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Significant Developments and Activities Report
LAND AND CHEMICALS DIVISION
Weekly Significant Developments and Activities Report
September 26, 2008
Consent Agreement and Final Order with Phibro-Tech, Inc., Joliet, IL
On September 15, 2008, EPA entered into a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) with Phibro-Tech, Inc., Joliet, Illinois (Phibro-Tech) in resolution of violations of Phibro-Tech's Hazardous Waste Management Permit identified during a July 12, 2006 Compliance Evaluation Inspection. The violations included: storage or hazardous waste in excess of one year; failure to perform integrity inspections of hazardous waste storage tanks; failure to perform leak testing of tank system ancillary equipment; failure to obtain transporter signatures on hazardous waste manifests; and the failure to file exception reports for hazardous waste manifests that were not returned within 45 days. The CAFO requires Phibro-Tech to pay a civil penalty of $151,603 within 30 days of the effective date of the Order.
Contact: Todd Brown, 312-886-6091
EPA Region 5 Awards Funds to Bois Forte Band of Chippewa for Pesticide Circuit Rider Project
This cooperative agreement ($100,000) will allow Bois Forte to participate in the Circuit Rider Program. This program seeks to enhance compliance with rules associated with the use, sale and manufacturing of pesticides, and the need to respond quickly to pesticide-related tips/complaints in Indian Country. The Tribe will coordinate and complete pesticide outreach/education activities for those in the regulated tribal communities. Bernie Orenstein, State and Tribal Services Section, Program Services Branch, is the Project Officer for this Project, and Meonii Bristol, Pesticides Section, Chemicals Management Branch, is the Technical Contact.
Contact: Bernie Orenstein, 312-886-1500
EPA Region 5 Awards Funds to Michigan State University for Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Project (PESP)
This project, for $50,221, will develop and produce a grower guidebook to assess environmental pesticide risk and to facilitate the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and other sustainable practices, train groundwater Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurances Program (MAEAP) technicians, industry personnel, and extension educators, to facilitate use of the grower guidebook, and assess the level of implementation and effectiveness of the grower guidebook. Bernie Orenstein, State and Tribal Services Section, Program Services Branch, is the Project Officer for this grant, and Heather Anhalt, Pesticides Section, Chemicals Management Branch, is the Technical Contact.
Contact: Bernie Orenstein, 312-886-1500
EPA Region 5 Awards Funds to Purdue University for Pesticide Environmental Stewardship (PESP)
This project, for $49,983, will promote the adoption of bed bug integrated pest management (IPM) strategies in multi-unit dwellings. It will demonstrate and document the effectiveness of a bed bug IPM model using least toxic techniques, and develop and deliver audience-appropriate bed bug control education materials and programs. Bernie Orenstein, State and Tribal Services Section, Program Services Branch, is the Project Officer for this grant, and Heather Anhalt, Pesticides Section, Chemicals Management Branch, is the Technical Contact.
Contact: Bernie Orenstein, 312-886-1500
EPA Region 5 Awards Funds to Tribes for Lead-Based Program
Three Tribal programs in Region 5, , have received funding through direct implementation tribal cooperative agreements (DITCAs) to assist Tribal nations located in Region 5 in complying with Title X- Residential Lead (Pb) Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. They are: Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan Inc. ($75,000), Bois Forte Band of Chippewa ($75,000), and Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin ($65,000). Specifically, the Tribes will identify and work to eliminate impacts from Lead-Based Paint hazards from "at risk" houses and child-occupied facilities on the participating Reservations. They will conduct inventories of Tribal buildings on each participating reservation, and prepare a list of "at risk" structures for each Tribal community. They will also provide outreach and compliance assistance to the public and all relevant Tribal Departments that are cooperating with the Pb program to ensure compliance with the Federal Pb-based Paint regulations. Bernie Orenstein is the Project Officer for these DITCAs (State and Tribal Services Section, Program Services Branch) and Emma Avant is the Technical Contact (Toxics Program Section, Chemicals Management Branch).
Contact: Bernie Orenstein, 312-886-1500
EPA Region 5 Awards Funds to University of Wisconsin for Pesticide
Environmental Stewardship (PESP)
This project, for $50,500, will involve working with apple growers to develop a certifiable protocol for wholesale marketing to a wider consumer base, working with strawberry growers and specialists to provide in-field assistance to growers to reduce pesticide risk and adopt proven Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches to pest management, and working with Extension fruit team to conduct IPM field days to train grape growers about IPM. It will also build capacity within Wisconsin and regionally to initiate a regional eco-grape project. Bernie Orenstein, State and Tribal Services Section, Program Services Branch, is the Project Officer for this grant, and Heather Anhalt, Pesticides Section, Chemicals Management Branch, is the Technical Contact.
Contact: Bernie Orenstein, 312-886-1500
MMB Presents at Missouri DOT Shingle Recycling Workshop
On September 23rd, Julie Gevrenov presented, via phone, EPA’s perspective on recycling industrial materials, particularly asphalt shingles, to a group of DOT engineers at a national workshop on the utilization of recycled asphalt shingles in hot-mix asphalt. Recent efforts by OSW to quantify the environmental benefits of recycling shingles were also discussed, along with other regional and national EPA efforts to promote shingle recycling. The two-day workshop was intended to highlight Missouri’s experience since 2003 using recycled shingles in their roadways to both help promote the concept to other states and create interest in a DOT pooled funds study aimed at developing best practices and specifications for use by highway engineers.
Contact: Julie Gevrenov, 312-886-6832
RCRA Branch Attends FACT Workshop
CS1 staff member, Todd Brown, attended the Field Activity Compliance Technology (FACT) Work Shop in Arlington, VA, on September 16 - 18. The work shop introduced various hardware (e.g. PDAs and Tablet PCs) and software currently used by inspectors across various media programs and agencies to perform inspections. The training included a presentation by key-note speaker, Dr. Michael Stankosky, George Washington University, on the importance and implementation of Knowledge Management. The participants in the work organized by media programs into small groups, which began identifying the work flow process for their respective media's inspections and considered the types of software and hardware that may best suit their program. OECA hosted the training and is interested in supporting Regions and media programs in developing inspection software for use in devices such as PDAs and Tablet PCs.
Contact: Todd Brown, 312-886-6091
Presentation at iNEMI Sustainability Summit
On September 23, 2008 a member of the Materials Management Branch attended the iNEMI Sustainability Summit in Schaumburg, IL. iNEMI is an international electronics industry association that brings together its members to discuss issues on advanced manufacturing. The topic of this meeting in particular was to discuss what many major electronics manufacturers are doing to increase the environmental sustainability of their products. As part of the e-waste recycling session on the second day of the summit, Chris Newman presented information about why electronic waste is an issue to US EPA, why EPA is involved in e-waste, and the EPA programs that deal with electronics at their end-of-life.
Contact: Christopher Newman, 312-353-8402