EPA and Justice Department reach settlement with Northern Cheyenne Utilities Commission to address Clean Water Act violations in Montana

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA and Justice Department reach settlement with Northern Cheyenne Utilities Commission to address Clean Water Act violations in Montana

 

Settlement reflects joint federal and tribal efforts to protect public health, improve water quality and support tribal utility operations on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation

 

Lame Deer, Mont. (Aug. 31, 2021) – The U.S. Department of Justice (Justice Department) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today a settlement with the Northern Cheyenne Utilities Commission (NCUC) resolving alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations at the Lame Deer Wastewater Treatment Facility (facility) in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.

The settlement, set forth in a consent decree lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, requires the NCUC to make significant physical and operational improvements to the facility, some of which have already been implemented, and to improve the financial capacity of the NCUC to ensure sustained public health and environmental compliance. The settlement also includes a civil penalty to address past violations, adjusted downward to $1,500 based on an inability to pay determination, and stipulated penalties to resolve any future violations during the five-year minimum effective period of the consent decree.

“This settlement is the culmination of years of collaboration between the NCUC, Justice Department, EPA, and invaluable stakeholders, including the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the federal Indian Health Service and federally funded technical assistance providers, to resolve the problems underlying these violations,” said Suzanne Bohan, EPA Region 8 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director. “The parties’ shared commitment to developing sustainable, community-specific solutions for improving wastewater infrastructure, utility management, and Clean Water Act compliance will help the NCUC provide reliable wastewater treatment services to the community, protecting public health and water quality on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation for years to come.”

Prior to this action, the facility had been in recurring noncompliance with CWA and NPDES requirements since at least 2008. Violations included effluent exceedances, failure to submit discharge monitoring reports, failure to meet compliance schedule deadlines, failure to properly operate and maintain the facility, unauthorized bypasses of treatment units and unpermitted discharges of partially treated and untreated sewage.

From 2013 through 2016, numerous sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), a situation where untreated wastewater overflows from a sewer collection system, occurred from multiple locations around the facility’s collection system and lagoon. Many, if not all, of the SSOs flowed into Lame Deer Creek, and from March 1, 2017 until March 1, 2018, the facility discharged from the lagoon into Lame Deer Creek without NPDES permit authorization. As a result of this enforcement effort, the facility obtained its current NPDES permit on March 1, 2018.

Since 2017, a technical workgroup comprising representatives from NCUC, DOJ, EPA, Indian Health Service, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and federally funded technical assistance providers have assisted the NCUC in completing major and much-needed wastewater infrastructure improvement projects to the facility’s lagoon and collection system. The technical workgroup has assisted, and will continue to assist, the NCUC in building their operational and managerial capacity. The facility has not had a single lagoon overflow or collection system SSO since this action commenced and the technical workgroup was established.

EPA directly implements the CWA and NPDES program in Indian country in Region 8. EPA has provided, and will continue to provide as appropriate, compliance assistance and information on technical assistance providers to support the NCUC in complying with this consent decree and applicable federal laws.

EPA encourages local community members to visit the websites below for additional information on the agency’s programs to protect human health and the environment from water quality impacts, such as SSOs, especially in historically underserved areas that face disproportionate environmental impacts, including tribal communities.

 

For more information on the Clean Water Act, visit:

https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act

For more information on the EPA’s environmental justice program, visit:

https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

Help EPA protect our nation’s land, air and water by reporting violations: http://www.epa.gov/tips

After Successfully Obtaining a Preliminary Injunction, Justice Department and EPA Reach Clean Air Act Settlement with Gear Box Z for Selling Defeat Devices

 U.S. EPA News Release:

After Successfully Obtaining a Preliminary Injunction, Justice Department and EPA Reach Clean Air Act Settlement with Gear Box Z for Selling Defeat Devices

August 30, 2021

Contact: Joshua Alexander, 415-972-3258, alexander.joshua@epa.gov

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Arizona-based Gear Box Z (GBZ) has agreed to stop manufacturing and selling aftermarket automotive products widely known as “defeat devices,” that, when installed, bypass, defeat, or render inoperative EPA-certified emission controls on motor vehicles thereby increasing emissions and harming air quality.

In January 2020, the United States sued GBZ, which manufactured and sold thousands of defeat devices, alleging that these devices violated the Clean Air Act (CAA). In March 2021, the court found that the United States would likely prevail on the merits of its case, that GBZ’s products are defeat devices, and issued a preliminary injunction ordering GBZ to immediately halt the illegal sale of the devices. In its decision, the court found that the continued selling of these defeat devices would cause irreparable harm by increasing motor vehicle emissions that impair human health and the environment.  

“This lawsuit and settlement show that the United States will not permit the manufacture and sale of illegal devices that disable emission controls and thereby harm public health and that we will vigorously enforce the CAA prohibition of such devices,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).

“Defeat devices in automobiles and trucks can significantly increase emissions of hazardous air pollutants,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Businesses manufacturing and selling illegal aftermarket defeat devices should take note that this is a priority enforcement focus for EPA and we will continue to actively investigate these violations of the Clean Air Act.”

“Today’s settlement will prevent the future sale of thousands of aftermarket defeat devices per year,” said Deborah Jordan, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “As acknowledged by the court when granting the United States’ motion for a preliminary injunction, increased nitrogen oxides and particulate matter pollution stemming from defeat devices cause ‘irreparable harm’ and threaten the health of everyone, especially those with pre-existing health conditions, children, and the elderly. Although Gear Box Z’s business was small, the illegal usage of its defeat devices caused substantial excess emissions.”

The settlement prohibits GBZ from manufacturing and selling any defeat devices; it also bars GBZ and its owners from selling or transferring any intellectual property associated with these products, providing technical support for these products, and investing in or obtaining revenue from other companies’ manufacture and sales of defeat devices. Under the settlement, GBZ and its owners will pay a civil penalty of $10,000, which was based on their financial situation.

Tampering with diesel-powered vehicles by installing defeat devices can cause large amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter emissions, both of which contribute to serious public health problems. EPA expects that GBZ’s defeat devices will cause excess NOx and particulate matter emissions over the anticipated remaining life of the diesel pickup trucks equipped with them. By stopping the manufacture and sale of these products, this settlement will prevent harmful emissions from diesel trucks that, if outfitted with GBZ’s products, would pollute far more than the regulations allow. Such emissions can cause premature death, aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, aggravation of existing asthma, acute respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, and decreased lung function.

Numerous studies also link diesel exhaust to increased incidence of lung cancer. Respiratory issues disproportionately affect families, especially children, living in underserved communities overburdened by pollution. Stopping the sale and use of defeat devices will help prevent harmful air pollution that exacerbates the health effects of pollutant exposures.

Stopping the manufacture, sale, and installation of defeat devices on vehicles and engines used on public roads as well as on nonroad vehicles and engines is a priority for EPA. To learn more, visit: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-compliance-initiative-stopping-aftermarket-defeat-devices-vehicles-and-engines.

The consent decree for this settlement was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the decree, and information on submitting comments will be available on the Department of Justice website at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.  

For more information on this settlement: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/gear-box-z-inc-clean-air-act-settlement

If you suspect someone is manufacturing, selling, or installing illegal defeat devices, or is tampering with emission controls, tell the EPA by writing to tampering@epa.gov.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

EPA Announces $283,000 for Maryland to improve drinking water for underserved, disadvantaged communities

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Announces $283,000 for Maryland to improve
drinking water for underserved, disadvantaged communities

WASHINGTON (August 26, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today the availability of $283,000 for Maryland to improve drinking water for residents in small towns and underserved communities.

This funding is part of $25 million in Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act grants that are available nationwide. EPA is committed to ensuring that all Americans, especially those living in small towns and underserved communities, have safe water to drink and clean water to support recreation and economic development.

“Safe drinking water is fundamental to building thriving communities and we are excited by the drinking water improvements that these funds will support across the country,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We are also excited by future program improvements envisioned by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, including increased funding and removing barriers to better support low-income communities.”

For the current funding cycle, states, Tribes, and territories are eligible to receive funding under EPA’s Small Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities (SUDC) Grant Program. Through the program, EPA will award grants to support compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and provide access to drinking water services. Funding can also be used for conducting household water quality testing, including testing for unregulated contaminants. State and territorial grant allotments for the grant program are available on EPA’s website. States can submit applications for funding at www.grants.gov until June 30, 2022.

EPA intends to release another memo in the fall to provide allotments to support activities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.

Today’s announcement also illustrates the benefits of investing in water—protecting public health and the environment, addressing key challenges facing communities, and creating jobs.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal would build on successful programs like the WIIN Act’s Small Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program to bring more benefits to communities across the country.

For more information, visit:  https://www.epa.gov/safewater/grants.

Background

The 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) addresses, supports, and improves America’s drinking water infrastructure.  Included in the WIIN Act are three new drinking water grants that promote public health and the protection of the environment. Section 2104 of the WIIN Act establishes the “Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities” grant to “establish a program under which grants are provided to eligible entities for use in carrying out projects and activities the primary purposes of which are to assist public water systems in meeting the requirements of this title.”

 

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EPA Announces $164,000 for Delaware to improve drinking water for underserved, disadvantaged communities

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Announces $164,000 for Delaware to improve
drinking water for underserved, disadvantaged communities

WASHINGTON (August 26, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today the availability of $164,000 for Delaware to improve drinking water for residents in small towns and underserved communities.

This funding is part of $25 million in Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act grants that are available nationwide. EPA is committed to ensuring that all Americans, especially those living in small towns and underserved communities, have safe water to drink and clean water to support recreation and economic development.

“Safe drinking water is fundamental to building thriving communities and we are excited by the drinking water improvements that these funds will support across the country,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We are also excited by future program improvements envisioned by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, including increased funding and removing barriers to better support low-income communities.”

For the current funding cycle, states, Tribes, and territories are eligible to receive funding under EPA’s Small Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities (SUDC) Grant Program. Through the program, EPA will award grants to support compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and provide access to drinking water services. Funding can also be used for conducting household water quality testing, including testing for unregulated contaminants. State and territorial grant allotments for the grant program are available on EPA’s website. States can submit applications for funding at www.grants.gov until June 30, 2022.

EPA intends to release another memo in the fall to provide allotments to support activities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.

Today’s announcement also illustrates the benefits of investing in water—protecting public health and the environment, addressing key challenges facing communities, and creating jobs.  The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal would build on successful programs like the WIIN Act’s Small Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program to bring more benefits to communities across the country.

For more information, visit:  https://www.epa.gov/safewater/grants.

Background

The 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) addresses, supports, and improves America’s drinking water infrastructure.  Included in the WIIN Act are three new drinking water grants that promote public health and the protection of the environment. Section 2104 of the WIIN Act establishes the “Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities” grant to “establish a program under which grants are provided to eligible entities for use in carrying out projects and activities the primary purposes of which are to assist public water systems in meeting the requirements of this title.”

 

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EPA Levies Penalty Against SoCal Company for Illegal Antimicrobial Products

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Levies Penalty Against SoCal Company for Illegal Antimicrobial Products

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined Seychelle Environmental Technologies, Inc. of Aliso Viejo $150,000 for selling unregistered antimicrobial products and manufacturing the product in an unregistered establishment. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring antimicrobial products are properly produced, labeled, and distributed protects workers, the public, and the environment. The company has since corrected these violations of the federal pesticide law known as the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

“Purported antimicrobials that are unregistered and produced in unregistered facilities may not actually be effective in countering threats to health, and thus may pose a significant risk to consumers,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Amy Miller. “Antimicrobial product manufacturers that do not comply with federal law will face significant penalties.”

In 2017 and 2018, Seychelle sold a collection of related water filtration products known as the “Seychelle Standard Filter” and the “Seychelle Advanced Filter.” Products that claim to kill or repel bacteria or germs are considered pesticides, and thus under federal law must be registered with the EPA prior to distribution or sale. Although these Seychelle Filter products bore numerous antimicrobial claims, they were not registered with the EPA. Before EPA can register a pesticide, the agency must determine that no unreasonable adverse effects on human health and the environment will occur when the product is used according to its label. Additionally, the law requires that each pesticide manufacturer register its facility with EPA and annually report its pesticide production. In this matter, the Seychelle Filter products were produced in an establishment that was not registered with the EPA.

 

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

 

For more information on the FIFRA law and its enforcement, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-federal-insecticide-fungicide-and-rodenticide-act.

 

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

Tohono O’odham Nation Awarded $200,000 for Environmental Justice Projects under the American Rescue Plan

 U.S. EPA News Release:

Tohono O’odham Nation Awarded $200,000 for Environmental Justice Projects under the American Rescue Plan

SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $200,000 grant to the Tohono O’odham Nation to address air quality issues on their lands in southern Arizona. The funds come from the American Rescue Plan and are being awarded as a grant under EPA’s State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement (SEJCA) program. Awards made through this program are the first competitive grants from the EPA focusing directly on the unequal impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on communities of color, low-income communities, and other vulnerable populations. 

“The EPA continues to prioritize delivering support to our most vulnerable communities in a way that respects dignity, sovereignty, and community identity,” said Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Jordan. “Tohono O’odham Nation’s unique project will integrate culture and environmental protection – a winning combination to achieve community health protection for the O’odham people.”

The Tohono O'odham Nation will use this American Rescue Plan funding to develop an air quality plan for the Nation. Due to existing elevated asthma and other respiratory issues within the Nation’s population, a major component of the plan will reduce dust impacts by prioritizing upgrades on 15 miles of tribally controlled dirt roads. In addition, funds will be used to develop educational resources and conduct outreach for planting native vegetation along roadsides to mitigate air pollution.

Funds will also be used to host informational and educational meetings in the Nation's 11 districts and their communities. Each district will develop local, culturally-relevant education plans to address air quality issues. Elders will lead sessions that combine related air quality topics with traditional ecological knowledge while Tohono O'odham youth will be recruited to monitor, assess and work within their communities and families to further develop local aspects of the air quality plan.

Nationwide, projects supported by this funding include training, development of citizen-science tools, pollution monitoring, and educational campaigns to enable environmental justice advocates, scientists, and decision-makers to address pollution and create thriving communities. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law on March 11, 2021. It provides funds to address health outcome disparities from pollution and the COVID–19 pandemic. To learn more about the American Rescue Plan, visit: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319/text 

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.  

EPA Awards UC Berkeley, the Oakland Public Health Institute, and Stanford nearly $3 Million for Research to Reduce Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Awards UC Berkeley, the Oakland Public Health Institute, and Stanford nearly $3 Million for Research to Reduce Wildland Fire Smoke Exposure

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced over $7 million in funding to ten research projects nationwide that will address interventions and communication strategies to reduce exposure and the associated health risks from wildland fire smoke. In the Bay Area, $2,982,993 was awarded between three research institutions: the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University and the Oakland Public Health Institute.

“As wildfires become more frequent and severe, we are working to effectively communicate the risks of smoke exposure to impacted communities,” said Wayne Cascio, acting principal deputy assistant administrator for science in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “We are seeing an increase in prescribed fires to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires; however, these are also a source of smoke exposure. The research we are funding will help develop strategies to prevent and reduce the health impacts of smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires.”

Wildland fire (wildfire and prescribed fires) smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn. The biggest health threat from smoke is from fine particles. Outside or indoors, exposure to these microscopic particles can cause burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis. Additionally, fine particles can aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases, and they are linked to premature deaths in people with these conditions. Smoke also contains air toxics that can cause cancer or other serious health effects.

The institutions receiving these grants will conduct research to understand what actions might be effective for reducing ambient and indoor exposures to wildland fire smoke, and how best to communicate these actions to various groups. This research will integrate multiple disciplines including social and behavioral sciences, air quality science, and engineering.

The following Bay Area institutions are receiving research grants:

• Public Health Institute, Oakland, Calif., ($994,407) is conducting research to reduce wildfire smoke exposures and health risks among agricultural workers and other low-income families by designing and field testing an affordable and effective filtration system for rooftop evaporative coolers, which are often used to cool homes without air conditioning.
• Stanford University, Santa Clara County, Calif., ($999,846) is using a smartphone app built from EPA’s Smoke Sense platform to identify affordable and actionable intervention steps to reduce health impacts from smoke exposure for low-income, non-English speaking individuals and communities in northern California.
• University of California, Berkeley, Calif., ($988,740) is conducting research to create a more precise model of wildfire smoke risk data for California, and to develop risk communication and dissemination strategies for hard-to-reach populations that can be used by communities and healthcare providers to protect people from the health impacts of wildfire smoke exposure.

Background on EPA’s STAR Program

These grants fall under EPA’s STAR program, which aims to stimulate and support scientific and engineering research that advances EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. It is a competitive, peer reviewed, extramural research program that provides access to the nation’s best scientists and engineers in academic and other nonprofit research institutions. STAR funds research on the environmental and public health effects of air quality, climate change, environmental justice, water quality and quantity, hazardous waste, toxic substances, and pesticides.

For more information about these grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/interventions-and-communication-strategies-reduce-health-risks-wildland-fire-0.

For more information about EPA research grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

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EPA Orders Companies to Comply with Clean Water Act at Construction Project in Rincón, Puerto Rico

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Orders Companies to Comply with Clean Water Act at Construction Project in Rincón, Puerto Rico

NEW YORK (August 25, 2021) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has taken an enforcement action against two companies, Aurora’s Dream LLC and Bellagio LLC, for stormwater discharge violations of regulations and a permit that serve to reduce pollution from construction runoff.

"It is imperative that developers get stormwater permit coverage for construction projects and implement erosion and sediment controls to protect communities' clean water and associated ecosystems," said EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. “Building without the proper permits and appropriate erosion controls is a violation of the Federal Clean Water Act. EPA is committed to working with developers and contractors so that they can be good stewards for the benefit of the local communities they serve and for Puerto Rico’s coastal waters."

In the administrative compliance order, EPA determined that Aurora’s Dream LLC violated the Clean Water Act for failing to apply for a National Pollutant Elimination Discharge System (NPDES) Permit for discharges of stormwater from construction activities. EPA also found that Bellagio LLC violated requirements of the NPDES Construction General Permit. The companies also altered existing vegetation and excavated site soil without the required implementation of erosion-control best management practices.

The EPA order requires Bellagio LLC to apply for an NPDES permit and both companies to take corrective actions to address stormwater runoff at Finca de Sueño Aurora residential development. The actions include staff training, implementation of erosion and sediment controls, and joint submittals of progress reports every two (2) weeks describing the status and progress of actions taken to comply with the provisions laid out in the order.

Polluted stormwater runoff presents a serious threat to Caribbean coastal waters, including the Rincón Tres Palmas Marine Reserve. EPA works with construction site owners and operators to make sure they have the proper stormwater controls in place so that construction can continue in a way that protects the surrounding environment. Under the CWA, construction activities that disturb one or more acres of land in proximity to protected water bodies must obtain stormwater construction permits and follow the requirements outlined in those permits to reduce pollution runoff. Failure to obtain an NPDES permit or to follow the requirements of an NPDES permit may result in violations of the CWA that can be subject to fines.

More information about EPA’s NPDES permits is available at: https://www.epa.gov/npdes.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2

 

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Sierra County mine agrees with U.S. EPA to install wastewater treatment, protecting local waterways

 U.S. EPA News Release:

Sierra County mine agrees with U.S. EPA to install wastewater treatment, protecting local waterways
 

SAN FRANCISCO —Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Sixteen to One Mine, one of California’s oldest operational gold mines, has agreed to an Administrative Order on Consent requiring the mine to install a new treatment system that will remove pollutants from mine drainage before entering local waters. The mine was found to be in violation of its permit under the U.S. Clean Water Act after consistently discharging mine-influenced water that exceeded limits on pollutants. The Sixteen to One Mine, located in the Tahoe National Forest, discharges into Kanaka Creek, a tributary of the Yuba, Feather, and Sacramento Rivers.

“Under the Clean Water Act, industrial wastewater must be treated before it can be discharged,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Amy Miller. “These upgrades will be critical to protecting public health and water quality in Sierra County.”

The agreement announced today addresses elevated pollutant levels by requiring the mine to install a system to treat total suspended solids, antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and pH to levels at or below permit limits. The Sixteen to One Mine has agreed to submit sampling and treatment plans, install an approved water treatment technology, repair stormwater management features in disrepair, update its stormwater management plan, and apply for coverage under the California Statewide Industrial General Permit.

The Sixteen to One Mine has 220 days to complete this work. The facility will report sampling results to EPA for three years to demonstrate the treatment system’s effectiveness, ensure compliance with the permit, and protect the water quality of Kanaka Creek.
 

Sixteen to One Mine Portal
 

Sixteen to One Mine outfall
 

This settlement seeks to improve surface water quality by ensuring dischargers comply with permit requirements. For more information on an EPA initiative to increase such compliance, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-compliance-initiative-reducing-significant-non-compliance-national-pollutant.

For more information on NPDES Permits in US EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/npdes-permits/npdes-permits-epas-pacific-southwest-region-region-9.

Learn more about US EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

EPA Proposes Interim Plan to Address Groundwater Contamination at the Welsbach/General Gas Mantle Superfund Site in Gloucester City and Camden, N.J.

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Proposes Interim Plan to Address Groundwater Contamination at the Welsbach/General Gas Mantle Superfund Site in Gloucester City and Camden, N.J.

NEW YORK (August 24, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed an interim plan to address groundwater contaminated with radium at the Welsbach/General Gas Mantle Superfund site located in Camden and Gloucester City, New Jersey. EPA is taking public comment on its plan and will host a virtual public meeting on September 8.

“This proposed plan continues EPA’s work to protect residents of Gloucester City and Camden from contamination associated with this site. Having already taken many actions to address the source of contamination, in this case we are focusing on contaminated groundwater,” said Acting Regional Administrator Walter Mugdan. “This is an interim plan that we propose to implement as we continue to assess the groundwater to see if we need to do more to address it in the long term. We feel this interim plan is the best approach and we look forward to continue to work closely with the impacted communities.”

EPA is proposing an interim cleanup plan, called a remedy, which will allow natural processes to break down radioactive elements in the groundwater into less harmful substances, coupled with putting into place institutional controls, such as restrictions on the use of the impacted groundwater, and conducting long-term monitoring of the groundwater to ensure that the breakdown of radioactive elements is happening as anticipated. EPA reached its decision based on information including results of the sampling of the groundwater between 2018 and 2020.

This Welsbach/General Gas Mantle Superfund site is divided into four phases of work called operable units, which are discrete pieces of the wider cleanup effort. This proposed plan addresses the fourth operable unit (OU4), which is groundwater. Under a cleanup plan for operable unit 1 (OU1) EPA is currently addressing radiologically impacted soil in the study area in Gloucester City, New Jersey. The interim remedy proposed today would be implemented during the OU1 cleanup of the radiologically contaminated soil. Once that soil, which is a source of groundwater contamination, is fully addressed the interim groundwater remedy will be reevaluated and EPA will establish a permanent groundwater cleanup plan.

EPA completed the cleanup work for OU2 in 2017, which included decontaminating building surfaces at the Armstrong Building (the last remaining building from Welsbach's gas mantle operations) and disposing of the radiologically contaminated soil/waste to an approved off-site location. After careful study, EPA determined that no cleanup action was needed for OU3, which includes wetlands, surface water, and sediment as they posed no radiological threat to people or the environment.

EPA will continue to monitor the groundwater and will conduct a review of the site conditions at least every five years to ensure the effectiveness of the interim remedy. Work under today’s proposed plan is estimated to cost $460,000.

The EPA will hold a virtual public meeting to discuss its proposed interim plan on September 8, 2021, at 6:00 pm. To register for the public meeting, please visit https://welsbach-ggm.eventbrite.com.

Written comments on the proposed plan, postmarked no later than close of business September 24, 2021, can be mailed or emailed to Thomas Dobinson, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway – 19^th Floor, New York, NY 10007, Email: dobinson.thomas@epa.gov

For site background and to view the proposed interim plan, visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/welsbach-ggm

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2

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University of Colorado Boulder researchers awarded $1.1 million for projects to reduce exposure to wildland fire smoke at school and at home

 U.S. EPA News Release:

University of Colorado Boulder researchers awarded $1.1 million for projects to reduce exposure to wildland fire smoke at school and at home

University among nine grant recipients receiving $7 million to address health impacts associated with smoke

DENVER (August 23, 2021) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is providing researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder with $1.1 million for two projects to help school districts and communities reduce exposure to harmful pollution from wildland fire smoke. The University is among nine institutions across the nation receiving a total of $7 million under EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program for research to address health risks from wildland fire smoke.

The University of Colorado Boulder will receive grant funding of $1.1M for two projects focused on reducing exposure to particulate matter associated with smoke.  As part of the first project, a University research team will use an EPA grant award of $549,919 to deploy low-cost particulate matter sensors to compare indoor smoke levels in Denver-area schools and homes. The results of this effort will be used to develop health guidance for school districts and inform decisions about school closures to protect student health.  The second project will use an EPA grant award of $549,000 to assess the transport and presence of wildfire particulate matter in single-family housing in the Western U.S. and evaluate and develop practical ways to help people reduce indoor exposure.

“As wildfires become more frequent and severe, we are working to effectively communicate the risks of smoke exposure to impacted communities,” said Wayne Cascio, acting principal deputy assistant administrator for science in EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “We are seeing an increase in prescribed fires to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires; however, these are also a source of smoke exposure. The research we are funding will help develop strategies to prevent and reduce the health impacts of smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires.”

Wildland fire (wildfire and prescribed fires) smoke is made up of a complex mixture of gases and fine particles produced when wood and other organic materials burn. The biggest health threat from smoke is from fine particles. Outside or indoors, exposure to these microscopic particles can cause burning eyes, runny nose, and illnesses such as bronchitis. Additionally, fine particles can aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases, and they are linked to premature deaths in people with these conditions. Smoke also contains air toxics that can cause cancer or other serious health effects.

The institutions receiving these grants will conduct research to understand what actions might be effective for reducing ambient and indoor exposures to wildland fire smoke, and how best to communicate these actions to various groups. This research will integrate multiple disciplines including social and behavioral sciences, air quality science, and engineering.

Additional institutions receiving EPA research grants today include:

• Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nev., is conducting research to increase wildfire smoke risk mitigation in rural communities through the development, implementation, and evaluation of stakeholder-driven monitoring and messaging in northern Nevada.
• Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, is employing and assessing the effectiveness of air quality forecasting, on-site low-cost monitoring and air cleaning, and coordinated communication approaches at reducing exposures of schoolchildren in southern Georgia and Alabama to elevated levels of fine particulate matter and other air pollutants from prescribed fires.
• Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, is conducting research on health risk communication related to prescribed burn events to inform the development and dissemination of a Risk Communication ToolKit that can be used to plan for and conduct health risk communication in communities surrounding prescribed burn events.
• Portland State University, Portland, Ore., is conducting field and laboratory measurements to better quantify transport of particulate matter from outdoor to indoor, holistically evaluate the effectiveness of recommended strategies to reduce indoor exposures to smoke and characterize air toxics called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on indoor surfaces.
• Public Health Institute, Oakland, Calif., is conducting research to reduce wildfire smoke exposures and health risks among agricultural workers and other low-income families by designing and field testing an affordable and effective filtration system for rooftop evaporative coolers, which are often used to cool homes without air conditioning.
• Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., is using a smartphone app built from EPA’s Smoke Sense platform to identify affordable and actionable intervention steps to reduce health impacts from smoke exposure for low-income, non-English speaking individuals and communities in northern California.
• University of California, Berkeley, Calif., is conducting research to create a more precise model of wildfire smoke risk data for California, and to develop risk communication and dissemination strategies for hard-to-reach populations that can be used by communities and healthcare providers to protect people from the health impacts of wildfire smoke exposure.
• University of Washington, Seattle, Wash., is working with ten schools in Washington to evaluate the effectiveness of classroom-based portable air cleaners to reduce respiratory health effects associated with wildfire particulate matter exposure and adapt an existing, hands-on air quality curriculum aimed at increasing environmental health literacy on the topic of ambient smoke, air quality and health.

 

Background on EPA’s STAR Program

The goal of EPA’s STAR program is to stimulate and support scientific and engineering research that advances EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. It is a competitive, peer reviewed, extramural research program that provides access to the nation’s best scientists and engineers in academic and other nonprofit research institutions. STAR funds research on the environmental and public health effects of air quality, climate change, environmental justice, water quality and quantity, hazardous waste, toxic substances, and pesticides.

For more information about these grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants/interventions-and-communication-strategies-reduce-health-risks-wildland-fire-0

For more information about EPA research grants, visit: https://www.epa.gov/research-grants

Administrator Regan Joins San Diego Officials to Announce $120 million WIFIA Loan, Highlight Benefits of Water Infrastructure Investment

 U.S. EPA News Release:

Administrator Regan Joins San Diego Officials to Announce $120 million WIFIA Loan, Highlight Benefits of Water Infrastructure Investment

 

SAN DIEGO (August 20, 2021) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan joined San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Congressman Scott Peters, California State Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, State Water Resources Control Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel, and other officials to break ground on the Pure Water San Diego project and announce a new $120 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to support the project. The Pure Water San Diego project will create a local, more drought-resilient water source while improving ocean water quality.

 “Climate stress is often experienced as water stress, something California knows all too well,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “That’s why we’re prioritizing investments in innovative projects like Pure Water San Diego, which will improve the city’s resilience to climate change impacts, protect water quality, and support economic vitality by creating jobs.”

“Sweeping drought conditions worsened by climate change have made meeting our water needs an enduring challenge,” said Congressman Scott Peters. “San Diego is on the leading edge of water recycling with our Pure Water program. It will deploy cost-effective technology that will enhance our region’s water sources—technology that could one day be used by other communities to address water shortages.”

 EPA has partnered with the city by helping to finance the project through Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans, including a $614 million loan in 2018 and a $120 million loan this year. The project will create a reliable, sustainable, and drought-proof water supply for San Diego and reduce reliance on imported water by constructing a new water recycling facility to produce 30 million gallons per day of purified water. This purified recycled water will blend with imported and locally sourced water and will be treated again at the Miramar Water Treatment Plant before being distributed to the public.

 The project is the first phase in a multi-year Pure Water Program that will use proven technology to clean recycled water into safe, high quality, drinking water and provide one-third of the city’s water supply by 2035 while diverting wastewater flows away from the Point Loma ocean discharge plant. The project will include new pump stations and conveyance systems, expansion of the existing North City Water Reclamation Plant, and improvements to the existing Miramar Reservoir Pump Station.

 "We are grateful for the WIFIA loans which will greatly assist the City of San Diego in completing the Pure Water Program to become less reliant on imported water,” said Matthew Vespi, Chief Financial Officer for the City of San Diego. “By 2035, our residents will receive nearly half of our water from Pure Water, allowing San Diego to lead the way as a sustainable and resilient city."

 "The EPA’s support of our Pure Water Program acknowledges the significance of this infrastructure investment to help meet our long-term water needs,” said Shauna Lorance, Director of Public Utilities for the City of San Diego. “It is a sound investment in a proven technology to produce safe, high-quality drinking water."

 The project will cost $1.5 billion and the recent WIFIA loan, combined with the previous loan closed in 2018, will finance nearly half of that figure. EPA estimates this loan will save the City an additional $27 million dollars, bringing the total project savings to $500 million from financing with WIFIA loans compared to conventional financing instruments. EPA expects project construction and operation to create an estimated 4,800 jobs.

 EPA has announced 56 WIFIA loans that are providing $10.6 billion in credit assistance to help finance $23 billion for water infrastructure while creating approximately 62,000 jobs and saving ratepayers $4 billion.

 Background on WIFIA

Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. WIFIA’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.

 On August 16, 2021, EPA announced that the Agency had received 50 letters of interest in response to the agency’s 2021 Notices of Funding Availability. Requests totaling $8.2 billion exceed the agency’s $6.5 billion in available financing and highlight widespread needs for water infrastructure upgrades to benefit communities across the country. Later this year, the agency will identify projects it intends to finance and invite those selected entities to submit formal applications. For more information about the FY 2021 selection process, visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia/wifia-funding-currently-available.

 For more information about the WIFIA program’s accomplishments through 2020, visit: https://www.epa.gov/wifia/wifia-annual-report.

 For more information about the WIFIA program, visit https://www.epa.gov/wifia.