EPA orders Philadelphia company to stop making inaccurate health claims about pesticide

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA orders Philadelphia company to
stop making inaccurate health claims about pesticide

PHILADELPHIA (March 31, 2021) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered ViaClean Technologies, operating in Philadelphia, to stop marketing the pesticide BioProtect RTU with claims that it is effective against surfaces from public health related pathogens such as the coronavirus.

Although the product is registered to inhibit the growth of “non-public health” microorganisms, it is not registered to address “public health” pathogens. EPA is concerned that customers may have used this product as protection from a virus – such as the coronavirus -- in lieu of other EPA-approved disinfection methods.

“Improperly marketed pesticides, especially during a pandemic, may cause injury to consumers,” said Acting EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Administrator Diana Esher. “EPA remains vigilant and will continue to protect the health and safety of Americans from products that have false or misleading public health claims.”

ViaClean provided two BioProtect RTU fact sheets containing public health claims to at least one customer, including the statement that the pesticide can be used to kill “germs.”

Some online distributors, cleaning services, and end-recipients of BioProtect RTU were also making unsubstantiated claims that this product is effective against pathogens, germs, disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and/or the novel coronavirus for up to 90 days.

EPA issued a Stop Sale, Use or Removal Order to prevent BioProtectRTU from continuing to sell this product with public health claims that have not been substantiated through the pesticide registration process.

Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), products that claim to kill or repel bacteria or germs, including disinfectants, are considered pesticides and must be registered with the EPA. Public health claims can only be made regarding products that have been properly tested and are registered with the EPA.

EPA has released an expanded list of EPA-registered disinfectant products that have qualified for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. List-N contains over 460 additional products—including products that went through the expedited review process for emerging viral pathogens.

To view the most up-to-date list of EPA-registered disinfectant products, visit https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2

For more information on EPA resources on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus

For more information on pesticides, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides 

EPA Announces Flowers Baking Co. of Batesville, Ark., Among 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Announces Flowers Baking Co. of Batesville, Ark., Among 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants

 

Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200

 

DALLAS – (March 25, 2021) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced Flowers Baking Co. in Batesville, Arkansas, is among 95 facilities nationwide to earn ENERGY STAR certification in 2020 for being among the most energy-efficient in their industries.

 

By strategically managing their energy use while our country dealt with challenges of the pandemic, the 95 ENERGY STAR certified plants saved nearly $400 million on energy bills—equal to the payroll value of over 8,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. They also avoided the consumption of 80 trillion Btus of energy compared to average plants and prevented over 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to those from the energy use of nearly 600,000 homes. For the past 15 years, ENERGY STAR certified plants have significantly helped our economy and our environment, resulting in over $6 billion in savings on energy bills and cleaner air by preventing over 65 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions compared to average-performing facilities.

 

“These forward-looking businesses have demonstrated that economic development and job creation go hand-in-hand with environmental progress,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The transition to a clean energy economy is happening now, as partnerships like ENERGY STAR encourage companies to go the extra mile, bringing innovation, cost-savings and pollution reductions in return.”

 

Energy efficiency is an important decarbonization strategy for the industrial sector, which emits nearly a third of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions.  To make the crucial reductions in industrial greenhouse gas emissions necessary—and enable a transition to a clean energy economy—manufacturing plants must significantly increase the energy efficiency of their operations.

 

ENERGY STAR provides manufacturers with resources for improving the energy performance of manufacturing plants. Plants use ENERGY STAR energy performance indicators (EPIs), or, in the case of petroleum refineries, the Solomon Associates Energy Intensity Index (Solomon-EII™) scoring system, to assess how their energy use compares to plants with similar operating characteristics. Plants with a verified energy performance score of 75 out of 100 or higher are eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, meaning that they perform better than 75 percent of plants within their industry. ENERGY STAR certification is available for 20 manufacturing sectors, from cement, steel, and glass to commercial bakeries.

 

Other ENERGY STAR certified manufacturing plants in 2020:
*Represents first-time certification

Alabama:
Argos USA LLC, Calera (cement manufacturing)
Tuscaloosa Organic Baking Co., LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Honda Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, Lincoln (automobile assembly)
Honda Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, Lincoln (automobile engine)

Arizona:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Phoenix (commercial bread and roll baking)
CalPortland Company, Rillito (cement manufacturing)
Drake Cement, Paulden (cement manufacturing)*
Holsum Bakery of Tolleson, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Mesa Organic Baking Co., Inc. (commercial bread and roll baking)
Salt River Materials Group, Clarkdale (cement manufacturing)

California:
Ardagh Glass Inc., Madera (container glass manufacturing)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Sacramento (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., San Luis Obispo (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., San Diego (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flowers Baking Co. of Modesto, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
J.R. Simplot Company, Helm (nitrogenous fertilizer)
Vitro Architectural Glass, Fresno (flat glass)

Colorado:
GCC, Pueblo (cement manufacturing)
Mile Hi Companies, Denver (commercial bread and roll baking)

Delaware:
AstraZeneca, Newark (pharmaceutical)

Florida:
CEMEX USA, Miami (cement manufacturing)
Titan America LLC, Medley (cement manufacturing)

Georgia:
Honda Precision Parts Georgia, Tallapoosa (automobile transmission)*

Iowa:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Dubuque (commercial bread and roll baking)
Guardian Industries, DeWitt (flat glass)*

Illinois:
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Robinson (petroleum refining)
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., South Beloit (cookie & cracker baking)

Indiana:
Ardagh Glass Inc., Dunkirk (container glass manufacturing)
Honda of America of Indiana, Greensburg (automobile assembly)
Klosterman Baking Company, Morristown (commercial bread and roll baking)
PepsiCo Gatorade Facility, Indianapolis (juice production)
Tate & Lyle, Lafayette (corn refining)

Kentucky:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., London (commercial bread and roll baking)*
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Princeton (cookie & cracker baking)

Louisiana:
Flowers Baking Co. of Baton Rouge, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flowers Baking Co. of Lafayette, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flowers Baking Co. of New Orleans, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Garyville (petroleum refining)

Maryland:
Northeast Foods Inc, Automatic Rolls Baltimore (commercial bread and roll baking)

Michigan:
AbbVie, Wyandotte (pharmaceutical)*
General Motors Company, Lansing (automobile assembly)

Minnesota:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Fergus Falls (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flint Hills Resources, Pine Bend (petroleum refining)
LambWeston/RDO Frozen, Park Rapids (frozen fried potato processing)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Saint Paul Park (petroleum refining)

Mississippi:
Georgia-Pacific Cellulose, New Augusta (pulp mill)*

Missouri:
Buzzi Unicem USA, Festus (cement manufacturing)

North Carolina:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Gastonia (commercial bread and roll baking)

Nebraska:
Koch Fertilizer Beatrice, LLC (nitrogenous fertilizer)

Nevada:
Flowers Baking Co. of Henderson, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)

New Jersey:
AbbVie, Branchburg (pharmaceutical)*
Ardagh Glass Inc., Bridgeton (container glass manufacturing)

New York:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Albany (commercial bread and roll baking)*
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Auburn (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Olean (commercial bread and roll baking)
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Tonawanda (cookie & cracker baking)

Ohio:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Zanesville (commercial bread and roll baking)
Honda of America Manufacturing, Anna (automobile engine)
Honda of America Manufacturing, East Liberty (automobile assembly)
Honda of America Manufacturing, Marysville (automobile assembly)
Honda Transmission Manufacturing, Russells Point (automobile transmission)
Klosterman Baking Company, Cincinnati (commercial bread and roll baking)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Canton (petroleum refining)

Oklahoma:
Koch Fertilizer Enid, LLC (nitrogenous fertilizer)*

Oregon:
Dave’s Killer Bread, Inc., Milwaukie (commercial bread and roll baking)

Pennsylvania:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Reading (commercial bread and roll baking)

Puerto Rico:
Merck & Co., Inc., Las Piedras (pharmaceutical)

South Carolina:
Argos USA LLC, Harleyville (cement manufacturing)

South Dakota:
GCC, Rapid City (cement manufacturing)*
Weston Foods Canada Inc., North Sioux City (cookie & cracker baking)

Tennessee:
Beiersdorf Manufacturing LLC, Cleveland (pharmaceutical)
Buzzi Unicem USA, Chattanooga (cement manufacturing)
Nissan North America, Inc., Decherd (automobile engine)
Nissan North America, Inc., Smyrna (automobile assembly)
Tate & Lyle, Loudon (corn refining)
Tennessee Bun Company, Dickson (commercial bread and roll baking)
Tennessee Bun Company, Nashville (commercial bread and roll baking)*
 

Texas:
AbbVie, Waco (pharmaceutical)
CITGO Petroleum Corp., Corpus Christi (petroleum refining)
Flowers Baking Co. of El Paso, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flowers Baking Co. of Houston, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)*
Flowers Baking Co. of Tyler, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)

Utah:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Salt Lake City (commercial bread and roll baking)
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Odgen (cookie & cracker baking)

Virginia:
Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Lynchburg Organic Baking Co., LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Titan America LLC, Troutville (cement manufacturing)
Weston Foods Canada Inc., Front Royal (cookie & cracker baking)

Washington:
Ash Grove Cement Company, Seattle (cement manufacturing)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Anacortes (petroleum refining)*
Phillips 66, Ferndale (petroleum refining)

Wisconsin:
Alpha Baking Co., Inc., Manitowoc (commercial bread and roll baking)*
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., La Crosse (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Milwaukee (commercial bread and roll baking)

About the ENERGY STAR Industrial Program
Since 2006, the ENERGY STAR Industrial Program has annually certified manufacturing plants for performing within the top 25% of energy performance in their industries nationwide. More than 230 plants have achieved this distinction since 2006. For more information, see: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/earn-recognition/plant-certification. For a list of all certified plants, see: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/reference/find-energy-star-certified-buildings-and-plants/registry-energy-star-certified-buildings. To learn more about how ENERGY STAR and industry work together, see: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/.

 

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including about 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at: https://www.energystar.gov/about/  and https://www.energystar.gov/about/origins_mission/energy_star_numbers.

 

More about EPA’s work in Arkansas: https://www.epa.gov/ar

 

 

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  

 

# # #

EPA Announces 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants, Including 6 Arizona Companies

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Announces 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants, Including 6 Arizona Companies

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced 95 U.S. manufacturing plants earned ENERGY STAR certification in 2020 for being among the most energy-efficient in their industries. This includes the Arizona-based Alpine Valley Bread Company in Mesa, Bimbo Bakeries in Phoenix, Drake Cement Plant in Paulden, Holsum Baking in Tolleson, Phoenix Cement Plant in Clarkdale, and the Rillito Cement Plant.

By strategically managing energy use while our country dealt with challenges of the pandemic, ENERGY STAR certified plants saved nearly $400 million on energy bills—equal to the payroll value of over 8,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. They also avoided the consumption of 80 trillion Btus of energy compared to average plants and prevented over 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to those from the energy use of nearly 600,000 homes. Since the first industrial facilities received certification 15 years ago, ENERGY STAR certified plants have significantly helped our economy and our environment, resulting in over $6 billion in savings on energy bills and cleaner air by preventing over 65 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions compared to average-performing facilities.

Across Arizona millions of customers were served by ENERGY STAR utility and energy efficiency program partners. Arizona is home to about 280 businesses and organizations that participate in U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program, including: 15 manufacturers of ENERGY STAR certified products, including 10 companies supporting independent certification of ENERGY STAR products and homes, 127 companies building ENERGY STAR certified homes, and many businesses, schools, governments, and faith-based groups using ENERGY STAR to avoid energy waste.

“EPA commends our partners here in Arizona for their leadership in advancing energy and cost saving improvements," said EPA’s Air & Radiation Division Director for the Pacific Southwest Region, Elizabeth Adams. “Their commitment to energy efficiency not only protects the environment, it is a smart business decision that supports the bottom line.”

Energy efficiency is an important decarbonization strategy for the industrial sector, which emits nearly a third of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions. To make the crucial reductions in industrial greenhouse gas emissions necessary—and enable a transition to a clean energy economy—manufacturing plants must significantly increase the energy efficiency of their operations.

ENERGY STAR provides manufacturers with resources for improving the energy performance of manufacturing plants. Plants use ENERGY STAR energy performance indicators (EPIs), or, in the case of petroleum refineries, the Solomon Associates Energy Intensity Index (Solomon-EII™) scoring system, to assess how their energy use compares to plants with similar operating characteristics. Plants with a verified energy performance score of 75 out of 100 or higher are eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, meaning that they perform better than 75 percent of plants within their industry. ENERGY STAR certification is available for 20 manufacturing sectors, from cement, steel, and glass to commercial bakeries.

For a list of All ENERGY STAR certified manufacturing plants, please visit: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/reference/find-energy-star-certified-buildings-and-plants/registry-energy-star-certified-buildings

About the ENERGY STAR Industrial Program
Since 2006, the ENERGY STAR Industrial Program has annually certified manufacturing plants for performing within the top 25% of energy performance in their industries nationwide. More than 230 plants have achieved this distinction since 2006. For more information, see: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/earn-recognition/plant-certification. 

For a list of all certified plants, see: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/reference/find-energy-star-certified-buildings-and-plants/registry-energy-star-certified-buildings.

To learn more about how ENERGY STAR and industry work together, see: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/.

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including about 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at: https://www.energystar.gov/about/ and https://www.energystar.gov/about/origins_mission/energy_star_numbers.

###

EPA Announces Four Louisiana Facilities Among 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Announces Four Louisiana Facilities Among 2020 ENERGY STAR® Certified Manufacturing Plants

Facilities in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans and Garyville recognized

 

Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200

 

DALLAS – (March 25, 2021) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced four manufacturing plants in Louisiana are among 95 facilities nationwide to earn ENERGY STAR certification in 2020 for being among the most energy-efficient in their industries.

 

Facilities in Louisiana:

Flowers Baking Co. of Baton Rouge, LLC—commercial bread and roll baking

Flowers Baking Co. of Lafayette, LLC—commercial bread and roll baking

Flowers Baking Co. of New Orleans, LLC—commercial bread and roll baking

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Garyville—petroleum refining

 

By strategically managing their energy use while our country dealt with challenges of the pandemic, the 95 ENERGY STAR certified plants saved nearly $400 million on energy bills—equal to the payroll value of over 8,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. They also avoided the consumption of 80 trillion Btus of energy compared to average plants and prevented over 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to those from the energy use of nearly 600,000 homes. For the past 15 years, ENERGY STAR certified plants have significantly helped our economy and our environment, resulting in over $6 billion in savings on energy bills and cleaner air by preventing over 65 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions compared to average-performing facilities.

 

“These forward-looking businesses have demonstrated that economic development and job creation go hand-in-hand with environmental progress,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The transition to a clean energy economy is happening now, as partnerships like ENERGY STAR encourage companies to go the extra mile, bringing innovation, cost-savings and pollution reductions in return.”

 

Energy efficiency is an important decarbonization strategy for the industrial sector, which emits nearly a third of U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions.  To make the crucial reductions in industrial greenhouse gas emissions necessary—and enable a transition to a clean energy economy—manufacturing plants must significantly increase the energy efficiency of their operations.

 

ENERGY STAR provides manufacturers with resources for improving the energy performance of manufacturing plants. Plants use ENERGY STAR energy performance indicators (EPIs), or, in the case of petroleum refineries, the Solomon Associates Energy Intensity Index (Solomon-EII™) scoring system, to assess how their energy use compares to plants with similar operating characteristics. Plants with a verified energy performance score of 75 out of 100 or higher are eligible for ENERGY STAR certification, meaning that they perform better than 75 percent of plants within their industry. ENERGY STAR certification is available for 20 manufacturing sectors, from cement, steel, and glass to commercial bakeries.

 

Other ENERGY STAR certified manufacturing plants in 2020:
*Represents first-time certification

Alabama:
Argos USA LLC, Calera (cement manufacturing)
Tuscaloosa Organic Baking Co., LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Honda Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, Lincoln (automobile assembly)
Honda Manufacturing Alabama, LLC, Lincoln (automobile engine)

Arkansas:
Flowers Baking Co. of Batesville, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)

Arizona:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Phoenix (commercial bread and roll baking)
CalPortland Company, Rillito (cement manufacturing)
Drake Cement, Paulden (cement manufacturing)*
Holsum Bakery of Tolleson, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Mesa Organic Baking Co., Inc. (commercial bread and roll baking)
Salt River Materials Group, Clarkdale (cement manufacturing)

California:
Ardagh Glass Inc., Madera (container glass manufacturing)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Sacramento (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., San Luis Obispo (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., San Diego (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flowers Baking Co. of Modesto, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
J.R. Simplot Company, Helm (nitrogenous fertilizer)
Vitro Architectural Glass, Fresno (flat glass)

Colorado:
GCC, Pueblo (cement manufacturing)
Mile Hi Companies, Denver (commercial bread and roll baking)

Delaware:
AstraZeneca, Newark (pharmaceutical)

Florida:
CEMEX USA, Miami (cement manufacturing)
Titan America LLC, Medley (cement manufacturing)

Georgia:
Honda Precision Parts Georgia, Tallapoosa (automobile transmission)*

Iowa:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Dubuque (commercial bread and roll baking)
Guardian Industries, DeWitt (flat glass)*

Illinois:
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Robinson (petroleum refining)
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., South Beloit (cookie & cracker baking)

Indiana:
Ardagh Glass Inc., Dunkirk (container glass manufacturing)
Honda of America of Indiana, Greensburg (automobile assembly)
Klosterman Baking Company, Morristown (commercial bread and roll baking)
PepsiCo Gatorade Facility, Indianapolis (juice production)
Tate & Lyle, Lafayette (corn refining)

Kentucky:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., London (commercial bread and roll baking)*
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Princeton (cookie & cracker baking)

Maryland:
Northeast Foods Inc, Automatic Rolls Baltimore (commercial bread and roll baking)

Michigan:
AbbVie, Wyandotte (pharmaceutical)*
General Motors Company, Lansing (automobile assembly)

Minnesota:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Fergus Falls (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flint Hills Resources, Pine Bend (petroleum refining)
LambWeston/RDO Frozen, Park Rapids (frozen fried potato processing)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Saint Paul Park (petroleum refining)

Mississippi:
Georgia-Pacific Cellulose, New Augusta (pulp mill)*

Missouri:
Buzzi Unicem USA, Festus (cement manufacturing)

North Carolina:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Gastonia (commercial bread and roll baking)

Nebraska:
Koch Fertilizer Beatrice, LLC (nitrogenous fertilizer)

Nevada:
Flowers Baking Co. of Henderson, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)

New Jersey:
AbbVie, Branchburg (pharmaceutical)*
Ardagh Glass Inc., Bridgeton (container glass manufacturing)

New York:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Albany (commercial bread and roll baking)*
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Auburn (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Olean (commercial bread and roll baking)
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Tonawanda (cookie & cracker baking)

Ohio:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Zanesville (commercial bread and roll baking)
Honda of America Manufacturing, Anna (automobile engine)
Honda of America Manufacturing, East Liberty (automobile assembly)
Honda of America Manufacturing, Marysville (automobile assembly)
Honda Transmission Manufacturing, Russells Point (automobile transmission)
Klosterman Baking Company, Cincinnati (commercial bread and roll baking)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Canton (petroleum refining)

Oklahoma:
Koch Fertilizer Enid, LLC (nitrogenous fertilizer)*

Oregon:
Dave’s Killer Bread, Inc., Milwaukie (commercial bread and roll baking)

Pennsylvania:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Reading (commercial bread and roll baking)

Puerto Rico:
Merck & Co., Inc., Las Piedras (pharmaceutical)

South Carolina:
Argos USA LLC, Harleyville (cement manufacturing)

South Dakota:
GCC, Rapid City (cement manufacturing)*
Weston Foods Canada Inc., North Sioux City (cookie & cracker baking)

Tennessee:
Beiersdorf Manufacturing LLC, Cleveland (pharmaceutical)
Buzzi Unicem USA, Chattanooga (cement manufacturing)
Nissan North America, Inc., Decherd (automobile engine)
Nissan North America, Inc., Smyrna (automobile assembly)
Tate & Lyle, Loudon (corn refining)
Tennessee Bun Company, Dickson (commercial bread and roll baking)
Tennessee Bun Company, Nashville (commercial bread and roll baking)*
 

Texas:
AbbVie, Waco (pharmaceutical)
CITGO Petroleum Corp., Corpus Christi (petroleum refining)
Flowers Baking Co. of El Paso, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Flowers Baking Co. of Houston, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)*
Flowers Baking Co. of Tyler, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)

Utah:
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Salt Lake City (commercial bread and roll baking)
TreeHouse Foods, Inc., Odgen (cookie & cracker baking)

Virginia:
Flowers Baking Co. of Norfolk, LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Lynchburg Organic Baking Co., LLC (commercial bread and roll baking)
Titan America LLC, Troutville (cement manufacturing)
Weston Foods Canada Inc., Front Royal (cookie & cracker baking)

Washington:
Ash Grove Cement Company, Seattle (cement manufacturing)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Anacortes (petroleum refining)*
Phillips 66, Ferndale (petroleum refining)

Wisconsin:
Alpha Baking Co., Inc., Manitowoc (commercial bread and roll baking)*
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., La Crosse (commercial bread and roll baking)
Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc., Milwaukee (commercial bread and roll baking)

About the ENERGY STAR Industrial Program
Since 2006, the ENERGY STAR Industrial Program has annually certified manufacturing plants for performing within the top 25% of energy performance in their industries nationwide. More than 230 plants have achieved this distinction since 2006. For more information, see: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/earn-recognition/plant-certification. For a list of all certified plants, see: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/reference/find-energy-star-certified-buildings-and-plants/registry-energy-star-certified-buildings. To learn more about how ENERGY STAR and industry work together, see: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/.

 

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including about 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at: https://www.energystar.gov/about/  and https://www.energystar.gov/about/origins_mission/energy_star_numbers.

 

More about EPA’s work in Louisiana: https://www.epa.gov/la

 

 

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  

 

# # #

EPA Withdraws Plantwide Applicability Limit Permit for Limetree Bay Refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Will Review Clean Air Act Requirements for the Facility

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Withdraws Plantwide Applicability Limit Permit for Limetree Bay Refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Will Review Clean Air Act Requirements for the Facility

 

NEW YORK (March 25, 2021) – Amid concerns raised by and appeals filed by non-governmental organizations, members of the community and the company itself, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn its Clean Air Act “plantwide applicability limit” (PAL) permit for the Limetree Bay Terminals and Limetree Bay Refining facility on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands originally issued by EPA on December 2, 2020. The Limetree Bay facility is located in a community with environmental justice concerns. Ensuring that the needs of overburdened communities are taken into account is a priority for EPA. The withdrawal of the PAL permit does not require the facility to discontinue operations.

EPA is reconsidering the PAL permit in light of information received during the permitting process and President Biden’s executive orders that federal agencies review environmental actions taken during the previous administration. EPA will undertake a thoughtful, timely, technical and legal review of the regulatory requirements applicable to the facility under the Clean Air Act that will engage a broad range of stakeholders. A Clean Air Act PAL permit like the one issued to Limetree Bay gives a regulated entity some flexibility for how it manages air pollution emissions from modifications at a permitted facility.

“Withdrawing this permit will allow EPA to reassess what measures are required at the Limetree facility to safeguard the health of local communities in the Virgin Islands, while providing regulatory certainty to the company,” said EPA acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. “Today’s decision exemplifies good governance and EPA’s commitment to addressing critical environmental justice and economic concerns in the Virgin Islands with a broad range of stakeholders.”

While the PAL permit was issued on December 2, 2020, it never became effective under EPA regulations due to the timely appeals that were filed with EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) by a consortium of environmental and community groups as well as Limetree Bay itself. In their appeals, both sides asked that the permit be sent back to EPA so the Agency could consider their objections to the permit.

By withdrawing the permit today, EPA can consult with the affected parties, reassess the permit, and review the legal requirements applicable to the facility under the Clean Air Act outside of EAB’s process. EPA’s withdrawal renders moot the appeals of the permit to the EAB and withdraws the Agency’s responses to comments filed in support of the December 2020 permit.

The result of the withdrawal is that Limetree Bay, at this time, will not be afforded the operational flexibilities provided by the PAL provisions of EPA’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations under the Clean Air Act. EPA’s withdrawal of the PAL permit does not affect Limetree Bay’s obligation to comply with existing Clean Air Act requirements, including multiple federal pollution control standards under the New Source Performance Standard and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants programs and various PSD permits issued by EPA. Limetree also has ongoing obligations under permits issued by the U.S. Virgin Islands. The facility is also subject to a Clean Air Act consent decree.

The Limetree Bay Terminals and Limetree Bay Refining facility is a complex, integrated petroleum refinery, consisting of refinery process units and various supporting operations including sulfur recovery plants, steam and electric power generation via boilers and gas turbine cogeneration units, wastewater treatment, and a marine terminal.

To read EPA’s withdrawal notice and for more information including a fact sheet, go to: https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/caa-permits-issued-epa-region-2#palpermits.   

 

21-012                                                             ###

How Microorganisms Can Help Us Get to Net Negative Emissions

 From Berkeley Lab News:

A Q&A with Berkeley Lab scientist Eric Sundstrom on a technology to turn electrons to bioproducts

JULIE CHAO | (510) 486-6491 | MARCH 25, 2021

Berkeley Lab scientist Eric Sundstrom at the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU). (Credit: Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab)

Many of the common items we use in our everyday lives – from building materials to plastics to pharmaceuticals – are manufactured from fossil fuels. To reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, society has increasingly tried turning to plants to make the everyday products we need. For example, corn can be turned into corn ethanol and plastics, lignocellulosic sugars can be turned into sustainable aviation fuels, and paints can be made from soy oil.   But what if plants could be removed from the picture, eliminating the need for water, fertilizer, and land? What if microbes could instead be harnessed to make fuels and other products? And what if these microbes could grow on carbon dioxide, thus simultaneously producing valuable goods while also removing a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, all in one reactor? Too good to be true?   Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have made good progress in turning this technology into reality. Led by scientist Eric Sundstrom, a research scientist at the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), and postdoctoral scholar Changman Kim, the project combines biology and electrochemistry to produce complex molecules, all powered by renewable energy. With carbon dioxide as one of the inputs, the system has potential to remove heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere, or in other words, a negative emissions technology (NET).   The scientific community as well as policymakers are reaching consensus that NETs can be an important tool in the fight against climate change by reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Berkeley Lab researchers are pursuing a gamut of negative emissions technologies. (Read about “A Sponge to Soak Up Carbon Dioxide.”) Sundstrom’s project was launched two years ago under the Lab’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program.   Q. How did this project start?   At the ABPDU, we work across a range of products. Virtually anything made by the chemical industry – you can find a way to use microbes to make those building block molecules, and then replace the petrochemical or even the agricultural equivalent of that product. There's a lot of power to make virtually anything with biology. It's just a question of whether it's economical to do it.   A popular area for us right now is food proteins. For example, you might engineer a yeast to produce a milk protein. So, you can make chemically identical milk, but from yeast, so you've cut out the cow. We are helping companies that are making all kinds of products, from food proteins to biofuels to biobased skis, all using microbes. The common thread is that the vast majority of these companies use sugar, a relatively expensive and environmentally intensive material, as the primary feedstock.   So, we had an idea: can we do this same kind of biomanufacturing, but instead of using a plant-based carbon source, can we cut out the farm and directly use carbon dioxide as the carbon source for the microbe’s growth? And can we use electrons from renewable electricity to provide the necessary energy to generate the same suite of products?   Q. That sounds exciting but complicated. How exactly would that work? And what is this technology even called?   People call it different things. Electrons to products. Or electrons to molecules is popular. Or electrofuels.   We combine two steps to convert CO2 and electricity into bioproducts in a single reactor. This includes an electrochemical step – splitting water to produce hydrogen and oxygen – and a biochemical step, which is the microbial conversion of hydrogen, oxygen, and CO2 to biomass and ultimately products.   The tricky part is the microbes. Every microbe eats something in order to live, but very few microbes will eat electrons. So, can we convert electricity into something that microbes will readily eat? And so what we're looking at is actually a very simple way of doing that: when you apply electric current across water at a certain voltage, the H2O splits into hydrogen and oxygen, and then the gases bubble out. And there are groups of bacteria that will consume hydrogen as their energy source, and then they'll use carbon dioxide as their carbon source to grow. That part is relatively well known.   What we're trying to do is combine those two processes. You have the electrodes in the water, bubbling out gas. And then we can add CO2. Now we have the three ingredients we need, hydrogen, oxygen, and CO2, all in the water, and then we can add microbes, all in one tank. By combining the electrochemical process with the microbial process, we can use the electrodes themselves to dissolve the gases into the bioreactor, simplifying the reactor design and saving a lot of energy. That's the exciting part.   As part of the LDRD project, we optimized the electrolysis conditions and the microbial strain for mutual compatibility, and we set the system up to run on a solar panel. We also demonstrated that the microbes can be genetically engineered, so we can now produce complex molecules in a single tank, directly from photons and CO2.   Q. What kind of microorganisms do you use, and what were the challenges in getting this system to work?   The electrolysis creates a lot of unwanted stuff. It's never 100% clean and efficient. You get things like hydrogen peroxide, or the electrodes themselves have metals in them that can come off and poison the biology. And so there are a lot of toxicity challenges that you have to overcome to make everything work together in one vessel.   The compatibility between the electrochemistry and the organism is important. The electrochemistry likes to be run at a really high or low pH and high temperature to get efficient hydrogen production. The previous work has pretty much all been with strains that are easy to work with in the lab, but maybe not the best choice for compatibility with these systems. So we're looking at different microbes that thrive under extreme conditions, and that have natural resistance to certain kinds of toxicity.   What we’re focused on is trying to get as much electricity as possible, as efficiently as possible, into the bugs and get them to grow happily. We've done that. Now we're starting to think about what we might be able to make, because once we have the bugs happy, then we can talk to the strain engineers, and they can start hacking away at the genes and instead of just growing, the microbes can make a product, such as fuel or building materials. We’ve now demonstrated that this kind of strain engineering is possible in our system for an example molecule, a natural pigment.   Q. What kind of products would these microbes make?   One of the reasons we like having the oxygen in there is that the organisms that grow with oxygen can produce a wide variety of things. You can make fat, you can make protein, you can make jet fuel directly. There's a lot of cool biology you can do. And there are a lot of people at Berkeley Lab who specialize in genetically engineering these microbes. Berkeley Lab researchers have engineered things like methyl ketones, which are basically a direct diesel fuel replacement. So, we could literally just have one tank running off a solar panel – right now we have a desk lamp shining on the solar panel – we put CO2 in, and once the microbes are engineered, you would get diesel fuel, just rising to the top of the tank. You can skim that off. It's a very clean, simple kind of a process.   Q. How would this work in a real-world setting?   That's a question that the DOE is just starting to really dig in on – where would you put this? You want a concentrated source of CO2, and you also want a low-cost source of renewable energy, be it solar, wind, or hydro. A lot of the current thinking is around ethanol plants in the Midwest, where there's wind power, and the CO2 from ethanol plants is almost totally pure. And an ethanol plant already has equipment for doing biology and chemical separations.   Q. How do you envision this technology fitting into the climate change fight?   We need to start pulling CO2 out of the atmosphere faster. Instead of carbon capture and storage, these things offer carbon capture and utilization, which provides an economic driver to pull that CO2 out of the atmosphere instead of just, say, pumping it underground.   I think electrons-to-molecules technology in general is going to be an answer to electrifying the last few segments of the economy that are still going to be relying on fossil fuels. It’s hard to electrify a long-haul jet plane, or a rocket, or a ship. But if you can make the fuel with electricity, that's one way to electrify the rest of transportation.   I don't want to make it seem like biology is the only the only way to do this. But I think biology is an important way to do this and that biological conversion can produce products with a specificity that the other approaches really can't match. I think there is potential to move the bioeconomy in general away from any agricultural feedstocks and onto electricity, which would be a really exciting long-term prospect.

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BIOCRUDE PASSES THE 2,000-HOUR CATALYST STABILITY TEST

 

SEWAGE AND FOOD WASTE BIOCRUDE CONVERSION PROCESS REACHES MAJOR MILESTONE

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March 25, 2021 ​RICHLAND, WASH.―A large-scale demonstration converting biocrude to renewable diesel fuel has passed a significant test, operating for more than 2,000 hours continuously without losing effectiveness. Scientists and engineers led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted the research to show that the process is robust enough to handle many kinds of raw material without failing. “The biocrude oil came from many different sources, including wastewater sludge from Detroit, and food waste collected from prison and an army base,” said John Holladay, a PNNL scientist and co-director of the joint Bioproducts Institute, a collaboration between PNNL and Washington State University. “The research showed that essentially any biocrude, regardless of wet-waste sources, could be used in the process and the catalyst remained robust during the entire run. While this is just a first step in demonstrating robustness, it is an important step.” The milestone was first described at a virtual conference organized by NextGenRoadFuels, a European consortium funded by the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. It addresses the need to convert biocrude, a mixture of carbon-based polymers, into biofuels. In the near term, most expect that these biofuels will be further refined and then mixed with petroleum-based fuels used to power vehicles.   “For the industry to consider investing in biofuel, we need these kinds of demonstrations that show durability and flexibility of the process,” said Michael Thorson, a PNNL engineer and project manager. Biocrude to biofuel, the crucial conversion Just as crude oil from petroleum sources must be refined to be used in vehicles, biocrude needs to be refined into biofuel. This step provides the crucial “last mile” in a multi-step process that starts with renewables such as crop residues, food residues, forestry byproducts, algae, or sewage sludge. For the most recent demonstration, the biocrude came from a variety of sources including converted food waste salvaged from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, located near Tacoma, Wash., and Coyote Ridge Corrections Center, located in Connell, Wash. The initial step in the process, called hydrothermal liquefaction, is being actively pursued in a number of demonstration projects by teams of PNNL scientists and engineers. Wet wastes from sewage treatment and discarded food can provide the raw materials for an innovative process called hydrothermal liquefaction, which converts and concentrates carbon-containing molecules into a liquid biocrude. This biocrude then undergoes a hydrotreating process to produce bio-derived fuels for transportation. (Illustration by Michael Perkins | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) The “last mile” demonstration project took place at the Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory on the Richland, Wash. campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities. For 83 days, reactor technician Miki Santosa and supervisor Senthil Subramaniam fed a constant flow of biocrude into carefully honed and highly controlled reactor conditions. The hydrotreating process introduces hydrogen into a catalytic process that removes sulfur and nitrogen contaminants found in biocrude, producing a combustible end-product of long-chain alkanes, the desirable fuel used in vehicle engines. Chemist Marie Swita analyzed the biofuel product to ensure it met standards that would make it vehicle-ready. Analytical chemist Marie Swita tests biofuel samples to measure purity. (Photo by Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Diverting carbon to new uses “Processing food and sewage waste streams to extract useful fuel serves several purposes,” said Thorson. Food waste contains carbon. When sent to a landfill, that food waste gets broken down by bacteria that emit methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change. Diverting that carbon to another use could reduce the use of petroleum-based fuels and have the added benefit of reducing methane emissions. The purpose of this project was to show that the commercially available catalyst could stand up to the thousands of hours of continuous processing that would be necessary to make biofuels a realistic contributor to reducing the world’s carbon footprint. But Thorson pointed out that it also showed that the biofuel product produced was of high quality, regardless of the source of biocrude―an important factor for the industry, which would likely be processing biocrude from a variety of regional sources. Justin Billing, shown here, and his PNNL colleagues are advancing technologies and approaches to convert different kinds of materials, including food waste, into biofuels. (Photo by Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Indeed, knowing that transporting biocrude to a treatment facility could be costly, modelers are looking at areas where rural and urban waste could be gathered from various sources in local hubs. For example, they are assessing the resources available within a 50-mile radius of Detroit, Mich. There, the sources of potential biocrude feedstock could include food waste, sewage sludge and cooking oil waste. In areas where food waste could be collected and diverted from landfills, much as recycling is currently collected, a processing plant could be up to 10 times larger than in rural areas and provide significant progress toward cost and emission-reduction targets for biofuels. Commercial biofuels on the horizon Milestones such as hours of continuous operation are being closely watched by investor groups in the U.S. and Europe, which has set aggressive goals, including being the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and achieving a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. “A number of demonstration projects across Europe aim to commercialize this process in the next few years,” Holladay said. The next steps for the research team include gathering more sources of biocrude from various waste streams and analyzing the biofuel output for quality. In a new collaboration, PNNL will partner with a commercial waste management company to evaluate waste from many sources. Ultimately, the project will result in a database of findings from various manures and sludges, which could help decide how facilities can scale up economically. “Since at least three-quarters of the input and output of this process consists of water, the ultimate success of any industrial scale-up will need to include a plan for dealing with wastewater,” said Thorson. This too is an active area of research, with many viable options available in many locations for wastewater treatment facilities. DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office has been instrumental in supporting this project, as well as the full range of technologies needed to make biofuels feasible.