Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Design For the Environment Evaluation Criteria Proposed

As part of the agency’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program, EPA has unveiled the set of criteria which are being proposed under its DfE Alternatives Assessments for identifying safer alternatives to chemicals that pose a concern to human health and the environment. EPA will be accepting public comment on the DfE criteria through January 31, 2011.

The DfE program works in partnership with industry, environmental groups, and academia to help industry choose safer alternatives to chemicals that may pose a concern to human health or the environment. Information on chemical hazards from DfE Alternatives Assessments is combined with industry data on performance and cost to guide the choice of safer alternatives. To distinguish among alternatives, DfE evaluates data for each chemical and assigns hazard levels of high, moderate, or low for human health and environmental concerns.

DfE Alternatives Assessments will be conducted for bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP and NPEs). Both the BPA and decaBDE efforts are under way and include the use of BPA and its alternatives in thermal paper, such as cash register receipts, and the review of flame retardant alternatives to decaBDE in products such as textiles, plastic palettes, and electronics. Assessments of phthalates, the flame retardant HBCD, and NPEs will begin in 2011.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

WaterSense Water Efficiency Certified Homes

EPA has recognized the first WaterSense labeled homes in the country. WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by EPA that seeks to promote water efficiency. The program helps homebuyers cut water and energy use and reduce utility bills. Four WaterSense labeled new homes have been built by KB Home in Roseville, California, and will save an average of 10,000 gallons of water and at least $100 on utility costs each year.

Since signing on as the first national builder to partner with WaterSense, KB Home has agreed to build three communities of homes that will earn the WaterSense label, which will be the first in the nation to meet WaterSense criteria for newly built homes. Each house includes WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures, an efficient hot water delivery system, water-efficient landscape design, and other water and energy-efficient features.

Each WaterSense labeled new home is independently inspected and certified to ensure EPA’s criteria are met for both water efficiency and performance. A WaterSense labeled new home is built to use about 20 percent less water than a typical new home.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Sunday, November 21, 2010

Small Business Advocacy Review of Lead Paint Dust Rules

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting small businesses to participate as consultants for a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel as the agency considers steps to reduce lead-based paint dust during the renovation, repair, and painting of the exterior of public and commercial buildings.

The SBAR panel will include representatives from the Small Business Administration, the Office of Management and Budget and EPA. The panel will ask a selected group of small entity representatives (SER) to provide advice and recommendations on behalf of their company, community or organization to inform the panel about the impacts of a proposed rule on small entities involved in the renovation, repair, and painting of the exterior of public and commercial buildings. SERs may participate by telephone, webinar or in person.

EPA seeks self-nominations directly from the small businesses, governments and organizations that may be subject to the rule requirements to aid in the selection of SERs. Self-nominations may be submitted through December 3, 2010.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Environmental Review Guidelines For New School Siting

U.S. EPA has released draft voluntary guidelines to help communities protect the health of students and staff from environmental threats when selecting new locations for schools. The voluntary guidelines also provide tools to help communities ensure that new locations for schools are accessible to the students they are intended to serve.

The new draft voluntary guidelines will give local communities tools to help them consider environmental health issues in establishing school site selection criteria and in conducting effective environmental reviews of potential school sites. The draft guidelines recommend involving the public in the site selection process from the beginning to help ensure community support for these decisions.

The draft school siting guidelines are being made available for public comment for 90 days (through February 18, 2011).

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Additional Potential Endocrine Disruptors Identified For Screening

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified a list of 134 chemicals that will be screened for their potential to disrupt the endocrine system. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interact with and possibly disrupt the hormones produced or secreted by the human or animal endocrine system, which regulates growth, metabolism and reproduction.

The list includes chemicals that have been identified as priorities under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and may be found in sources of drinking water. The list also includes pesticide active ingredients that are being evaluated under EPA’s registration review program to ensure they meet current scientific and regulatory standards. The data generated from the screens will provide information to help EPA identify whether additional testing is necessary, or whether other steps are necessary to address potential endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The chemicals listed include those used in products such as solvents, gasoline, plastics, personal care products, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals, including benzene, perchlorate, urethane, ethylene glycol, and erythromycin.

EPA also released draft policies and procedures that EPA will follow to order testing, minimize duplicative testing, promote equitable cost-sharing, and to address issues that are unique to chemicals regulated under the SDWA.

After public comment and review, EPA will issue test orders to pesticide registrants and the manufacturers of these chemicals requiring them to generate data to determine whether their chemicals may disrupt the estrogen, androgen and thyroid pathways of the endocrine system.

EPA is already screening an initial group of 67 pesticide chemicals. In October 2009, the agency issued orders to companies requiring endocrine disruptor screening program data for these chemicals. EPA will begin issuing orders for this second group of 134 chemicals beginning in 2011.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Best Practices Guidance for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released for comment today a series of best practice tools to maintain or improve indoor air quality and residents’ health when performing home energy retrofits. These protocols are intended to ensure home energy retrofits include appropriate health protections. EPA’s draft protocols will be available for public comment for 30 days.

The draft “Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades” are intended for voluntary adoption by weatherization assistance programs, federally funded housing programs, private sector home performance contractors, and others working on residential retrofit or remodeling efforts of single family and multi-family low-rise residential homes. The protocols include recommended minimum specifications and best practices to be followed during and after home energy retrofits.

The protocols are a companion document to the Department of Energy’s Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades. The DOE guidelines are intended to foster the growth of a skilled work force that will increase the homeowner’s confidence in the retrofit industry and increase the demand for home energy retrofits.

Caltha LLP provides certified Commerical Energy Managers (CEM) and Residential Energy Managers (REM) to conduct energy audits.

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EPA Issues Subpoena Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing Study

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that eight out of the nine hydraulic fracturing companies that received voluntary information requests in September have agreed to submit information to help the agency conduct its study on hydraulic fracturing. According to EPA, the ninth company, Halliburton, failed to provide EPA the requested information. As a result, EPA issued a subpoena to the company requiring submission of the requested information.

EPA’s congressionally mandated hydraulic fracturing study will look at the potential adverse impact of the practice on drinking water and public health. The agency is under a deadline to provide initial results by the end of 2012.

On September 9, EPA contatced the nine leading national and regional hydraulic fracturing service providers seeking information on the chemical composition of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing process, data on the impacts of the chemicals on human health and the environment, standard operating procedures at their hydraulic fracturing sites and the locations of sites where fracturing has been conducted.

Except for Halliburton, the companies have either complied with the request or made unconditional commitments to provide all the requested information.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Thursday, November 4, 2010

EPA Denies Petition To Ban Lead In Fishing Gear

On August 3, 2010, the American Bird Conservancy and a number of other groups petitioned EPA under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to "prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of lead for shot, bullets, and fishing sinkers." On August 27, 2010, EPA denied the portion of the petition relating to lead in ammunition because the agency does not have the legal authority to regulate this type of product under TSCA.

EPA has now also denied the petition calling for a ban on the manufacture, use and processing of lead in fishing gear. EPA determined that the petitioners had not demonstrated that the requested rule is necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, as required by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Considering the increasing number of limitations on the use of lead fishing gear on some federal and state lands, as well as various education and outreach activities, EPA questioned whether a national ban on lead in fishing gear would be the least burdensome, adequately protective approach to address the concern, as required under TSCA. EPA also notes that the prevalence of non-lead alternatives in the marketplace continues to increase.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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Proposed Rulemaking on BPA Testing and Monitoring

US EPA has announced its intent to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to request comment on requiring toxicity testing to determine the potential for Bisphenol A (BPA) to cause endocrine-related adverse effects in environmental organisms at low concentrations. The ANPRM will also seek comment on requiring sampling and monitoring of surface water, ground water, drinking water, soil, sediment, sludge, and landfill leachate in the vicinity of expected BPA releases to determine whether potentially sensitive organisms may currently be exposed to concentrations of BPA in the environment that are at or above levels of concern for adverse effects, including endocrine-related effects.

Caltha LLP provides expert consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide to address Environmental Review and Environmental Impact Assessment.

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