Latest Developments from the EPA 4/5/2002
From: Dave Ryan of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 202-564-7827 WASHINGTON, April 5 -- The following are recent developments released by the Environmental Protection Agency. For more information on the following stories, call the appropriate contact listed: NEW REPORT VERIFIES SUCCESS OF NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSION TRADING PROGRAM IN NORTHEASTERN STATES Contact: Dave Ryan 202-564-7827 / ryan.dave@epa.gov EPA and the Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) today released a report showing the continuing success of the NOx Budget Program, a market-based emissions trading program for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions in the Northeast. NOx is a prime ingredient in the formation of ground level ozone (smog), which can irritate the respiratory tract, impair breathing ability and cause various other respiratory problems. In a unique partnership between federal and state government, the OTC asked EPA to help implement the program when it began in 1999. In 2001, the third year of the program, nearly 1,000 sources in nine participating states and Washington, D.C., reduced NOx emissions 12 percent below allowable emission levels. Moreover, emissions were more than 60 percent below 1990 levels. The program represents the first application of a "cap and trade" emission reduction mechanism to an issue other than acid rain, where the trading strategy has been used successfully nationwide since 1995 to control sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants. The same cap and trade mechanism is the basis of President Bush's recently-announced Clear Skies Initiative for reducing sulfur dioxide, mercury and Nox from power plants. The OTC was created by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments to better coordinate the efforts of northeastern states in reducing NOx emissions. The "2001 OTC NOx Budget Program Compliance Report" can be found at: http://www.sso.org/otc/ or http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/cmprpt/index.html . For further technical information, contact Kenon Smith at 202-564-9164 (smith.kenon@epa.gov). --- PUBLIC BRIEFING SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS RISK ASSESSMENT OF PESTICIDE ATRAZINE Contact: Dave Deegan 202-564-7839 / deegan.dave@epa.gov EPA will hold a technical briefing on April 16 to present its revised risk assessment for the chemical atrazine, an herbicide used widely in the United States on corn, sorghum and other crops. The meeting, which will be open to the public, is an opportunity for interested stakeholders to learn about the data, information and methodologies used by the Agency during the current risk assessment process for this pesticide. The technical briefing will be held between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. (located near the Ballston Metro Station). Through publication of a Federal Register notice of availability, EPA will release the revised risk assessments for public viewing and will open a 60-day public participation period during which the public may submit risk mitigation and risk management ideas and recommendations, as well as proposals for transition. The technical briefing is part of the process that EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are using to involve the public in pesticide reregistration and tolerance reassessment decisions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act. The Federal Register notice announcing the atrazine technical briefing is available on EPA's website at: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/ . Additional information about atrazine is available at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/atrazine/ . --- GSA AND EPA SELECT COMPUTER SCIENCE CORPORATION TO MANAGE EPA CENTRAL DATA EXCHANGE Contact: Martha Casey 202-564-7842 / casey.martha@epa.gov The General Services Administration and EPA today announced a major contract award to Computer Science Corp. to operate and maintain the EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX), the Agency's enterprise-wide "portal" or entry system for receiving and retrieving environmental reporting data from states, local government agencies, tribal communities and regulated industry groups. The CDX is a principal component of EPA's major e-government effort -- the National Environmental Information Exchange Network (Network) -- being developed in partnership with the states to streamline data entry and make environmental information transactions quicker, easier, more accurate and secure. The network also will enhance the ability of states and EPA to share environmental conditions at the local, state and national levels and provide information that will be a strategic resource for results-based management of environmental programs. The award, estimated at a value of almost $300 million over the next seven years, was placed through the GSA Millenium Contract. It is one of the largest "electronic government" awards of its kind in the federal community. EPA and Computer Science Corp. will coordinate the transition of contract functions and property to a new facility in the Washington, D.C., area. They anticipate the CDX portal facility will be fully operational this coming fall. Additional information is available at: http://www.epa.gov/cdx. --- EPA ACCEPTING SMALL BUSINESS PROPOSALS FOR FUNDING OF BIOTERRORISM DETECTION AND DECONTAMINATION TECHNOLOGIES Contact: Dave Deegan 202-564-7839 / deegan.dave@epa.gov EPA is accepting proposals from small businesses for research that relates to environmental bioterrorism detection and decontamination technologies where the research will serve as a base for technological innovation and commercialization. As part of the Agency's overall response to terrorism and considering other on-going government-wide efforts, the EPA Small Business Innovation Research program identified three areas needing further research. The first involves bioterrorism decontamination systems for high-value and special materials typically found in museums, historic homes, government buildings and important civilian buildings. High-value and special materials include items such as fibrous tapestries, art, gowns and clothing; rare books, legal papers and historic documents; porous ceramics, desks and historic furniture; and electrical equipment including computers. The second area concerns special decontamination technologies and sampling systems for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in smaller, commercial buildings, apartment buildings, and homes. Of special interest are environmentally friendly decontamination systems such as ultraviolet, ozone, or sonic cleaning systems. Also, of interest are HVAC sampling equipment to verify that decontamination is successful. The third area for research involves sampling drinking water supplies in smaller drinking water systems that typically serve fewer than 10,000 people, and larger systems that do not have extensive onsite testing capabilities. Of particular interest are pretreatment kits to minimize interference with the analytical instruments typically used at these facilities. For more information about this solicitation, visit: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/sbir2002.html. | |