Transcript

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport has entered into a Sustainability Partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Officials from the DFW Airport and the EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding during a ceremony at the airport this morning. The airport’s objective is to extend its leadership role in sustainable, cost-effective business practices by making a voluntary commitment to further reduce its resource and energy usage under its Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP).

“Sustainability has landed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and the airport is leading the way with this commitment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “Minimizing energy and resource use through smart and sustainable business practices creates jobs and provides for healthier places to work and live.”

DFW International Airport is the world’s eighth busiest airport with 57 million passengers per year. The airport’s Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program (TRIP) currently underway is a $1.9 billion, seven-year project to renew the airport’s four original passenger terminals. The project will add approximately 2,000 jobs during the course of design and construction.

“Our airport has long demonstrated an industry-leading commitment to sustainability, including more than a decade’s worth of investment in enterprise-wide sustainable practices ranging from alternative fuel vehicle fleets to responsible management of emissions, water and energy,” said Jeffrey P. Fegan, CEO of DFW Airport. “This new partnership with the EPA will formalize our efforts and allow us to share our lessons learned as more airports and public organizations adopt sustainability initiatives across all phases of their operations.”

As part of the Sustainability Partnership Memorandum of Understanding the airport’s ongoing TRIP program will:

• Reduce energy consumption by ten percent and water consumption by 25 percent from a pre-project baseline.
• Optimize materials management through recycling and reuse, conserve resources, and prevent pollution by implementing cost effective environmental and business practices.
• Provide annual data documenting water, energy, and materials management impacts to the EPA.

EPA Region 6 will:

• Provide support to help reduce the airport’s environmental footprint.
• Establish a single point of contact to discuss sustainable strategies.
• Provide tools to quantify economic and environmental benefits.

The TRIP renewal project has completed demolition of Terminal A Phase I (there are three phases for this terminal) and Terminals B, C and E will also be renovated in a multi-phased approach. Through the first phase, demolition procedures from Terminal A have already recycled 600 tons of materials, keeping them from landfills and lowering costs by $332,000. In all, an estimated 1,500 tons of materials will be recycled from Terminal A alone when complete, with similar efforts anticipated at the other three terminals.

Many other sustainable initiatives are paying dividends in the TRIP program and other renewal projects undertaken by the airport:

• Restroom upgrades already saving 5.5 million gallons of water per month thanks to the implementation of new plumbing fixtures that are compatible with the EPA’s WaterSense program.
• Planned lighting upgrades will reduce energy consumption by 20 percent.
• Installation of more efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will further reduce energy consumption by an anticipated 35 percent in the original four terminal buildings.
• Floor tile will be replaced by Terrazo flooring made of aggregate such as stone, recycled glass, or plastic, and bound by cement or epoxy.
• During the TRIP project, an innovative use of technology is being incorporated using wirelessly-connected iPads for work crews to view architectural and technical drawings, giving them updated plans while saving millions on paper, printing and storage.

Transcript

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued cease and desist administrative orders to two chicken broiler facilities in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, for discharging chicken litter into a tributary of the Dugdemona River.

The Mike Reeves 1 and Beaver Creek Farm chicken broiler facilities are concentrated animal feeding operations located approximately four miles east of Arcadia on the south side of U.S. Highway 80, Lincoln Parish. The broiler facilities have been ordered to immediately stop all discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States.

“We expect poultry farms to put food on our tables, not waste into our rivers,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “Owners and operators of animal feeding operations have a responsibility to comply with the law.”

On January 24 and 25, 2012, the EPA inspected the facilities and found unauthorized discharges of pollutants from chicken litter storage piles to an unnamed tributary of the Dugdemona River.

As a result of the inspection, the owners and operators of the Mike Reeves 1 and Beaver Creek Farm chicken broiler facilities have been ordered to immediately take action to stop all discharges of pollutants from their facilities’ chicken litter storage piles. Within 30 days they must submit to EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) a certified summary, including photographs, that document the unauthorized discharges have been stopped.

Transcript

A grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help improve the drinking water treatment system in Andrews, Texas. The grant for $388,000 will be used by the city to install a filtration and reverse osmosis system to reduce arsenic and fluoride levels in drinking water provided to municipal customers. Exposure to high levels of arsenic can result in kidney disease, as well as lung and liver cancer and excessive levels of fluoride in drinking water can result in abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Once completed, the project will improve the public health of Andrews residents.

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today named 56 communities in 26 states that will receive technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. Port Arthur, Texas, is one of the communities selected to receive assistance from EPA-funded private-sector experts. The technical experts will work with the communities on actions they can take to improve the economy, the environment, and quality of life. Some examples may include improving pedestrian access and safety, incorporating green infrastructure, or conducting an economic and fiscal health assessment.

Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities among EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The interagency collaboration coordinates federal investments in infrastructure, facilities, and services to get better results for communities and use taxpayer money more efficiently. The partnership is helping communities across the country create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses.

Port Arthur is receiving assistance in the development of a walking audit, which will help form a vision for short- and long- term improvements to sidewalks and streets.

Today’s announcement marks the second round of Building Blocks assistance. Thirty-two other communities were named in the first round in April 2011. EPA selected the 56 communities from 350 applicants through a competitive process in consultation with EPA’s regional offices, HUD, DOT, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today named 56 communities in 26 states that will receive technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is one of the communities selected to receive assistance from EPA-funded private-sector experts. The technical experts will work with the communities on actions they can take to improve the economy, the environment, and quality of life. Some examples may include improving pedestrian access and safety, incorporating green infrastructure, or conducting an economic and fiscal health assessment.

Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities among EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The interagency collaboration coordinates federal investments in infrastructure, facilities, and services to get better results for communities and use taxpayer money more efficiently. The partnership is helping communities across the country create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses.

Baton Rouge is receiving assistance in the development of parking audits, which help the city manage parking supply and apply strategies for making the best use of parking for existing and planned land uses.

Today’s announcement marks the second round of Building Blocks assistance. Thirty-two other communities were named in the first round in April 2011. EPA selected the 56 communities from 350 applicants through a competitive process in consultation with EPA’s regional offices, HUD, DOT, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Transcript

During the week of February 6-12, 2012, representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) will be in the area of South Alamo, Texas, to speak with residents about the contamination in the Donna Reservoir and Canal. This effort is being made to provide local residents with information about the health risks of consuming fish taken from the Donna Reservoir and Canal. The possession of contaminated fish taken from the reservoir is prohibited by the TDSHS.

The principal pollutants in the reservoir are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that can cause a number of different harmful effects in humans. The primary risk to human health from PCBs is from suspended sediment in the water and the consumption of contaminated fish. Effects of consumption of contaminated fish may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, skin rashes, acne, and cancer.

The Donna Reservoir and Canal is an EPA Superfund site located in Hildago County in southern Texas just north of the Rio Grande. The site includes the Donna Reservoir, the Donna Main Canal, the West and East Main Canals which extend north from the reservoir, and a series of interconnecting canals.