important step toward building a society that can meet its needs while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
The effort parallels the 1983 Red Book, published by the NRC in an effort to systematize risk assessment and risk management into EPA’s work. At that time, EPA Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus delivered a landmark speech to the National Academies, calling for the development of the risk framework and emphasizing its critical role in improving the agency’s effectiveness.
Historically, environmental programs have largely focused on reducing air pollution and water pollution, and how to identify and monitor chemical and environmental risks to human health and the environment. Today’s challenges depend on the sustainable use of energy, water, materials and land, and require solutions that stress the linkages between energy use, water use, environmental protection, human health, quality of life, and the global economy. The Green Book will provide recommendations to EPA that will support the agency’s shift toward viewing this complex set of modern-day environmental challenges through a sustainability lens.
The recently announced Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Initiative exemplifies this type of thinking. The initiative does not merely focus on reducing risk, but it forges a sustainable solution linking environmental issues such as air quality and deforestation to health and quality of life issues for women and girls. The Green Book will provide the foundation for the agency’s shift toward a sustainability framework.
R398
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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
EPA News Release (HQ): EPA Announces New Tool to Promote Safer Chemicals and Products
CONTACT:
Dale Kemery (News Media Only)
kemery.dale@epa.gov
202-564-7839
202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2010
EPA Announces New Tool to Promote Safer Chemicals and Products
WASHINGTON - As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new criteria to help companies and other groups, such as states and environmental organizations, identify safer chemicals. As part of the agency’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program, EPA unveiled the new criteria which are an important tool under its DfE Alternatives Assessments for identifying safer alternatives to chemicals that pose a concern to human health and the environment.
“This new approach for evaluating and identifying safer chemicals is an important step toward ensuring that that the chemicals used in this country are safe,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Making this information available will not only lead to the manufacture of safer products, it will increase the public’s access to critical chemical information.”
The DfE program works in partnership with industry, environmental groups, and academia to help industry choose safer alternatives to chemicals that may pose a concern to human health or the environment. Information on chemical hazards from DfE Alternatives Assessments is combined with industry data on performance and cost to guide the choice of safer alternatives. To distinguish among alternatives, DfE evaluates data for each chemical and assigns hazard levels of high, moderate, or low for human health and environmental concerns.
DfE Alternatives Assessments will be conducted for bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP and NPEs). Both the BPA and decaBDE efforts are under way and include the use of BPA and its alternatives in thermal paper, such as cash register receipts, and the review of flame retardant alternatives to decaBDE in products such as textiles, plastic palettes, and electronics. Assessments of phthalates, the flame retardant HBCD, and NPEs will begin in 2011.
The assessments will lead to the manufacture of safer products and reduced chemical exposures. For example, replacing BPA in thermal paper with safer alternatives will safeguard children, cashiers, and others from BPA in cash register or sales receipts. Similarly, safer alternatives to decaBDE flame retardants used in textiles and electronics will eliminate an important route of human and environmental exposure to this chemical.
EPA will accept comment on the criteria through January 31, 2011.
More information: http://epa.gov/dfe/alternative_assessments.html
R397
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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
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