July 19, 2010
On June 21, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the Federal Register a proposed action to regulate coal combustion residuals (also known as “fly ash”) produced by electric utility companies. When disposed of in an unprotected landfill, fly ash can represent an environmental and safety hazard if it leeches into drinking water sources. Anne Arundel County had to deal with such an event several years ago.
EPA is considering two possible levels of regulation, both would come under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The first would treat fly ash as a “special waste,” subject to a high level of regulation. The second would continue to treat fly ash as a “non-hazardous waste” but enact some disposal protocols.
Fly ash that is put to various beneficial uses would not be subject to regulation. The comment period for the proposed action runs until September 20. Instructions for submitting comments are included in the Register entry.
Read the EPA Proposal on Fly Ash Regulation
Leave a Comment » | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Fly Ash | 
Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
July 12, 2010
The Environment Protection Agency is accepting comments on its draft National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticides Permit program, which would require pesticide permits for all pesticide discharges in a U.S. body of water. NACo reports,
This program will impact any county that uses pesticides, insecticides or herbicides to address mosquito or other flying pest control; aquatic weed and algae control; aquatic nuisance animal control; and forest canopy pest control. The permit does not currently apply to applications to agricultural crops or forest floors.
This proposal responds to a 6th U.S. Circuit Court ruling that stated the EPA must regulate all applications of pesticides to, or near waters of the U.S. The EPA expects to issue the final draft by December 2010 and implement the program no later than April 2011.
The EPA will implement the general permit plan in the six states where the agency has oversight authority over the NPDES program; the other 44 states would be required to include this permit in their state NPDES plans.
Through the comment period, the EPA is attempting to identify sectors of local government that will be affected by the rule. The new permit program is expected to impact a number of local government activities associated with public health, land use, forest and park management, flood control, air and water programs, and endangered species protection.
The EPA is also attempting to gauge levels of monitoring and reporting requirements associated with the permits.
The EPA specifically requests information on the types of government agencies or departments that have the responsibility, or are mandated, to perform pest control.
Click here to view the proposed general permit.
Comments on the general permit draft can be emailed to ow-docket@epa.gov on or before July 19, 2010.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, NACo, Water Pollution | Permalink
Posted by Emily Hollis
June 25, 2010
America’s Great Outdoors Initiative
Event: America’s Great Outdoors Initiative
Location: Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Annapolis
Friday June 25th, 2010
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
NO TICKETS REQUIRED. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. IF PLANNING TO ATTEND, PLEASE REGISTER BY EMAIL AT: cindy_chance@partner.nps.gov
Please join senior representatives from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for a public listening session and discussion in the Chesapeake region on land conservation, recreation, and reconnecting people to the outdoors.
For more information on the program, please visit: http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/
1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: Chesapeake Bay, Environmental Protection Agency | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson
June 18, 2010
The United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering a series of webinars on the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process.
The next webinar is scheduled for Thursday, July 8 at 10:00 AM. Among the updates, EPA will discuss the nitrogen and phosphorus limits it will have assigned on July 1 to the six watershed states and the District of Columbia. The State of Delaware will discuss its work in preparing a Watershed Implementation Plan to achieve the required pollution reductions. There will also be extensive time for questions and answers.
The last webinar on June 7 had nearly 300 participants.
July 8 Webinar Registration Link
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Chesapeake Bay, Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Total Maximum Daily Loads | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
April 26, 2010
As reported in an April 20 Press Release by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises reached an agreement with the EPA and the United States Justice Department to pay a $1 million civil fine and mitigate stormwater runoff from hundreds of its construction sites, including 161 sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The case highlights the EPA’s increased enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., a builder of residential homes nationwide, has agreed today to pay a $1 million civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at 591 construction sites in 18 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Justice Department announced today. As part of the settlement, the company will also implement a company-wide stormwater compliance program designed to improve compliance with storm water run-off requirements at existing and future construction sites around the country. …
A portion of the settlement helps EPA efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay, North America’s largest and most biologically diverse estuary. The bay and its tidal tributaries are threatened by pollution from a variety of sources, and overburdened with nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that can be carried by storm water. A total of 161 Hovnanian construction sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia fall within the bay watershed and are covered by this settlement. …
This settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address storm water violations from construction sites around the country. Similar consent decrees have been reached with multiple national and regional home building companies.
Along with the federal government, the District of Columbia, the states of Maryland and West Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia have joined the settlement. The District and each of the states will receive a portion of the $1 million penalty.
Further EPA information on the settlement
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Environment, Environmental Protection Agency | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
March 7, 2010
Katherine Antos from the United State’s Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Chesapeake Bay Program Office addressed the MACo Legislative Committee on March 3. Ms. Antos discussed the forthcoming total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements for the Bay.
TMDLs are limits on the amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment that can be discharged into the Bay or a tributary of the Bay. All of the Bay states and their local governments will have to abide by these limits, which will vary by watershed. Limits will be set for both point and nonpoint sources to meet Bay water quality standards. Ms. Antos noted that final TMDL numbers will be released in December. The states must have the first phase of their Watershed Implementation Plans complete by November. The Plans will describe how the State and local governments will meet the TMDLs, including 2-year milestones to assess progress. The Maryland Department of the Environment will be the primary implementing agency at the State level.
Ms. Antos also discussed the technical and potential monetary assistance that may be available from the federal government, and the potential consequences for failing to meet the milestones. She stated that the most likely consequences would be the denial of federally issued permits, revocation of a state’s permit issuance authority, and the withholding of federal funding for environmental programs.
EPA Chesapeake Bay TMDL Website
Maryland Department of the Environment TMDL Website
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Chesapeake Bay, Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Total Maximum Daily Loads | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
January 28, 2010
A Potomac Basin Reporter article (Nov/Dec 2009 issue) reports on the efforts of a group of environmentalists to petition the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the State’s authority to issue water pollution permits. The permits are required to discharge pollution into any of the State’s waterways, including by sewer plants and some muncipal stormwater systems. If the petition is successful, the EPA could revoke the permit issuance authority granted to the State.
The Waterkeepers Chesapeake of Maryland and the Waterkeeper Alliance, a resource group for waterkeepers worldwide, worked with the University of Maryland Law School’s Environmental Law Clinic to file the petition “to better protect the Chesapeake Bay.” The group, which includes the Anacostia and Potomac riverkeepers, filed the petition in December 2009, citing the failure of the state to manage the program according to federal rules. …
The 58-page petition cites numerous problems with Maryland’s program. “If you want to see proof of the failure of Maryland to enforce the Clean Water Act within its borders, look no further than the spiraling health of the Chesapeake Bay,” said Michele Merkel, Waterkeepers Chesapeake regional coordinator.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Water Pollution | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
January 5, 2010
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will hold a listening session on proposed federal stormwater management regulations at its Washington headquarters on January 28 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The proposed regulations would strengthen federal oversight of stormwater runoff and impact development at both the State and local level.
Further details on the potential rule, the listening sessions, and instructions for submitting written comments can be found here.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Stormwater Management | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
December 31, 2009
On December 29, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a letter containing potential consequences for State and local governments that fail to meet their total maximum daily load (TMDL) goals in cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. The letter discusses eight potential consequences, including: (1) expanding National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits to cover previously unregulated sources; (2) object to NPDES permits and increase program oversight; (3) require net improvement offsets; (4) establish finer scale wasteload and load allocations in the Bay TMDL; (5) require additional reductions of loadings from point sources; (6) increase and target federal enforcement and compliance assurance in the watershed; (7) condition or redirect EPA grants; and (8) federal promulgation of local nutrient water quality standards.
Articles in the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, and The Capital discuss the letter and concerns raised by affected stakeholders, including the environmental community and the Maryland Association of Counties. Several responses from the Sun article:
But activists expressed dismay Tuesday at the lack of specificity in the EPA sanctions. They criticized [the EPA's] statement that states would not face consequences if they miss any of the short-term “milestones” they set in May when pledging to redouble efforts to restore the bay during the next two years. “We remain unconvinced that this demonstrates a new EPA approach to enforcing the Clean Water Act,” said William C. Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation….Howard Ernst, a political scientist at the Naval Academy, called the EPA announcement “all teeth and no bite.”…Others, though, found the EPA threats sobering. Les Knapp, legislative director of the Maryland Association of Counties, said local governments are in a bind, facing growing pressure to do more to reduce pollution while struggling with reduced revenue because of the recession. And Del. Anthony J. O’Donnell, the House Republican leader from St. Mary’s County, said he believes the U.S. government is overstepping its constitutional limits in trying to dictate state policies.
In response to the perceived weakness of the EPA goals and consequences, Bay advocates and environmentalists have submitted their own restoration plan to President Obama. As reported by the Washington Post:
The 24-point plan calls for significantly expanding farming regulations. Nearly all animal feeding operations would be regulated and the spreading of animal manure would be regulated the same as sludge from sewage treatment plants. The plan also calls on the EPA to require new development to offset any pollution it causes through reductions elsewhere.
The signatories include former Maryland Govs. Parris Glendening and Harry Hughes; former Rep. Wayne Gilchrest; W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., a former Virginia state delegate and natural resources secretary; and former Maryland Sen. Gerald W. Winegrad.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Delegate O'Donnell, Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Total Maximum Daily Loads | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
December 14, 2009
Representatives from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) outlined the timeline and requirements for implementing total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries on December 11 at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills. Their presentation is part of a series of meetings and webinars they have been holding in the impacted bay states.
TMDLs will set strict loading caps for nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment runoff for both point and non-point sources in all six Bay watershed states, including Maryland. As part of their watershed implementation plans, the State and local government must set a series of 2-year milestones that will reach the final TMDL targets by 2025. Failure to reach the milestones will result in federal consequences, possibly including assignment of more stringent pollution reductions to regulated point sources, such as wastewater, stormwater, or agricultural confined animal feeding operations; objecting to state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits; limiting or prohibiting new or expanded discharges of nutrients and sediments; and withholding, conditioning, or reallocating federal grant funds.
TMDL requirements will impact local land use decisions, agriculture, and urban communities and may ultimately restrict growth from occuring in certain areas. Click here for a copy of the EPA’s December 11 slideshow. Click here for general information from MDE on Maryland TMDLs.
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Maryland Department of the Environment, Total Maximum Daily Loads | Permalink
Posted by Les Knapp
