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Envirobytes - Archive
EnviroBytes, a Summary of Issues and Events for weeks ending June 3, 2011 and June 10, 2011
NEW FUEL ECONOMY LABELS WILL HELP WITH FUEL COSTS AND IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
On June 1, EPA mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin joined Delaware's Environmental Secretary and representatives of the Clean Air Council and Mid-Atlantic AAA to unveil the administration's new fuel economy label that will be affixed to model year 2013 cars and trucks (including plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles). The label will greatly clarify information for buyers on the fuel efficiency and estimate of a vehicle's fuel costs, savings, and impact on the environment. For more information, go to http://fueleconomy.gov/label https://www.epa.gov/carlabel and http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy.
EPA REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR PRESENTS AWARD TO ROCKVILLE, MD FOR UPGRADING ITS DRINKING WATER SYSTEM
On Monday, June 6, EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin presented the City of Rockville, Md. with the Sustainable Public Health Protection Award for excellence in making their drinking water infrastructure more energy efficient and contributing to public health. The city also demonstrated innovative leadership in financing, planning, implementing, partnering, and promotion of sustainable water infrastructure improvements. Total cost of the project was $3.7 million, of which $1.7 million came through American Reinvestment and Recovery Act "green project" funding and $2 million from the city.
ALL INVITED IN AUGUST TO MARYLAND STREAMS SYMPOSIUM AND WATER QUALITY MONITORING CONFERENCE
The Maryland Streams Symposium will take place Aug. 10 – 13 and the corresponding mid-Atlantic Volunteer Conference on Aug. 11 and 12 at the Carroll Community College, Westminster, Md. The general public and experts who attend will encounter enriching presentations on water quality monitoring and stream restoration, hands-on field trip experiences and workshops, as well as an August 11th outdoor social/cookout. To participate, please submit information by July 15th. Oral presentations must be submitted by July 29th. More information and a registration form can be found here.
To give a talk or present a poster, click here for the Call for Papers and Posters.
EPA INCREASES ACCESS TO INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL DATA; PROVIDES FREE ACCESS TO TSCA CHEMICAL INVENTORY
EPA has made public more than 150 chemicals in 104 health and safety studies formerly claimed confidential by industry including in products such as air fresheners, non-stick and stain-resistant materials, fire-resistant materials, nonylphenol and perfluorinated compounds, and lead. EPA is providing free access and updated postings on declassified information to the TSCA Inventory in the EPA and Data.gov websites, and the ability to electronically search EPA's database of more than 10,000 health/safety documents and many widely encountered chemicals. For more information, go to https://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/transparency.html
EPA SCRUTINIZES SAFETY OF NANOSCALE MATERIALS IN PESTICIDE PRODUCTS
EPA proposed on June 9 to gather information on the nanoscale materials present in pesticide products to determine if a pesticide being registered is harmful and may cause unforeseen adverse effects on human health and the environment. The new proposed policy options will soon be published in the Federal Register. Comments on the Federal Register notice will be accepted until 30 days after publication. The notice will be available at www.regulations.gov in docket number EPA–HQ–OPP–2010-0197. For more information or to read the proposed notice, go to https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/nanotechnology.html
EPA ANNOUNCES FISCAL YEAR 2011 BROWNFIELDS GRANTS TO REVITALIZE CONTAMINATED SITES AND PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH
On June 6, EPA announced its investment of more than $76 million in communities nationwide to help finance the cleanup, redevelopment and revitalization of their contaminated properties and prepare them for productive reuse.
Fiscal Year 2011 Region 3 brownfields property investment grants:
Cleanup grants:
The town of Addison, W. Va.($67,000) to clean up and redevelop the former Railroad Freight and Passenger Depot into a proposed tourism center; the Jefferson County (W. Va.) Development Authority ($200,000) to redevelop the former Sheperdstown Dump into a library; and the city of Ranson, W. Va. ($200,000) to clean up the former brass and aluminum Kidde Fire Fighting Foundry.
Revolving Fund Loan Grant:
Allegheny County, Pa. ($500,000)
Assessment Grants:
The North Side Industrial Development Co. of Allegheny County, Pa. (two grants totaling $1,000,000); The Washington County Redevelopment Authority in Washington, Pa.(two grants totaling $400,000); and The City of Fredericksburg, Va. (two grants totaling $400,000). For more information, go to shttps://www.epa.gov/brownfields/pilot_grants.htm
For information on EPA's brownfields program, go to https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
HEALTHY WATERS BLOG CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
Maintaining Healthy Waters in Emergencies. Do you have ideas on how we can protect our water supplies and wastewater disposal systems from being disrupted during natural disasters and emergencies?
To Bold'ly Go Where No Ship Has Gone Before The Ocean Survey Vessel Bold is EPA's ocean and coastal monitoring vessel designed to collect and sample water and sediment samples for laboratory analysis onboard or onshore. Watch a video overview! Share your ideas with your friends at http://blog.epa.gov/healthywaters/
Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.
