The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 24 received EPA’s proposed rulemaking for sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs) that would subject these processes to control emissions of toxic air pollutants under Section129 under the Clean Air Act for the first time. The agency had previously exempted SSIs from other proposed and final rules establishing new source performance standards for hazardous air pollutants in a 2005 rule that set performance standards for a variety of small incinerator classes, and EPA did not include them in other standards proposed earlier this year covering boilers, process heaters, and incinerators. The proposed rule would apply to wastewater treatment systems that use incinerators to burn sewage sludge. EPA’s proposal would set technology-based emissions limits under 40 CFR Part 60 for sewage sludge incineration units. [Read more]
EPA released on August 20 a draft clean water strategy that outlined plans for new rules and other initiatives to prevent water quality from degrading, better manage pollution from animal feeding operations, expand coverage of municipal stormwater permits, and promote green infrastructure. The draft document, Coming Together for Clean Water: EPA’s Strategy for Achieving Clean Water, reflects in part the realization that although the clean water program has traditionally focused on controlling point-source pollution from industrial plants, some of the most significant factors in water degradation today are agriculture, stormwater runoff, habitat, and hydrology. The draft strategy was developed following an EPA forum in April. EPA is taking comment on the draft through September 17. The draft strategy lays out a plan to focus on five broad areas:
- Systematically assessing U.S. waters to provide a baseline for tracking progress,
- Enhancing the agency’s ability to restore degraded waters and ecosystems,
- Increasing the focus on protecting healthy waters,
- Reducing new pollution, and
- Enhancing the resiliency of watersheds. [Read more]
From the State Water Resources Control Board…
To all interested parties:
Join us for “Compliance with ARRA Buy American Provision for SRF Projects”
A one hour webcast on specific areas of the Buy American provision of ARRA that have generated frequent questions. Topics discussed will include compliance, documentation, de minimis, and international trade agreements. This webcast is open to all interested parties, including assistance recipients and contractors.
A previous version of this same webcast was held for states and EPA regional offices in July 2010. Please review this presentation if you cannot attend, or want to see if the webcast will address your questions. EPA will have a live Q&A session at the end of the webcast.
This webcast addresses specific aspects of the Buy American provision that have generated frequent questions, but will not cover the basic elements of this provision or of ARRA. EPA has covered these basic elements of the Buy American provision in other webcasts. Previous webcasts and other ARRA reference materials can be found online at http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/eparecovery/
Call-in information will be provided prior to the webcast.
Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Time: 2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. EDT
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
The DEA will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide on Saturday, September 25th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked.
According to the DEA’s August 19th press release, “this initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.”
For more information and to view a list of nationwide collection sites, please visit www.dea.gov.
Water For People, a nonprofit international development organization, announced today receipt of a $5.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support their innovative Sanitation as a Business program.
The grant represents a significant investment over four years in Water For People’s Sanitation as a Business work, testing possible sustainable sanitation services in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This groundbreaking program seeks to revolutionize the sanitation sector. The program will combine profit incentives for small local companies and income generation programs for poor households and schools, demonstrating a shift from unsustainable, subsidy-based sanitation programs toward sustainable, profitable sanitation services. By merging business principles of market research and segmentation with comprehensive community involvement and thorough evaluation of results, Water For People aims to create a truly scalable model, expanding affordable sanitation coverage in multiple locations worldwide. [Read more]
CWEA, along with its Clean Water Summit Partners, wrote the Department of Recycling and Recovery on August 26 asking for its attention in resolving a policy decision that would stall popular recycling programs at wastewater treatment plants.
From the letter:
Specifically, we are concerned that if CalRecycle allows permit issuance and requirements to remain within the discretion of individual LEAs, it will serve as a disincentive for POTWs to accept and treat fats, oils, and grease (FOG), septage, and food waste. An additional unnecessary permitting process will inhibit state initiatives, which promote both renewable energy production and the diversion of organic material from landfills. In addition, the policy conflicts with the intent of Title 27, which was adopted to avoid jurisdictional overlap whenever feasible. Therefore, the Clean Water Summit Partners offer several alternative solutions to resolve this matter in a way that will maximize the amount of FOG and Food Waste accepted at POTWs.
Read the full comment letter and proposed solutions
The Water Environment Federation proudly announces the winners of the 2010 WEF Excellence Awards. The awards will be presented at the WEF Awards and Presidential Celebration Reception during WEFTEC® 2010, WEF’s 83rd annual technical exhibition and conference, this October in New Orleans, La. [Read more]
The Western Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) and the California Environmental Protection Agency Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) announced today a video contest on the subject of pollution prevention. The contest is open to the public and the deadline for submission of a 60 second or less video is September 19. The winning videos will be featured during Pollution Prevention Week September 20-27; this year honoring the 20-year anniversary of the Pollution Prevention Act signed by Congress in 1990. Video contest winners will also be recognized at a ceremony during the WSPPN 2010 Conference in San Diego on October 27-28. [Read more]
By Pei-Chin Low, 2010-11 CWEA President & Executive Committee Chair
I am pleased to announce the opening of nominations for the 2011 CWEA Board of
Directors positions. Your local section and committee officers will have received the
Executive Committee request for nominations for CWEA Directors and Officers by the
time you receive this notice. However, to broaden the notification, this request is going
out to the CWEA membership. Below is a summary of the nomination process – and how
you can become involved in selecting your leaders. See the CWEA website at
www.CWEA.org for more information. Follow the path: Member & Leader Resources/I’m
a Leader/I’d like to be a Leader/Join CWEA Board/Nomination Information. [Read more]
Watch and listen to the on-line State of the Association meeting hosted on May 4, 2010 by CWEA President Pei-Chin Low (MWH). Click the graphic below to launch the player.
