Recent Additions
This page provides access to a listing of some of the recent additions and new materials made available on the EPA Web site within the past six weeks.
May 18, 2012
- Publication: An Assessment of Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay, Alaska (External Review Draft) - EPA is announcing the release of the draft report, An Assessment of Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay, Alaska. This report assesses potential impacts of large-scale mining development on fish populations, wildlife, and indigenous cultures within the Nushagak and Kvichak River watersheds of Bristol Bay, Alaska. The comment period opens on May 18, 2012 and closes on July 23, 2012. (Office of Research).
May 17, 2012
- Robust Summaries & Test Plans: Mononitrile Category - INVISTA S.á r.l. submitted revisions/updates, identified as "Final," to the robust summaries and test plans for Mononitrile Category. (Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention).
May 14, 2012
- New Schedule for IRIS Acrylonitrile Assessment Announced - EPA has developed a new schedule for completing the IRIS Acrylonitrile assessment, which can be found in IRIS Track (IRISTrack - Acrylonitrile). EPA has decided to make further revisions to the acrylonitrile assessment to more fully address scientific issues in the assessment. (Office of Research).
May 9, 2012
- UCMR 3 Fact Sheets - Sampling for the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR 3) will occur from 2013-2015. The monitoring includes 30 contaminants (28 chemicals and 2 viruses). (Office of Water).
May 8, 2012
- Request for Nominations of Drinking Water Contaminants for CCL 4 - EPA is requesting nominations of chemical and microbial contaminants for possible inclusion in the fourth drinking water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 4). (Office of Water).
May 5, 2012
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Alleged Misuse of Tribal Clean Water Act Section 106 Funds in EPA Region 8 (PDF) - This review responds to a hotline complaint on alleged misuse of Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 106 funds in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8. A 21pp, 236KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Inspector General).
May 3, 2012
- Water Security Division (WSD): Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) - WARN Background and Tabletop Exercise videos (Office of Water).
May 1, 2012
- Revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 3) - Announcement of final rule (Office of Water).
April 25, 2012
- WSI: Commissioning Security Systems for Drinking Water Utilities - Water Security Division (WSD): Water Security Initiative (WSI) document (Office of Water).
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Office of Environmental Information Should Strengthen Controls Over Mobile Devices (PDF) - Although OEI is in the process of developing policies for domestic and international mobile device usage, OEI has no organization-wide standard operating procedures that explain responsibilities for OEI employees and contractors regarding mobile devices. OEI currently does not have effective controls for the five areas of concern noted in the hotline complaint: issuance, disconnection, multiple devices, inappropriate use, and tracking and recovery. A 28pp, 271KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Inspector General).
April 24, 2012
- Former BP Engineer Arrested for Obstruction of Justice in Connection with the Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation (PDF) - First Criminal Charges to Result from the Deepwater Horizon Task Force Investigation. Kurt Mix, a former engineer for BP plc, was arrested today on charges of intentionally destroying evidence requested by federal criminal authorities investigating the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon disaster. A 2 pp, 27K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Compliance & Enforcement).
April 23, 2012
- Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Climate Resiliency training - Water Security Division (WSD): 2 Training Webinars (Office of Water).
- Environmental Crimes Case Bulletin - New publications which are monthly bulletins that summarize publicized investigative activity and adjudicated cases by EPA's Criminal Enforcement special agents, forensic specialists, and legal support staff. Now available - January/February 2012 and March 2012 (Office of Compliance & Enforcement).
- Brownfields at-a-glance: Assessment Grant Opens the Door for Redevelopment (PDF) - The purpose of this document is to present a simple, statistically based approach for evaluating the progress of natural attenuation from the data collected during site characterization and long term monitoring. In addition, contaminant concentrations are tracked over time as a method of determining trends which could be used to forecast future concentrations or predict when concentrations will attain a selected concentration level. A 1 pp, 243KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response.
April 20, 2012
- EPA announces the availability of $20 million in grants for clean diesel projects - EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program is soliciting proposals nationwide for projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions in terms of tons of pollution produced by diesel engines and diesel emissions exposure, particularly from fleets operating in areas designated by the Administrator as poor air quality areas. (Office of Transportation and Air Quality).
- Economic Impacts of the Category 3 Marine Rule on Great Lakes Shipping - EPA has completed a study to examine the economic impacts on Great Lakes shipping of the requirement to use ECA-compliant fuel. This peer-reviewed study examines three potential impacts: transportation mode shift, source shift, and production shift. It also provides information about the benefits and costs associated with applying the requirements to the Great Lakes and a description of the Great Lakes shipping sector. (Office of Transportation and Air Quality).
April 19, 2012
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Quality Assurance Report: Assessing the Quality of the Independent Referencing Process During Fiscal Year 2011 (PDF) - To assess the quality of the Office of Inspector General Process (OIG) independent referencing process, OIG surveyed Project Managers (PMs) and their respective Product Line Directors (PLDs). The survey addressed consistency among the Quality Assurance (QA) staff, timeliness of the reviews, best practices, and areas of improvement. A 30pp, 294KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Inspector General).
April 17, 2012
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New from the Office of Web Communications:
EPA's Earth Day website updated - with events, games, and projects for home and online. Earth Day is April 22.
EPA blogs reorganized and listed under "Greenversations" - to improve access and usability.
"Looking Beneath The Surface" discussion forum - opened for public to talk about environmental issues and share environmental tips.
April 16, 2012
- Letter to the Administrator on Climate Ready Utilities (CRWU) recommendations and EPA response - National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC): Letters. (Office of Water).
April 13, 2012
- Ship Scrapping Company, Owners, Plead Guilty to Environmental Crimes (PDF) - Steven E. Avery, Billy J. Avery, and the corporation Sea Solutions, Inc., all pleaded guilty to various environmental crimes stemming from their activities in the ship scrapping business. The three will all be sentenced on July 12, 2012. Steven and Billy Avery each face a minimum 30 days and a maximum of 1 year in prison, Sea Solutions, Inc., faces up to a $500,000 fine and five years of probation. A 1 pp, 24K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Compliance & Enforcement).
April 9, 2012
- Emissions inspector pleads guilty to falsely passing vehicle inspections (PDF) - Angel Dario Rodriguez Nunez, of Durham, North Carolina, pled guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act. Nunez worked at both Express Auto Sales, in Durham, North Carolina, and Services and Car Care Express Auto Sales and Services, also in Durham, North Carolina, as a licensed North Carolina emissions inspector. From May, 2009, to July, 2010, Nunez conspired with others to pass vehicles that would normally have failed the emissions inspection in exchange for $150 to $225 per car. A 2 pp, 92K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Compliance & Enforcement).
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Great Lakes National Program Should Improve Internal Controls to Ensure Effective Legacy Act Operations (PDF) - OIG conducted this audit to determine whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adequate controls over various financial aspects of the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 (GLLA) funding and payments, and to determine whether project agreements contain goals that tie to the Agency's strategic plan, hold parties accountable, and ensure that nonfederal sponsors meet their obligations. A 30pp, 294KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Inspector General).
- Fact Sheet on How to Develop a Multi-Year Training and Exercise (T&E) Plan - Water Security Division (WSD): Training & Exercise Planning document. (Office of Water).
April 6, 2012
- Daniel Olson pleads guilty to Clean Water Act violations - Daniel Olson, 62, of Merrillville, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of making false statements and tampering with a monitoring method under the Clean Water Act. (Office of Compliance & Enforcement).
- Request for Applications: Training & Technical Assistance for Small Systems - Deadline Extended & New Frequent Questions Added (Office of Water).
April 5, 2012
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EPA OIG Strategic Plan for 20122016 (PDF) - A 22pp, 1,036KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Inspector General).
- Stage 2 Disinfectant and Disinfection Byproducts Rule Training - Stage 2 DBPR Compliance Requirements Webinar Powerpoint Presentation (Office of Water).
April 3, 2012
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EPA Should Improve Controls for Managing Contractor-Held Property (PDF) - A 36pp, 269KB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the (Office of Inspector General).