Region 1: EPA New England

Greenbytes: June 3, 2005 Edition

Greetings from EPA New England. We hope you find this edition of Greenbytes useful and we encourage you to give us feedback. For information on subscribing or unsubscribing see the section at the end of this message.

Feature: Charles River - A Cleaner River Due to Collaboration and Perseverance
- Robert W. Varney

Earlier this past week I had the distinct pleasure of being in the company of many of Massachusetts' most dedicated environmental professionals as we celebrated the tenth anniversary of EPA New England's innovative Clean Charles effort.

As we are now reaching the 2005 target date, there is a great deal of substantial progress and accomplishment that we at EPA, as well as our state and local, public and private, partners can be very proud of. It is absolutely undeniable, the Charles River is vastly cleaner today than it was a decade ago. Our work is restoring the river to better ecological health. However, there still remains additional work to do on the lower Charles to fully realize our goal of a "swimmable and fishable" river. EPA is committed to completing this task.

As you likely know, the Clean Charles effort began during the tenure of one of my predecessors here at EPA New England. One of the aspects to our success that I applaud is that the Clean Charles work shows that when we set environmental goals, and then work together to find productive solutions, we will succeed. I am proud to be moving this project forward in my tenure.

EPA has a wealth of interesting information on the Clean Charles 2005 report card. I won't restate all of the relevant facts here, but please do take a few minutes to delve into the details.

One document that you may not have seen yet, but that provides a fascinating account of the past several centuries of human history and the Charles River is found in a new report published by the U.S. Geological Society.

Other interesting resources I encourage you to read:

• EPA press release on Clean Charles
• Detailed information on EPA New England's Charles River web site

 

Brief Bytes

$7.5 Million Available in Clean School Bus Grants

Grants of $7.5 million are available from EPA to help make school buses run cleaner. Under EPA's Clean School Bus program, the agency expects to provide 20 to 30 grants to school districts across the country to upgrade their diesel school bus fleets. The upgrades would come from replacing older buses with new, cleaner ones, or by retrofitting existing buses with devices and cleaner fuels that reduce diesel air pollution. There are roughly 440,000 school buses in the country. Reducing pollution from school buses helps improve local air quality and reduces children's exposure to diesel exhaust. The application deadline for the EPA grants is Friday, July 1, 2005. For more information about the program and examples of successful projects, visit: http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus . For information on how to apply for funding under the Clean School Bus USA grant program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html#0513. EPA expects to announce the awards in fall 2005.

Rule Planned to Ease Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel Transition

To facilitate the transition to the ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel, EPA will issue a rule later this year that will take two actions. The first action will shift the retail compliance date from September 1 to October 15, 2006, to allow more time for terminals and retail outlets to comply with the 15 ppm ULSD standard. During this extended transition period, diesel fuel meeting a 22 ppm level can be marketed as ULSD downstream in order to speed the transition. This action will help ensure nationwide transition to 15 ppm ULSD prior to the introduction of new clean diesel trucks and buses. The second action will establish a test program, in cooperation with the fuel industry, to collect the data necessary to determine if the current 2 ppm testing tolerance is sufficient. These transitional items will not interfere with the planned introduction of clean diesel vehicles and engines anticipated in the autumn of 2006, nor will they reduce the environmental benefits that will be achieved by this historic Clean Diesel Program. For more information on the Heavy-Duty Highway rule, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/diesel.htm .

Press Releases

Cranston RI - Lead disclosure settlement with real estate investor

Children win environmental art awards

• CT
• NH
• RI
• VT

Caritas Christi Health Care - voluntary environmental audit

Lawrence, Mass. - Clean up at Bay State Plating

Stratford Conn. - Five year review of Raymark clean up

Meetings & Conferences

Free TRI Workshops - More added due to popular demand

Augusta, ME
Tues. June 7, 9 a.m.

N. Clarendon, VT
Thurs. June 9, 9 a.m.

Floating workshop - water quality in Upper Thames Basin
Fri. June 10, 12 noon

Index of June meetings

What's New on the Web

Regional

Assistance & Pollution Prevention - updated contact info

Charles River - updated site

Center for Environmental Industry & Technology - updated info

In The News Daily Email Service

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