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Initiatives
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On this page:
- Port of Huntington Tri-State Collaborative Geographic Initiative
- Partnerships for Community Health Priority - DC Project
Port of Huntington Tri-State Collaborative Geographic Initiative
The Port of Huntington Tri-State (Port) is the largest inland port in the United States in terms of total tonnage as well as ton-miles of cargo. The Port stretches 100 miles along the Ohio River, 90 miles along the Kanawha River, and 9 miles along the Big Sandy River. Port operations occur in major cities such as Ashland, Ky., Huntington, W.Va. and Charleston, W.Va. Port of Huntington Boundary Map-PDF [1p, 724k, about pdf] The Port of Huntington Tri-State Collaborative Geographic Initiative addresses the impacts of environmental noncompliance on the area's land, air, and water resources by facilities using the Port and promotes environmental stewardship in the area.
In this section:
- Background
- EPA's Involvement
- Initiative Partners
- Overall Strategy
- Enforcement Strategy
- Compliance Assistance Strategy
- Environmental Justice/Community Involvement Strategy
- Public Meetings
- Local Community Resources
- The largest inland port in the United States in terms of tonnage and ton-miles of cargo
- 77 million tons of cargo move through the Port annually
- 60 % coal, 30 % petroleum/chemical products, 10% other products
- No central port authority or commission to regulate port operations
- Increasing concern over public health and environmental issues affecting area communities:
- USAToday article
on outdoor air quality in schools specifically identified the entire Port area as having some of the worst outdoor air quality around schools in the nation. - 5 of the 62 schools we recommended for initial air toxics ambient monitoring are located within the Port.
- Some areas within the Port have a significantly higher estimated carcinogenic risk than the national average.
The Port of Huntington Tri-State Collaborative Geographic Initiative began in November 2008. Its goals are to
- Assess the environmental impact of port operations on the surrounding communities
- Reduce the amount of pollution being introduced into the environment
- Increase compliance with environmental regulations
- Increase understanding of environmental requirements by regulated facilities;
- Increase human health benefits from targeted efforts
- Build the community's capacity to help ensure the protection of the environment and public health
- EPA Region 3
- EPA Region 4
- EPA Region 5
- EPA National Enforcement Investigation Center (NEIC)
- West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP)
The Initiative includes complimentary strategies on enforcement, compliance assistance and environmental justice.
Compliance Investigations
- Process-based multimedia inspections and enforcement: focused areas will include large-sized chemical and allied facilities, power plants, coal processing facilities, etc.
- Multimedia sweep inspections and enforcement: will focus on small and medium-sized facilities.
- Round 1 inspections were conducted in Nitro, W.Va. in November 2009
- Round 2 inspections will be conducted in the true Tri-State area during the summer of 2010.
Compliance Assistance Strategy
Compliance Assistance (CA) includes activities or information that help regulated facilities understand their regulatory obligations for new and existing federal environmental regulations. The goal of the CA strategy is to increase understanding of environmental requirements, improve environmental management practices and reduce pollution as a result of direct assistance to regulated entities in the Port. CA efforts will be directed toward facilities in the following sectors:
- Coal Processing [PDF, 2pp, 81k]
- Shipbuilding and Repair [PDF, 2pp, 103k]
- Scrap/Recycling Facilities [PDF, 2pp, 167k]
- Auto Salvage Yard [PDF, 2, 113k]
- Port Terminals and Unloading Operations [PDF, 2pp, 109k]
- Stone, Clay, Glass, and Ready Mix Concrete [PDF, 2pp, 103k]
- Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Regulation - A Facility Owner/Operator's Guide to Oil Pollution Prevention [PDF, 10pp, 1.8M)
Sector-specific compliance assistance materials have been provided to more than 800 facilities in these sectors.
Additionally, sector-specific compliance assistance materials were also sent to approximately 350 K-12 Schools, 200 Child/Day-care facilities, 50 Colleges/Universities and 40 Hospitals/Medical facilities located throughout the Tri-State area. The materials are available below.
- K-12 Schools-PDF [2pp, 112k]
- EPA Region 3 Schools Program-PDF [2pp, 38k]
- Child/Day-care Centers-PDF [2pp, 94k]
- Colleges/Universities-PDF [2pp, 85k]
- Hospitals/Medical Facilities-PDF [2pp, 101k]
Compliance Assistance Workshop
EPA Regions 3, 4 and 5 in partnership with the Huntington District Waterways Association sponsored a free, one-day environmental compliance assistance workshop for the Port of Huntington manufacturing facilities in April 2010. The workshop provided information and resources needed to comply with federal environmental regulations, as well as highlighting waste reduction opportunities that save money, reduce waste disposed, and help a facility go beyond compliance.
To view the workshop's agenda, where a copy of the presentations (without voice) can be found, please visit
http://www.epa.gov/region4/ead/news/agenda_huntington_wva.pdf
Compliance Assistance Contacts
Makeba Morris
EPA Region 3
E-Mail: morris.makeba@epa.gov
Phone: 215-814-2187
Wesley Hardegree
EPA Region 4
Email: hardegree.wes@epa.gov
Phone: (404) 562-9629
Laila Hudda
EPA Region 4
E-Mail: hudda.laila@epa.gov
Phone: 404-562-9007
Donna Howard
EPA Region 5
E-Mail: howard.donna@epa.gov
Phone: 312-886-6739
Environmental Justice/Community Involvement Strategy
Environmental Justice (EJ) is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across this nation. It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.
The EJ goals and objectives of the Initiative are to:
- Assess the environmental and human health impact of port operations with respect to its impact on the surrounding community
- Use EPA's Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Model
- Build the community's capacity to help ensure the protection of the environment and public health.
- Community Involvement
- Community meetings were held:
- Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
The Marshall University Memorial Student Center
Fifth Avenue Marshall University
Huntington, W.Va. - Report from meeting - PDF [10pp, 161k]
- Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Wilson University Union
West Virginia State University
Institute, W.Va. - Report from meeting - PDF [9pp, 158k]
- Community Meetings Presentation-PDF [27pp, 1.1M]
- Port of Huntington Initiative Fact Sheet-PDF [2pp, 134k]
- Community Resource Bulletin-PDF [2pp, 147k] (For information on environmental grant opportunities, environmental tips and complaints, contacts and descriptions of various EPA tools and databases.)
- Woodstove Changeouts: Burn Wise is a partnership program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that emphasizes
the importance of burning the right wood, the right way, in the right wood-burning appliance to protect
your home, health, and the air we breathe.
To receive periodic updates on the Initiative, please email Matthew Lee and request to be added to the mailing list.
EJ/Community Involvement Contact:
Matthew Lee
EPA Region 3
E-Mail: Lee.matthew@epa.gov
(215) 814-2917
Partnerships for Community Health Priority
DC Project
Partnerships for Community Health (PCH) is a 2-year geographically based pilot to assess environmental issues in the District of Columbia. Region 3’s DC Team, which will carry out the project, advocates a holistic approach to assist communities that are at risk due to many cumulative environmental problems and a legacy of environmental injustices and inequities. It focuses on comprehensive strategies that address environmental concerns in stressed communities. It will result in stakeholder-driven, data-supported solutions to environmental/public health problems.
In this section:
- Working with Environmental Justice (EJ) Showcase Communities Pilot, a multi-media, cross-program project to address EJ concerns in high-priority geographical areas throughout EPA
- Focusing on Wards 7 and 8, the most disadvantaged sections of the District
- Greater than 93% African American population
- Greater than 25% poverty
- Less than $45,000 per year family income
- Partnering with local stakeholders to address health concerns via technical assistance, education, and capacity building
- Elevated blood lead in children
- High asthma incidence
- Health risks from National Priority List sites
- Anacostia River contamination
- Apply EPA programs to environmental challenges
- Promote individual health improvement strategies using focused training, education, and communication
- Assess cumulative environmental and health risks
- Develop partnerships with community, government, and academic organizations
- Memorialize the process to develop a health partnership model that can be applied to other communities
Project Partners List - PDF [8pp, 73k]
Overall Strategy
To improve the ability of District of Columbia residents to manage human health impacts resulting from local environmental stressors.
Compliance Assistance Strategy
The goal of this strategy is to increase understanding of environmental requirements, improve environmental management practices and reduce pollution as a result of direct assistance to regulated entities. It includes helping facilities understand their obligation to comply with federal environmental regulations. These efforts will be directed toward facilities in the following sectors:
- Automotive dealers, service stations, repair, and parking - PDF [2pp, 80k] | Español - PDF [2pp, 64k]
- Schools -PDF [2pp, 142k]
- EPA Region 3 School Programs - PDF [2pp 40k]
- Hospitals - PDF [2pp, 95k]
- Small day care facilities - PDF [2pp, 95k]
Environmental Workshop Strategy
Workshops will deliver education and training to community members on creating trigger-free indoor environments. The three to four workshops will use the Healthy Homes framework (and CDC's Healthy Homes) to focus on the children’s health aspect of asthma, lead poisoning, and pesticide exposure; the methods to reduce access to the contaminants causing these health issues; and specific strategies to lower the impact of these problems.
DC School Assessment Strategy
The school assessment activity will use EPA and DC Dept. of the Environment (DOE) expertise and tools to assist DC schools with protecting children’s health, increasing facility efficiencies, managing outdoor infrastructure, and promoting environmental behaviors and education. EPA will work with DC DOE’s RiverSmart Schools process and the SEED School of DC to develop a successful pilot example for holistically assessing and implementing environmental features in schools throughout the District.
Project Contact:
Jonathan D. Essoka, Ph.D.
Team Leader
EPA Region 3
essoka.jonathan@epa.gov
(215) 814-5774