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Envirobytes - An Environmental Newsletter
EnviroBytes, a Summary of Issues and Events for Week Ending May 2, 2008
GREENING OF THE PHILLIES
The Philadelphia Phillies major league baseball team has signed up with EPA's Green Power Partnership, becoming the third-largest purchaser of green power in the city. The Phillies purchased 20 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy to cover ballpark energy use this year, equivalent to planting 100,000 trees. The ballpark will use only biodegradable cups and plates, turn frying oil into biodiesel and recycle stadium cans and bottles. Regional Administrator Donald S. Welsh remarked how the Phillies “have hit a grand slam for the environment” by investing in clean, renewable energy to offset their carbon footprint and act as an example to others. For information about the Green Power Partnership, go to http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/basic/index.htm
EPA CO-HOSTS THE 17TH ANNUAL INDUSTRIAL PRETREATMENT CONFERENCE
EPA Region 3 and the PA-DEP co-sponsored the April 23-24 Annual Industrial Pretreatment Conference in Myerstown, Pa., hosted by the Eastern Pennsylvania Water Pollution Control Operators Association of Reinholds, Pa. EPA presentations included types of samples used for pretreatment program monitoring, emerging contaminants (focusing on mercury), and the federal regulations code. Other presentations included pharmaceuticals and personal care products, laboratory audits, talking with regulators, and emergency response procedures. Well-trained sewage and wastewater pretreatment operators are important in keeping water supplies clean and safe to protect the health and well being of communities.
EPA ISSUES TRAINING MATERIAL TO IMPROVE WATERSHED ORGANIZATIONS' FINANCING STRATEGIES
EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds has released a set of online training materials designed to help nonprofit watershed organizations develop and implement sustainable funding plans to finance their watershed projects. The materials outline six key steps to funding plan development, introduce fundraising options, and provide success stories as examples to successful financing. Watershed organizations will be able to create their own financing plans, ensure their own sustainability, and protect the nation's water quality. The materials are available at http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/sustainablefinance/.
COMPANY DISCOVERS NEW USES FOR BYPRODUCTS OF ACID MINE DRAINAGE
EPA considers acid mine drainage and its dissolved metal runoff into water bodies a major pollution concern from abandoned mines, but now, the byproducts of acid mine drainage (removed through a passive treatment system) are being used to develop glaze pigments by the Clean Creek Products Co. of Cranbury Township, Pa. The company manufactures and sells hand-thrown glazed pottery (the glaze using the byproduct-based colorant) and also promotes the metal byproducts as raw materials to other industries. The proceeds from these efforts are given to local watershed groups to keep streams and rivers clean from acid mine drainage. To learn about these byproduct reuse efforts, go to http://www.cleancreek.org/catalog/conditions.php 
To learn about acid mine drainage pollution in Region 3, go to http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/nps/mining/mines.htm#acid
STAR GRANT WINNERS PRESENT FINDINGS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND PARTICULATE MATTER
EPA Region 3 hosted scholars and researchers on climate change and air pollution from regional universities (including Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Delaware) who presented their findings from work funded through their EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Grants awards. The workshop included presentations on climate change and particulate matter and how the research complements and supports agency initiatives. Topics discussed included measurement of the size and composition of atmospheric particulate matter, and linking global to regional models to assess future impacts on U.S. surface ozone concentrations. For more information on the STAR program, the solicitation process, and topics of concentration, go to http://es.epa.gov/ncer/grants/
INTERNATIONAL COMPOST AWARENESS WEEK RUNS FROM MAY 4 TO MAY 10
According to EPA, yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. We can help reduce these statistics by composting to reduce a household's waste. Tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peels, pet hair, dryer lint, egg shells, leaves, and grass clippings – almost any readily available organic materials -- can be recycled and thrown into a compost pile. The compost pile can be used to nourish soil, reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, save money, and also reduce contamination of streams, and lakes. For more information, go to www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/composting/basic.htm.
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