COLUMBUS, Ohio, January 21, 2009 (ENS) – The Ohio EPA has introduced a new online voluntary air emissions credit banking system to make it easier for companies to build or expand in Ohio counties that cannot meet federal air quality standards.

Currently, 32 out of Ohio’s 88 counties do not meet federal standards for particulate matter and ozone.

“The emissions bank can help buyers and sellers of emission credits connect quickly and easily, which is a big plus in today’s fast-paced business environment,” said Ohio EPA Director Chris Korleski.

Under the Clean Air Act, a major emissions source, such as a factory or power plant, cannot construct in a nonattainment area unless it obtains emission reduction credits, also known as emission offsets.

An emission reduction credit represents a permanent, quantifiable, federally enforceable and surplus reduction in air pollutant emission that exceeds the amount of reduction required under state or federal law. It is measured in tons per year.

If a new facility wanted to locate in a nonattainment area and planned to emit 100 tons of carbon monoxide per year, it would need to obtain that amount of reductions, or credits, from another source.

Gavin is the largest power plant in Ohio and has two of the seven largest coal-fired generating units ever built. (Photo courtesy AEP)

It can be time consuming and difficult for companies to find and verify available emission offsets. As a result, they often exclude nonattainment areas when considering where to locate a new facility.

“We hope this will help foster economic activity in nonattainment areas, while still allowing us to improve air quality in these same areas,” Korleski said.

Ohio must meet federal air quality standards for nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfur dioxide, fine particulates, carbon monoxide and lead.

Ohio currently has designated nonattainment areas for the eight-hour ozone standard and the particulate matter 2.5 standard. The entire state is in attainment for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead.

The eight-hour ozone standard is not being attained in areas of Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland-Akron, and Columbus.

The PM 2.5 standard is not being met in: Adams County’s Monroe and Sprigg Townships; Ashtabula County’s Ashtabula Township; Coshocton County’s Franklin Township; and Gallia County’s Cheshire Township.

In December, the U.S. EPA announced designations for the 24 hour ozone standard for fine particle pollution, PM 2.5, which is emitted by diesel engines, power plants, foundries.

“These new designations are a continued alarm to Ohio officials that they must do more to protect public health. Failing to meet the standard for particle pollution means our communities are at risk and are suffering,” said David Celebreeze, director of air and water special projects with the Ohio Environmental Council.

If the state fails to meet the standard, the federal government could withhold funds for highways.

Ohio has submitted plans to the U.S. EPA to lower pollution levels in ozone nonattainment areas. Ohio EPA said in a statement that its goal is to bring these areas back into attainment, improving the areas’ quality of life and the local economy.

The state of Ohio is required to submit to the U.S. EPA a State Implementation Plan that will achieve attainment of federal standards for particle pollution by 2014.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

WASHINGTON, DC, May 29, 2008 (ENS) – Two of the largest U.S. ports are among 11 winners of this year’s U.S. EPA Clean Air Excellence Awards honoring innovative efforts that make progress in achieving cleaner air.

“This year’s Clean Air Excellence Award winners’ dedication to creating a cleaner tomorrow is truly a breath of fresh air,” said EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, announcing this year’s awards on Wednesday.

“From local to state governments, companies to citizen groups, these award-winners are helping EPA deliver healthier air and healthier lives to all Americans,” Johnson said. They will be recognized by the EPA at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

The awards were established in 2000, at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, a senior-level policy group that advises tne EPA on implementing the Clean Air Act. There are four categories of awards: clean air technology, community action, education/outreach, and regulatory policy innovations, with one special award for individual achievement.

This year’s Southern California winner is for regulatory policy innovations at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, which share San Pedro Bay.

The ports developed the five year San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan outlining strategies to reduce air emissions and associated health risks from heavy-duty vehicles, oceangoing vessels, cargo-handling equipment, harbor craft, and railroad locomotives involved in port operations. The plan will serve as a model for other ports to follow in the future.

Container ships at the Port of Los Angeles (Photo
courtesy Environmental Health
Perspectives)

Both ports now have berths equipped with cleaner shore-power so ships can turn off their engines while docked. They have committed $10 million to replace all Pacific Harbor Line locomotives with cleaner units this year.

The ports are encouraging vessels to slow to 12 knots when they are within 20 nautical miles of Point Fermin, which reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

Their Clean Trucks Program requires that all trucks calling at the ports meet the 2007 on-road standard by 2012.

Earlier this month, the Port of Los Angeles debuted the world’s most powerful electric truck. The heavy-duty electric short-haul drayage truck – the first of its kind at any port worldwide – can pull a 60,000-pound cargo container at a top speed of 40 mph.

Future widespread application of a fleet of electric trucks would be especially useful at the Port of Los Angeles because more than two million truck drayage trips take place between the port terminals and rail and warehouse facilities within five to 10 miles of San Pedro Bay every year.

On Wednesday, as their award was announced, the ports were sponsoring the first San Pedro Bay Ports Technology Conference, bringing together entrepreneurs, financial and legal experts, officials from the two ports and other stakeholders to talk about technological challenges and opportunities in the fields of air quality and energy efficiency, which go hand-in-hand.

“Implementing new clean-air technologies can’t happen without strategic partnerships,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard Steinke. “This conference will help create those partnerships, and in turn produce a greener goods-movement system to benefit the entire maritime industry and our local communities.”

A related Clean Air Award for innovative technology goes to the Foss Maritime Company for introducing the first hybrid diesel-electric tugboat.This hybrid tug will reduce emissions of hazardous and toxic air pollutants by combining modern batteries and an active power management system to minimize engine use.

The hybrid tug’s modular design can be applied as a retrofit to existing tugboats and the tug can incorporate future energy storage improvements in battery technology and hydrogen fuel cells.

Foss Maritime Company began constructing the hybrid tugboat in August 2007 and will deliver it to San Pedro Harbor in 2008.

The other Clean Air Award Winners are:

Technology
Texas Instruments, Texas, and Matros Technologies, Missouri – These companies pioneered the use of catalytic materials for improved abatement of volatile organic compounds in the semiconductor industry

Regulatory/Policy Innovations
Gila River Indian Community Air Quality Management Plan, Arizona – The Gila River Indian Community is the first tribe in the country to develop a multi-program Air Quality Management Plan. The tribe’s Department of Environmental Quality Air Quality Program Team created the most comprehensive plan developed by a tribe to regulate air quality under the Clean Air Act. The Plan was enacted into tribal law in December 2006.

Community Action
Project Green Fleet – The Minnesota Environmental Initiative reduced children’s exposure to school bus diesel emissions by retrofitting hundreds of buses.

Northern Wood Power Project – Public Services of New Hampshire reduced coal consumption and air emissions by changing a coal-burning boiler for a wood-burning boiler.

Education/Outreach
Life is a Breath of Fresh Air, Alabama, Auntie Litter, Inc. – This performance initiative has educated the community on the harmful effects of low-level ozone and particle pollution through youth-targeted outreach, such as children’s rap music and skits.

Spare the Air in Greenville County, South Carolina – Greenville County’s education outreach has implemented a campaign to improve air quality through multiple media outlets, such as public presentations and booths at festivals.

Drive Clean Across Texas Campaign – A partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality promotes improvements in air quality through behavioral changes of drivers. The campaign, focusing on nine urban areas in Texas with poor air quality, has five simple messages: maintain your vehicle; drive less; buy a cleaner vehicle; drive the speed limit; and reduce idling.

Georgia Radon Education Program – The University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences prevents radon-induced lung cancer through education, testing, and the reduction of radon in indoor air.

Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award
The late Dr. Joseph T. Ling is being celebrated for his holistic approach to environmental management.

In 1975, Dr. Ling launched 3M’s Pollution Prevention Pays program, which seeks to eliminate pollution at the source through product reformulation, process modification, equipment redesign, and the recycling and reuse of waste materials.

Since its introduction, the program has prevented more than 2.6 billion pounds of first year pollutants with more than 565 million pounds coming from the prevention of emissions to air, according to the EPA.

Dr. Ling’s work has had an international impact. After first presenting his ideas in 1976 at a conference sponsored by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Sweden adopted pollution prevention as a formal part of their environmental policies.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

DALLAS, Texas, March 21, 2008 (ENS) – After eliminating 4,000 pounds of harmful chemicals, the management of Dallas Love Field airport is pledging to reduce 1,000 additional pounds as part of a national program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The airport plans to reduce 1,000 pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, as part of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities, NPEP, program.

In addition, it is pledging to eliminate 50 pounds of mercury by replacing light bulbs, thermometers, thermostats and other equipment under the NPEP Mercury Challenge campaign.

“More and more top facilities are finding smart, simple ways to conduct business and care for the environment at the same time,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard Greene. “It is even more inspiring when members of industry not only stick with their commitments to the environment, but expand on them, as Dallas Love Field has done.”

The management of Love Field is
reducing harmful chemicals in
the airport building.
(Photo credit unknown)

The airport will replace fluorescent light ballasts and instruments containing mercury with modern equipment that is free of the harmful chemical. It will also recycle light bulbs that contain mercury.

“Our efforts at Love Field are an extension of citywide policies pertaining to environmental responsibility, which are implemented through our Environmental Management System,” said Director of Aviation Daniel Weber.

“Our success with removing harmful chemicals from the system follows our earlier program to reduce air emissions, in conjunction with our tenant airlines,” Weber said. “Our staff will continue to work at reducing all Dallas Airport System facilities’ impacts on the environment.”

The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities promotes the voluntary reduction of 31 priority chemicals. Through work with the EPA, both public and private organizations identify activities that will reduce the use of these chemicals, preventing their ability to accumulate in the environment and cause harm to humans and the ecosystem.

The Mercury Challenge promotes the voluntary, systematic elimination of equipment continaing mercury, a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver.

More than 150 organizations nationwide have joined the NPEP program, which has set a goal of reducing the use or release of four million pounds of priority chemicals by 2011.

Dallas Love Field is one of only four airports nationwide to join the NPEP program and is the first to add more goals to its original commitment.

The airport covers 1,300 acres and has three runways. Love Field was the primary airport for Dallas until 1974, when Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport opened. Love Field is now Dallas’ secondary airport and serves as a major focus city for Southwest Airlines. Continental Express and American Eagle also offer service from Love Field.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

WASHINGTON, DC, February 29, 2008 (ENS) – A national program that has cut more than one ton of mercury has reached a major milestone – one million switches have been removed from scrapped vehicles. The millionth mercury switch was removed through the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program, a collaboration among EPA, automobile manufacturers, steel makers, scrap recyclers, automotive recyclers, states and environmental groups.

“By pulling mercury switches before they enter the recycling system, we are improving the health of our environment and the health of generations of U.S. residents,” said EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen
Johnson holds up the millionth
recovered mercury switch.
(Photo courtesy EPA)

Before model year 2003, some vehicles contained mercury switches for convenience lighting in hoods, trunks, and some anti-lock breaking systems.

On August 11, 2006, EPA announced the national program that the agency says will help cut mercury air emissions by up to 75 tons over the next 15 years.

For the program, 10 automakers created the End of Life Vehicle Solutions Corporation, which provides dismantlers with information and supplies needed for switch removal, collect and transport switches to proper recycling and disposal facilities before they are crushed and sent to furnaces that recycle the steel.

The goal of the program is to capture 80 to 90 percent of available vehicle mercury switches by 2017 when most pre-2003 vehicles are expected to be off the road and the program is scheduled to end.

Vehicles are the most recycled consumer goods in America, according to the EPA. Each year, the steel industry recycles more than 14 million tons of steel from old vehicles.

Most vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life are dismantled, stripped, flattened, shredded and melted to make new steel. If mercury switches are not removed from retired vehicles, that mercury is released into the environment as air emissions. These air emissions are considered a primary source of mercury that poses a risk to human health and the environment.

Mercury automotive switch removal is an easy, cost effective and energy efficient way to reduce emissions. Dismantlers can find and remove most switches in a few minutes. Doing so costs far less per pound of mercury than emission controls, and supports many industries that produce and use scrap metal. They earn $1 for each switch they recover.

Removal conserves energy and natural resources by promoting automotive steel recycling while reducing mercury contamination.

The National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program is the result of a two-year collaborative effort involving EPA, vehicle manufacturers, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the Automotive Recyclers Association, Environmental Defense, the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and representatives of the Environmental Council of the States.

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

SYRACUSE, New York, January 24, 2008 (ENS) – A Syracuse company has agreed to pay a $150,000 fine and upgrade its practices to resolve alleged violations regarding solid waste, stormwater runoff and air emissions, and to ensure that contaminated material does not flow into Onondaga Lake, says the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Adjacent to Onondaga Lake, Roth Steel Corp. runs a metal shredding business, specializing in automobiles.

The DEC had charged Roth with improperly disposing of solid waste and hazardous substances, failing to control stormwater runoff from the facility, failing to prevent petroleum discharges and other violations.

Along with the penalty, the settlement orders Roth to investigate two landfill cells that hold a material called “shredder fluff” to determine whether any contaminants are leaching into the lake.

The shredder fluff, used in car interiors and upholstery, contained PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, a suspected carcinogen, as well as numerous other contaminants.

DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said it is important that the agreement order signed by Roth on Friday allows his agency to deal with compliance issues in a variety of regulated areas – air, water, solid waste – in one consent order.

“DEC is committed to its mission of safeguarding New York’s natural resources,” Grannis said. “This settlement does just that, tackling a variety of violations and helping protect Onondaga Lake.”

The settlement calls for a strict compliance schedule. The company must investigate the shredder fluff cells and, if there are leaks of contaminants from the cells, remove and properly dispose of the material.

The company must also submit a plan by the end of January to investigate and remediate any automobile fluid discharges, and develop and implement plans for dealing with stormwater and air emissions issues.

Pollution on Onondaga Lake at
Syracuse, New York (Photo
courtesy City Data Forum)

Covering 4.6 square miles in upstate New York, Lake Onondaga is one of the most polluted lakes in the United States, according to the Onondaga Lake Partnership, a nonprofit group that works for restoration of the lake.

The lake has a number of domestic and industrial pollution problems relating to population growth and industrialization in Syracuse over the last century.

Approximately seven million cubic yards of Onondaga Lake sediments are contaminated with mercury, and mercury has been measured in the flesh of lake fish at levels that exceed federal food standards. These sediments are so tainted that they are listed as hazardous waste on the National Superfund List.

Allied-Signal, Inc., a Honeywell company, is completing a series of mercury studies under the direction of the New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Law to identify the major sources of mercury to the lake system and recommend ways to eliminate contamination of the fish.

Other toxic substances such as PCBs and chlorinated benzenes have also been detected in the lake ecosystem.

Combined sewer overflows are the main source of bacteria to Onondaga Lake. They cause the lake to violate bacteria standards after heavy rainfalls, and public health standards for levels of indicator bacteria are routinely violated throughout the southern half of Onondaga Lake following storm events. Violations occur on about 54 days in the average summer and prevent the lake from being used for swimming.

Onondaga Lake is not damaged to a point beyond repair, the Partnership says, adding “Significant progress has been made in reducing pollution inputs, and water quality has improved significantly since the 1970s, when restoration efforts began.”

View This Story On Eco-mmunity Map.