EPA and USDA Join Together To Help Americans Reduce Wasted Food

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 4, 2013

EPA and USDA Join Together To Help Americans Reduce Wasted Food 

 WASHINGTON – Today EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe joined U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to announce the launch of a challenge that asks farmers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, communities and government agencies to reduce wasted food. The U.S. Food Waste Challenge builds upon the success of EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge to help more Americans do their part to reduce food waste. 

“Food waste is the single largest type of waste entering our landfills -- Americans throw away up to 40 percent of their food. Addressing this issue helps to combat hunger and save money, while also combating climate change. Food waste in landfills decomposes to create potent greenhouse gases and by reducing this waste we can in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “I’m proud that EPA is joining with USDA today to announce the U.S. Food Waste Challenge. With the help of partners across the country, we can ensure that our nation’s food goes to our families and those in need – not the landfill.”

“The United States enjoys the most productive and abundant food supply on earth, but too much of this food goes to waste,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Not only could this food be going to folks who need it – we also have an opportunity to reduce the amount of food that ends up in America’s landfills. By joining together with EPA and businesses from around the country, we have an opportunity to better educate folks about the problem of food waste and begin to address this problem across the nation.”

Americans send more food to landfills and incinerators than any other single municipal solid waste (MSW) – 35 million tons– even more than paper and plastic.  When wasted food is sent to landfills, it decomposes and becomes a source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. In addition, the production and transportation of food has a number of environmental impacts; by reducing wasted food our society helps conserve energy and reduces environmental impacts.

In 2010, EPA began challenging organizations along the food lifecycle to adopt more sustainable practices through its National Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) program’s Food Recovery Challenge (FRC).  EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge provides direct technical assistance, a tracking system, and recognition to help support and motivate organizations to reduce their food waste.  Through the simple act of measuring food that is wasted, organizations can immediately identify simple changes that lead to big reductions More than 200 organizations are now participating in the Food Recovery Challenge.
More on the U.S. Food Waste Challenge: www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/index.htm

More on the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program and Food Recovery Challenge:  http://www.epa.gov/smm/foodrecovery/

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EPA and NIH Announce the Winning Team in My Air, My Health Challenge

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2013


EPA and NIH Announce the Winning Team in My Air, My Health Challenge

Winners developed a low cost, real time personal digital device that measures health effects of harmful air pollution

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the winner of the My Air, My Health Challenge. The Challenge called upon innovators nationwide to design a small, low-cost sensor that integrates air quality measurements with related health data, such as heart rate and breathing. Such innovations will help EPA and NIH as they continue their work together to better understand, in real time, the impacts of harmful air pollution on people’s health.

Judges for the EPA and NIH challenge selected the team of David Kuller, Gabrielle Savage Dockterman, and Dot Kelly from among finalist teams. The award will be presented today at Health Datapalooza IV in Washington, D.C.

The winning team will receive a $100,000 award for developing Conscious Clothing, a wearable, real-time breathing analysis tool that calculates the amount of polluted air a person inhales. Estimates of pollution exposure result from how deeply the person breathes and how much pollution is in the air. This data is transmitted to any Bluetooth-enabled device, such as a cellphone.

“This integration of technologies represents a growing area of interest for environmental and health scientists,” said Glenn Paulson, Ph.D., EPA science advisor. “We’re at the edge of a technology wave where anyone can use these sensors – these innovations will help EPA better understand air pollution’s impacts on people’s health. The potential impact on personal health care and local environmental quality is tremendous.”

“With people wearing these new data-collecting devices, researchers will be able to see and understand the relationships between varying levels of chemical exposures and individual health responses—in real time,” said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the NIH. “This is a big step forward toward treating, and more importantly, preventing disease and illness. This is an exciting time in research.”

These types of low-cost, portable, easy-to-use sensors have the potential to produce a more complete picture of air quality and individual health in communities across the country.

EPA Approves Plan to Control Sewer Overflows in Cincinnati Area

EPA News Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 31, 2013


EPA Approves Plan to Control Sewer Overflows in Cincinnati Area

Will Reduce Releases of Sewage and Polluted Stormwater by More Than 1.5 Billion Gallons Each Year

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the approval of an innovative plan for the control of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio.

“This plan is good news for the residents of Cincinnati and for communities along the Ohio River,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Not only will this innovative plan ensure that significant volumes of polluted stormwater and raw sewage are kept out of local waterways, but it will also cost less than more traditional approaches, saving money for ratepayers and the city.”

The plan establishes priorities to address communities’ most serious water quality problems and promotes cost-effective, innovative solutions to reduce pollution. Specific components include separating sewers to keep rainwater out of the combined sewer system and use of green infrastructure to manage rainwater diverted from the combined system.  

Under a 2010 consent decree and CSO control plan, the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) was required either to construct a deep tunnel system under Mill Creek to alleviate CSOs in many neighborhoods in the city, or conduct further analyses and propose an alternative plan. MSDGC proposed the alternative plan to EPA in December 2012. The alternate plan is expected to save more than $150 million (in 2006 dollars) from the original deep-tunnel plan.  

The plan will also create a green corridor that will convey stormwater runoff to Mill Creek in the Fairmont neighborhood of Cincinnati. The corridor will also include a floodway that will help prevent flooding of local streets, homes and businesses during extreme rain events. The green corridor and constructed channel will be an amenity for the neighborhood and may contribute to neighborhood stabilization and economic revitalization in addition to helping to resolve overflow issues.

Combined sewer systems, which collect both sewage and rainwater, become overwhelmed during rain events, allowing untreated sewage mixed with rainwater to be discharged into local water bodies and the Ohio River. Keeping the rainwater out of the combined system helps open up capacity in the combined sewer systems and helps to reduce overflows.

Raw sewage contains pathogens that threaten public health, leading to beach closures and public advisories against fishing and swimming. This problem particularly affects older urban areas, where minority and low-income communities are often concentrated. This settlement also highlights the benefit of using integrated planning approaches and green infrastructure to facilitate sustainable, innovative, and cost-effective solutions to protect human health and improve water quality.

Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of Clean Water Act settlements and CSO control plans that will reduce the discharge of raw sewage and contaminated stormwater into U.S. rivers, streams and lakes. It is part of EPA’s national enforcement initiative to keep raw sewage and contaminated stormwater out of the nation’s waterways.
The state of Ohio and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission were also parties to the 2010 consent decree.

EPA Officials to Visit Lincoln, Neb., on June 5 for Presentation of $400,000 Brownfields Grants for West Haymarket Project

EPA Press Release:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, KS 66219

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

NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR COVERAGE PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY

EPA Officials to Visit Lincoln, Neb., on June 5 for Presentation of $400,000 Brownfields Grants for West Haymarket Project

Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, 913-551-7557 (office), 816-518-2795 (cell), lancaster.kris@epa.gov

Environmental News

(Lenexa, Kan., June 3, 2013) - National and regional EPA officials will visit Lincoln, Neb., on Wednesday, June 5, to present $400,000 in EPA Brownfields grants to representatives of the West Haymarket Joint Public Agency. These grants will provide key funding for the cleanup of hazardous substances at two former commercial properties that will be revitalized as part of Lincoln’s West Haymarket Redevelopment Project.

The two grants, totaling $400,000, are part of more than $4.5 million in funding provided to nine cities and two state agencies in EPA Region 7 by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) Grants program.

EPA officials will make a ceremonial grants presentation to representatives of the West Haymarket JPA at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5, at Iron Horse Park, at 7^th and Q Streets, in Lincoln.

The West Haymarket JPA, a governmental agency formed by the City of Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will use the funds to clean up hazardous substances at the former Scrap Metal Recycling Facility at 550 N Street, and the Jaylynn Former Manufactured Gas Plant and Lumber Yard at 660 N Street.

The former scrap metal recycling facility also has been used for bulk oil storage and railroad operations, and is contaminated with volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and PCBs. The former manufactured gas plant site also has been used as a lumber yard and scrap metal recycling facility, and is contaminated with volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.

WHO: Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER); EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks; Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler; Tim Clare, Vice Chair of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents

WHAT:  Presentation of $400,000 from EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) Grants program to the West Haymarket Joint Public Agency

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Central Time, Wednesday, June 5, 2013

WHERE: Iron Horse Park, 7^th and Q Streets, Lincoln, Neb. 68508 (In case of rain, this event will be moved indoors to the PC Sports Office, 311 North 8^th Street.)

The West Haymarket Redevelopment Project encompasses 400 acres of blighted and underutilized property that lies on the western edge of Lincoln’s downtown and Haymarket district. Centered around the new 16,000-seat multi-purpose Pinnacle Bank Arena, which is scheduled to open this fall, the project will also include new hotels, a community plaza, and retail, office and residential space.

EPA’s Brownfields ARC Grants target areas of communities where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed to facilitate redevelopment. Communities like Lincoln use ARC Grants to conduct environmental assessments, cleanup planning, cleanups and community outreach.

Brownfields are defined as those properties whose expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Brownfields sites include all "real property," including residential, commercial and industrial properties. It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.

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EPA Region 7 to Hold News Conference June 4 in Omaha, Neb., to Discuss New Milestone for Omaha Lead Superfund Site

EPA Press Release:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

11201 Renner Boulevard, Lenexa, KS 66219

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

NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR COVERAGE PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY

EPA Region 7 to Hold News Conference June 4 in Omaha, Neb., to Discuss New Milestone for Omaha Lead Superfund Site

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, (office) 913-551-7394; (cell) 816-518-2794, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

(Lenexa, Kan., June 3, 2013) - National and regional EPA officials and local government officials will hold a news conference on Tuesday, June 4, in Omaha, Neb., to discuss a significant milestone in the Agency’s continuing efforts to clean up toxic lead from residential yards and properties in the city.

The news conference will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, in the Jesse Lowe Conference Room on the Third Floor of the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center, 1819 Farnam Street.

Since 1999, EPA and its contractors have been working cooperatively with local officials, agencies, institutions, community organizations, residents and property owners to sample and remediate lead-contaminated soils from Omaha’s residential yards, schools, day care facilities, parks and playgrounds. Addressed under EPA’s Superfund program, the Omaha Lead Site, consisting of approximately 27 square miles of eastern Omaha, has been on the National Priorities List since 2003.

WHO: Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER); EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks; Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle

WHAT: News conference to discuss milestone in Omaha Lead Site cleanup

WHEN: 1 p.m. Central Time, Tuesday, June 4, 2013

WHERE: Jesse Lowe Conference Room, Third Floor of Omaha-Douglas Civic Center, 1819 Farnam Street, Omaha, Neb. 68183

In 1998, the Omaha City Council solicited assistance from EPA in addressing problems with lead contamination in area soils, prompted by cleanup activities at the former ASARCO lead processing facility along the west bank of the Missouri River in Omaha.

From the early 1870s until it closed in 1997, the ASARCO plant emitted lead and other heavy metals into the atmosphere from smoke stacks and fugitive emissions. Those pollutants were carried by wind and deposited on the ground across eastern Omaha for more than a century. Over time, soils around many residences have also been contaminated with lead from the flaking and deterioration of lead-based exterior paints.

Lead in surface soils poses a serious health risk to children six years of age and younger, and to pregnant women. Lead poisoning can result in learning and behavioral problems, hearing problems, diminished IQ, and kidney damage. EPA also classifies lead as a possible cancer-causing agent.

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Duke Energy accepts applications for 2013 Habitat Enhancement Program

Duke Energy Press Release:

Duke Energy accepts applications for 2013 Habitat Enhancement Program

June 3, 2013

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -
Duke Energy is again offering grants through the Habitat Enhancement Program (HEP) to qualifying government agencies and nonprofit organizations that want to enhance, create and protect fish and wildlife habitats along the Catawba-Wateree River and its tributaries in North Carolina and South Carolina.

HEP is a cooperative effort by Duke Energy, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).

The program is funded annually from a fee charged to individuals and residential marina developers seeking permits to build piers on the Catawba-Wateree lakes. The Foundation for the Carolinas administers the funds.

“This is the first program of its type for Duke Energy and is part of the company’s relicensing efforts for the 11 lakes and 13 hydroelectric power plants located along the Catawba-Wateree River,” said Joe Hall, Duke Energy Lake Service’s director.

Those interested in seeking funds from the HEP are encouraged to complete an application found at http://www.duke-energy.com/lakes/habitat-enhancement-program.asp and submit it for consideration before July 31, 2013, for this year’s round.

Projects eligible for funding include a wide range of categories -- from planting native shoreline vegetation, the construction of osprey platforms and wood duck boxes, and the installation of fish attractors, to the purchase of property and conservation easements along the Catawba-Wateree River that permanently preserve rare and unique habitats.

Nearly $112,000 was awarded in 2012 for projects ranging from construction of osprey nesting platforms to creation of large underwater reefs for fish habitat. Since 2007, about $1.1 million has been approved in the Carolinas for funding habitat enhancement projects. A panel of scientists along with several private citizens will select projects that will receive funding in 2013.

“Projects funded by the HEP will help diversify fish and wildlife habitats along the lakes and river, where piers and riprap have become the primary habitat type in some areas,” said Dick Christie, SCDNR fishery biologist.

“With efforts through the HEP, the potential for sustaining diversity in our fish and wildlife populations along this river system will continue, thanks to those dedicated groups that apply for and use these funds to their greatest potential,” added Tim Gestwicki, executive director, North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with more than $110 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.

Catalyzed Persulfate for Groundwater and Soil Remediation | 2013-06-01 | Pollution Engineering

Catalyzed Persulfate for Groundwater and Soil Remediation | 2013-06-01 | Pollution Engineering