EPA March 6 Latest Developments 3/6/2003
From: Dave Ryan of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 202-564-7827; e-mail: ryan.dave@epa.gov WASHINGTON, March 6 -- Following are the latest developments from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: SAFE MANAGEMENT OF GAS STATIONS AND OTHER FACILITIES WITH UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS SUBJECT OF EPA CONFERENCE IN SAN FRANCISCO Contact: Dave Ryan 202-564-7827/[email protected] EPA is co-sponsoring the 15th Annual National Underground Storage Tank Conference in San Francisco, Calif., Monday, March 10 through Wednesday, March 12. The event brings together over 400 representatives from state agencies, tribes and industry to discuss safe management of gas stations and other facilities with underground storage tanks (UST). In 1984, the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act gave EPA the authority to regulate underground storage tank systems. Key topics to be discussed at the conference include: leaking UST systems; MTBE in drinking water; pending UST legislation in Congress; and $23 million in new Brownfields grants for petroleum facilities. (Brownfields are abandoned, idled or under-utilized industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Under the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, signed by President Bush in early 2002, 25 percent of Brownfields grant funding must be set aside for petroleum properties. Of the estimated 450,000 Brownfields sites in the United States, about half of these properties are thought to be impacted by underground storage tanks or by some type of petroleum contamination.) Four keynote speakers at the opening plenary session 9:45 a.m., Monday include: Tom Dunne, Associate Assistant Administrator, EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response; Wayne Nastri, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 9; Winston Hickox, Secretary, California EPA; and Brian Wallace, Chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. The conference is being held at The Westin St. Francis Hotel, 335 Powell St., (415-397-7000). The other co-sponsors for the conference include: New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission; the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials; and California Environmental Protection Agency. For more information on the conference see: http://www.neiwpcc.org and go to "What's New." --- EPA AWARDS $4 MILLION IN MERCURY RESEARCH GRANTS Contact: Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819, ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov As part of EPA's work to protect the American public from exposure to hazardous pollutants, the Agency today announced $4 million in grants for research on local and global causes of mercury accumulation in the atmosphere. "This research demonstrates EPA's firm commitment to protecting our nation's health," said Paul Gilman, Director of the Office of Research and Development. "These projects will help us understand why and how atmospheric mercury has become part of the food chain." The six projects were funded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grant program. Grant recipients at the University of Connecticut at Groton will assess the scale and historical record of mercury deposits over the past 150 years. Researchers at the University of Miami will study how chemical reactions in the Arctic and upper atmosphere may change mercury composition. Florida State University at Tallahassee researchers will use mercury isotopes as a new way to investigate atmospheric processes that affect the transport and deposit of mercury. Investigators at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor will develop a model to determine the impact of local emissions, transport, soil emissions and sunlight on mercury deposits. Scientists at the University of Nevada at Reno will develop a database of mercury emissions from natural sources. University of Washington at Seattle scientists will perform the first project to determine whether mercury from other countries, particularly those in Asia, is being deposited in the United States. University of Wisconsin at Madison scientists will investigate the physical and chemical changes that occur to mercury in the atmosphere to better predict mercury movement, deposition, the impact of control methods. More information on these research projects is available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer(underscore)abstracts/index.cfm/fuseacti on/recipients.display/rfa(underscore)id/297. For more information on EPA's STAR program, see: http://www.epa.gov/ncer. --- EPA CO-SPONSORS CLEAN AIR WORKSHOP WITH THE GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP Contact: Cathy Milbourn 202-564-7824/[email protected] The EPA is partnering with the Greater Houston Partnership to sponsor a hands-on workshop "Clearing the Path to Clean Air: Strategic and Technological Innovations for Ozone State Implementation Plan (SIP) Development." This workshop to be held March 12 through March 14, 2003 in Arlington, Va., is for local and state officials, chamber of commerce and business leaders, environmental and health advocates, as well as transportation and environmental planners to learn how to apply innovative strategies and technologies to develop a successful SIP. Stakeholders and members of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee provided extensive direction for the development and content of the workshop. Participants will have the opportunity to work in a small group to develop a practice SIP to reinforce the information presented at the workshop by leading experts and top regulatory officials. Participants will also network with EPA regional and national officials who play a key role in SIP development and approval. The workshop will be meeting EPA Administrator Whitman's goal of producing a showcase for innovative solutions and strategies. For more information on the workshop see: http://www.epa.gov/air. | |