United States and Canada Sign Amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 7, 2012
 

United States and Canada Sign Amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Agreement will protect the health of the largest freshwater system in the world
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and Canada’s Minister of the Environment Peter Kent today signed the newly amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement at a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C. First signed in 1972 and last amended in 1987, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a model of binational cooperation to protect the world’s largest surface freshwater system and the health of the surrounding communities.

“Protecting cherished water bodies like the Great Lakes is not only about environmental conservation. It’s also about protecting the health of the families—and the economies—of the local communities that depend on those water bodies for so much, every day,” said Administrator Jackson. “The amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement we signed today outlines the strong commitment the U.S. and Canada share to safeguard the largest freshwater system in the world. Our collaborative efforts stand to benefit millions of families on both sides of the border.”

“Joint stewardship of the Great Lakes—a treasured natural resource, a critical source of drinking water, essential to transportation, and the foundation for billions of dollars in trade, agriculture, recreation and other sectors—is a cornerstone of the Canada-United States relationship,” said Minister Kent. “The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement supports our shared responsibility to restore and protect this critical resource, and builds on 40 years of binational success.”

The revised agreement will facilitate United States and Canadian action on threats to Great Lakes water quality and includes strengthened measures to anticipate and prevent ecological harm. New provisions address aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation and the effects of climate change, and support continued work on existing threats to people’s health and the environment in the Great Lakes Basin such as harmful algae, toxic chemicals, and discharges from vessels.

The overall purpose of the Agreement is “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters” of the Great Lakes and the portion of the St. Lawrence River that includes the Canada-United States border. Both governments sought extensive input from stakeholders before and throughout the negotiations to amend the Agreement. Additionally, the amended Agreement expands opportunities for public participation on Great Lakes issues.

The amended agreement sets out a shared vision for a healthy and prosperous Great Lakes region, in which the waters of the Great Lakes enhance the livelihoods of present and future generations of Americans and Canadians.

To view the text of the agreement: http://www.binational.net/home_e.html
 

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US, Mexico Sign Agreement Addressing High Priority Border Environmental Issues

Press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 8, 2012

US, Mexico Sign Agreement Addressing High Priority Border Environmental Issues
WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson joined Mexico’s Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources Juan Elvira Quesada to sign the Border 2020 U.S.-Mexico Environmental program agreement. The signing was witnessed by a number of leaders including the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico E. Anthony Wayne, Vice Chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation Wavalene Romero, California Secretary for Environmental Protection Matthew Rodriquez, Baja California Governor José Guadalupe Osuna Millán and Tijuana Mayor Carlos Bustamante Anchondo. The Border 2020 agreement, developed with significant stakeholder input, will work to address high priority environmental and public health problems in the 2,000 mile border region. It follows the Border 2012 environmental agreement which ends this year.

"Addressing the environmental issues along the border has long been a priority we share with our colleagues in Mexico, because we know that environmental degradation, pollution, and the diseases they trigger don’t stop at the national boundaries,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Thanks to help from our partners in government, industry, academia and local communities, the Border 2020 agreement will build upon the significant progress already made, and families on both sides of the border will continue to benefit from cleaner, healthier communities for decades to come.”

The Border 2020 program works to reduce pollution in water, air, and on land, reduce exposure to chemicals from accidental releases or terrorism, and improve environmental stewardship. It is the latest environmental program implemented under the 1983 U.S.-Mexico La Paz Agreement. It builds on the Border 2012 program and encourages meaningful participation from communities and local stakeholders through regional task forces.
Over the next eight years, the Border 2020 Environmental program will work towards significant improvements that will focus on five key areas:

- Reducing air pollution in bi-national air sheds by promoting vehicle inspection programs and road paving, and encouraging anti-idling technologies such as diesel truck electrification at ports-of-entry.

- Improving access to clean and safe water as well as improving water quality in the bi-national watersheds.

- Promoting materials and waste management, and addressing contaminated sites as well as management practices for addressing electronics, lead acid batteries, tires, and trash.

- Enhancing joint preparedness for environmental and emergency response.

- Enhancing compliance assurance and environmental stewardship.

The new Border 2020 program also strengthens its focus in regional areas where environmental improvements are needed most: establishing realistic and concrete goals, supporting the implementation of projects, considering new fundamental strategies, and encouraging the achievement of more ambitious environmental and public health goals.

Border 2012, which concludes this year, resulted in numerous achievements, including connecting households to drinking water and wastewater services benefitting more than 8.5 million border residents. In addition, the program helped remove more than 12 million scrap tires from dump sites border wide and more than 75.5 metric tons of obsolete pesticides from rural areas in California, Sonora, and Tamaulipas.

As the home to over 14 million people and one of the busiest cross-border trade regions in the world, protecting human health and the environment in the border region is essential to ensuring that the U.S. continues to be safe, healthy and economically productive. The Border 2020 U.S.-Mexico Environmental program will protect the environment and public health for 10 states on both sides of the 2,000-mile border, including 26 U.S. tribes and seven groups of Mexican indigenous people.

More information as well as a fact sheet on Border 2020: http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/

A video on Border 2012 and 2020: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzUKe5NCEU0

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EPA Reaches Agreement with Carmeuse Lime to Control Dust from its Chicago Plant

Press release:

For Immediate Release           No. 12-OPA061

EPA Reaches Agreement with Carmeuse Lime to Control Dust from its Chicago Plant
Chicago (Aug. 7, 2012 ) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached agreement with Carmeuse Lime, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its Chicago lime manufacturing facility. The company will pay a $350,000 fine and spend $125,000 on lead abatement in south side neighborhoods.
“As a result of this agreement, residents of Chicago’s south side will breathe cleaner air and children will be protected from lead contamination,” said EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman.
EPA and the City of Chicago conducted a joint inspection of the Carmeuse plant in response to complaints from local residents about excess dust. The inspection revealed poor maintenance at the facility, which led to the release of dust into the surrounding neighborhood.

The consent decree requires Carmeuse to upgrade and replace equipment and to improve maintenance and housekeeping practices. By implementing these changes, which have been/will be incorporated in the facility's air permit, Carmeuse will dramatically reduce the amount of dust released into the neighborhood.
Under terms of the consent decree, Carmeuse will also hire a nonprofit organization to install new energy-efficient windows in neighborhood homes that have window frames with lead-based paint. Window replacements will occur in the houses of low income residents with young children in the Englewood, West Englewood and South Chicago neighborhoods.

Carmeuse is a major lime producer, with 35 facilities in the United States and Canada.

EPA Reaches Agreement with Park Nicollett Health Services; Company Will Fund Lead Abatement in Low-Income Housing

Press release:

For Immediate Release                                                             No. 12 – OPA055

EPA Reaches Agreement with Park Nicollett Health Services; Company Will Fund Lead Abatement in Low-Income Housing

Chicago (July 23, 2012) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached an agreement with Park Nicollet Health Services to resolve allegations of Clean Air Act violations at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. EPA alleged the company failed to keep required records and submit required reports on emissions from ethylene oxide sterilizers at the hospital. After being notified of the violations, the company took steps to meet all requirements.

Under a consent agreement and final order, Park Nicollet Health Services will pay an $18,750 fine and spend $56,250 on a project to protect families in St. Louis Park and Minneapolis from hazards associated with lead-based paint. The project will include removing lead-based paint and dust and replacing lead-based painted surfaces or fixtures in low-income housing occupied by children under age 6 or pregnant women.

“As a result of this agreement, the people of Minneapolis will breathe cleaner air and fewer young children will be exposed to dangerous lead at home,” said EPA Regional Administrator Susan Hedman.

Lead exposure affects the nervous system and can cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children 6 years old and younger are most at risk.

More information about toxic air pollutants and about lead is available on EPA’s Website: http://www.epa.gov/air/toxicair/newtoxics.html and http://www.epa.gov/lead/.

HITACHI POWER SYSTEMS AMERICA, LTD. SIGNS ENHANCED ALL-DRY SCRUBBER TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENT

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, March 28, 2012 – Hitachi Power Systems America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., today announced that it has signed a license agreement with Solios Environnement Inc. to design and supply Enhanced All-Dry (EAD) Scrubber technology, jointly developed with Solios Environnement Inc, for the global electric utility market. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The EAD Scrubber technology is the original circulating semi-dry scrubber technology developed by Solios in the 1980s that has been widely applied in industrial sectors. It effectively removes SO2 as well as SO3, HCl, mercury and particulate matter from flue gas. Reactions occur in an entrained-flow, open vertical absorber which is preferred over more complex fluidized bed processes. By separating the reagent humidification and sulfur capture steps, this enhanced system is simple and reliable. Hitachi is applying the EAD Scrubber technology with a modular approach that allows unlimited scrubber capacity, virtually unlimited turndown, and enhanced system layout flexibility. EAD Scrubber technology has the additional advantages of low capital cost, low water consumption and dry byproducts, avoiding costly waste water treatment.

For more, click the link below:

http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/120329.html

Lincoln University and EPA Agree to Promote Environmental Careers

From the U.S. EPA, Region 7:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

Lincoln University and EPA Announce Partnership Agreement to Promote Environmental Careers

Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov

Environmental News

NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY

(Kansas City, Kan., Jan. 23, 2012) - EPA and Lincoln University officials this week will gather in Jefferson City, Mo., to announce a partnership agreement to promote environmental careers.

The agreement will update an existing program of activities that will enhance Lincoln University’s research and educational capabilities, while simultaneously assisting EPA in achieving its community outreach mission.

EPA wants to increase Lincoln University’s awareness of federal opportunities while helping to create an environmentally conscious campus through student-led initiatives. Of utmost importance, both organizations share a goal of sufficiently preparing African-American students for future careers in environmental and scientific fields. The agreement also focuses on student employment and volunteer programs, research participation, lectures and seminars on environmental issues, and community outreach.

WHO: EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks and Lincoln University President Carolyn Mahoney

WHAT: Remarks and signing of the partnership agreement

WHERE: Inman E. Page Library, Teleconference Center, 712 Lee Drive, Jefferson City, Mo. 65101

WHEN: 1 p.m. Friday, January 27

Lincoln University is a historically black college located in the capital city of Missouri, Jefferson City. Lincoln was founded in 1866 by the men of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries and their white officers, for the special benefit of freed African-Americans. Lincoln University serves the needs of its diverse student body through a tradition of offering innovative programs that makes the college experience special.

Lincoln offers a rich resource to address the problem of under representation of African- Americans in science, finance, mathematics, information technologies and environmental specialist fields, in addition to the participation of these minorities in national environmental programs.

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