Double-Crested Cormorant

From USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System:

One gulp! That’s all it takes for this double-crested cormorant at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, PA, to swallow dinner. These long-necked birds are adept divers, grabbing fish and swallowing them whole. Thanks to Scott Kemper, a member of the Friends of John Heinz, for this photo.http://on.fb.me/1BtfiQH

U.S. EPA and SF Environment recognize Quesada Gardens Initiative for environmental work in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood

EPA Press Release:

RELEASE DATE: August 20, 2014

CONTACT: Suzanne Skadowski, 415-972-3165, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

U.S. EPA and SF Environment recognize Quesada Gardens Initiative for environmental work in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Francisco Department of the Environment (SF Environment) presented an Environmental Award to the Quesada Gardens Initiative in recognition of the grassroots organization’s decade of work to address environmental issues in the San Francisco Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood.

“The Quesada Gardens Initiative has transformed an ordinary neighborhood street into community food gardens and neighborhood gathering spaces,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “EPA’s Environmental Awards recognize people and groups like Jeffrey Betcher and Quesada Gardens who are committed to protecting public health and improving our communities.”

EPA and SF Environment presented the award to Jeffrey Betcher, co-founder of the Quesada Gardens community organization. Quesada Gardens began more than 10 years ago on the 1700 block of Quesada Avenue in San Francisco’s historically underserved and environmentally challenged Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood. Mr. Betcher, a neighborhood resident, worked with his neighbors to transform the street into a series of community food gardens, public art displays and gathering spaces.

“Thanks to the leadership of Jeffrey Betcher, and through the hard work and dedication of the Quesada Gardens Initiative community, Bayview families are enjoying the beauty and bounty of community gardens,” said Debbie Raphael, SF Environment’s Director. “Jeffrey is a leader who nurtures social connections and community relationships. His hard work is helping families thrive while building a vision of a greener Bayview.”

The Initiative has engaged several hundred volunteers in garden projects, involving thousands of volunteer work hours. These gardening and beautification efforts have not only improved the neighborhood, but have also helped build relationships among neighbors and strengthen the local community. This is evident in the Bayview Footprints online newsletter, which serves as an online community hub for the neighborhood.

“I am grateful that scrappy neighbors in the heart of Bayview are being acknowledged for joining together to change a place many had given up on,” said Jeffrey Betcher, Quesada Gardens Initiative’s Executive Director. “This award is evidence our friends in the environmental movement understand that the physical and social environments are fundamentally linked, and that improving one requires attention to the other.”

Quesada Gardens includes the Baybloom Backyard Gardens projects, the Bridgeview Teaching and Learning Garden, the “Bayview Is…” mural and Quesada Gardens Community Mural and Gathering Space. Mr. Betcher was nominated for the environmental award by Dr. Toye Moses, Executive Director of the Southeast Community Facility Commission.

Learn more about Quesada Gardens at: http://www.quesadagardens.org/

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EPA and Savannah State University Sign a Memorandum of Understanding

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 20, 2014

EPA and Savannah State University Sign a Memorandum of Understanding

Contact Information: Danielle Jackson, (404) 562-9182 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main), Jackson.Danielle@epa.gov

ATLANTA - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Savannah State University (SSU) will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance interdisciplinary research, incorporate appropriate environmental content in all academic curricula, and focus on public outreach to raise public awareness. As a part of the MOU, EPA will commit to enhance the university’s environmental policy, laws and management in order to protect and promote environmental resources

Through this MOU, EPA Region 4 is in support of SSU’s efforts to train and provide research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of environmental and mathematical sciences which are pertinent to the mission of the EPA. EPA supports the University’s efforts to become the flagship model of an academic institution that is environmentally sustainable in its campus infrastructure, its environmental policy, its engineering science and public health curriculum, and its community outreach. 

Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4

And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast

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Settlement Ensures that New Bedford Company Adheres to Measures to Control Air Pollutants

EPA Press Release:

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
August 20, 2014

Contact: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Settlement Ensures that New Bedford Company Adheres to Measures to Control Air Pollutants

BOSTON – EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice have lodged a Consent Decree with the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, resolving alleged Clean Air Act violations by Coyne Textile Services of New Bedford, Mass.

Under the Decree, Coyne will meet stringent emissions limits for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from its industrial laundry operations. The company will apply for a state permit amendment establishing limits on its VOC emissions.

EPA and DOJ alleged that Coyne’s excess emissions of VOCs have contributed to the formation of ground-level ozone in Massachusetts, and required strict emission limits from 1994 to the present. Coyne will also pay a penalty of $50,000.

More information:

-    Review the consent decree http://www.justice.gov/enrd/6492.htm
-    Enforcing the Clean Air Act (http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/air-enforcement)
-    Report a Violation (http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/report-environmental-violations)

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U.S. EPA Serving as On-Scene Coordinator in Emergency Response to Ohio River Oil Spill

EPA Press Release:

Media Contacts: Francisco Arcaute, 312-898-2042, arcaute.francisco@epa.gov

Phillippa Cannon, 312-353-6218, cannon.phillippa@epa.gov

U.S. EPA Serving as On-Scene Coordinator in Emergency Response to Ohio River Oil Spill

CHICAGO (August 19, 2014) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is serving as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the emergency response to an oil spill that occurred last night when approximately 3500 gallons of diesel fuel was released into the Ohio River from Duke Energy’s Beckjord power plant. Twenty-four hour operations are underway to contain and clean up oil along a 12 mile stretch of the Ohio River immediately upstream from Cincinnati.

“U.S. EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard and Ohio EPA quickly mobilized and are taking a series of steps to minimize the damage this spill does to the Ohio River and surrounding communities,” said U.S. EPA Incident Commander Steven Renninger. “U.S. EPA is on the scene to ensure the leaked oil is contained and cleaned up as quickly and effectively as possible.”

U.S. EPA has established a unified command with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Pierce Township. U.S. EPA is directing response efforts carried out by Duke Energy. Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, U.S. EPA has the responsibility for inland oil spills.   

Boom was deployed in the Ohio River to contain the spill. Sheen extends approximately 12 miles from Duke’s plant down the Ohio River toward Cincinnati. The U.S. Coast Guard closed 15 miles of the river to vessel traffic.

As a precaution, the Greater Cincinnati Waterworks and the Northern Kentucky Water District each closed drinking water intakes on the Ohio River. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission is conducting water sampling on the river.

For updates on the response to this oil spill, go to www.epa.gov/region5/newsevents/duke-energy-spill/

DOE Awards Cooperative Agreement to the Southern States Energy Board

DOE Awards Cooperative Agreement to the Southern States Energy Board

UGA Student wins National Water Quality Challenge Award

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2014

UGA Student wins National Water Quality Challenge Award

Contact Information: Dawn Harris Young, EPA, (404) 562-8421 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main), harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that James Wood, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Georgia located in Athens, Ga., was one of seven undergraduate and graduate student winners for Phase 1 of the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) Campus Challenge.  The award was based on Wood’s proposal to assess major trends in river plants and measure the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in highly urbanized watersheds.
Announced in February, the NARS Campus Challenge encourages students to develop proposals for research projects that find innovative ways to use NARS data about the condition of the nation’s rivers, streams, lakes, and coastal areas.  The challenge recognizes exemplary research in the area of water quality and ecosystems.
“The National Aquatic Resource Surveys are helping our states and tribes effectively and accurately monitor the ecological condition of our surface waters, which in turn helps EPA better target program efforts to meet our Clean Water Act goals," said Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Water Office. “These students are working to protect America’s surface water resources and bring to this challenge energy, innovative perspectives, and cutting-edge knowledge.”

The National Aquatic Resource Surveys are a series of statistically representative surveys conducted by state, tribal and federal partners about the condition of the nation’s waters using core indicators and standardized lab and field methods. In addition to providing national assessments of key water body types such as coastal areas, rivers and streams, lakes, and wetlands, NARS also helps to improve the states’ capacity for water quality monitoring and assessment.

The other winners of the Phase 1 awards are:

Anna Palmer, SUNY-Purchase, New York, for her proposal to use statistical analyses for assessing  socio-economic factors related to water quality;

Lauren Reuss, University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, for her proposal to develop a new system for identifying the condition of shallow lakes and factors that affect the quality of lake condition such as land use, lake size and depth;

John Lombardi, SUNY-College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, for his proposal to combine citizen science data with National Lakes Assessment (NLA) data.
Kelly Heber and Lain Dunning, Ph.D. candidates, MIT, Massachusetts, for their proposal to link between stakeholder communities and coastal ecosystem health;

Kevin Meyer, Ph.D. candidate, Iowa State University, Iowa, for his proposal to estimate land use effects on water quality using spatial econometrics;

Amanda Winegardner, Ph.D. candidate, McGill University, Canada, for her proposal to explore biological  diversity changes across the U.S.; and

The Phase 1 winners each received an award of $2000 for their proposals. After completing their proposed work, these students may apply for Phase 2 of the NARS Campus Research Challenge. The Phase 2 winners will be awarded $5000 each.

More information on the National Aquatic Resources Surveys Campus Research Challenge is available at:

http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/monitoring/nars-challenge.cfm

More information on the National Aquatic Resources Surveys is available at:

http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/monitoring/aquaticsurvey_index.cfm

Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4

And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast

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