Big Bend National Park

From the U.S. Department of the Interior:

This magical place is Big Bend National Park in Far West Texas. With an elevation ranging from less than 1,800 feet along the Rio Grande to nearly 8,000 feet in the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend includes massive canyons, vast desert expanses, forested mountains and an ever-changing river. Here you can explore one of the last remaining wild corners of the United States. Photo by Erik A. Walker. — at Big Bend National Park.

U.S. Navy Settles Hazardous Waste Violations at Facility in Virginia Beach, Va.

Press release:

U.S. Navy Settles Hazardous Waste Violations at Facility in

Virginia Beach, Va.

PHILADELPHIA (August 23, 2012) -- The U.S. Navy has agreed to pay a $32,800 civil penalty to settle alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations and underground storage tank (UST) regulations at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story facility in Virginia Beach, Va. , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

EPA cited the U.S. Navy for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal law governing the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA is designed to protect public health and the environment, and avoid costly cleanups, by requiring the safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous waste. In addition, RCRA regulates underground storage tanks with the emphasis on preventing releases from USTs which can cause serious contamination to our nation's groundwater.

The U.S. Navy facility, which provides housing and training for the nation’s expeditionary forces, allegedly violated RCRA by failing to determine if the waste was hazardous; storing hazardous waste at the facility, failing to label containers with date and contents; failing to have functioning spill and over fill equipment for two USTs; and failing to notify the state when a new oil-containing UST was installed.

The settlement penalty reflects the Navy's compliance efforts, and its cooperation with EPA in the investigation and resolution of this matter. The facility has made significant improvements to come into compliance including the removal of an underground storage tank, providing personnel training and implementing better management practices. As part of the settlement, the U.S. Navy has neither admitted nor denied liability for the alleged violations, but has certified its compliance with applicable RCRA requirements.

EPA to Assist Camden, New Jersey Community Group to Reduce Water Pollution

Press release:

EPA to Assist Camden, New Jersey Community Group to

Reduce Water Pollution

Contact: John Martin (212) 637- 3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y. – July 19, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the Cooper’s Ferry Partnership in Camden, New Jersey has been selected to receive $70,000 worth of technical assistance to advance projects aimed at reducing water pollution in Camden. The EPA will provide the assistance to help estimate the benefits of the Camden SMART (Stormwater Management And Resource Training) Initiative. The SMART Initiative is a joint project by the city of Camden, the Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority and other community partners to develop a network of green infrastructure programs and projects throughout the city. Green infrastructure captures and filters pollutants by passing stormwater through soils and retaining it on site. Camden is one of just 17 communities receiving such assistance from the EPA this year.

“Camden’s SMART Initiative is a smart way to fight water pollution and make the local economy stronger,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “By working together, we can make our urban communities cleaner and more livable. I commend the Cooper’s Ferry Partnership and this initiative’s other partners for leading the way to a sustainable and revitalized Camden.”

Controlling stormwater is one of the most widespread challenges faced by communities across the country. Large volumes of polluted stormwater degrade our nation’s rivers, lakes, and aquatic habitats and contribute to downstream flooding. Communities are increasingly using green infrastructure to supplement or substitute for single-purpose “gray” infrastructure investments such as pipes, filters, and ponds. Effective green infrastructure tools and techniques include green roofs, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, rain gardens, and rain harvesting systems.

The SMART Initiative is an effort to restore and revitalize Camden through efficient stormwater management. In less than one year, Camden has planted eleven rain gardens and has developed plans for 20-40 more. Camden SMART has organized and hosted a series of stormwater management education and information sessions with residents and produced literature on sound stormwater management practices. Additionally, the initiative has supported the removal of impervious surfaces such as blacktop to plant hundreds of street trees throughout Camden.

Under the partnership announced today, the EPA will help complete an assessment of the water quality, air quality, and brownfield remediation benefits, and the flooding mitigation potential of the SMART Initiative. The EPA will additionally help Camden SMART conduct an assessment of the barriers posed by local codes and permitting processes for various green infrastructure projects. The EPA will also help Camden identify appropriate green infrastructure practices for brownfield sites and other sites that pose potential challenges for the implementation of green infrastructure.

For more information on green infrastructure, visit: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure.

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

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Anacostia River Revitalization Fund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 9, 2012

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson Announces Creation of Anacostia River Revitalization Fund
 

EPA Administrator was joined by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to announce $1 million fund

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and David O’Neill of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) joined Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton of the District of Columbia this morning at Marvin Gaye Park to announce the creation of The Anacostia River Revitalization Fund.  The fund, which will invest $1 million in restoration activities this year, with a total goal of investing  $5 million over the next three years, will be used protect and restore the Anacostia River and to create a national model for watershed conservation. NFWF, in partnership with EPA and the DC Department of the Environment and with funding from corporate sponsors, created the fund, which will award grants to local partnering organizations.

"Clean waters and outdoor recreation can boost urban communities' human, environmental and economic health," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Through the Anacostia River Revitalization Fund, we're able to partner with state and local government agencies, private foundations and corporate sponsors to make the most of our resources and ensure our restoration efforts are as effective as possible."

“We are proud to be a partnering with EPA, the DC government, and our corporate sponsors to help restore this important river – for fish and wildlife, for clean water, for the residents of DC and for its neighborhoods where people live, work and play,” said David O’Neill of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “It is our goal to build this Fund so that it attracts new investments that will accelerate the restoration of the Anacostia and result in meaningful and measurable improvements to the river and to the communities that rest along its banks.”

"I'm excited and pleased that the Environmental Protection Agency is joining the District of Columbia and regional partners in our ongoing efforts to revitalize the Anacostia River," D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said. "This important natural resource was neglected for too many years -- but it is central to our city's geography and increasingly to its identity as a beautiful, sustainable, livable city with miles of waterfront ripe for public use and private development."

“This important funding comes at a critical time, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the District and Maryland in the early stages of implementation of the 10-year Anacostia River cleanup plan mandated by my bill, the Anacostia Watershed Initiative Act”, said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. These funds will move the District forward with the message that the city is serious about cleaning up the Anacostia River.”  
Specific grant selection criteria will be mutually agreed upon by NFWF, EPA, DDOE and other funding partners.  Priority will be given to projects focused on key tenants of the fund – improving water quality in the Anacostia River and its tributaries; achieving habitat restoration priorities for the Anacostia; engaging, employing and educating local residents and businesses; connecting the public to the Anacostia and its tributaries through enhanced outdoor recreation and volunteer opportunities; leveraging public and private funding to make the greatest conservation impact; and emphasizing the neighborhood benefits of watershed restoration to local economic development, public health, livability and as a neighborhood asset.

The establishment of the Anacostia River Restoration Fund is another step in advancing President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative. Through AGO, the administration is opening up access to millions of acres for recreation, designating thousands of miles of new land and water trails, increasing youth employment in conservation jobs, helping parks and green space become more accessible and clean in urban areas, and making historic investments in large landscapes such as the Everglades.

The Anacostia River is one of seven pilot locations as part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, an innovative union of 11 federal agencies, led by EPA, that focus on both natural resources and economic development and aims to use environmental restoration to protect people’s health and maximize economic growth.

Today’s announcement in Anacostia is one of several conservation announcements made nationwide over the past two weeks as part of the White House Conference on Conservation—Growing America’s Outdoor Heritage and Economy.  Last Friday’s conference convened hundreds of boaters, hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, land conservationists, historic preservationists, outdoor recreationists, small business owners, local governments, tribal leaders and other key stakeholders, strengthening partnerships and identifying next steps in tackling issues surrounding conservation and the great outdoors in urban cities and rural communities. During the conference, Washington, DC Mayor Vincent Gray participated in a panel discussion led by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, highlighting the importance of rivers and clean water to our cities.

News Release from EPA - Sumter Coatings

Sumter Coatings Inc. to Pay Civil Penalty for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Violations 

Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

(ATLANTA - Feb. 27, 2012) — Sumter Coatings Inc. (SCI) agreed to pay a $55,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a series of hazardous waste violations at its facility in Sumter, South Carolina.  As part of the settlement, SCI agreed to develop a personnel training program, develop a schedule for implementation of the training program and identify facility employees that require training. 

SCI manufactures paints and coatings primarily for the steel and farm implement industry. SCI also blends raw materials onsite to create custom coatings. The violations were observed during April 2010, when inspectors from the EPA and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control performed a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Compliance Evaluation Inspection.

The settlement resolves several alleged violations that were noted during the inspection. The alleged violations include:

• Improper management of hazardous waste containers on site;
• Failure to provide a sufficient base beneath containers which held hazardous waste;
• Failure to make a hazardous waste determination;
• Failure to inspect all areas where hazardous waste containers are stored weekly;
• Failure to develop personnel training program to ensure compliance with hazardous waste management’s;
• Failure to update information contained in the contingency plan, along with failing to make arrangements with local police and hospital authorities regarding the contingency plan and submitting copies of the contingency plan to first responders.

SCI implemented the process changes to reduce the risk of release from hazardous waste containers.  The changes include: labeling all containers with the necessary information; reducing the number of locations where short term storage occurs; changing container sizing and completing all necessary waste determinations.  SCI also applied a non-porous sealant to the base floor surface where the majority of hazardous waste containers are staged during regular operations. 

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Southern Wood Piedmont Co. Settles Financial Assurance Claims

News Release from EPA Headquarters:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2012

Southern Wood Piedmont Company Settles Financial Assurance Claims

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Southern Wood Piedmont Company and its parent company, Rayonier Inc., have agreed to pay a $317,000 penalty to resolve violations of hazardous waste financial assurance requirements and have obtained more than $41.7 million in financial assurance. Financial assurance protects public health and the environment by ensuring that financial resources are available to properly close and clean up facilities in the event that an owner or operator defaults on its closure, post-closure, or cleanup obligations under environmental laws.

“EPA is committed to bringing hazardous waste facilities into compliance with financial assurance requirements that prevent shifting future cleanup costs onto taxpayers,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s settlement will reduce the likelihood of improper handling of hazardous waste and ensure that environmental damage at these facilities can be properly cleaned up.”

On February 4, 2010, EPA sent a notice of violation to Southern Wood Piedmont Company notifying the company that its hazardous waste facilities were not in compliance with applicable financial assurance requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and it needed to obtain qualifying financial assurance for these obligations.

 Southern Wood Piedmont Company also had inadequate RCRA financial assurance coverage at a facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. not covered by EPA’s administrative agreement. In 2010, EPA worked with Tennessee to ensure that Southern Wood Piedmont Company obtained an additional $1.6 million in financial assurance for that facility.

Southern Wood Piedmont Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rayonier, Inc., a global forest products company, involved in the ownership, leasing, and management of forest resources and related real estate, and the production of performance fibers.

More information on the settlement:

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/rcra/swp.html

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