Inhofe Criticizes 'Unacceptable' Information From EPA On Fracking

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) is criticizing what he claims is "vague" and "unacceptable" information his staff received from EPA Region VIII officials regarding the agency's test results of water contamination near natural gas hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, activity in Wyoming. Inhofe, ranking member of the Environment & Public Works Committee, sent a Sept. 2 letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson urging her to ensure that Region VIII "will be more forthcoming with Congress about its testing and the agency's plans...

EPA Region VIII Finds Methane In Water Near Wyoming Fracking Sites

EPA Region VIII and the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) are warning Wyoming residents about drinking water risks after testing water wells located near natural gas hydraulic fracturing activities, citing evidence of potential contamination that environmentalists are citing in calling for a crackdown on industry. The agencies are telling residents of Pavillion, WY, not to drink or cook with their well water, and to make sure rooms are well ventilated before turning on a faucet due to...

Oil Industry Reluctantly Accepts Strict EPA Onshore Spill Rule Deadline

Petroleum industry officials are reluctantly accepting EPA's pending final rule requiring major onshore oil storage facilities to quickly comply with a strict spill prevention rule, saying that while they continue to have concerns about meeting the rule's deadline, they will not lobby EPA or the White House further on the issue. "At this point we are letting it go," one industry source says. "At some point the rubber does have to hit the road," the source adds of industry's need...

Activists' Waste Petition Marks Multimedia Push For New EPA Drilling Rules

Environmentalists have petitioned EPA to review whether oil and gas extraction waste should be more strictly regulated as a hazardous waste, rounding out multimedia efforts to win stringent new air, water and drinking water rules for oil and gas drilling, including the controversial gas extraction practice called hydraulic fracturing. But even if EPA agrees with activists that drilling waste is hazardous, federal waste law requires Congress to approve any hazardous waste rules for the sector before they go into effect,...

Investor Groups Seek Strict Waste Rules For Handling Coal Ash Disposal

Institutional investor groups including state treasurers are calling on EPA to adopt strict waste rules for coal ash in a Sept. 15 letter sent to agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. The groups argue that EPA should classify coal ash as hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA), which would impose tough financial assurance requirements on industry to ensure adequate cleanups if necessary. The letter, signed by 22 institutional investor groups with nearly $250 billion in assets, says, "The...

NRC Says Radioactive Waste Blending Plan Needs Rule Prior To Approval

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairman has issued an opinion that industry should not proceed with a plan to blend radioactive waste in order to broaden the types of facilities where it can be disposed until NRC completes a lengthy rulemaking process on the issue, a decision being met with a mixed reaction from environmentalists. In a memo released this month, NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko says he "cannot specifically approve or disapprove the concept of large scale blending of waste...

Activists Urge California Not To Relax Solar Panel Waste Management Plan

Environmentalists and other stakeholders are criticizing draft California toxics department rules to exempt solar panels from hazardous waste management standards, fearing that the exemptions could lead to the panels leaching toxic chemicals into sensitive, rural areas of land where large solar projects are planned. The critics -- including the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the California Product Stewardship Council and others -- argue that if California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) finalizes the exemption, it should at least require...

In Settlement With Activists, EPA Vows New Waste Definition Rulemaking

EPA in a settlement with environmentalists is committing to propose a new rule revising its controversial regulatory definition of solid waste (DSW) by June 2011 -- a move that builds on steps the agency has already taken in response to the activists' lawsuit since the Obama administration took office. The agency and environmentalists in a joint brief filed Sept. 10 are asking the federal appellate court reviewing the rule to accept the procedural settlement, sever activists' portion of the case...

Appointment Of EPA Region IV Chief Could Resolve Credibility Concerns

President Obama has appointed an administrator for EPA Region IV -- the last agency region to get a permanent top official. The move could help address concerns that the lack of a regional administrator was harming Region IV's credibility on high-profile environmental issues. EPA announced through a Sept. 1 press release the appointment of Gwen Keyes Fleming to head Region IV, which covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and six Tribal Nations. Keyes Fleming is...

Experts Seek New Independent Superfund Advisory Panel For EPA, ASTDR

An advisory panel is advocating the creation of an independent committee to advise EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) on Superfund site cleanups, following long-running concerns about the two agencies' roles in assessing public health risks at contaminated sites. The Policies & Practices workgroup of ATSDR's National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures calls for the new advisory panel in a draft report released Sept. 7 for public comment. The workgroup, consisting of experts,...

IG Planning Report On Long-Term Monitoring At Former Superfund Sites

EPA's Inspector General (IG) is planning to draft a report that may make broad recommendations on how the agency could improve long-term monitoring meant to ensure that contamination remedies at former Superfund sites are sufficiently protective of human health and the environment. The IG in 2008 began issuing reports analyzing the effectiveness of such monitoring at specific sites that have been deleted from EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) for Superfund, and the results of the studies have so far been...

Former Defense Sites See Funding Boost From Fewer Active Base Cleanups

The Defense Department (DOD) pumped an extra $41 million into cleanups at former defense sites this fiscal year, transferring funds from the Army after the service discovered it had overestimated the amount of land at active bases needing further remedial investigation, a defense official told state environmental officials late last month. Maureen Sullivan, DOD director of environmental management, told the Environmental Council of States (ECOS) in late August that the formerly used defense sites (FUDS) program saw a $41 million...

California-DOE Deal May Preserve EPA Cleanup Standards At Federal Sites

A proposed agreement between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) could alleviate fears that the cleanup of a key contaminated site would undermine EPA Superfund standards for radioactive contamination around the country, environmentalists say. DTSC on Sept. 3 announced it had reached an agreement in principle with DOE regarding cleanup of Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL) following years of controversy over how stringently the site should be cleaned...

Jackson To Meet With Air Force Secretary Over Escalating Cleanup Fight

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson will meet with Air Force Secretary Michael Donley later this month over an escalating fight between EPA and the Air Force over the cleanup of a Florida air base, weeks after EPA's enforcement chief said the agency might take unspecified new action against the Air Force to ensure a safe cleanup at the site. Jackson is slated to meet with Donley Sept. 24 to discuss the ongoing battle over cleanup actions and authorities at Tyndall Air...

EPA Officials At Odds With GE Over Landmark Hudson River Cleanup Plan

EPA officials are at odds with General Electric (GE) over how to proceed with the landmark cleanup plan for the Hudson River after an agency advisory committee report recommended that dredging be slowed down to avoid spreading contamination. EPA officials are calling on GE to commit to completing the entire project but the company is offering only to engage in more limited work until the company and the agency have set new standards to measure cleanup performance. At issue is...

Draft California Dioxin Risk Study Seven Times Stricter Than EPA Review

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has released its draft risk assessment of dioxin that finds the chemical's cancer potency to be at least seven times stricter than EPA's recent draft risk study, with the state's scientists declining to base their assessment on the criticized human data that EPA is using. OEHHA's strict risk number for dioxin is part of the office's draft public health goal for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in drinking water, released for final public comments in...

EPA Rejects Activists' Push For Strict Cancer-Based Dioxin Cleanup Limit

EPA is rejecting environmentalists' calls to set strict interim cleanup goals for dioxin-contaminated soils based on the toxin's cancer risks and has instead floated draft guidance to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) that proposes interim limits based on less-significant non-cancer risks. Sources at federal agencies say that EPA's draft guidance setting preliminary remediation goals (PRGs) for dioxin is based on the persistent contaminant's non-cancer risks. "EPA is recommending non-cancer-based soil screening values for residential and commercial/industrial,"...

EPA Sees Costly Effects From Strict New Dioxin Cleanups, Irking Industry

EPA is anticipating that its strict new cleanup targets for dioxin-contaminated soils could prompt broad new cleanup requirements across its Superfund program, including difficult-to-implement remedies, new evaluations at a host of Superfund sites and costly new testing requirements, according to internal EPA documents obtained by Inside EPA . The document is prompting criticism from industry officials who say the agency has rejected requests to assess the cost of its new goals, which could undermine redevelopment of contaminated sites during the...

EPA Vows To Tighten Draft Vapor Screening Guide Ahead Of 2012 Release

EPA is vowing to strengthen its 2002 draft guidelines for assessing the risks posed by toxic vapors that intrude into structures near contaminated sites, saying in a recent review of the guide that the agency will expand the list of chemicals for which parties must screen, update chemicals' toxicity data and increase the frequency of indoor air testing. The Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response (OSWER) late last month released a review of its draft 2002 Subsurface Vapor Intrusion...

EPA Weighs Options For Listing NPL Sites Due To Vapor Intrusion Pathway

EPA is weighing options for how it could add sites to the Superfund National Priority List (NPL) due solely to exposures from toxic vapors that escape from underground contamination sources, a new exposure pathway the agency has estimated could result in an additional 37 sites being added to the list. According to EPA and other sources, the agency is weighing whether to amend its regulation governing how it screens the hazard potential of contaminated sites -- known as the Hazard...

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