Region 1: EPA New England

Greenbytes: March 3, 2006 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: Step By Step, Clean Up Efforts Make Pittsfield Healthier
By Robert W. Varney

Over the past several months there has been a concern raised by some in the western Mass. community of Pittsfield questioning the proximity of the landfills called Hill 78 and Building 71 to the Allendale School. As we approach a new season of work to continue the cleanup of PCB contamination in Pittsfield, it is worth taking a few moments to review all of the work that has been done in the community over the past half decade, and what we are doing to ensure the continued health and safety of Pittsfield citizens.

EPA remains firmly committed to taking actions in Pittsfield that help protect public health and restore the ecological integrity of the land and water in the community. Our work in Pittsfield is steadily resulting in a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for families to live in and grow.

Our goal has remained constant: to work step-by-step with the community through the long-term process of addressing dozens of complicated sites to mitigate the threat posed by PCB contamination. Our job is to ensure that the people of Pittsfield are not being exposed to potentially dangerous levels of toxic contamination.

I don't have to remind you that it's been a very long process. The year 1999 was a milestone, when negotiations between EPA, the state, General Electric and the City resulted in a landmark settlement -- valued at over $250 million -- to clean up Pittsfield and the Housatonic River. The settlement was memorialized in a Consent Decree that was entered in federal court the following year, making it a binding legal agreement.

The 1999 settlement has been the crucial factor in allowing so much work to occur so quickly in Pittsfield. Bringing the key parties to the table -- and avoiding many more years of unproductive legal posturing -- means that Pittsfield will be cleaner, safer and healthier for generations to come. It can be said that the negotiated settlement didn't give each party everything they hoped for. What the settlement did provide was what was needed -- a firm, legally-binding commitment to put the health and environmental integrity of Pittsfield first. This allowed work to proceed as quickly as possible to clean up contamination that had accumulated over many decades.

In the six and one-half years since the settlement was reached, EPA, state agencies, the City and GE have undertaken one of the largest and most complex cleanups in the country, while meeting the underlying objectives of the settlement: remediation, revitalization, and restoration.

Examples of our success are in plain view, most notably along the ancient Housatonic River as it winds through Pittsfield. Clean up work is complete on the first previously PCB-laden ½ mile of the Housatonic River, adjacent to the GE facility. Exceptional progress has been made on the 1 ½ Mile Reach between Lyman Street and Fred Garner Park. We've overcome significant engineering hurdles, allowing this $90 million portion of the EPA clean up to be ahead of schedule and likely completed later this year. Visitors and residents of Pittsfield alike are marveling at how beautiful the restored river is, with new native plants taking hold on the cleaned river edge.

That's not all. GE has also removed contaminated soil and restored 27 residential properties abutting the river. To date, more than 115,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediment, bank, and floodplain soil have been removed from the river and from people's yards, making a safer environment for children to play.

Cleaning these "in town" portions of the river is not the end of our work. We're now looking ahead to what still needs to be done. EPA and GE continue to hammer out a cleanup decision for the Rest of River section. We recently sent back GE's initial proposal for preliminary cleanup goals for the Rest of River, because EPA, in accord with comments from the public and from peer reviewers, wants strong and protective clean up goals to be in place as the clean up work moves down river. EPA is conducting the Rest of River process in an open and transparent manner, and we will ensure the project stays on schedule and results in a clean up that is fully protective of public health and the environment.

Nor is the river itself the only area requiring clean up work. The Consent Decree calls for 18 significant areas of investigation and remediation -- as well as five areas where groundwater is being monitored and PCB-contaminated oil is being removed. A scientifically appropriate response action is being determined for each of these cleanup areas.

To date, work is completed at five areas outside of the river, remediation is underway at another four, remediation is scheduled to begin later this year at an additional three and pre-design investigations and the development of cleanup plans are proceeding at the remaining areas. The baseline groundwater monitoring is complete at all five areas of the site, and more than one million gallons of PCB-contaminated oil have been removed from groundwater beneath the site.

Excavation is underway at property owned by Western Mass. Electric Co. at the intersection of Newell and Sackett Streets, to remove PCB-contaminated soil from a filled river oxbow near several homes. After discovering drums and capacitors last fall, EPA, GE and state officials worked cooperatively to further investigate this property. Following a careful review, GE's proposal to remove all drums from the property has been approved and will move forward. The work will extend the excavation depth to twice the original depth in many areas, and the next phase will be performed in the upcoming few weeks under EPA oversight.

GE and the Mass. Dept of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) have investigated hundreds of suspected fill properties in the area. So far, 175 residential properties have been cleaned up and restored. For GE and MassDEP to have fulfilled their promise to clean up every property where elevated levels of contamination have been confirmed is worthy of our gratitude.

As concerned as we are with removing health threats from PCB contamination in Pittsfield, we are also focused on helping the community to rebound economically. At the dormant GE facility, the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, established in a $45 million companion agreement to the Consent Decree, is working to make economic revitalization in Pittsfield a reality. Last year, Sinicon Plastics announced plans to open a 20,000 square foot manufacturing plant, increasing its workforce by 25 percent.

While we are proud of our extraordinary progress since 1999 to eliminate health threats for residents of Pittsfield, EPA also understands the community's concern regarding Allendale School and the adjacent landfills. To address these concerns, EPA along with both MassDEP and the Mass. Dept. of Public Health, has responded with an aggressive program of environmental monitoring at the school to identify if there are dangerous levels of PCBs in the schoolyard soils or air.

The test results are very reassuring -- there do not appear to be significant levels of PCBs in the schoolyard, either in the soil or in the air. The overwhelming majority of our soil samples show no detections of PCBs whatsoever. Air monitoring has detected either no PCBs, or levels that are so minute that they do not pose significant risks to people. Protections put in place in the 1999 Consent Decree governing what can be put in the landfills, and what measures have to be followed to minimize the chance of airborne recontamination, are working.

EPA's primary concern with the school is to ensure that children, teachers and employees of Allendale School are not being exposed to potentially-harmful levels of PCBs. Our environmental monitoring reassures us that this goal is being met.

As an added precaution, EPA has worked with GE to enhance practices at the landfills to ensure that neither PCBs nor uncontaminated dust become a future concern during the continued consolidation and capping activities.

It is understandable that people in the community question having an elementary school and landfill near one another. EPA never would have allowed this situation to continue if we believed that the health of Pittsfield's children or educators would be put at risk. Further, if the information we collect indicates that protections at the landfills are not adequate, EPA would move aggressively to take any action necessary -- including shutting down the landfills -- to protect citizens' health.

In the meantime, GE is required to perform stringent inspection, monitoring and maintenance at the landfills to ensure that all protections are in place and working. EPA will continue our careful oversight of GE's work at the landfills, including the air monitoring at the perimeter of the landfills. Finally, EPA will continue to collect air samples in the schoolyard. These data are available to the community as we receive it, including on our web site.

Let me restate: If at any time the data suggests that the activities at the landfills are posing unacceptable risks to the public, we will shut the landfills down. However, as with all issues before EPA, we'll continue to make our decisions based on accurate data and sound science, and we will use a transparent public process when making decisions.

It is worth remembering that back in the late 1990's, the community consensus was that the regulatory agencies and GE were spending too much time debating the situation and that the time had come for cleanups to begin. EPA has honored the commitments we made to Pittsfield in 1999. We will continue our work on the many cleanups, with the goal of helping Pittsfield's families to look forward to a future with a cleaner, healthier environment. We look forward to sharing that success with you.

Brief Bytes

Call for Presentations - Brownfields Conference in Boston Nov. 13-15, 2006
The Brownfields 2006 conference, “Revolution in Redevelopment,” will be held in Boston on Nov. 13-15. Conference organizers are now soliciting ideas for presentations at the conference. If you have a suggestion, or your group would like to develop a presentation, this is your opportunity to play a role in outlining what is sure to be a useful and memorable national conference.

More information: http://www.brownfields2006.org/en/Article.19.aspx

Rechargeable Tools and Appliances Can Now Earn the Energy Star
Battery chargers for cordless tools and appliances are the latest products eligible to earn EPA's Energy Star label, which helps consumers identify energy efficient products. Americans use some 230 million products with rechargeable batteries, and Energy Star chargers will be at least 35 percent more energy efficient, including for products such as power tools, small household appliances, personal care products like electric toothbrushes and electric shavers, and garden tools such as weed and hedge trimmers. In the U.S., more energy efficient battery chargers have the potential to save Americans more than 1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy per year, saving Americans more than $100 million annually while preventing the release of more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions—equivalent to the emissions of 150,000 cars. To date, more than 20 external power adapter manufacturers have joined Energy Star and are producing energy-efficient models, which are available with mobile phones, digital cameras, and other products.

Battery charging systems join the more than 40 categories of products that can earn the Energy Star mark, including lighting, appliances, office equipment, consumer electronics, and heating and cooling equipment. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved $10 billion dollars on their energy bills and enough energy to power 25 million homes, and avoided the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 20 million cars.

More information on Energy Star battery charging systems.

More information on Energy Star.

EPA Seeking PFOA Reductions
EPA is launching a global stewardship program inviting companies to reduce PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) releases and its presence in products by 95 percent by no later than 2010 and to work toward eliminating sources of exposure five years after that but no later than 2015. PFOA is an essential processing aid in the manufacture of a wide range of non-stick and stain-resistant surfaces and products. PFOA is persistent in the environment, has been detected in low levels in wildlife and humans, and animal studies have indicated effects of concern.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/pfoa/pfoastewardship.htm

Tools Released to Help Small Drinking-Water Systems
EPA has released two new tools and a suggested affordability approach for small water utilities trying to balance the demands for quality water with their financial ability to deliver. The targeted systems serve 3,300 customers or fewer. The first document, "Setting Small Drinking Water System Rates for a Sustainable Future," will help owners and operators understand the full costs of providing a quality and adequate supply of drinking water to their customers and guide them in setting water rates that will support these costs. The second document, "Case Studies of Sustainable Water and Wastewater Pricing," provides real-world examples of eight drinking-water systems and their approach to determining and establishing rates.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/water/infrastructure

Proposal on Variances for State Agencies and Drinking Water Standards
Public comments are being accepted on a proposal to revise methods used to determine when variances can be granted by state agencies to small systems that cannot afford to comply with future drinking water standards. A small-system variance allows a drinking water system to use a treatment technology that is both affordable and protects public health. Variances are not available for microbial contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, or other organisms. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to identify affordable treatment technologies for small systems for each new drinking-water standard. This proposal responds to a request from Congress and other stakeholders that EPA review its approach for assessing the affordability of drinking water regulations. EPA is seeking public comment and will further refine the proposal to reflect the best information available. Comments will be accepted for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/smallsys/affordability.html

Oxygen Requirement for RFG Revoked
In a move to provide greater flexibility in producing clean-burning gasoline to protect and improve air quality, EPA is revoking the two percent oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline (RFG) nationwide. The Energy Policy Act authorized the action, which reduces production burdens while continuing to protect the environment with clean fuel blends as the use of ethanol increases. Currently, about 30 percent of gasoline is RFG. The revocation takes effect nationwide on May 6 and in California 60 days after the regulation's publication in the Federal Register.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/rfg_regs.htm

Second National Assessment of Toxic Air Pollutants Released
EPA has released an important tool to guide further local, state and federal steps to cut toxic air pollution and build upon the significant emissions reductions achieved since 1990. The second National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) is a state-of-the-science screening tool that estimates cancer and other health risks from exposure to air toxics. The second NATA expands on EPA's first national-scale assessment with a more complete emissions inventory and the latest health effects information.

Since 1990, the U.S. has made significant progress in reducing air toxics by issuing 96 standards for 174 different types of industrial sources of air toxics, including chemical plants, oil refineries, aerospace manufacturers and steel mills. The agency also has issued regulations for 15 categories of smaller sources, such as dry cleaners, commercial sterilizers, secondary lead smelters and chromium electroplating facilities. Together, these standards are projected to reduce annual emissions of air toxics by about 1.7 million tons from 1990 levels when fully implemented. (All reductions are not fully reflected in this latest assessment because a number of the regulations took effect after 1999.) Vehicles and fuels also emit air toxics, and EPA's current and future fuels and vehicles programs will reduce air toxic emissions by another 2.4 million tons in 2020, compared to 1990 levels.

NATA covers 177 of the Clean Air Act's list of 187 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter. For 133 of these air toxics (those with health data based on chronic exposure) the assessment includes estimates of cancer or non-cancer health effects including non-cancer health effects for diesel particulate matter. The assessment estimates that in most of the United States people have a lifetime cancer risk from air toxics between 1 and 25 in a million. This means that out of one million people, between 1 and 25 people have increased likelihood of developing cancer as a result of breathing air toxics from outdoor sources, if they were exposed to 1999 levels over the course of their lifetime (70 years). The assessment estimates that most urban locations have an air toxics lifetime cancer risk greater than 25 in a million. Risk in transportation corridors and some other locations is greater than 50 in a million. In contrast, one out of every three Americans (330,000 in a million) will develop cancer during a lifetime, when all causes (including exposure to air toxics) are taken into account.

EPA plans to develop new national-scale assessments as inventory data from subsequent years become available. The next such analysis will focus on exposure and risks from 2002 emissions.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/natamain/

Safeguards on Human Studies Research Expanded & Strengthened
EPA has set final rules that will protect pregnant women and children from unethical human research involving pesticides and other environmental substances. Under new rules, all third-party intentional dosing research on pesticides involving children and pregnant women intended for submission to EPA is banned, and EPA will neither conduct nor support any intentional dosing studies that involve pregnant women or children for all substances EPA regulates. These final new rules also establish stringent enforceable ethical safeguards to protect individuals who volunteer to participate in third-party intentional dosing research.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/guidance/human-test.htm

Tool to Help Air Quality Agencies Meet Fine Particle Standards
Changing out old woodstoves can help state and local regulators reduce harmful air pollution. EPA has issued a new guidance document outlining how state, local and tribal air quality agencies can use voluntary woodstove changeout programs to help meet national air quality standards for fine particle pollution. Wood smoke, including smoke from woodstoves, contains fine particle pollution, also known as fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. Woodstoves manufactured before 1992 can be a significant source of fine particle pollution in some communities. Air quality agencies implementing voluntary woodstove changeout programs may get a credit of up to six percent of the total emission reductions required to meet or maintain the air quality standards. EPA will review requests for additional credit on a case-by-case basis.

Read the guidance document.

Federal Agencies Adopt “High Performance and Sustainable Building” Principles
To save energy and protect the environment, EPA and several federal agencies (including the Department of Defense and General Services Administration) agreed to a set of guiding principles for designing, building, and operating federal facilities. Energy efficiency is a key element of the principles, which integrate design, energy performance, water conservation, indoor air quality, and sustainable materials to ensure that new buildings are among the most energy efficient in the country. They also outline that building components should exceed the energy code, and that the actual energy performance of a building, during and through the first year of operation, should be verified against its design target using EPA's Energy Star performance rating system for buildings.

The federal government owns approximately 445,000 buildings with a total floor space of over 3 billion square feet, in addition to leasing 57,000 buildings comprising 374 million square feet of floor space. If federal buildings reduce energy by 10 percent, in 10 years taxpayers would save $420 million dollars and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than 625,000 cars.

More information on Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.

Information on Energy Star buildings

Two New England Firms Join Climate Leaders to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Fairchild Semiconductor, of South Portland, Maine and the General Electric Company of Fairfield, Conn. are among 13 new members nationwide in EPA’s voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction program called Climate Leaders. Through the program, EPA is partnering with 79 corporations whose U.S. emissions represent an estimated eight percent of total U.S. GHG emissions. To date, 46 companies have set GHG reduction goals; five companies have met their goals; and the remaining companies are in the process of setting goals. EPA estimates that meeting the goals will prevent more than 8 million metric tons of carbon emissions equivalents per year. This is equal to the emissions of 5 million cars annually. Climate Leaders goal is to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent over 10 years.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/climateleaders/

Help For Schools and Child Care Facilities to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water
EPA has released a specialized toolkit to encourage school officials and child care facilities to reduce lead in their drinking water. The kit contains materials to implement a voluntary Training, Testing, and Telling strategy. The "3Ts Toolkit" explains how to test for lead in drinking water; report results to parents, students, staff and other interested parties; and take action to correct problems. The toolkit also includes an update to a 1994 EPA technical guidance to help schools design and implement testing programs.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/schools/guidance.html or the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at: 800-426-4791

New Guidance for Protective Cleanups of Perchlorate
EPA issued new protective guidance for cleaning up perchlorate contamination, recommending a preliminary clean-up goal of 24.5 parts per billion in water. EPA's guidance is derived from the agency's reference dose for perchlorate which is based on the 2005 recommendations and conclusions of the National Academy of Sciences. This preliminary goal is a starting point for an evaluation of site-specific conditions, and offers clear guidance to site managers to help ensure national consistency in evaluating perchlorate contamination across the country.

Perchlorate has been detected in groundwater or drinking water at approximately 45 of the 1,500 sites on the Agency's National Priorities List. Perchlorate salts were first produced in the United States in the mid-1940s, primarily for use by the United States military for explosives and rocket propellants. Perchlorate salts also have been used in other applications, including pyrotechnics and fireworks, blasting agents, matches, lubricating oils, air bags and certain types of fertilizers.

Guidance document (3 pp., 443 KB, about PDF)

New Tool for Determining Cause of Ecological Harm to Rivers and Streams
To improve the nation's waters, EPA has released a new web-based tool, the Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS), which simplifies determining the cause of contamination in impaired rivers, streams and estuaries. An impaired body of water does not meet the state or federal water quality standards for one or more pollutants. For many of the thousand-plus water bodies in the U.S. identified as impaired, the cause is unknown. By helping to find the source of contamination, state and local organizations will be better able to implement the Clean Water Act.

CADDIS, developed largely by EPA scientists, provides a standardized and easily accessible system to help scientists find, use and share information to determine the causes of aquatic impairment. Causal analyses look at stressor-response relationships, meaning the effect of a specific substance or activity (stressor) on the environment. Typical water stressors include excess fine sediments, nutrients, or toxic substances.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/caddis

EPA Provides Faster Water Quality Tests for Safe Beach Swimming
A new rapid method for testing beach water quality that will protect Americans' health by reducing the time for detecting bacterial contamination from 24 hours to just two has been developed by EPA scientists. In tests done at two Great Lakes beaches, researchers verified that the more rapid method accurately predicts possible adverse health effects from bacterial contamination. The results of the study will help support new federal criteria and limits for water quality indicators in recreational waters.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/NEEAR/

Pesticide Emergency Exemption Process Revised
EPA recently revised several procedural aspects of a program where the Agency can authorize the limited use of pesticides to address emergency pest conditions. These uses, called “emergency exemptions” of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), can be authorized following an expedited EPA review which ensures that use of a requested pesticide can occur with a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health or the environment, and that the request falls into accepted emergency criteria. Key provisions of the modifications include a streamlined “recertification” process for a repeat application of an ongoing pest problem and a new, tiered approach to documenting significant economic losses anticipated by the pest. After March 28, 2006, applicants for emergency exemptions must use the new methods and approach described in the final rule.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/section18/section18rule_fs.htm

Hispanic Environmental Health Page added to EPA Website
A new Hispanic environmental health page the EPA web site discusses health and environmental issues associated with asthma, mold, and indoor carbon monoxide. The portal is part of the agency's continuing expansion of outreach to the Hispanic community. The Hispanic environmental health page, "El medio ambiente y su salud," focuses on the agency's overall efforts to educate Hispanics, researchers, and health care providers on how environmental health issues affect the different Hispanic communities throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The page is updated regularly with new information on developments and policy. For example, the page currently includes information on indoor carbon monoxide and soon will be updated with information on carbon monoxide outdoors. EPA's future plans for Hispanic outreach include additional Spanish language Web pages and community forums to discuss health and environmental issues.

El medio ambiente y su salud

EPA's Spanish portal

Nomination for Senior Manager for Pesticides and Toxic Substances
President Bush recently nominated James Gulliford to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Mr. Gulliford has been the Regional Administrator of EPA’s Region 7 office in Kansas City since Sept. 2001. He will bring 25 years of professional experience administering environmental programs in the agriculture and mining areas to his new role overseeing EPA’s programs to regulate pesticides and industrial toxic chemicals. Gulliford previously directed Iowa’s Department of Soil Conservation, has worked at Iowa State University and Southern Illinois University in mine reclamation and environmental protection.

EPA Science Advisor Appointed
EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced the appointment of George M. Gray, Ph.D., to serve as science advisor, a position that was established in 2002 to ensure the most relevant science is integrated into all policy decision making. Gray was sworn in on November 1, 2005 as EPA’s assistant administrator of the Office of Research and Development, and is responsible for coordinating and planning the Agency’s scientific research efforts. Dr. Gray is an expert in risk assessment. Prior to joining EPA, Dr. Gray served as executive director of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis and as a lecturer in Risk Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Nomination for Chief of EPA Air Programs
President Bush has nominated Bill Wehrum to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. Mr. Wehrum has served in EPA’s air program since 2001, first as Counsel to the Assistant Administrator of OAR and more recently as Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator of the office. Before joining EPA in 2001, he specialized in Clean Air Act matters as an environmental attorney at the law firms of Latham & Watkins and Swidler & Berlin in Washington, D.C.

EPA “Summer Opportunities for Students” Web Site Up & Running
EPA has a new web site providing a central Web portal through which students may enter to learn about Agency offices and summer employment opportunities. Having a central portal makes it easier for students to find information about specific areas in which they would like to work. They also will be able to submit a job application directly to the EPA location that has a vacancy. The Summer Student Employment Opportunities Web site will be available until May 15.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/ohr/student

Information on student and legal internship opportunities specifically in EPA’s New England office.

 

Press Releases

Feb. 28:

• Corinna, Maine site restored & returned to productive community use

Feb. 27:

• Conn. landlord fined for lead paint disclosure violations in East Hartford
• Yale Univ. faces fine for lack of financial guarantee information

Feb. 24:

• Maine requests “No Discharge Area” for Casco Bay waters
• New Britain, Conn. pays fines for wastewater violations at city's facilities

Feb. 23:

• Funds will assist New England communities target, reduce environmental risks

Feb. 22:

• Taunton, Mass. Textile company faces penalty for chemical spill

Feb. 21:

• Boston’s John Hancock Tower earns ENERGY STAR Label

Feb. 16:

• EPA offers communities $2.7 million to reduce risks of toxic exposure

Feb. 13:

• New England companies make top 25 list for renewable energy purchases

Feb. 10:

• Two companies in Conn. and Mass. cited for releasing ozone-depleting gas
• Cleanup work completed at Cabin Realty Site in Taunton, Mass.

Feb. 8:

• Excavation work to resume in Pittsfield, Mass. at Newell Street Area II
• Bankruptcy settlement will advance cleanup of Conn. Raymark site

Feb. 7:

• Wastewater treatment excellence awards: CT, Franklin, NH, Warner Village, NH, MA, Randolph, VT, Bethel,VT

Feb. 2:

• City of Fitchburg, Mass. Fined for Stormwater Violations

Feb. 1:

• Providence, R.I. landlord charged with failing to warn tenants about lead paint
• Nashua, N.H. manufacturer fined for hazardous waste violations
• Andover, Mass. schools awarded for radon program
• Final cleanup plan for Industri-plex Superfund site in Woburn, Mass.

Jan. 26:

• Hartford Conn. schools win national EPA award for indoor air quality program

Jan. 25:

• Mass. & N.H. developers fined for storm water violations
• RI Manufacturer fined for Clean Air Act violations

Jan. 19:

• Community groups in Mass., Vt., R.I. and Conn. share in EPA grant

Jan. 11:

• Mass. landlord fined for lead notification violations

Automatically receive all EPA New England news releases: http://www.epa.gov/region1/pr/pr-ne-subscribe.html

 

Meetings & Conferences

Index of March meetings

Hold the dates - Brownfields Conference in Boston Nov. 13-15, 2006

Boston will be the host city for the next national Brownfields conference on Nov. 13-15. Over the next several months EPA’s New England regional office will have more information on this exciting opportunity for national leaders to convene and discuss issues relating to reclaiming Brownfields sites.

More info: http://www.brownfields2006.org

Week of Mar. 6

• Massachusetts Military Reservation Plume Cleanup Team
  Wed. Mar. 8
• Fort Devens Restoration Advisory Board
  Thurs. Mar. 9
• So. Weymouth, Mass. Naval Air Station Restoration Advisory Board
  Thurs. Mar. 9

Week of Mar. 13

• Raymark Advisory Committee, Stratford Conn.
  Tues. Mar. 14
• NETC Restoration Advisory Board, Newport, R.I.
  Wed. Mar. 15

What's New on the Web

Charles River Monitoring Report - 2004

NPDES - Remediation NOIs

NPDES - Final State Permits

NPDES - Preliminary Job Announcement

Storm Water reports - Mass. - 2004

Rivers/Watersheds - updated fact sheets

Greater Boston Breathes Better - Updated info

Compliance Assistance - Healthcare sector

Lead Paint Compliance & Enforcement

Public Notices

Brownfields - What’s New

Raymark site - Record of Decision

Iron Horse site - Record of Decision

Beede site - updated technical documents

GE - Housatonic site - new data and reports

RSS Now Available for EPA New England info:

• News Releases feed
  http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/
  RSSByLocation?open&location=Region%2001
• Recent Additions feed
  http://www.epa.gov/region1/rss/recent-additions.rss

In The News Daily Email Service

"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.

In The News Email Service: As soon as today's edition of "In The News" has been posted we will inform you via email.