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The ERP Consortium website has been redesigned and updated!  Check it out, bookmark it, and let us know what you think.

In an era of declining government resources and expanding pollution concerns, government agencies have developed innovative approaches, like ERP to address these challenges.  ERP is an integrated system of:

• Plain-language compliance assistance that promotes pollution prevention;
• Facility self-audit and compliance certification;
• Agency inspections to verify certifications and assess performance; and
• Statistically-based performance measurement.

The States ERP Consortium was formed to help environmental agencies learn about and implement ERP tools through:

• Networking;
• Developing and coordinating policy; and
• Educating and communicating with ERP stakeholders.

Visitors to the website can expect to find:

• Fact sheets describing ERP and its benefits and the ERP Consortium;
• Guidance and tools for conducting an ERP;
• Reports on the results of ERP Projects;
• Calendar of upcoming events and PowerPoint slides from past events;
• Links to useful information resources;
• Summary of ERP activities in individual states;
• Descriptions of other new compliance strategies, particularly those  targeting small and medium-sized business sectors; and
• Contacts for more information.

Visit – www.erpstates.org

The Chair of the States ERP Consortium is Amy Williams, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment:  amy.williams@state.co.us.  The Consortium is managed by the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA) with funding from the U.S. EPA.  For more information or to provide comments and feedback on the website, contact Jennifer Griffith at (617) 367-8558 x303 or jgriffith@newmoa.org.

Source: Yale Environment 360.com
by dave levitan

Urban stormwater runoff is a serious problem, overloading sewage treatment plants and polluting waterways. Now, various U.S. cities are creating innovative green infrastructure — such as rain gardens and roadside plantings — that mimics the way nature collects and cleanses water.

In Northeast Philadelphia, along busy Kensington Avenue, sits a small park. What used to be flat ground is now sloping terrain that contains a low-lying area intended to gather and funnel storm water. At the park’s southern end is a depression lined with well-arranged plants — a new landscape carefully engineered to change how water flows through the area.

This is Womrath Park, one of a handful of “green infrastructure” projects Philadelphia has begun — with many more to come — aimed at tackling a widespread urban environment problem. Ten trillion gallons of rainwater per year flow over rooftops and roads around the U.S., picking up contaminants that include bacteria, oil and grease, metals, pesticides, and many others. When a rainstorm is big enough, the runoff causes overflows from outdated sewer systems that combine both raw sewage and stormwater in a single pipe. This tide of pollutants ends up in surrounding waterways that serve as drinking water sources and recreational areas.

“Stormwater runoff is one of the largest water pollution issues facing the U.S. today,” says Larry Levine, a senior attorney in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s water program.
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Source: Bloomberg.com

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing rules to expand the use of renewable fuels and thwart scams in a program hit by fraud and facing increasing criticisms from U.S. refiners.

The EPA yesterday called for a mandate of 16.55 billion gallons for renewable fuels such as ethanol for this year, up 8.9 percent from 2012 and in line with a target set by Congress. Parties have 45 days to comment before a final mandate is set. The agency also issued rules aimed at preventing scams, after the EPA determined that three separate companies sold fraudulent Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs, for fuel they never produced.

“Following a number of high-profile RIN fraud cases, EPA expects its rulemaking to improve the overall liquidity in the RIN market and in particular make it easier for smaller renewable fuel producers,” the agency said in a statement.

A 2007 federal law requires that refiners such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) blend certain amounts of renewable fuels with gasoline each year, with the amount determined by their share of the fuel market. Instead of producing the fuels themselves, refiners can buy credits, or RINs, from other producers to fulfill their obligations.
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Source: Environmental Leader.com

The US Postal Service says it saved more than $52 million in 2012 by reducing energy, water, consumables, petroleum fuel use and solid waste to landfills, and generated nearly $24 million in revenue by recycling.

The agency says employee green teams played a key role in helping USPS achieve the savings and revenue, which included nearly $12 million in vehicle fuel cost avoidance, more than $10 million in facility energy savings, water savings of nearly $1 million and a decrease in supplies spending of nearly $4 million.

Additionally, green teams helped USPS recycle more than 253,000 tons of material, which saved more than $25 million in landfill fees.

Green teams identify and implement low- and no-cost sustainable practices. These are intended to help USPS meet the following goals by 2015:

• Reduce facility energy use by 30 percent compared to 2003.
• Reduce water use by 10 percent compared to 2007.
• Reduce petroleum fuel use by 20 percent compared to 2005.
• Recycle 50 percent of all solid waste compared to 2009.

USPS also says it buys sustainable materials and works to reduce the amount of supplies it purchases. The agency first developed a “buy green” policy about 15 years ago, and has a goal to reduce spending on supplies 30 percent by 2020.
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WASHINGTON – Total toxic air releases in 2011 declined 8 percent from 2010, mostly because of decreases in hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions, even while total releases of toxic chemicals increased for the second year in a row, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report published today.

The annual TRI provides citizens with vital information about their communities. The TRI program collects information on certain toxic chemical releases to the air, water and land, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities by facilities across the country. TRI data are submitted annually to EPA, states and tribes by facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste facilities.
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Source: Health Facilities Magazine Codes & Standards

Top 10 troubles

For a number of years now, hospitals have been concerned with the Joint Commission’s Top 10 list of noncompliant standards. But there’s another Top 10 list out there that also should be considered. Specifically, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publishes its list of most frequent citations and fines based on its fiscal year, the most current being Oct. 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2011.

OSHA’s data are classified by the Standard Industrial Classification code, so the data are specific to the health services industry. This classification includes health care facilities and services other than hospitals, which may be evident when reviewing the specific problematic standards.

A sampling of other types of facilities includes:

• Physician, dental, chiropractic and podiatric offices;
• Skilled nursing facilities;
• Psychiatric and other specialty hospitals;
• Medical and dental laboratories;
• Home health care services;
• Kidney dialysis centers;
• Specialty outpatient facilities.

Top violations

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