EPA Region 7 Tribal Program Awards Grants to Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska for Response Program, Environmental Capacity Building

Press release:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

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

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

EPA Region 7 Tribal Program Awards Grants to Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska for Response Program, Environmental Capacity Building

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., July 9, 2012) - EPA Region 7’s Office of Tribal Affairs has awarded two grants to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska to support a brownfields tribal response program and increase the capacity of its environmental protection department to protect human health and the environment.

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, headquartered at the Village of Winnebago, occupies approximately 120,000 acres of reservation land in Thurston County in northeast Nebraska, About 2,600 members of the tribe reside on the reservation.

A $94,298 grant, expressed through a cooperative agreement, will allow the tribe to continue the process of establishing a brownfields tribal response program to address contaminated sites on the reservation with the goal of returning them to beneficial reuse.

A $15,000 grant to the tribe’s Environmental Protection Department will help the department build its overall capacity to protect human health and the environment. Specific work to be funded by the grant includes expansion of the tribal solid waste program, including tire removal; research for additional funding opportunities; the mapping of abandoned homesteads; and working with the tribe’s land management office to plot no-till acreage.

EPA provides financial assistance to states and tribes to help them implement environmental programs. States and tribes may receive these funds in individual environmental program categorical grants, or choose to combine grants in a performance partnership grant.

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is one of nine federally recognized tribes within EPA Region 7.

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EPA Region 7 Tribal Program Awards Grants to Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas for Water Quality, Response Program and General Assistance

News release:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

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

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

EPA Region 7 Tribal Program Awards Grants to Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas for Water Quality, Response Program and General Assistance

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., July 9, 2012) - EPA Region 7’s Office of Tribal Affairs has awarded three grants to the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas to support its water quality, tribal response and general assistance programs for environmental protection and improvement.

The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, located near Horton, Kan., occupies approximately 30 square miles of reservation land in portions of Atchison, Brown and Jackson counties in northeast Kansas. The tribe has more than 1,600 enrolled members, approximately half of whom reside on the reservation.

A $257,106 grant to the tribe’s water quality program will support the monitoring of streams, a lagoon, ponds and groundwater wells; conduct a watershed assessment, evaluate the tribe’s monitoring strategy; prepare an assessment report; train a water quality coordinator and water quality technician; and organize workshops and outreach seminars.

A $100,000 grant will allow the tribe to begin the process of establishing a formal tribal response program to address contaminated sites on the reservation with the goal of returning them to beneficial reuse.

A $13,300 grant to the tribe’s general assistance program will address solid waste dumping, environmental outreach and education, and environmental and financial management.

EPA provides financial assistance to states and tribes to help them implement environmental programs. States and tribes may receive these funds in individual environmental program categorical grants, or choose to combine grants in a performance partnership grant.

The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas is one of nine federally recognized tribes within EPA Region 7.

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National Cooperative Refinery Association to Pay $700,000 in Penalties for Violations at Kansas Refinery and Storage Facility

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

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

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

National Cooperative Refinery Association to Pay $700,000 in Penalties for Violations at Kansas Refinery and Storage Facility

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 27, 2012) - The National Cooperative Refinery Association (NCRA) has agreed to pay $700,000 in penalties to the United States and the State of Kansas, and perform a series of injunctive relief actions, to settle violations of federal environmental laws and the Kansas State Implementation Plan at its petroleum refinery and underground storage facility in McPherson County, Kan.

As part of a consent decree lodged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., NCRA will pay $475,000 in penalties to the United States and $225,000 to the State of Kansas. As a part of the settlement, NCRA has agreed to spend approximately $745,000 on supplemental environmental projects involving the purchase of emergency response equipment and services for the benefit of citizens and emergency response agencies in McPherson County.

NCRA owns and operates an 85,000-barrel-per-day petroleum refinery on Iron Horse Road in the city of McPherson, Kan., and an associated underground product storage facility in the nearby unincorporated community of Conway, Kan.

According to a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, NCRA:

• Violated the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) by failing to maintain and operate the refinery’s Unicracker Unit and associated air pollution control equipment in a manner consistent with good air pollution control practices, resulting in a 20-day flaring event that caused significant emissions of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere.
• Violated the CAA and the Kansas State Implementation Plan by exceeding emission limits contained in a construction permit for the refinery’s Unicracker Unit heater and Hydrogen Unit heater.
• Violated the CAA by failing to fully implement a Risk Management Program at the refinery and the underground product storage facility.
• Violated the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) by failing to make timely reports of releases of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide during four separate flaring events at the refinery, including the previously mentioned 20-day flaring event.
• Violated the EPCRA by submitting incomplete Tier II reports, which are supposed to include the identity and inventory of on-site chemicals, to emergency responders.
• Violated the EPCRA by failing to submit an accurate and complete Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) form to EPA.

The consent decree requires NCRA to perform a series of injunctive relief actions to address its non-compliance issues and enhance future compliance through greater emphasis on the Risk Management Program. These include performing an applicability study at the refinery and underground storage facility, providing detailed tank inspection timelines and information, and documenting the resolution of process hazard analyses and compliance audit findings.

For the CAA violations, the relief involves training for start-up procedures and revision to applicable limits for the refinery’s Unicracker Unit Heater.

Relief associated with the EPCRA and CERCLA violations includes completion of a compliance review for Tier II, TRI and episodic release reports. It also includes the submission of an associated report to EPA, retroactive release reporting, and release report training.

NCRA’s supplemental environmental projects, totaling at least $745,000, are designed to further the goals of EPCRA and the Risk Management Program, which seek to prevent accidental chemical releases, minimize the consequences of accidents that do occur, and enable local emergency responders to plan and respond effectively to chemical accidents.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final approval by the court.

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News Release from EPA Region 2 - New Position

New EPA Position to Enhance Community Involvement

on St. Croix

Contact: Mary Mears 212 637 3673; mears.mary@epa.gov

(New York, NY – March 8, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it will for the first time station a community involvement coordinator for the U.S. Virgin Islands on St. Croix. In mid-March, Geoffrey M. Garrison will begin his tenure in the Virgin Islands and will be handling a combination of community outreach and some emergency response work. Specifically, Geoff will oversee activities at the shutdown HOVENSA facility, respond to pollution releases and support the work of the U.S. Virgins Islands Recycling Partnership.

Geoff has been with the EPA’s Caribbean Environmental Protection Division in San Juan, Puerto Rico since 2000, where he did emergency response work under the Superfund program. He has responded to large scale emergencies, including the World Trade Center attack, Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi and the CAPECO Refinery explosion in Cataño, Puerto Rico. At the local level, Geoff worked in close cooperation with the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources to address spills at the former St. Croix Alumina site, HOVENSA, and other oil or chemical releases.

For the last four years, Geoff has served in the U.S. Army Reserves, holding the rank of Colonel, as the U.S. Virgin Islands Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer in St. Croix. In this capacity, he is responsible for planning, coordinating with local, territorial and federal agencies throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has served during major storms as liaison to the National Guard and Virgin Islands Territorial Management Agency, assisting the Defense Coordinating Officer in integrating active military support if requested by the U.S. Virgin Islands government.

Prior to joining the EPA, Geoff served for 10 years as an Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of Captain. He served as commander of a Combat Heavy Engineer Company that deployed to Desert Shield/Storm in Iraq. He also served as Resident Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Athens, Greece, and Assistant Professor of Military Science at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus.

Geoff holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. Geoff is bilingual and fluent in Spanish.

In light of ongoing pollution problems related to various St. Croix facilities and the recent shutdown of the HOVENSA oil refinery, the EPA determined that it would be beneficial to assign someone with technical skills to the position on St. Croix. Along with his technical training, skills and experience, Geoff brings to this new position a strong understanding of community involvement, having planned and participated in outreach to impacted communities throughout the Caribbean.

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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Shell Asks Court's Opinion

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Thursday, March 01, 2012

To Avoid a Suit, Shell Asks Court’s Opinion

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS

HOUSTON — In an attempt to avoid a last-minute challenge from environmental groups that could delay its plans to begin drilling for oil this summer off the coast of Alaska, Shell asked a federal court on Wednesday to review its Alaska Arctic oil spill response plan and decide whether it complied with the law’s requirements.

Shell received tentative approval from the Interior Department two weeks ago for its spill response plan, a crucial step toward clearing the way for the oil company to begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea this year. Several more regulatory barriers remain, but the company hopes it can get past all the hurdles and expected appeals in the next few months, while the narrow window for summer drilling in ice-free waters remains open.

“This pre-emptive action is an attempt to avoid a legal challenge on the eve of operations,” said Bill Tanner, a Shell spokesman. “We are anticipating that they were going to sue us.”

In a statement, Shell said it was filing the request for a declaratory judgment against 13 environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Sierra Club, which have been resisting Shell’s drilling plans for five years.

Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC to Pay $10,150 Penalty

Thursday, February 2, 2012
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

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

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


Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC to Pay $10,150 for Risk Management Plan Violations at Council Bluffs Ethanol Plant


Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., Feb. 2, 2012) - Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC has agreed to pay a $10,150 civil penalty and spend at least $38,729 on a supplemental environmental project for failing to file a risk management plan and implement risk management regulations at its dry-mill ethanol plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

According to an administrative consent agreement and final order filed by EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan., an inspection of the ethanol plant in January 2010 found that the company had not filed a risk management plan for the facility, as required by the federal Clean Air Act.

Under the Clean Air Act, the Council Bluffs facility was required to file a risk management plan because it had exceeded the 10,000-pound threshold for anhydrous ammonia, an extremely hazardous chemical. Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy was storing approximately 28,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia at the time of the EPA inspection.

As part of its settlement with EPA, Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy has agreed to perform a supplemental environmental project, through which it will spend at least $38,729 to purchase emergency response equipment for the Council Bluffs and Lewis Township fire departments.

By agreeing to the settlement, the company has certified that the Council Bluffs ethanol plant is now in compliance with federal Risk Management Program regulations.

EPA enforces the Risk Management Program regulations of the Clean Air Act with a goal of preventing accidental chemical releases and minimizing the impact of releases or other accidents that may occur. The establishment of Risk Management Programs and formulation of Risk Management Plans helps companies, industries and municipalities operate responsibly, assists emergency responders by providing vital information necessary to address accidents and other incidents, protects the environment by preventing and minimizing damage from accidental releases, and keeps communities safer.

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Oregon Potato Company Pays EPA Penalty for Failing to Report

News release from EPA:

Oregon Potato Company pays EPA penalty for failing to report ammonia release

Wally Moon, EPA Preparedness and Prevention Unit Manager, 206-553-6323, moon.wally@epa.gov
Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

(Seattle—Jan. 26, 2012) Oregon Potato Company failed to report an anhydrous ammonia release at their facility in Warden, Washington and will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a $66,235 penalty.

On July 2, 2009, the facility released approximately 300 pounds of anhydrous ammonia into the environment, according to the EPA settlement. The facility, located at 1900 First Avenue West in Warden, Washington, produces dried and dehydrated frozen potato products.


According to Wally Moon, EPA Preparedness and Prevention Unit Manager in Seattle, these cases are about protecting workers, emergency responders and the community.


“When unintended chemical releases occur, every minute counts if it is an emergency,” said EPA’s Moon. “Emergency responders need to be notified promptly to react effectively.”


The leak occurred when a circuit breaker failed, causing a pressure relief valve to open releasing the anhydrous ammonia. EPA alleges that Oregon Potato failed to immediately notify local and state agencies about the release. While no injuries were reported at the time of the incident, ammonia is a pungent, toxic gas that attacks skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and can cause serious injury or death.


The ammonia release and the failure to notify appropriate agencies are violations of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).


For information on EPA's Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, visithttp://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/epcra/epcraenfstatreq.html


For more about toxic effects of Anhydrous Ammonia (NIOSH GUIDE): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0028.html