Monday, November 18, 2019
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Canada geese and a pair of Sandhill cranes in a partially frozen wetland
Photo from Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge:
Most of the small shallow wetlands on the refuge are covered with a layer of ice today. Many of the ducks and geese we observed earlier this week were hanging out in the flooded timber as water levels have slowly continued to go up on the Louisa Division from seep water through the levee.
Photo: Canada geese and a pair of Sandhill cranes in a partially frozen wetland by Jessica Bolser/USFWS
#animals #birds #wetland #nature #wildlife
#Iowa #IA #Midwest
Most of the small shallow wetlands on the refuge are covered with a layer of ice today. Many of the ducks and geese we observed earlier this week were hanging out in the flooded timber as water levels have slowly continued to go up on the Louisa Division from seep water through the levee.
Photo: Canada geese and a pair of Sandhill cranes in a partially frozen wetland by Jessica Bolser/USFWS
#animals #birds #wetland #nature #wildlife
#Iowa #IA #Midwest
Friday, November 8, 2019
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Friday, November 1, 2019
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
EPA Grant of More Than $9.8 Million Will Support Environmental Programs in Texas
EPA Press Release:
EPA Grant of More Than $9.8 Million Will Support Environmental Programs in Texas
Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200
DALLAS – (Oct. 29, 2019) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $9,867,791 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to support a variety of environmental programs. This Performance Partnership Grant gives TCEQ flexibility to address its highest priorities, unlike grants directed at specific programs.
“Texas has long been an effective partner in caring for our natural resources and working for clean air, land, and water for all Texans,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “Performance partnership grants provide the flexibility we need to reach important environmental goals.”
EPA’s Performance Partnership Grants (PPG) can be allocated to a wider variety of programs than typical grants that are given to support specific goals. This PPG will help TCEQ improve environmental performance, save money, and strengthen its partnership with EPA. The funds will go toward programs such as water quality monitoring and permitting, enforcement activities, and monitoring and abating hazardous waste, air pollution and pesticides.
Background:
EPA and states share responsibility for protecting human health and the environment. By focusing EPA and state resources on the most pressing environmental problems and taking advantage of the unique capacities of each partner, Performance Partnership Grants can help achieve the greatest environmental and human health protection. PPG funds allow states to direct resources where they are needed most or try innovative solutions to environmental problems. Participants report benefits such as increased communications between EPA and states, better mutual understanding of issues and priorities, more clearly defined roles and responsibilities, increased flexibility, and more effective worksharing arrangements.
More about EPA’s work in Texas: https://www.epa.gov/tx
More about the performance partnership system: https://www.epa.gov/ocir/national-environmental-performance-partnership-system-nepps
Connect with EPA Region 6:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6
About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central
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EPA Provides Lasting Benefit to Communities by Deleting All or Part of 27 Superfund Sites from the National Priorities List - the Highest Number in 18 Years
EPA Press Release:
EPA Provides Lasting Benefit to Communities by Deleting All or Part of 27 Superfund Sites from the National Priorities List - the Highest Number in 18 Years
EPA Deleted a Portion of Robintech Inc./National Pipe Co. Site in Vestal, New York
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
VESTAL, N.Y. (October 29, 2019) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 the agency deleted all or part of 27 sites from Superfund’s National Priorities List (NPL), the largest number of deletions in a single year since FY 2001. This represents the third year in a row that EPA has significantly increased the number of sites deleted from the NPL, helping communities move forward in reusing and redeveloping the land by making it clear that cleanup is complete.
Following a cleanup that addressed approximately 10,000 tons of contaminated soil and millions of gallons of contaminated groundwater, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deleted most of the Robintech Inc./National Pipe Co. site in Vestal, New York from the National Priorities List (NPL), the federal Superfund list of the most contaminated hazardous waste sites. Both EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) agree that the cleanup at 9.7 acres of the site property has been completed.
“Our renewed focus on the Superfund program is reaching directly into the heart of communities that are looking to EPA for leadership and action,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “I am proud of the work we have done to deliver on the Trump Administration’s commitment to protect the people we serve and support community revitalization by allowing land to be rediscovered and repurposed for productive use.”
“Removing cleaned up sites from the federal Superfund list signals to the surrounding communities that EPA has completed the job of transforming these once highly contaminated areas, which is a priority for EPA,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “Superfund is a cornerstone of the work EPA does to protect human health and leave our communities better off than we first started.”
EPA deletes sites or parts of sites from the NPL when no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment. Years, and sometimes decades, of complex investigation and cleanup work has gone into getting these sites to where they are today. This important milestone indicates to communities that cleanup is complete and that sites are protective of human health and the environment.
While EPA encourages site reuse throughout the cleanup process, deletions from the NPL can help revitalize communities and promote economic growth by signaling to potential developers and financial institutions that cleanup is complete. Over the past several years, the agency has focused on streamlining the deletion process and increasing the number of opportunities to demonstrate to communities that cleanup is complete.
For example, in FY 2017 EPA doubled the number of full and partial sites deleted over the previous fiscal year with a total of six sites and then significantly increased the total number of deletions to 22 in FY 2018 and 27 in FY 2019.
The agency’s FY 2019 deletions include 12 full sites and parts of 15 more sites.
The 12 sites EPA completely deleted from the NPL are:
- Buckeye Reclamation in St. Clairsville, Ohio
- Duell & Gardner Landfill in Dalton Township, Michigan
- Electro-Coatings, Inc in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Ellenville Scrap Iron and Metal in Ellenville, New York
- Intel Corp. (Santa Clara III) in Santa Clara, California
- Intermountain Waste Oil Refinery in Bountiful, Utah
- MGM Brakes in Cloverdale, California
- Mystery Bridge Rd/U.S. Highway 20 in Evansville, Wyoming
- Peter Cooper in Gowanda, New York
- Strasburg Landfill in Newlin Township, Pennsylvania
- Tennessee Products in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Tomah Armory in Tomah, Wisconsin
The 15 sites EPA partially deleted are:
- Beckman Instruments (Porterville Plant) in Portville, California
- Beloit Corp. in Rockton, Illinois
- Cleburn Street Well in Grand Island, Nebraska
- Escambia Wood in Pensacola, Florida
- Libby Asbestos in Libby, Montana
- Novak Sanitary Landfill in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
- Omaha Lead in Omaha, Nebraska
- Robintech, Inc./National Pipe Co. in Vestal, New York
- Shaw Avenue Dump in Charles City, Iowa
- South Minneapolis Residential Soil Contamination in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- South Valley in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- South Weymouth Naval Air Station in Weymouth, Massachusetts
- Townsend Saw Chain Co. in Pontiac, South Carolina
- Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in New Brighton, Minnesota
- Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 in Denver, Colorado
Additional information about EPA’s NPL deletions can be viewed at
The Superfund Task Force Accomplishments can be viewed at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-task-force-recommendations-and-accomplishments
To search for information about these and other NPL sites, please visit https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2.
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EPA Superfund site deletions in 2019 provide lasting benefit to communities in Region 8
EPA Press Release:
EPA Superfund site deletions in 2019 provide lasting benefit to communities in Region 8
Deletions in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming contribute to largest national tally since 2001
DENVER (October 29, 2019) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 the agency deleted all or part of four sites from Superfund’s National Priorities List (NPL) in EPA Region 8, benefitting communities in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. These actions contributed to a total of 27 deletions achieved across the nation, the largest number in a single year since FY 2001. This represents the third year in a row that EPA has significantly increased the number of sites deleted from the NPL, helping communities move forward in reusing and redeveloping the land by making it clear that cleanup is complete.
“EPA remains focused on making the Superfund process more effective and efficient as we work to serve our communities and secure public health and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Gregory Sopkin. “The deletions we finalized this year in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming are important milestones. They provide closure to communities with sites that have been the subject of years of investigation and cleanup actions.”
EPA deletes sites or parts of sites from the NPL when no further cleanup is required to protect human health or the environment. Years, and sometimes decades, of complex investigation and cleanup work has gone into getting these sites to where they are today. This important milestone indicates to communities that cleanup is complete and that sites are protective of human health and the environment.
While EPA encourages site reuse throughout the cleanup process, deletions from the NPL can help revitalize communities and promote economic growth by signaling to potential developers and financial institutions that cleanup is complete. Over the past several years, the agency has focused on streamlining the deletion process and increasing the number of opportunities to demonstrate to communities that cleanup is complete.
For example, in FY 2017 EPA doubled the number of full and partial sites deleted over the previous fiscal year with a total of six sites and then significantly increased the total number of deletions to 22 in FY 2018 and 27 in FY 2019.
The agency’s FY 2019 deletions in Region 8 include two full sites and parts of two more sites.
The 2 sites EPA completely deleted from the NPL in Region 8 are:
- Intermountain Waste Oil Refinery in Bountiful, Utah
- Mystery Bridge Rd/U.S. Highway 20 in Evansville, Wyoming
The 2 sites EPA partially deleted in Region 8 are:
- Libby Asbestos in Libby, Montana
- Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 in Denver, Colorado
Additional information about EPA’s NPL deletions can be viewed at
The Superfund Task Force Accomplishments can be viewed at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-task-force-recommendations-and-accomplishments
To search for information about these and other NPL sites, please visit https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live
Monday, October 28, 2019
EPA selects Earth Conservancy for $200,000 grant to support more environmental job training in Ashley, Pa.
EPA Press Release:
EPA selects Earth Conservancy for $200,000 grant to support more environmental job training in Ashley, Pa.
EPA selects Earth Conservancy for $200,000 grant to support more environmental job training in Ashley, Pa.
Designates total of $5.1 million for job training nationwide
PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 28, 2019) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $200,000 Brownfields grant on Oct. 24, to the non-profit organization Earth Conservancy in Ashley, Pennsylvania.
The Earth Conservancy is one of 26 organizations nationwide to receive a total of $5.1 million in grants for environmental job training programs. Funded through the agency’s successful Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program, these grants will help to create a skilled workforce in communities where EPA brownfields assessment and cleanup activities are taking place.
In coordination with Penn State University Wilkes-Barre, Earth Conservancy plans to train and place at least 33 of 50 participants in environmental jobs. This training will build on the successful program they developed under its first EPA jobs training grant that was recognized with Pennsylvania Governor’s 2019 Award for Environmental Excellence.
“EPA is proud to support Earth Conservancy’s environmental job training program where formerly unemployed, or underemployed residents can gain new and valuable skills to work on brownfields projects,” said Cosmo Servidio, EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. “Earth Conservancy has already reclaimed thousands of acres of mine-scarred lands. Additional environmental cleanup is underway and program graduates will have the skills that local companies need.”
The job training program has provided economic and environmental benefits in Luzerne County. It has also raised awareness of the challenges related to abandoned mine lands.
EPA has also previously awarded the Earth Conservancy eight EPA Brownfields cleanup grants totaling $3.9 million to cleanup more than 15,000 acres of mine scarred land. This summer in Scranton, Regional Administrator Servidio announced an EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant for $500,000. Earth Conservancy’s job training grantees learn skills to perform Brownfields cleanup work for the site.
Since the program began in 1998, EPA has awarded 288 Environmental Workforce and Job Training grants to disadvantaged communities. More than 18,000 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 13,679 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage of more than $14 an hour. Rather than filling local jobs with contractors from distant cities, EPA created its environmental job training program to offer residents of communities historically affected by environmental pollution, economic disinvestment, and brownfields an opportunity to gain the skills and certifications needed to secure local environmental work in their communities.
All 26 selected programs awarded today plan to serve communities with census tracts designated as federal Opportunity Zones – an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.
For more information on all 26 job training grantees awarded today, please visit:
Background
EPA’s Job Training Program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place unemployed and underemployed individuals. Individuals completing these training programs have often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many are from low-income neighborhoods. The training programs also serves minorities, tribal members, transitioning veterans, dislocated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant closures, and other individuals who may face barriers to employment.
For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields grants, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding
Thursday, October 24, 2019
EPA Announces Requests for Applications for the 2020 Environmental Education Grants Program
EPA News Release:
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2019
October 24, 2019
EPA Announces Requests for Applications for the 2020 Environmental Education Grants Program
WASHINGTON (October 24, 2019) — As authorized by the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, EPA is pleased to announce the availability of up to $3 million in funding for locally-focused environmental education projects under the 2020 Environmental Education Grant Program. EPA will award three to four grants in each of the agency’s 10 regions. Groups interested must submit their application by Jan. 6, 2020, to be considered. The Requests for Application (RFA) is posted on www.grants.gov.
“This funding will support projects aimed at educating and inspiring the next generation of Americans to tackle pressing environmental challenges like marine litter and food waste,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Through EPA’s Environmental Education Grant Program, we are able to bring more environmental education opportunities to local communities across the country.”
In addition to other environmental topics, the 2020 Environmental Education Grants Program will fund education-based projects pertaining to marine debris mitigation, food waste and loss reduction, and recycling. Funded projects will both increase public awareness on various environmental matters and enhance participants’ abilities to make informed decisions on environmental issues prospectively.
Additional Background on How to Apply
Determine Eligibility.
- Applicants must represent one of the following types of organizations to be eligible for an environmental education grant:
- local education agency
- state education or environmental agency
- college or university
- non-profit organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- noncommercial educational broadcasting entity
- tribal education agency (which includes schools and community colleges controlled by an Indian tribe, band, or nation and which are recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians and which are not administered by the Bureau of Indian Education.)
- Applicant organizations must be located in the United States or territories and the majority of the educational activities must take place in the United States; or in the United States and Canada or Mexico; or in the U.S. Territories.
Complete the Application and Budget Forms, according to the directions.
- Each RFA contains complete instructions for submitting a proposal, including all required information and limitations on format. A summary of the required information is below. Read the RFA thoroughly for application procedures. All applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov.
- Find the forms on the "Application Forms" tab. Materials should be submitted in the following order:
- Two Federal forms: Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424) and Budget (SF 424-A)
- Work Plan (up to 8 pages):
- Project Summary (recommended 1 page)
- Detailed Project Description
- Project Evaluation Plan
- Detailed Budget Showing Match and Subawards (not included in the page limit)
- Appendices (not included in the page limit)
- Timeline
- Logic Model Showing Outputs and Outcomes
- Programmatic Capabilities and Past Performance
- Letters Stating Responsibilities of Partners, if applicable
Submit the Proposal Materials.
- Applications must be submitted by Jan. 6, 2020, electronically through www.grants.gov by following the instructions in the RFA.
- The full list of solicitation notices is available at www.grants.gov and at https://www.epa.gov/education/environmental-education-ee-grant-solicitation-notice.
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