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Envirobytes - An Environmental Newsletter
EnviroBytes, a Summary of Issues and Events for Week Ending September 19, 2008
HUD’S HEALTHY HOMES CONFERENCE IN BALTIMORE LINKS HEALTH AND HOUSING
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) conference: "Building a Framework for Healthy Housing," took place in Baltimore, Md. from Sept. 15-17. Experts sought to develop a more comprehensive agenda to create healthier, safer and more efficient housing, and to save billions in health care costs to offset the public health and other problems that arise from substandard housing. EPA staff lectured about its Lead Renovation Remodeling and Painting Rule which protects against lead-based paint and other hazards in older and substandard housing. More than 6 million substandard housing units may exist nationwide where asthma, lead poisoning, and unintentional injuries are linked to preventable housing deficiencies. For information on EPA's lead and renovation rule requirements, go to http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm#requirements
REGION 3 MAKES BROWNFIELDS PRESENTATION AT ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATIONS CONFERENCE IN PENNSYLVANIA
On Sept. 18, Region 3 staff gave a presentation on its brownfields program at the 2nd annual Lehigh Valley Environmental Innovations Conference in Fogelsville, Pa., hosted by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. The conference is the largest conference and trade show seeking environmental and energy conservation solutions in Eastern Pennsylvania. EPA staff discussed the status of past and current brownfields grants in the Lehigh Valley and the availability of new funding through the 2009 grant competition, for which proposals are due Nov. 14. The grant proposal information is available at http://www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/grants/epa-oswer-oblr-08-08.pdf To learn about the regional brownfields program, go to http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/
BROWNFIELDS GRANT AWARDED TO WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY TO REDEVELOP FORMER SURFACE MINES
EPA announced an estimated $550,000 Brownfields grant to West Virginia University on Sept. 10, at the 2008 West Virginia Brownfields Conference, titled "A Path to Progress," held in Huntington, W. Va. This grant will fund the identification and redevelopment of mine-scarred lands as production sites for biofuels and other alternative energy sources. Specifically, the grant funds will help the university's Water Research Institute find abandoned scarred mine sites that can be used to produce bio-fuels from switch grass, other bio-fuels or as wind energy farm redevelopment sites.
REGION 3 ENTERS INTO TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT WITH U.S. COAST GUARD
Region 3 signed a Reimbursable Interagency Agreement (IAG) with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) on Sept. 3 to provide technical assistance and support for the environmental restoration of selected Coast Guard lighthouse facilities located within Region 3. The cleanup activities will facilitate property transfer procedures of the Coast Guard shore facilities divestiture program. (The Coast Guard divestiture program outleases and divests historic lighthouse properties to organizations to ensure their maintenance, repair, and care.) Currently, five lighthouses (three in Delaware and two in Virginia) are proposed to be addressed through this agreement. The Coast Guard has a similar agreement in place with Region 5 .
EPA SIGNS CURTIS BAY COAST GUARD YARD CLEANUP AGREEMENT
On Sept. 11, EPA signed a federal facility interagency agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard for the cleanup of the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard Superfund site in Anne Arundel County, Md. The agreement requires the Coast Guard to thoroughly investigate environmental impacts associated with the site’s past activities, and take appropriate corrective actions in order to protect the community and the environment. The agreement details the responsibilities, processes, and schedules EPA will follow to protect the site's environment and to support approved land uses. For details on the history and status of the cleanup, visit: http://www.epa.gov/reg3hscd/super/sites/MD4690307844/index.htm .
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY TEAM PUBLISHES PAPER ON DOWNSTREAM EFFECTS OF MOUNTAINTOP MINING
The September 2008 volume of the Journal of the North American Benthological Society which promotes understanding of benthic communities and their roles in aquatic ecosystems, includes a paper written by the EPA Wheeling Freshwater Biology Team titled: "Downstream effects of mountaintop coal mining: comparing biological conditions using family- and genus-level macroinvertebrate bioassessment tools." The article details how surface coal mining with valley fills (mountaintop mining) has impaired the aquatic life in numerous streams in the Central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. The paper is provided at http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1899%2F08-015.1
SUSTAINABILITY EMPHASIZED FOR 2008 POLLUTION PREVENTION WEEK
EPA designated Sept. 15-21, 2008 as National Pollution Prevention Week, and this year's theme was: "Pollution Prevention - Where Sustainable Practices Begin." The theme incorporates the idea that pollution prevention must be a sustainable enterprise in order to succeed. For example, it is commendable to recycle and treat waste, but preventing pollution in the first place saves more money and protects the environment. By reducing our energy-use and creating less waste, we reduce the need for expensive environmental controls, treatment, disposal, and the need for extensive cleanup. For more information, go to http://www.epa.gov/p2week/
REGIONAL EPA LEAD-PREVENTION TEAM RAISES AWARENESS OF LEAD-BASED PAINT STILL PREVALENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT TODAY
From Sept. 9-12, EPA regional lead prevention team staffed a booth at the Baltimore Home Show in Baltimore, Md., and from Sept. 12-14 at the Suburban Maryland Home Show in Germantown, Md., to fight the existence of lead-based paint still prevalent in the environment. Lead-prevention team members promoted awareness of the EPA Lead-based Paint Disclosure Rule and Pre-Renovation Education Rule requirements, for pre-1978 housing to protect everyone, but mainly children under the age of 6, from the dangers of lead-based paint, still found in older housing.
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