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Greenbytes: June 30, 2005 Edition
In this Issue
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.
Editor’s Note:
Welcome to EPA New England’s Fourth of July edition of Greenbytes. We are sending this to you on Thursday this week, since many of you may be taking Friday off to enjoy a long holiday weekend. Greenbytes will not be published next week, so we are including an expanded “Meetings & Conferences” section to highlight the week of July 11 (there are no meetings scheduled for the week of July 4).
If you are taking time off to enjoy Independence Day, whether to a beach, lake or the mountains, please travel safe and enjoy the relaxation that New England summers provide.
Feature: Clean New England Beaches & Summertime Fun
Over the last two weeks, EPA staff have had the pleasure of traveling to the five New England states that border the ocean, in order to help our state counterparts continue to develop and expand water quality monitoring programs for beaches. This is an important link in the chain of ensuring that people can safely enjoy New England’s all-too-brief summer by passing time at a beautiful beach.
Across New England last year, about one quarter of the region's 1,000 coastal beaches were closed at least one day last summer due to pollution, for a total of about 1,000 missed beach days. That's a tangible improvement from 2001, when the region's saltwater beaches had nearly 1,400 beach closure days.
Launched four summers ago, EPA's New England Beaches Initiative selected 11 flagship beaches which were chosen as models for the program. The original beaches were selected based on several criteria: serving large populations; a history of beach closures due to pollution; high quality monitoring already in place; and a strong potential for state and federal resources to be used.
Since 2001, EPA has awarded New England coastal states with approximately $4.9 million to develop and expand Clean New England Beaches Initiative. This year alone, we are proud to have made nearly $1.2 million available to Conn., R.I., Mass., N.H. and Maine. The funding was made possible by the Federal Beach Act approved by Congress in 2000.
Polluted runoff and untreated sewage released into the water can contain bacteria, viruses, and protozoans, some of which can cause minor illnesses such as gastroenteritis or more serious diseases such as hepatitis. Runoff can be contaminated from pet waste, wildlife, illicit connections and various other sources. Sources of sewage include leaking sewer pipes, failing septic systems, boats and combined sewer overflows.
For more information about EPA’s Clean New England Beaches Initiative, visit the agency’s web site at http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/beaches .
For more information on efforts in each state, see:
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Brief Bytes
Nominations for Enforcement Office, and for Solid Waste & Emergency Response Office
President Bush has nominated two individuals for senior leadership posts at EPA. For the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), Granta Y. Nakayama is nominated as Assistant Administrator; and for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), Susan P. Bodine is nominated to be Assistant Administrator. Both nominees will need to undergo confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate.
With more than a decade of professional experience as a practicing engineer and technical manager, Granta Nakayama currently works for the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis, L.L.P., specializing in environmental issues such as the Clean Air Act and other federal statutes, enforcement actions, regulations and rate proceedings, agency rulemaking, and Congressional matters. Prior to joining Kirkland and Ellis in 1994, Granta served in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine service. He also currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law.
Susan Bodine currently serves as the Staff Director and Senior Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She and her staff are responsible for managing the committee’s work on environmental matters, such as the Clean Water Act, Superfund, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Prior to her current position, she served for six years as a counsel to the subcommittee. Susan also worked for the law office of Covington and Burling, where she specialized in environmental law.
Stationary Diesel Engine Pollution to be Reduced By More
Than 68,000 Tons
As part of a nationwide effort to control fine particle and ground-level ozone pollution, EPA is proposing emission standards for stationary diesel engines. The proposed standards, known as New Source Performance Standards, will reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from new, modified, and reconstructed stationary diesel internal combustion engines. The standards will subject stationary diesel engines to the same stringent levels required by EPAs nonroad diesel engine rule. As proposed, the rule will affect 81,500 new stationary diesel engines and result in total pollutant reductions of over 68,000 tons in 2015. Emissions reductions will occur gradually from 2005 to 2015, reaching reductions of 90 percent or more from baseline levels in some cases. EPA estimates the total nationwide annual costs for the rule to be $57 million in the year 2015. Stationary diesel internal combustion engines are used to generate electricity and operate compressors at facilities such as power and manufacturing plants. They are also used in emergencies to produce electricity and pump water for flood and fire control. EPA will accept comments on this proposed rule for 60 days following publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register. For more information on this action visit: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3/fact_sheets/stadieselengineprop_fs.html .
Improved Air Quality Forecasts Provide Healthful Info
Recently improved forecasting by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service and EPA makes air quality forecasts available to more people than ever before, bringing the most accurate, up-to-date air quality predictions available. The forecasts will help millions of Americans protect their health on days when ozone levels are high. The new forecast capability, already used in the northeast, is being built by a team of NOAA and EPA scientists who develop, test and implement improvements in the science of air quality forecasting for real-time predictions. The system is continuing to be augmented, and will ultimately include forecast information for particle pollution. The National Weather Service forecast models drive simulations of atmospheric chemical conditions using pollutant emissions and monitoring data provided by the EPA. Twice daily, supercomputers operated by NOAA produce predictions of ground-level ozone forecasts - which are then made available online at: http://www.epa.gov/airnow . The AIRNow site also features additional health and safety information along with a compilation of air quality alerts issued by state and local air quality forecasters.
International Effort to Reduce Radon Risk
Recognizing indoor radon as a significant cause of lung
cancer around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO),
in collaboration with EPA and participating countries, is
launching and organizing an International Radon Project aimed
at helping countries reduce the health risks associated with
indoor radon. The approach will focus on increasing public
awareness about this invisible health threat and what can
be done to reduce the risk. Radon is the second leading cause
of lung cancer after smoking. WHO estimates that radon could
cause up to 15 percent of lung cancers globally. EPA will
participate in workgroups and contribute $120,000. This international
effort will complement the radon program run by EPA in the
U.S. For additional information on the initiative, visit:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2005/np15/en/index.html 
, or for general information about radon, visit: http://www.epa.gov/radon .
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Press Releases
Clean Beaches Press Releases:
New Englanders Win Environmental Education Awards
Newtown CT - Town to pay penalty for oil spill at school
Woburn, MA - Comprehensive cleanup plan for Industri-plex
Keene, N.H. - Wastewater treatment plant violations
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Meetings & Conferences
Raymark Advisory
Committee
July 12, 2005
Mass. Military
Range (MMR) Plume Cleanup Team
July 13, 2005
Fort Devens Restoration
Advisory Board
July 14, 2005
S. Weymouth Naval
Airstation Restoration Advisory Board
July 14, 2005
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New Bedford - McCoy Field Documents Posted to EPA Website
New England NPDES Stormwater - updated
Acid Rain - updated charts, contact info
New Listserver to receive all EPA NE news releases
GE Housatonic 1.5 Mile - May 2005 Monthly Report
GE Housatonic General Reports - May 2005 Monthly Report
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"In The News" is a free daily service that provides links to today's top newspaper stories about the New England environment and links to related EPA New England information.
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