![[logo] US EPA](../gif/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Envirobytes - Archive
EnviroBytes, a Summary of Issues and Events for Week Ending November 6, 2009
SHAWN M. GARVIN SELECTED AS NEW EPA REGION 3 ADMINISTRATOR
Former EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced President Barack Obama's selection of Shawn M. Garvin as new regional administrator of EPA Region 3 (including Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and D.C.). He joined EPA in 1997, serving as special assistant to then regional administrator, W. Michael McCabe. Garvin will leave his current senior state and congressional liaison position as primary contact to federal, state and local officials in the mid-Atlantic region.
AMERICA RECYCLES DAY WAS CELEBRATED ON NOV. 15
America Recycles Day was celebrated on Nov.15 to remind us that recycling is important in reducing pollution and that individual efforts make a difference. The average American discards about 4.6 pounds of trash/solid waste every day, mostly going to landfills. Recycling one glass container saves the energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours. Last year, the amount of energy saved from recycling was equivalent to the amount of gasoline used by 11 million cars or the amount of electricity consumed by 17.8 million Americans in a year. For more on recycling, go to https://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/solidwasterecycling.htm
FUNDING TO IMPROVE POTOMAC WATERSHED WATER QUALITY
EPA awarded the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) a nearly $700,000 Clean Water grant to implement the water pollution control measures necessary to improve water quality in the Potomac Watershed. ICPRB will use these funds to develop Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocations, collaborate with tributary teams and watershed groups, improve monitoring and stream assessments, and provide public information and education. The Potomac Watershed encompasses 14,670 square miles in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
EPA REGION 3 SITE ADDED TO SUPERFUND'S MOST HAZARDOUS SITES LIST
EPA is adding three sites to its Superfund National Priorities List, including the Peck Iron and Metal site in Portsmouth, Va., a former scrap metal facility near Paradise Creek (tributary to the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and the Chesapeake Bay). The site became contaminated with elevated levels of PCBs and lead due to improperly stored and disposed of hazardous substances that pose a risk to human health and the environment. For Federal Register notices and supporting documents for this and the other proposed Superfund sites, please visit https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm .
EPA'S SUSTAINABLE SKYLINES INITIATIVE TO HELP PHILADELPHIA GET CLEANER, HEALTHIER
The City of Philadelphia, PECO Energy, Pa. Horticultural Society, the Clean Air Council and others have joined the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and EPA in EPA's Sustainable Skylines initiative to collaborate on projects to improve air quality and enrich the city's environment. The program will assist the city's 'greening' through an energy efficiency conservation campaign, a diesel retrofit/ replacement program, a lawn equipment trade-in/replacement program; an anti-idling education outreach campaign, and a tree planting program. For information on the national Sustainable Skylines initiatives see www.epa.gov/sustainableskylines/ssicities.html
EPA PETITIONED TO ADOPT STRICTER STANDARDS IN SPRAYING OF PESTICIDES TO PROTECT CHILDREN AND THE PUBLIC FROM EXPOSURE
EPA is requesting comment on a petition to evaluate children's exposure to pesticide drift and to adopt requirements for “no-spray” buffer zones near homes, schools, day-care centers, and parks. To submit comments, please see docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0825 at http://www.regulations.gov. EPA is also proposing to issue new more uniform and detailed labels on pesticide containers to instruct pesticide applicators how to control pesticide drift from causing harmful exposure to human health during crop spraying and dusting. To submit comments, please see docket EPA–HQ–OPP–2009–0628 at http://www.regulations.gov., and for more general information, go to https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/spraydrift.htm
Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.
