TOMORROW: EPA Administrator to Testify Before House Science, Space and Technology Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday, June 27, 2012

TOMORROW: EPA Administrator to Testify Before House Science, Space and Technology Committee
WASHINGTON - Tomorrow, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will testify before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to discuss EPA’s continued work to use the best possible science to protect people’s health and the environment.

WHO: Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

WHAT: Testimony before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee

WHEN: Thursday, June 28, 2012 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT

WHERE: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building, S.W., Washington, DC

More information on EPA: http://www.epa.gov

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EPA Awards Over $59,000 to Provide Job Training that Revitalizes Urban Waters

News release:

EPA Awards Over $59,000 to Provide Job Training that Revitalizes Urban Waters

in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward

(DALLAS – June 27, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $59,824 to Groundwork New Orleans to provide training for students working to restore polluted urban waters. The goal of the Urban Waters program is to fund research, studies, training, and demonstration projects that benefit urban waters and the surrounding land. Communities directly benefit from access to natural areas. Urban waters can be canals, rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, estuaries, bays and oceans in urbanized areas.

"By supporting job training for local high school students, this grant will help young people play a part in shaping the future of New Orleans," said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Sam Coleman. "Groundwork New Orleans is helping the Lower Ninth Ward’s effort to restore urban waters and grow local businesses."

Groundwork New Orleans will use their Urban Waters grant funds to help transform vacant and underutilized land into an educational demonstration project called The Green Slice, based in the Lower Ninth Ward. The Green Slice will be designed as a demonstration research site that will teach people about water management and water quality improvement, impacting local urban watersheds. Green Team members will be instrumental in assessing existing water quality and drainage infrastructure. They will then coordinate with other partners to develop plans for testing best management practices. The students will generate educational materials and conduct outreach throughout the project.

Many urban waterways have been polluted for years by sewage, runoff from city streets and contamination from abandoned industrial facilities. Healthy and accessible urban waters can help grow local businesses and enhance educational, recreational, employment and social opportunities in nearby communities. By promoting public access to urban waterways, the EPA will help communities become active participants in restoration and revitalization efforts.

Information on EPA’s Urban Waters program is available at http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/index.html
More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

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Five urban water protection efforts in Pacific Northwest and Alaska selected for EPA funding

Press release:

Five urban water protection efforts in Pacific Northwest and Alaska selected for EPA funding

Two public events scheduled this week to announce the projects

Contact: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454, kader.hanady@epa.gov

(Seattle – June 26, 2012) Five efforts to protect water in urban areas of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska will share a combined total of over $252,000 thanks to funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Urban Waters Program. The projects include creating greener municipal streets in Corvallis, Oregon, restoring downtown streams in Anchorage, Alaska and helping a Port Townsend, Washington museum launch a campaign that expands understanding of pollution pathways to Puget Sound.

The funding comes from the EPA Urban Waters Program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land. Urban waters can be canals, rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, estuaries, bays and oceans in urbanized areas. Across the country, EPA awarded $2.7 million to 46 organizations in 32 states for urban water initiatives.

EPA officials will attend two events this week in Oregon and Washington to announce the following awards and congratulate the grantees:

• The first event is at the Port Townsend Marine Science Museum at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, June 27^th in Port Townsend, Washington. Christine Pysk, Deputy Associate Director, EPA Region 10 Office of Water and Watersheds, will participate for EPA.
• The second event is from 1:30 – 2:30pm, at the Madison Avenue Meeting Room (500 Madison Avenue, at the corner of Madison and 5^th street) in the City of Corvallis, Oregon. In a combined program, Tony Barber, EPA Oregon State Director, will announce three awards to the City of Corvallis Urban Waters Team; the Lower Rogue Watershed Council; and the Water Quality Monitoring project in the City of Florence, Oregon. Shawn Penrod from the City of Florence and Kelly Sparks, the Watershed Council Coordinator for the Lower Rogue Watershed Council, will also attend.

The additional grants in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are:

Anchorage School District - $30,280

Contact: Bev Thornburg, Anchorage School District, (907) 742-4471

The Chester Creek Community Revitalization Project connects middle school students with the neighboring community and partnering agencies to monitor and restore the water quality of Chester Creek, an important Alaskan watershed and urban stream in Anchorage, Alaska. Begich Middle School serves the Muldoon neighborhood, a densely populated, low-income area with significant stream degradation. The project includes Begich students’ participation in providing water quality and riparian monitoring data for stream restoration and habitat improvement.

City of Corvallis - $45,620

Contact: Iris Benson, City of Corvallis – (541)766-6916

The City of Corvallis will conduct a comprehensive planning effort for green streets as a mechanism to treat storm water, develop alternative transportation routes, expand urban green space, and improve community health. Green streets collect non-point source pollution from city streets through filtration, detention, and evaporation of storm water runoff before it enters into the Willamette River and the city’s urban streams.

Lower Rogue Watershed Council - $59,400 (through) Curry Soil & Water Conservation Dist.

Contact: Liesl Coleman, Manager, Curry Soil & Water Conservation District, 541-247-2755 or Kelly Sparks, Coordinator, Lower Rogue River Watershed Council, 541-247-2755 ext 4#

The project will produce a scientific assessment of the Rogue Estuary that includes historic and current conditions, an analysis of limiting factors, areas for restoration, enhancement, and conservation, and recommendations for projects. The funding also supports education and engagement of the local community with a continuing education class at the local community college, with a sub-set of students trained to collect water quality and related data appropriate for volunteer sampling. The project will support water and environmental quality monitoring.

Finally, it will support an estuary team comprised of community and agency individuals who will use the assessments to develop a community-driven restoration plan for the Rogue Estuary.

Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC) - $56,848

Contact: Liesl Slabaugh - PTMSM - LSlabaugh@ptmsc.org -(360)385-5582, ext.101

The Port Townsend Marine Science Society will collect data that will expand understanding of the various pathways and fates of toxic pollution in Puget Sound. The project will create a new, permanent, educational and interactive exhibit at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center with the theme "Toxics in the Marine Environment." Local volunteers will assist with designing the exhibit by participating in focus groups. Local volunteers will also collect roof run-off samples from 25 homes in the Port Townsend and Seattle areas for lab analysis against a panel of approximately 100 toxic compounds. This research will fill data gaps on toxics in roof run-off and help inform and influence the development of water restoration techniques, such as rain gardens. Volunteers will have the opportunity to collect tissue samples from deceased seals that will be analyzed for toxic chemicals and phthalates.

City of Florence - $60,000

Contact: Mike Miller, Public Works Director, City of Florence, 541-997-5822

The City of Florence, with an urban area population of over 8,400, will use this grant to continue the EPA-funded Siuslaw Estuary Partnership Surface- and Groundwater Monitoring Program for an additional two years. This grant will continue work to protect the North Florence Sole Source Dunal Aquifer and to protect and improve water quality in Munsel and Ackerley Creeks and the Siuslaw River, classified as an impaired water body.

Many urban waterways have been polluted for years by sewage, runoff from city streets and contamination from abandoned industrial facilities. Healthy and accessible urban waters can help grow local businesses and enhance educational, recreational, employment and social opportunities in nearby communities. By promoting public access to urban waterways, EPA will help communities become active participants in restoration and protection.

To see the national press release announcing the initiative and for a list of projects across the country, visit:

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/c366f60fbeca6aa785257a29005649c3!OpenDocument

Information on EPA’s Urban Waters program: http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/index.html

New EPA study published in Circulation, a Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), finds a connection between ozone exposure and heart risk.

Press release:

New EPA study published in Circulation, a Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), finds a connection between ozone exposure and heart risk.

Read the AHA press release about the EPA study:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/aha-nel062012.php

or go to EPA's Air Research Web page: http://www.epa.gov/research/airscience

Ralcorp Commercial Bakery in Lodi to Pay More than $1.3 Million for Air Violations

For Immediate Release: June 26, 2012

Media Contact: Michael Ardito; ardito.michael@epa.gov; 415-972-3081

Ralcorp Commercial Bakery in Lodi to Pay More than $1.3 Million for Air Violations
U.S. EPA, San Joaquin Valley Air District assess penalty

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District today announced a Clean Air Act settlement with Ralcorp’s Cottage Bakery in Lodi, Calif. after the facility failed to obtain permits and install proper air pollution controls. The company will pay a penalty of $625,000.

In addition, the company paid $750,000 to install and operate a thermal oxidizer that reduces volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 95 percent. VOC emissions are considered a precursor to ozone and particulate pollution. San Joaquin Valley violates the federal air quality standard for both ozone and particulate pollution and has some of the poorest air quality in the nation.

“Air quality is a critical human health issue in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our enforcement action requires air pollution controls at the plant to protect the communities in the Valley from illegal emissions.”

The EPA’s investigation of the facility included an inspection conducted on July 27, 2009. The EPA’s investigation revealed that the facility had never applied for air pollution permits to install and operate the facility’s ovens and associated air pollution controls. Ethanol, a VOC, is generated during the leavening stage of bread manufacturing and is later released during baking. Cottage Bakery’s production facility includes three bread ovens installed at various times between 1997 and 2006.

Cottage Bakery is a large-scale commercial bakery with about 625 employees. The facility produces frozen bread and cake products that are used by retail bakeries and the food service industry throughout the U.S. and Canada. Cottage Bakery, Inc. is owned by Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products, headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill.

The proposed consent decree for the settlement, lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on June 26, 2012, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval. A copy of the proposed decree will be available on the Justice Department website found at http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html .

For more information about air pollution permits, please visit the EPA’s web site at http://www.epa.gov/region9/air/permit/index.html . # # #

EPA Releases Guidance on Fuel Availability Provisions for Ships Operating Off the Coast of North America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 26, 2012

EPA Releases Guidance on Fuel Availability Provisions for Ships Operating Off the Coast of North America

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released interim guidance for ship owners and operators clarifying how the U.S. government will implement fuel availability provisions when ships are unable to obtain fuel that meets standards protecting against sulfur pollution along the coast. Sulfur pollution has been linked to respiratory illnesses, particularly in at-risk populations including children, the elderly, and asthmatics. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has officially designated waters off of the coast of North America, known as the North American Emission Control Area (North American ECA), as areas where stringent international pollution standards apply for ships, including fuel sulfur limits. The guidance provides background information on the North American ECA fuel sulfur standards, explains how owners and operators of vessels can establish compliance with these requirements, and describes how an owner or operator of a vessel who cannot obtain compliant fuel oil can make a fuel oil non-availability claim.

The IMO is a United Nations agency that deals with marine safety, security, and the prevention of marine pollution from ships. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is a treaty designed to minimize pollution on the seas including dumping waste, oil, and exhaust pollution. MARPOL Annex VI sets out air emissions standards, including fuel sulfur limits, for ships. The United States implemented Annex VI in 2008 when Congress amended the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).

Annex VI requires ships operating in designated geographical areas, the ECAs, to meet the most advanced standards for fuel sulfur and other pollutants. The North American ECA will come into force on August 1, 2012. At that time, the maximum sulfur content of fuel oil used by ships in the ECA will be limited to 1.00 percent m/m (10,000 ppm). This standard will change on January 1, 2015, to 0.10 percent m/m (1,000 ppm).

Compliance with both the Annex VI air emissions standards for ships and the Clean Air Act standards applicable to U.S. ships are expected to reduce the annual emissions of sulfur oxides by 1.3 million tons by 2030.

Read the interim guidance:

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/caa/caaenfprog.html

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EPA Awarding $2.7 Million to Revitalize Urban Waters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2012

EPA Awarding $2.7 Million to Revitalize Urban Waters

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced it is awarding $2.7 million to 46 organizations in 32 states and Puerto Rico to help restore urban waters, support community revitalization and protect Americans’ health. Nancy Stoner made the announcement today in Atlanta and awarded a grant to the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization. The group will use the funds to expand its Water Watch program to improve water quality and human health in local metro Atlanta neighborhoods.

EPA’s Urban Waters program funding supports communities’ efforts to access, improve and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land. Urban waters include canals, rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, estuaries, bays and oceans in urbanized areas. The grants range from $30,000 to $60,000 for projects across the country, including in a number of underserved communities. Recipients will promote the restoration of urban waters through community engagement and outreach, water quality monitoring and studies, and environmental education and training. To view a list of the projects that will be funded, visit http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/funding

Many urban waterways have been polluted for years by sewage, runoff from city streets and contamination from abandoned industrial facilities. Healthy and accessible urban waters can help grow local businesses and enhance educational, economic, recreational, employment and social opportunities in nearby communities. By promoting public access to urban waterways, EPA will help communities become active participants in restoring urban waters while improving and protecting their neighborhoods.

EPA’s Urban Waters program supports the goals and principles of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a partnership of 12 federal agencies working to reconnect urban communities with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies and collaborating with community‐led revitalization efforts.

The Urban Waters Federal Partnership closely aligns with and advances the work of the White House’s place‐based efforts, including the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, to revitalize communities, create jobs and improve the quality of life in cities and towns across the nation. The Urban Waters Federal Partnership also advances the work of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.

Information on EPA’s Urban Waters program: http://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/index.html

Information on the Urban Waters Federal Partnership: http://urbanwaters.gov/

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