Environmental News

SAN FRANCISCO, California, September 4, 2008 (ENS) - One of the largest providers of waste management services in the San Francisco Bay area is facing hefty financial penalties from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, after being found liable for over 100 stormwater violations of the Clean Water Act.

EPA inspectors found evidence that California Waste Solutions violated its permit and discharged waste and other pollutants into nearby waterways in three locations for nearly five years.

"The EPA requires companies to take simple, basic steps to prevent pollution," said Alexis Strauss, Water Division Director for EPA's Pacific Southwest region, announcing the company's liability on Wednesday.

"We expect a company responsible for large municipal contracts in the Bay to protect San Francisco Bay, and comply with federal and state pollution requirements," she said.

California Waste Solutions provides waste management services for large portions of Oakland and San Jose.

At the San Jose facility, at least 35 rainfall incidents caused surface water runoff to discharge litter, zinc, recyclables, and other pollutants into Coyote Creek, a tributary of the San Francisco Bay.

At two California Waste Solutions Oakland facilities, at least 74 rainfall incidents caused surface water runoff to discharge litter and debris into the San Francisco Bay's Oakland waterfront.

The Oakland shoreline and Coyote Creek are home to Endangered Species Act-listed species. Coyote Creek provides critical habitat for California Central Coast Steelhead trout.

Stormwater is a national priority for the EPA, said Strauss. Stormwater runoff from urban areas can include a variety of pollutants, such as sediment, bacteria, organic nutrients, hydrocarbons, metals, oil and grease. Discharges of these pollutants can harm the environment and public health.

The Clean Water Act requires waste management companies to have controls in place to prevent pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways.

The companies must have a stormwater pollution prevention plans in place that set guidelines and best management practices to follow, to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants.

The amounts that the EPA will levy against the company in fines have not yet been made public.

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HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, September 3, 2008 (ENS) - Pennsylvanians will have a chance to provide input on how the commonwealth manages its water resources during a series of public meetings to be held across the state this month.

The Department of Environmental Protection, along with members of six regional water resources committees, will accept testimony on the draft state water plan that is being developed in accordance with the Water Resources Planning Act.

Developing the plan is the first step in analyzing problems and needs associated with specific water-related activities, such as stormwater management, flood control and navigation, state water officials say.

"This document will serve as a blueprint that guides sustainable water use throughout the commonwealth for the next 30 years," said DEP Deputy Secretary for Water Management Cathy Curran Myers.

By the end of 2008, the Water Resources Planning Act requires the DEP to develop a new state water plan that includes inventories of water availability, an assessment of current and future water demands, an evaluation of resource management alternatives, and proposed methods of implementing recommended actions.

"Our water resources are important to our economy and our quality of life, so it's essential that we have a plan in place that ensures that we are good stewards of these precious assets," Myers said. "Once finalized, this plan will serve as a tool for everyone - for the public, for municipalities, and for businesses interested in creating jobs here."

Each public meeting will be preceded by an open house from 5 pm to 6 pm to give people a chance to review displays and maps of the respective regions. From 6 pm to 7:30 pm, DEP staff and members of the respective regional committees will give presentations on the draft plan and conduct an informal discussion period. The department will begin accepting formal comments on the draft plan beginning at 7:30 pm

Anyone planning to testify should register in advance by contacting Karen Price at 717-783-9499 or by e-mailing kprice@state.pa.us.

A written copy of the testimony should be provided to department staff at the hearings. Written testimony also will be accepted through September 30 and may be sent to Leslie Sarvis, DEP Water Planning Office, P.O. Box 2063, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2063.

Each regional water resources committee will conduct a regular business meeting from 2:30 pm to 4 pm on the same date and location as the public meeting. The business meetings are open to the public.

The draft state water plan and agendas for each meeting are available through the Public Participation link at www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Participate.

Public meeting dates and locations:

* Sept. 8 – Ohio Regional Water Resources Committee meeting, Seven Fields Community Center, 380 Castle Creek Dr., Seven Fields, Butler County. For information, contact Lori Mohr, DEP Water Planning Office, 717-787-4628 or laumohr@state.pa.us.

* Sept 9 – Great Lakes Regional Water Resources Committee meeting, Erie County Conservation district, 1927 Wager Rd., Erie. For information, contact Lori Mohr, DEP Water Planning Office, 717-787-4628 or laumohr@state.pa.us.

* Sept. 11 – Delaware Regional Water Resources Committee meeting, Room 605 Fowler Family Southside Centre, Northampton Community College, 511 E. Third St., Bethlehem. For information, contact Leslie Sarvis, DEP Water Planning Office, 717-772-5634 or lsarvis@state.pa.us.

* Sept. 15 – Lower Susquehanna Regional Water Resources Committee meeting, Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill, Cumberland County. For information, contact Leslie Sarvis, DEP Water Planning Office, 717-772-5634 or lsarvis@state.pa.us.

* Sept. 17 – Upper/Middle Susquehanna Region Water Resources meeting, Holiday Inn, 100 Pine St., Williamsport. For information, contact Lori Mohr, DEP Water Planning Office, 717-787-4628 or laumohr@state.pa.us.

* Sept. 18 – Potomac Regional Water Resources Committee meeting, Multi-Purpose Center, Penn State Mont Alto Campus, One Campus Dr., Mont Alto, Franklin County. For information, contact Leslie Sarvis, DEP Water Planning Office, 717-772-5634 or lsarvis@state.pa.us.

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WASHINGTON, DC, September 3, 2008 (ENS) - Two federal government agencies are at odds over the safety of bisphenol A, a chemical used to harden plastic products such as baby bottles and drinking water bottles and for lining food and beverage cans.

A report today by the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program finding that bisphenol A may alter brain development and behavior and increase the risk of prostate cancer in children, infants and fetuses is in direct contradiction to last month's assessment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the chemical is safe at current levels of exposure.

Based on 261 scientific publications, the National Toxicology Program report contradicts an FDA draft report released in August which found that bisphenol A is safe at current human exposure levels and does not recommend banning the chemical.

Some 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of bisphenol A in their urine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on urine samples provided by 2,500 Americans aged six and older for a national health survey in 2003-2004.

The report released today was conducted by the National Toxicology Program based on the assessment of an expert panel convened by the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction that evaluated the potential for bisphenol A to cause adverse effects on reproduction and development in humans.

The panel completed its evaluation in August 2007 and the NTP assessment also includes scientific information that has been reported since then.

CERHR Director Dr. Michael Shelby states in the report that bisphenol A was selected for evaluation because of widespread human exposure, public concern for possible health effects from human exposures, high production volume, and evidence of reproductive and developmental toxicity in laboratory animal studies.

After assessing the evidence, the National Toxicology Program said it has "some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A."

The NTP has "minimal concern for effects on the mammary gland and an earlier age for puberty for females in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A."

The NTP has "negligible concern that exposure of pregnant women to bisphenol A will result in fetal or neonatal mortality, birth defects, or reduced birth weight and growth in their offspring."

The NTP has "negligible concern that exposure to bisphenol A will cause reproductive effects in non-occupationally exposed adults and minimal concern for workers exposed to higher levels in occupational settings."

The National Toxicology Program review reflects the findings of dozens of independent scientists from around the world who have raised questions about the chemical's possible dangers for more than a decade.

Richard Wiles, executive director of the nonprofit research organization Environmental Working Group, said today in a statement, "Unlike the FDA, NTP has listened to the nation's premier scientists and has concluded that the BPA threat to the brains, bodies and behavior of our children must be taken seriously."

"The agency's stance is measured and courageous in the face of the slick, relentless publicity campaign from the chemical industry, which seems to be following the tobacco industry's playbook," said Wiles.

He points out that the NTP reviewed several hundred independent scientific studies before reaching its conclusion, while the FDA relied on three chemical-industry funded reports, which gave the toxic chemical the thumbs up for use in consumer products.

"Consumers deserve straight talk from the government," said Wiles. "The new NTP assessment tells us that we are right to be concerned about BPA and the industry's ongoing chemistry experiment on our kids."

The American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group, today said it welcomes the release of the final report on bisphenol A from the National Toxicology Program, saying that the findings of the report identified no serious human health concerns.

"The safety of our products is our highest priority," said Steven Hentges, PhD, of the American Chemistry Council's Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group. "An earlier draft of the NTP report has already been used by the Food and Drug Administration to support their safety assessment, which confirms that food-contact products made from polycarbonate plastic, including products for infants and children, can continue to be used safely."

The FDA draft report, released August 15, states that based on lab tests in rodents, infants and adults are exposed to bisphenol A levels that are below toxic levels.

"Safe or safety means that there is reasonable certainty in the minds of competent scientists that the substance is not harmful under the intended conditions of use," but "complete certainty of absolute harmlessness is scientifically impossible to establish," the draft report states.

But Wiles said the FDA report "ignored the nation's top public health scientists, and instead lauded the benefits of a toxic, hormone disruptor found in virtually every infant in America."

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