By Patrick Bryan
Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District
Patrick discusses the history of storm water regulation in California with a focus on the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District’s municipal storm water basins. Part 2 will discuss the 2015 changes to California’s storm water regulations and what that means to businesses throughout the state. WSPPN news letter artical Part 1 (with Photos)
A new certificate program from the University of Washington will help chemists, environmental and sustainability professionals, health and safety professionals and product managers make informed product decisions that take into account sustainability, toxicity and human health concerns. The certificate in Green Chemistry & Chemical Stewardship will be offered through the Professional and Continuing Education program at the University of Washington.
There will be three online courses in the certificate and individuals can sign up for a single course on a space available basis:
The certificate program will be offered online and is intended to give professionals working in chemicals management experience using comparative chemical hazard assessment tools for product selection. The classes will be offered sequentially, beginning in January, 2015, and concluding in August, 2015. Students will complete a capstone project requiring them to evaluate a chemical or product within a sustainability framework.
Go to http://www.pce.uw.edu/certificates/green-chemistry-chemical-stewardship.html to learn more about the certificate program.
Fire Prevention Week is a great time to promote best burn tips to help keep homes warm and healthier. It’s also a great opportunity to share the health and safety benefits of replacing an old wood stove with cleaner, more efficient home heating.
Approximately 10 million wood stoves are currently in use in the United States, and 65 percent of them are older, inefficient, conventional stoves. Just 20 old, non-EPA certified wood stoves can emit more than 1 ton of fine particle pollution (PM2.5) into your area during the cold months of the year.
Smoke from wood-burning stoves and fireplaces contain a mixture of harmful gases and small particles. Breathing these small particles can cause asthma attacks and severe bronchitis, aggravate heart and lung disease, and may increase the likelihood of respiratory illnesses.
EPA Burn Wise offers the following tools to encourage best burn tips and to help improve the air and health of your community. To help reduce wood smoke in your area, share these tools with local media, partners and others to promote on social media, websites and newsletters.
Additional Health Resources and Tools: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/kit.html
More Video and Radio PSAs: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/psas.html
Contact Herrington.leigh@epa.gov to order free Burn Wise brochures and posters.
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EPABurnWise
@epaburnwise on Twitter: https://twitter.com/epaburnwise
The 2014 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention (MVP2) awards presented by the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) celebrate the successes of innovators in the areas of pollution prevention and sustainability. The MVP2 awards are presented annually during National Pollution Prevention (P2) Week.
The 2014 MVP2 recipients represent a broad range of backgrounds including academia, industries, non- profits and individuals that have demonstrated significant accomplishments in pollution prevention. Together, these programs and projects reduced hazardous materials by 2.2 million pounds, non-hazardous materials by 919,000 pounds, water use by 86.5 million gallons, air emissions by 2 million pounds, and energy use by 5.8 million kWh, saving these companies a total of over $3 million according to NPPR. These prestigious awards were presented at a ceremony in Washington, DC on September 17, 2014.
Awards are presented in five categories.
Phyllis Strong with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency took home the award for P2 Champion.
Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Audree Miller, with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
This year’s winners for the Projects/Programs Award: Crown Equipment, Dassault Falcoln Jet, Eco Chemical, GM – Toledo, IBM Vermont, Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute, Madison Precision Products, Prince William County Fire & Rescue, PVI Industries, SABIC, Saint-Gobain Corporation, and Washing Systems.
Honorable Mentions went to Cintas Corporation, GOJO Industries, IBM Fishkill, Maryland Department of Environmental Protection, Phoenix Contact, Pratt & Whitney, and SABIC.
One of the award winners, General Motors’ Toledo transmission manufacturing facility, has committed to making pollution prevention and recycling a facility-wide priority. The plant’s effective energy conservation program was implemented as part of its “drive to zero” program. The program was recognized by the U.S. EPA for lowering greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 percent and subsequently avoiding nearly 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
GM Toledo hosts the largest rooftop solar array in the state of Ohio and uses landfill gas, which combined provide 19% of the facility’s energy use from renewable energy sources. GM Toledo is also a landfill free facility, sending no waste from daily operations to landfill – all waste is reused, recycled or converted to energy.
“Our reductions in carbon emissions from improved energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives at the Toledo facility are made possible through the ongoing collaborative work with local utilities, state and local environmental service organizations and other private businesses,” said Laura Bartling, GM’s Midwest environmental group manager. “They’ve demonstrated what can be achieved through a holistic and community-engaging approach at reducing our environmental footprint.”
This year marks the first year of the Fred Granek P2 Ambassador Award, in memory of Fred Granek of the Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention. The Fred Granek P2 Ambassador Award was awarded to Bruce Taylor of Enviro-Stewards, Inc.
For more information on the MVP2 Awards and NPPR, visit www.p2.org
What: Symposium: Assessing and Managing Toxic Risk from Alternative VOC Compound
Where: SCAQMD Headquarters in Diamond Bar, California
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Link for more details.
In the ongoing effort to meet more stringent federal ozone standards, the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Diamond Head, California continues to seek VOC emissions reductions from stationary and area sources in the South Coast Air Basin.
One strategy to achieve this goal is to continue to lower limits on the VOC content of coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, lubricants, inks and other VOC containing products. Manufacturers have responded by reformulating their products to meet new VOC limits, in many cases using alternative compounds that have been exempted from the definition of VOC. These exemptions are based primarily on evidence that the compound does not significantly contribute to ozone formation, but may also consider other factors such as toxicity and climate impacts.
Recently, the SCAQMD has been faced with a variety of issues regarding the potential toxic risk posed by compounds proposed for exemption, or otherwise anticipated to have increased use, when proposed rules are analyzed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These issues include aspects of both risk assessment and risk management.
This symposium will include presentations from experts from the regulatory, industrial, academic, and environmental communities exploring these critical issues from different perspectives. The objective is to provide SCAQMD with expert advice and potential future direction regarding the analysis and mitigation of potential toxic risks associated with alternative VOC compounds. Please use the following link to sign up for the mailing list for this symposium (please note, the webpage does not display properly in Internet Explorer version 9 or earlier): http://www.aqmd.gov/home/regulations/compliance/vocs/optintoxsymp
Pollution Prevention Week begins the third Monday in September each year. The week is an opportunity for individuals, businesses, and government to emphasize and highlight their pollution prevention and sustainability activities and achievements, expand current pollution prevention efforts, and commit to new actions.
Pollution Prevention Week is the time when businesses, environmental groups and citizens can join forces for a common cause. By sharing information about pollution prevention (P2), businesses can become more competitive, businesses and government can realize cost savings, and environmental quality can be enhanced.
NPPR prepared a toolkit to assist organizations in their planning and communication for Pollution Prevention Week. This toolkit contains ideas for social media messages, links to websites with information about safe chemicals, sample press releases, recipes for home cleaning and alternative yard care. Here are the themes for each day of the week:
The state of Hawaii honored 13 businesses and nine events for their outstanding and innovative clean energy efforts at the 2014 Hawaii Green Business Awards held July 11, 2014 in Honolulu. The awards were presented by Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui and hosted by the Hawaii State Energy Office of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), Department of Health and The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. The annual awards program recognizes achievements by Hawaii businesses and entities in the area of energy efficiency.
The honorees of the 2014 Hawaii Green Business Awards are:
The Hawaii Green Business Awards also honored nine green events held in 2014:
Click here for the State of Hawaii press release and a description of the awardees and their energy efficiency accomplishments.
There is still time to get your nominations in for the EPA Region 9 Environmental Awards for 2013! This year, nominations are not limited to a specific set of categories, so nominators can focus on the areas of
recognition they choose. A total of six to eight winners will be selected in the fall of 2013; nominations must be submitted by May 31, 2013.
This is a great opportunity to bring public attention to individuals and groups outside of EPA who are working to protect public health and the environment through innovative approaches, development and implementation of successful programs, and inspirational leadership. For more details or to submit a nomination, visit: EPA’s website.
Oscar-nominated director Filmmaker, Markus Imhoof, is getting international attention with his award winning film. “More Than Honey” covers the concern worldwide over declining bee health. Over the past 15 years, bee populations have mysteriously decreased at an alarming rate; a trend which could devastate the world food supply. Several contributing factors are suspected including parasites, disease, poor nutrition, exposure to pesticides, new viruses, and travel stress. Already Imhoof has received dozens of awards internationally.
Check out the trailer: Here
USA Public screenings:
June 2 – San Francisco Green Film Festival at the New People’s Cinema in Japantown. Purchase Tickets.
June 12 – The opening in New York is in NY Film forum, 209 West Houston St. west of 6th Ave. Screenings on Wednesday, June 12 – Tuesday, June 25 – Purchase Tickets.
