Thursday, October 23, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Fwd: News Release: US Settlement with Michigan Utility to Reduce Emissions at Its Coal-Fired Power Plants, Fund Projects to Benefit Environment and Communities
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 10:37 AM
Subject: News Release: US Settlement with Michigan Utility to Reduce Emissions at Its Coal-Fired Power Plants, Fund Projects to Benefit Environment and Communities
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 10:37 AM
Subject: News Release: US Settlement with Michigan Utility to Reduce Emissions at Its Coal-Fired Power Plants, Fund Projects to Benefit Environment and Communities
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
| Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE US Settlement with Michigan Utility to Reduce Emissions at Its Coal-Fired Power Plants, Fund Projects to Benefit Environment and Communities WASHINGTON – In a settlement with the United States, Consumers Energy, a subsidiary of CMS Energy Corporation, has agreed to install pollution control technology, continue operating existing pollution controls and comply with emission rates to reduce harmful air pollution from the company's five coal-fired power plants located in West Olive, Essexville, Muskegon and Luna Pier, Michigan, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The settlement will resolve claims that the company violated the Clean Air Act by modifying their facilities in a way that caused the release of excess sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. EPA expects that the actions required by the settlement will reduce harmful emissions by over 46,500 tons per year, which includes approximately 38,400 tons per year of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and 8,100 tons per year of nitrogen oxide (NOx). The company estimates that it will spend over $1 billion to implement the required measures. The pollution reductions will be achieved through the installation, upgrade, and operation of state-of-the-art pollution control devices designed to reduce emissions and protect public health. Consumers Energy will also take several coal-fired units offline and may repower additional coal-fired units with natural gas. The settlement requires the company to pay a civil penalty of $2.75 million to resolve Clean Air Act violations and spend at least $7.7 million on environmental projects to help mitigate the harmful effects of air pollution on the environment and benefit local communities. "The required pollution controls and funding for mitigation projects will reduce harmful pollution in American communities," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "This case demonstrates that energy can be provided to local communities in a responsible way that significantly reduces sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide known to contribute to serious health concerns." "Today's settlement will bring cleaner air to residents in Michigan by removing tens of thousands of tons of harmful air pollution from the atmosphere," said Sam Hirsch, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This agreement will render benefits to communities far into the future with pollution-reduction projects that will improve public health and help restore natural resources downwind of the plants." The settlement requires the company install to pollution control technology and implement other measures to reduce sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter emissions from its five coal-fired power plants, comprising 12 operating units. Among other requirements, the company must comply with declining system-wide limits for SO2 and NOx and meet emission rates. In addition, the company must retire or refuel two units to natural gas and retire an additional five units. SO2 and NOx, two predominant pollutants emitted from power plants, have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog, and haze. These pollutants are converted in the air to particulate matter that can cause severe respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death. The settlement also requires Consumers Energy to spend at least $7.7 million on projects that will benefit the environment and local communities, including paying $500,000 to the National Park Service for the restoration of land, watersheds, vegetation and forests or combating invasive species in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park. The remaining $7.2 million will be spent on a series of mitigation projects. Potential projects include efforts to reduce vehicle emissions, install renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, replace or retrofit wood burning appliances, and protect and restore ecologically significant lands in Michigan. Consumers Energy has five years to complete its selected projects. This settlement is part of EPA's national enforcement initiative to control harmful emissions from large sources of pollution, which includes coal-fired power plants, under the Clean Air Act's Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements. The total combined SO2 and NOx emission reductions secured from all these settlements will exceed 2 million tons each year once all the required pollution controls have been installed and implemented. Consumers Energy is Michigan's second-largest electric and natural gas utility, providing electric service to more than 6 million people in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The settlement was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. More on the settlement: http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/consumers-energy-clean-air-act-settlement More information about EPA's enforcement initiative: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2011airpollution.html R209
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
Fwd: News Release: EPA Adds Pierson’s Creek Site in Newark, NJ to the Federal Superfund List Due to High Levels of Mercury
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 10:08 AM
Subject: News Release: EPA Adds Pierson's Creek Site in Newark, NJ to the Federal Superfund List Due to High Levels of Mercury
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 10:08 AM
Subject: News Release: EPA Adds Pierson's Creek Site in Newark, NJ to the Federal Superfund List Due to High Levels of Mercury
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
| EPA Adds Pierson's Creek Site in Newark, NJ to the Federal Superfund List Due to High Levels of Mercury
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
(New York, N.Y. – Sept. 16, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today added the Pierson's Creek site in Newark, New Jersey to its Superfund list of the country's most hazardous waste sites. Past industrial activity at and in the vicinity of the site, including the manufacture of chemicals, has contaminated Pierson's Creek, which flows into Newark Bay. Sediment in the creek contains elevated levels of mercury and other pollutants. Previous testing by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection showed that some sediment in Pierson's Creek contained as much as 60% mercury by weight.
Exposure to mercury can damage people's nervous systems and harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable.
"Adding the Pierson's Creek site to the Superfund list allows EPA to better protect people's health and clean up this highly contaminated creek in Newark, NJ," said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. "We have indications that sediment in Pierson's Creek contained as much as 60% mercury by weight. Mercury in sediment can build up in the tissue of fish and other wildlife and pose a threat to people who eat them."
The Troy Chemical Corporation has manufactured chemicals at a plant adjacent to Pierson's Creek since 1956. The company currently manufactures antimicrobial and antifungal paint additives at that facility. Between 1956 and 1965, the Troy Chemical Corporation allegedly discharged untreated mercury–containing wastewater into Pierson's Creek. After 1965, the wastewater was treated at the plant to address the mercury prior to its discharge into the creek. In 1976, a wastewater treatment plant was built on the site. In 2001, the EPA reached a settlement with Troy Chemical that required the facility to come into compliance with chemical reporting regulations and make improvements to reduce air and water pollution and decrease the amount of chemicals the company uses in its processes. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has also worked to resolve air and water violations resulting from operations at the plant. Other nearby facilities may also have discharged hazardous chemicals into the creek. New Jersey supports the inclusion of the Pierson's Creek site to the Superfund list.
The EPA periodically proposes sites to the Superfund list and, after responding to public comments, designates them as final Superfund sites. The EPA accepted public comments on the proposal of this site for 105 days and considered public input before finalizing its decision. In the proposal this site was named the Troy Chemical Corp. site. Today's addition of this site brings the total number of final sites on the federal Superfund list in New Jersey to 115 - the most of any state in the nation.
To learn more about the site, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/piersonscreek/
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
Fwd: News Release: EPA Awards Greensboro Housing Coalition a 2014 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 9:08 AM
Subject: News Release: EPA Awards Greensboro Housing Coalition a 2014 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 9:08 AM
Subject: News Release: EPA Awards Greensboro Housing Coalition a 2014 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 16, 2014
EPA Awards Greensboro Housing Coalition a 2014 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement
CONTACT: Jason McDonald, (404) 562-9203 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main) mcdonald.jason@epa.gov
ATLANTA – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today a competitive cooperative agreement with the Greensboro Housing Coalition (GHC) to reduce housing-related asthma hospitalizations in low-income, minority neighborhoods in Greensboro, North Carolina resulting from exposure to toxic chemicals. The agreement is one of 12 EPA has reached with community-based organizations nationwide, totaling about $1.4 million in funding, under this initiative.
"These cooperative agreements empower communities to implement environmental protection projects locally," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "With these agreements, EPA advances our commitment to communities by providing financial and technical assistance to take action against environmental harm."
The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding for non-profit and tribal organizations to partner with stakeholders from across industry, government, and academia to develop and implement solutions that significantly address environmental and/or public health issues in American communities.
Through its "Healthy Homes Greensboro", the GHC will create a comprehensive plan for healthy homes and advocate together for multi-level policy changes. The plan will include the enforcement and strengthening of current policies and regulations, funding for community education initiatives, and working with local government to address gaps in healthcare. The Coalition and its partners will also identify at-risk families residing in substandard housing, repair homes with mold damage, enforce housing safety standards, and provide Integrated Pest Management solutions to residents to address and eliminate the misuse of pesticides and other toxic chemicals.
In 2003, EPA's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) launched the first solicitation for the EJCPS Cooperative Agreement Program. Since the Program's inception, EPA has provided funding to 50 projects to help communities understand and address exposure to environmental harms and risks. Each of this year's recipients are awarded up to $120,000 to support two-year projects, including identifying and reducing sources of air pollution, reducing lead exposure in homes of low-income residents, and the cleanup and repurposing of community dump sites. Projects must use the Collaborative Problem Solving model, comprised of seven elements of a successful collaborative partnership, to address local environmental and/or public health issues.
Environmental justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in the environmental decision-making process. These awards represent EPA's commitment to promoting localized, community-based actions to address environmental justice issues. Please visit http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/grants/cps-project-abstracts-2014.pdf for a complete listing of the 2014 Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement recipients and project descriptions.
In the fall of 2014, EPA plans to release a Request for Applications for the fiscal year 2015 Environmental Justice Small Grants Program. A schedule of pre-application teleconference calls will be announced at that time.
More information about EPA's Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement Program: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-cps-grants.html
R206
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
Fwd: News Release: $120,000 EPA Grant Will Help Puerto Rico Community Group to Reduce Air Pollution
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 7:35 AM
Subject: News Release: $120,000 EPA Grant Will Help Puerto Rico Community Group to Reduce Air Pollution
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 7:35 AM
Subject: News Release: $120,000 EPA Grant Will Help Puerto Rico Community Group to Reduce Air Pollution
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
| $120,000 EPA Grant Will Help Puerto Rico Community Group to Reduce Air Pollution
Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov or Brenda Reyes, (787) 977-5869, reyes.brenda@epa.gov or DISUR at (787) 284-8424
(New York, N.Y. – September 16, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $120,000 to Desarrollo Integral del Sur Inc. to help them identify sources of air pollution in the Tallaboa-Encarnacion, Puerto Rico community. The community is located in an industrial area of Puerto Rico, where there are a number of petrochemical businesses. The project is called "Pulmones Saludables, Ahora!" (Healthy Lungs, Now!).
"This grant will allow this community organization to gather information about air quality so they can better understand and address air pollution issues in this community," said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. "By tacking air pollution, this grant will allow community members to work together to improve public health in Puerto Rico, which has a very high asthma rate."
Asthma rates in the Tallaboa-Encarnacion community are high. Desarrollo Integral del Sur, a nonprofit community organization, will use the grant money to identify air pollution from the local sources that may be linked to the community's health concerns. This project will expand upon a previous EPA-funded project, which established an inventory of structures and lands in the petrochemical corridor between Penuelas and Guayanilla that are suspected of being contaminated with hazardous substances or petroleum. The EPA grant will be used to conduct an environmental study to determine the types of air pollutants coming from the local sources. This information will help inform ongoing plans for re-development taking place on former industrial properties in the area. The group will also work with the public to develop an asthma action plan to reduce residential exposure to pollutants.
As part of the project, Desarrollo Integral del Sur will take air samples and research existing databases of air quality information. A major component of the project will be to involve members of the community, and the group plans multiple public meetings and the use of social media and traditional media to keep the public informed of the research process, the findings and the development of the action plan.
Environmental justice means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in the environmental decision-making process. Since 2003, EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving grants have supported over 40 projects that address local environmental and public health issues within an affected community, and provide communities with information to help them develop proactive, strategic, and visionary approaches to tackle environmental harms and risks. The grants further EPA's commitment to expand the conversation on environmentalism and advance environmental justice in communities across the nation.
Information on Environmental Justice grants may be found at: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/grants/index.html
Information about DISUR may be found at: http://www.disur.org
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Fwd: Certification Opportunity Workshops on September 25
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Small Business Administration <news@updates.sba.gov>
Date: Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 5:22 AM
Subject: Certification Opportunity Workshops on September 25
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
From: Small Business Administration <news@updates.sba.gov>
Date: Thu, Sep 11, 2014 at 5:22 AM
Subject: Certification Opportunity Workshops on September 25
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
All SBA programs and services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis | Reasonable accommodations will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Fwd: SBA September 2014 Events
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Small Business Administration <news@updates.sba.gov>
Date: Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 6:25 AM
Subject: SBA September 2014 Events
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
From: Small Business Administration <news@updates.sba.gov>
Date: Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 6:25 AM
Subject: SBA September 2014 Events
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
All SBA programs and services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis | Reasonable accommodations will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
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