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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 is proposing a general permit regulating concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) located on State lands in New Mexico.

This National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit is required by the Clean Water Act if pollutants will be discharged or proposed to be discharged from CAFOs into our nation’s waterways. These permits spell out the types of allowable discharges and are written to protect public health and the environment.

The proposed CAFO general permit continues many requirements already in place including nutrient management plans, manure and wastewater storage design, waste storage closure provisions and incorporates new requirements established in 2008.

EPA will continue its extensive coordination with the CAFO industry, New Mexico regulatory agencies, tribal and local governments, environmental groups and other interested parties to ensure the permit will be both effective and viable.

EPA will accept comments for 30 days on the proposal, then review and respond to comments and make any appropriate changes before the permit is reissued.

The proposed general permit and a fact sheet can be found at http://www.epa.gov/region6/water/index.htm

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The Environmental Protection Agency has approved a revision to the Texas State Implementation Plan (SIP) to incorporate an air maintenance plan for El Paso County. The purpose of the plan is to ensure continued attainment of the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for 10 years after the effective designation date of June 15, 2004.

“Approval of these revisions to the El Paso County SIP will bring us closer to improving air quality throughout Texas,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “Residents who call El Paso County home will breathe cleaner, healthier air as a result of this revision.”

The State of Texas, through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), submitted the 8-hour ozone NAAQS maintenance plan for El Paso County to EPA on January 20, 2006. EPA approved the maintenance plan SIP revisions for El Paso County as meeting requirements of the Clean Air Act and being consistent with EPA guidance.

Only one State Implementation Plan (SIP) exists for each state. For Texas, this document was initially approved in May 1972. Rather than re-writing the entire SIP regularly, parts of the SIP are simply revised as needed. Revisions, which must be approved by the EPA, are necessary when new federal or state requirements are enacted, when new data improves modeling techniques, when a specific area's attainment status changes, or when an area fails to reach attainment.

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The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $200,000 grant to the City of Camden, Arkansas, to provide training for residents who have been impacted by redevelopment and environmental remediation of brownfields properties. Giving priority to the underemployed and unemployed, the City of Camden plans to recruit 30 students from Camden and surrounding counties, place at least 19 graduates in environmental technician jobs, and track students for one year.

“EPA is committed to providing educational and career opportunities to students who possess a desire to learn more about science, policy and the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “As a result of our commitment, the City of Camden will produce future environmental leaders who will have the knowledge and training to keep Camden environmentally safe and healthy for upcoming generations.”

Working in conjunction with Southern Arkansas University Tech and the Arkansas Workforce Center, the City of Camden will conduct three, 344-hour training cycles which includes coursework in groundwater remediation, disposal of remediated waste, and asbestos supervision. Upon completion of the training, twelve certifications will be offered and students will be placed in environmental jobs.

EPA’s Brownfields Program empowers states, communities and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields which are real properties, developments, or expansions that may be contaminated by hazardous substances and pollutants.

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The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $75,071 to the Oklahoma Kaw Nation Tribe to conduct an emission inventory of air pollutants from local industries within a 50 mile radius off their air shed. Funds from the grant awarded will also be used by the Kaw Nation Tribe to develop an inventory database, conduct community outreach, and attend additional air assessment training.

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(Dallas, Texas - January 12, 2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Arklatex Operating Company, Inc. to cease discharges of pollutants at two if its oil field production and brine disposal facilities in Arkansas.

The facilities, one located in Union County and the other in Ouachita County, were discharging oil field brine to waters of the United States in violation of the Clean Water Act.

“EPA will continue to vigorously enforce our nation’s environmental laws through a strong enforcement program,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “Environmental responsibility is everyone’s responsibility.”

On December 16, 2008, an EPA inspector observed that pollutants, primarily oil field brine generated from oil production activities, had been recently discharged from the Union County site to wetlands immediately adjacent to Smackover Creek. On the same date, the EPA inspector observed pollutants recently discharged from the Ouachita County site to Ben Davis Lake. The pollutant at the point of entry into the lake was contaminated oil field brine.

Neither facility had permit coverage under the Clean Water Act, which authorizes the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States.

Based on these findings, EPA has ordered Arklatex Operating Company, Inc. to cease all discharge of pollutants from its Union County facility, remove all brine and contaminated soils from the flow path located between the facility and the wetlands, remove brine from the wetland area north of the tank battery, and within 30 days provide written certification to EPA that these requirement has been completed..

EPA has also ordered Arklatex Operating Company, Inc. to cease all discharge of pollutants from its Ouachita County facility, remove all brine and contaminated soils from the flow path located between the facility and Ben Davis Lake, and within 45 days provide written certification to EPA that these requirements have been completed.

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The North Central Texas Council of Governments has been awarded $1.5 million, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will receive $500,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to help reduce diesel emissions.

EPA and the Blue Skyways Collaborative awarded the grants as part of the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program.

“Blue Skyways and the EPA clean diesel program are delivering cleaner engines and cleaner air for America’s heartland,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “This program gives communities another effective tool to improve air quality and public health.”

Communities will use the grants for clean diesel projects that significantly reduce emissions through the use of retrofit technologies, engine replacements, and idle reduction technologies.
Reducing emissions from diesel engines is one of the most important air quality challenges facing the country. Even with EPA's more stringent heavy-duty highway and non-road engine standards set to take effect over the next decade, millions of diesel engines already in use will continue to emit large amounts of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and air toxics, which contribute to serious public health problems. EPA and the Blue Skyways Collaborative provide funding for projects to help reduce these heavy-duty diesel emissions.

The Blue Skyways Collaborative is a group of businesses, communities and government agencies spanning 10 states that work together voluntarily to reduce air pollution in North America's central corridor. With its 183 partners, the collaborative is implementing about $1.1 billion in projects that use innovations in diesel engines, alternative fuels and renewable energy technologies to reduce air emissions along major transportation corridors. These innovations save 76 million gallons of fuel per year, cut 1.6 million tons per year in greenhouse gases and reduce toxic air pollutants by 51,626 tons per year.

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The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $500,000 to the Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to develop environmental health indicators of cardiovascular disease caused by air pollution. Exposures to particulate matter, ozone, and diesel exhaust have been identified as a possible cause for cardiovascular disease in humans, but no investigation confirms that pollutants act through known markers of atherosclerosis (e.g., C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor). The Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute will conduct research to develop novel and more specific markers for acute exposure to humans.

“Gaining a better understanding of science, research, and technology is critical to our agency’s mission,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “Research conducted by this biomedical institute will provide life-saving data used to improve the quality of life and help protect our environment.”

Project activities involved in this research will include identifying susceptible individuals, classifying casual components of the complex air pollution mixture, and developing a better understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in air pollution-induced cardiovascular toxicity. As a result of data collected from this study, Lovelace hopes to identify individuals who could be at risk of developing atherosclerosis, a chronic arterial inflammatory disease which may lead to a stroke.

Funding for the grant award was provided through the EPA National Center for Environmental Research’s Science to Achieve Results or STAR program. The STAR program funds research grants and graduate fellowships in numerous environmental science and engineering disciplines through a competitive solicitation process and independent peer review.