EPA Recognizes U.S. Coast Guard for Efficient, Green Cleanup of Curtis Bay Yard Superfund Site

EPA Press Release:

EPA Recognizes U.S. Coast Guard for Efficient, Green Cleanup

of Curtis Bay Yard Superfund Site

BALTIMORE (May 30, 2013)  - The U.S. Coast Guard has completed cleanup construction activity at the Curtis Bay Yard Superfund site in Anne Arundel County, Md., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

EPA provided oversight of the massive 11-year cleanup project and the U.S. Coast Guard led the cleanup effort, which included excavating thousands of tons of contaminated soil and sediment while making use of innovative green practices.

“This cleanup will ensure a healthy environment for the Curtis Bay Yard and the surrounding community, and help with Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.  “Not only did the Coast Guard work quickly and efficiently at this site, but its use of green practices proudly reflects the Coast Guard’s commitment to environmental stewardship.”

The contaminants of concern at the site included semi-volatile organic compounds, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxin. 

The Coast Guard’s green remediation included recycling materials, creating green space and minimizing hazardous waste.  Overall during the cleanup, 2,616 tons of concrete were recycled and about 25,000 tons of contaminated soil were treated onsite so it could be shipped to a non-hazardous waste landfill.  This saved more than 500,000 truck miles and approximately

$6 million compared to sending the soil to a hazardous waste landfill.  In addition, approximately 20 tons of steel were recycled.

"Eleven years ago, the Coast Guard Yard was placed on the National Priorities List to address contamination from past practices going all the way back to the Yard's start in 1899,” said Captain Richard K. Murphy, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Yard. “This began a very productive partnership with EPA and the Maryland Department of the Environment culminating in the remediation of all identified sites. Today, the Yard is a leader in the field of environmental management, and we continue to partner with the EPA and MDE to ensure a healthy environment for the Yard, our neighbors, as well as protecting the vital ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay."

The Chesapeake Bay benefits from this cleanup in several ways. Low impact storm water designs were used to help absorb water into the ground during heavy rains instead of uncontrolled run-off with potential pollutants. These designs replace solid concrete with porous pavers and add more green space with grass, trees and shrubs.

In addition to using innovative remediation, the Coast Guard also chose to clean up the Yard to the more stringent residential cleanup standards rather than using the industrial standards.  This creates more options for future use of the property.

The Coast Guard Yard, located six miles southeast of downtown Baltimore, is a 113-acre ship repair facility used to design, build and repair state-of-the-art ships and boats.  The facility incorporates many sustainable manufacturing practices including creating its own electricity from landfill gas at an on-site co-generation plant.   The crane electrification project further reduces the Yard’s carbon footprint. 

100,000th Refrigerator Recycled as Part of GE Agreement with Appliance Recycling Centers of America

Press release:

07 September 2012

100,000th Refrigerator Recycled as Part of GE Agreement with Appliance Recycling Centers of America

 

• 100,000 refrigerators and freezers have now made their way through the revolutionary UNTHA Recycling Technology system
• Innovative recycling system reduces landfill waste and greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance emissions
• Initiative has diverted 5.5 million pounds of material from U.S. landfills[1]

LOUISVILLE, Ky., — September 7, 2012 — (NYSE: GE) — This week, GE, in collaboration with Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA), reached a milestone of 100,000 refrigerators and freezers recycled through North America’s only UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT) System. ARCA’s (Nasdaq: ARCI) URT machine, a unique 40-foot-tall engineering marvel, recovers approximately 95 percent of the insulating foam in refrigerators and freezers,[1] reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gas and ozone depleting substance emissions.

As a result of this milestone, an estimated 5.5 million pounds of refrigerator and freezer material has been diverted from U.S. landfills.[1] Eighty-nine percent of the material has been recovered for reuse for new products, and 11 percent is being used as fuel in cement manufacturing.[1]

“This achievement represents a significant advance in how appliances are recycled in the U.S.,” said Brian Conners, president and COO of ARCA Advanced Processing (AAP). “As a result of our work with GE Appliances, AAP has made great strides toward achieving our goal of zero landfill appliance recycling.”

Roughly 9 million refrigerators are disposed of annually in the U.S., and only a fraction of those have the insulating foam in their walls and doors recycled. While 90 percent of used refrigerators in the U.S. are shredded for their metal, the remaining foam and other materials typically go to a landfill.[2]If the foam from all of those refrigerators was processed through the URT system, the greenhouse gas emissions avoided would be equivalent to the annual CO₂-e emissions of more than 2.4 million cars on U.S. roads.[3]

How the GE Appliance Recycling Initiative WorksAs part of GE’s agreement with ARCA, when qualifying consumers purchase a new appliance from a participating retailer in the 12-state region, their old unit will be taken away when their new one is delivered. The old unit will then be transported to the Philadelphia-based AAP center for recycling. Consumers can find a participating Retailer in their area atwww.geappliances.com/refrigerator-recycling.

Economic Impact
Integral to GE’s agreement with ARCA is a commitment to supply used appliance volumes from a 12-state region into AAP’s recycling center. ARCA, in turn, has invested in proven appliance recycling technology and has created more than 50 green jobs in Pennsylvania proving how market-based solutions such as these can drive economic success. This initiative demonstrates the potential for future growth in foam recycling technology throughout the U.S. industry.

A Cradle-to-Cradle Appliance ApproachGE takes a cradle-to-cradle approach to managing the life cycle of an appliance, from the manufacturing of refrigerators with more environmentally sustainable insulating material to responsible end-of-life disposal. Steel recovered from recycled appliances at AAP’s recycling center is reused as steel deck bottom plates in new GE locomotives. GE Appliances is the only appliance manufacturer to partner collectively in four voluntary Environmental Protection Agency programs: ENERGY STAR®; Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD); WasteWise, an initiative focused on waste reduction and saving environmental resources while reducing emissions; and SmartWay®, a program designed to help lower transportation-related emissions.

The partnership with these programs is consistent with the company’s ecomagination^SM initiative to deploy solutions for today’s energy and environmental challenges.

"One year ago we helped welcome the country's first fully automated URT System facility," said Sarah Dunham, director of EPA's Office of Atmospheric Programs. "GE Appliances' continued success as a partner in EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) program helps protect the Earth's ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and divert materials from landfills."

A long-time ENERGY STAR partner, GE offers approximately 500 ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances, which deliver efficiency and cost savings to customers over product life.[4]

About Appliance Recycling Centers of America
ARCA (www.ARCAInc.com), one of the nation’s largest recyclers of major household appliances for the energy conservation programs of electric utilities, currently provides services for more than 175 utility programs in the U.S. and Canada. Toxic chemicals and environmentally harmful materials such as ozone-depleting refrigerants, PCBs, mercury and oil are carefully recovered in the decommissioning process for destruction or disposal, preventing them from contaminating soil, air and water resources. The company is also the exclusive North American distributor for UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT), a materials recovery system for household refrigeration appliances.

About GE AppliancesGE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people’s lives. GE Appliances’ products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.

---

[1] Based on ARCA Advanced Processing letter dated December 2010 re: PUR recovery rates

[2] Based on results from a survey undertaken by AHAM as reported in UNEP 2005 and recently reported by ICF International in April 2010 report

[3] Based on Stevenson Company data and calculations using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency global warming potential (GWP) equivalents: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

[4] Compared to non-ENERGY STAR appliances

EPA Proposes to Renew US Ecology’s PCB Landfill Permit; Public Comment Period Begins

Press release:

For Immediate Release: August 10, 2012

Media Contact:  Margot Perez-Sullivan, (415) 947-4149, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

EPA Proposes to Renew US Ecology’s PCB Landfill Permit; Public Comment Period Begins

SAN FRANCISCO – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting comments on its proposed PCB permit for US Ecology, Inc., a hazardous waste management facility located outside Beatty, Nevada. EPA’s proposed permit will allow US Ecology to continue commercial storage, treatment and disposal of PCB wastes. The company has disposed of PCBs at this location since 1978.

The 45-day comment period begins August 10 and ends September 24. The EPA is hosting an informational Public Meeting and Hearing on September 13 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Beatty Community Center located at 100 A Avenue South in Beatty, Nevada.

Production of PCBs was banned in the United States in 1979. PCBs remain present in some products and materials produced before the 1979 ban. Products that may contain PCBs include: electrical transformers and capacitors, other electrical equipment, and fluorescent light ballasts. EPA regulates the treatment, storage and disposal of PCBs under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

If you are a person with a disability, and require reasonable accommodations for the informational public meeting and hearing, please contact Phillip Kum at kum.philip@epa.gov or (415) 947-3566. If possible, please submit your request 5 to 10 days in advance.

For more information on the proposed permit and how to submit public comments, please go to: www.epa.gov/region9/pcbs/usecology/ 

 For more information on PCB regulation, as well as the Toxic Substances Control Act enforcement in general, please visit the EPA’s website at: http://epa.gov/region9/toxic/pcb/index.htm

###

Recology Teams with IBM in Quest to Help San Francisco Become First City in North America to Achieve Zero Waste

News release from IBM.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced today a collaboration with Recology, San Francisco’s resource recovery company, to continue reducing landfill disposal by further improving recycling programs designed to help the city achieve zero waste by 2020.

For more, click the link below:

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/37874.wss

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY LANDFILL TO SPEND $3.8 MILLION TO RESOLVE CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 28, 2012  DOJ CONTACT: Lauren Horwood, PHONE: 916-554-2706

U.S. EPA: Margot Perez-Sullivan, PHONE: 415-947-4149, Perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY LANDFILL TO SPEND $3.8 MILLION TO RESOLVE CLEAN AIR ACT VIOLATIONS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Forward Inc., of Manteca, has agreed to a settlement to resolve alleged violations of air pollution laws at its landfill in Manteca. The settlement requires Forward to spend approximately $3.8 million to improve the landfill’s gas collection and control system and to replace trucks in the landfill’s fleet with less polluting vehicles. Forward has also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $200,000, to be shared with the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, a co-plaintiff in the enforcement action against Forward.

“Today’s settlement is good news for the families of the San Joaquin Valley,” said Benjamin B. Wagner, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California. “Cleaning up the Valley’s air so that our children can breathe easier is important for all of us.”

“Landfill fires that deteriorate the air quality in San Joaquin Valley are unacceptable,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our federal enforcement action requires the landfill to spend $3.8 million to eliminate the risk of polluting fires and replace old diesel trucks with cleaner burning vehicles.”

The settlement resolves allegations that Forward violated the Clean Air Act by operating gas extraction wells in the landfill’s gas system in violation of the permit it had received from the District, and that Forward did not obtain permits required for equipment at the landfill. Federal law requires large landfills that are significant emitters of air pollution to install and operate systems that will collect gasses, such as air toxics, organic compounds, and methane, out of the decomposing refuse and destroy them, rather than allowing them to escape into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. These systems are to be operated so that they draw and collect as much gas as possible without pulling air into the landfill that can start fires in the decomposing waste. The complaint alleges that Forward operated its gas system such that it caused multiple fires at the Manteca landfill.

The settlement requires Forward to overhaul the landfill’s gas system by November 2012 to improve gas control and collection and to bring the facility back into compliance with CAA regulations governing landfills, which will require an investment of approximately $1.7 million. The settlement also requires Forward to implement specific operations and maintenance actions to minimize air intrusion and the likelihood of subsurface fires at the landfill.

The settlement will also benefit the San Joaquin Valley’s air and its communities by reducing emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), which can cause and exacerbate health problems, haze, and smog. PM is a pollutant commonly associated with landfill fires, and Forward will reduce its PM emissions by replacing 19 diesel trucks it currently owns with cleaner burning vehicles by the end of 2013, at an estimated cost of $2.1 million. This will directly reduce PM by 3.4 tons and NOx by 83.2 tons, and will result in further indirect reductions of PM, as NOx is a precursor of PM. The NOx reductions yield a double benefit, as NOx is also a precursor for ozone, and the San Joaquin Valley is an extreme non-attainment area for ozone, another pollutant linked to health problems and smog. 

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval and may be viewed at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

For more information about CAA landfill regulations, please visit the EPA’s web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/landfill/landflpg.html#IMP.

For more information about California air quality plans, please visit EPA’s web site at:http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/actions/ca.html.

# # # #

Construction at Sunrise Landfill

News release from EPA Region 9:

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2012

Media Contact:  Margot Perez-Sullivan, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov 

Major operations begin on $25 million construction at Sunrise Landfill

Las Vegas Paving Company to perform work, 40 local construction workers employed

SAN FRANCISCO – Republic Services of Southern Nevada has begun large-scale construction work under oversight by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at Sunrise Landfill, a 440-acre closed municipal solid waste landfill, located three miles outside of Las Vegas city limits in Clark County.

The $25 million construction project, expected to last through 2012, was awarded to Las Vegas Paving Company and will employ 40 local construction workers.  The project stems from a 2008 Consent Decree requiring Republic, the landfill operator, to install extensive stormwater controls, an armored cover, and landfill gas monitoring system; complete and monitor a groundwater monitoring system; and develop a long-term operation and maintenance strategy. 

“EPA is requiring this work to protect a vital drinking water source for communities from Las Vegas to Phoenix,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “This will prevent the release of over 17 million pounds of contaminants each year.”

Under the settlement, Republic is utilizing clean diesel technology to place 1 million cubic yards of soil and rock within the site. These efforts are especially important because diesel exhaust is linked to reduced lung capacityand asthma, and is a likely human carcinogen.

The EPA-approved remedy ensures effective control of the landfill with a durable and cost-effective landfill cover and stormwater system that address the unique geographic and climatic characteristics of Nevada’s arid desert landscape.  Since 2008, five new groundwater monitoring wells have been drilled and 41 wells completed for quarterly sampling, as well as 30 landfill gas monitoring probes installed around the perimeter of the landfill. 

An inadequate cover and stormwater system coupled with a storm in September 1998 resulted in a discharge of waste into the Las Vegas Wash and, ultimately, Lake Mead -- a primary drinking water resource for southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas metro area, as well as the Phoenix metro area and southern California. 

Sunrise Mountain Landfill is unlined and contains more than 18 million tons of waste, including municipal solid waste, medical waste, sewage sludge, hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, asbestos, and construction waste. 

The landfill was operated on behalf of the County by entities related to Republic Services of Southern Nevada from the 1950s through 1993. Following the landfill cover failure in 1998, EPA cited Republic Dumpco and the Clark County Public Works Department for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. At that time, EPA ordered the company to implement stormwater control plan; repair the existing drainage system; upgrade the landfill cap to federal standards; control and monitor methane and groundwater; and submit a plan to maintain and monitor the site.

 For more information, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region9/waste/sunrise and http://www.epa.gov/region9/waste/features/sunrise-landfill

###

Illinois EPA to Clean Up Tarkowski Property

From the Illinois EPA:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 26, 2012 Illinois EPA to Clean Up Tarkowski Property SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois Environmental Protection Agency contractor today is beginning cleanup of a dump site that has plagued the Lake Barrington – Wauconda area for decades. The cleanup is expected to take four to six weeks, weather permitting.   The Agency is working with the Village of Lake Barrington through an intergovernmental agreement to complete cleanup of the 16-acre John Tarkowski property located in unincorporated Lake County. Tarkowski had been illegally receiving waste material on his property since the late 1960s, according to public records.  “The Agency is pleased that we can finish cleanup of this environmental and safety hazard thanks to the efforts of the Village and their representatives in the General Assembly. The neighbors and the community have endured this mess too long,” said Illinois EPA Interim Director John Kim.    This last phase of the cleanup is being funded through a $430,000 state grant supported by Sen. Dan Duffy (Barrington), and Rep. Kent Gaffney (Wauconda). Remaining wastes will be removed and disposed of in a permitted landfill. Any recyclable materials will be separated and recycled to help defray the overall cost of the cleanup.  “The Village of Lake Barrington extends its thanks and appreciation to Governor Quinn, Sen. Dan Duffy, Rep. Kent Gaffney and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for their assistance in securing the funding for the final clean-up of the Tarkowski dumpsite located in the Lakeland Estates neighborhood of Lake Barrington,” said Lake Barrington Village President Kevin Richardson.  “These funds will address a vital environmental objective for the Village and help assure that the ground water in the northern part of our community remains protected.” Acting on results of an investigation, in 2004 the Illinois EPA confirmed through surveillance that Tarkowski was allowing trucks hauling various waste materials to illegally dump waste on his property. A notice of intent to pursue legal action was sent to Tarkowski. Subsequent court hearings resulted in a court order in April 2006 that required John Tarkowski to pay a $150,000 penalty and conduct a systematic cleanup of the property.  Tarkowski ignored the order and continued to allow dumping on the property; in July 2006 the Illinois EPA issued an Order to Seal the site to protect the public and the environment. Tarkowski removed the seal order sign within a few days and removed it again after the Agency replaced it. Illinois EPA worked with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, and Tarkowski was arrested for violating the seal order. Cost recovery actions are currently pending with the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and environmental liens have been placed on the property. In 2006, the Illinois EPA conducted a partial cleanup which included spraying for mosquitoes to eliminate the risk of West Nile Virus, removing and recycling over 10,000 tires, removing and disposing various liquid waste containers, car batteries and various other special and hazardous wastes. An assortment of scrap metals and other materials were removed and when possible were recycled, which reduced the overall cost. Other costs were covered with funds from the Waste Tire Program. ###