Historias exitosas del Programa de Capacitación de Empleos y Desarrollo de la Fuerza Laboral Ambiental

Tacoma, Washington

El Programa de Capacitación de Empleos y Desarrollo de la Fuerza Laboral Ambiental de la EPA (EWDJT, por sus siglas en inglés) está destinado a mejorar la salud ambiental de las comunidades a nivel nacional mientras mejora el medio de sustento para los residentes que viven en estas comunidades. A lo largo de los años, los programas EWDJT han sido implementados en todo el país, impactando las vidas de muchos. En sus propias palabras, vea cómo el programa EWDJT de Brownfields de la EPA permitió que Ricardo Loza combiara su carrera:

Pasé más de 20 años de mi vida professional en el negocio de transportación, trabajando en operaciones, cotización de precios y gerencia antes de perder mi empleo durante la recesión del 2008. En enero del 2013, después de estar desempleado por casi cinco años, me encontré en Tacoma, WA solicitando cupones de alimentos por la primera vez en mi vida. Como mucha gente, he tenido tiempos buenos y tiempos malos; este para mí fue el punto más bajo de mi vida. Mientras salía de la oficina del Departamento de Servicios Sociales y de Salud de Washington, vi una boletin acerca del programa de capacitación de empleos ambientales de la Ciudad de Tacoma.

Regresé adonde me estaba quedando y le dije a la persona de la cual estaba alquilando la habitación, que tuviera paciencia conmigo porque iba a tomar un curso de seis semanas. Por suerte, aplazaron el plago de mi alquiler por dos meses. El día de la orientación, vi todos los libros de texto y me pregunté a mí mismo en qué situación me había metido.

Lo que parecía una labor insuperable se convirtió en una progresión paso a paso hacia el aprendizaje de las destrezas para cada certificación, gracias a mis instructores increibles, Chris Goodman y Bill Routely, nos mantuvimos centrados en la meta. A mi edad de 50 años, yo era la persona con mayor edad en la clase y me sentía desaventajado. Un sentimiento que tan solo se exacerbó cuando empecé a buscar trabajo.

Como parte de la ceremonia de graduación, había una hoja de TCB Industrial para alistarse para asistir a una entrevista de grupo. Recibí una llamada de quien se convertiría en mi predecesora para que asistiera. Como TCB era un contratista de empleos temporeros, pensé que iba a ganar algún dinero y luego buscar un empleado permanente. Cuando nuestro grupo comenzó a retirarse, le mencioné que cuando revisara mi resumé viera que ya yo tenia varios años de experiencia administrativa y de trabajar en oficinas. Le dije que yo podría aplicar mi reciente capacitación en el negocio de manejo de materiales peligrosos en conjunto con mi existente experiencia en el suite Microsoft para trabajar como oficinista temporero para ayudar a TCB.

Sin saberlo, ella acababa de someter su notificación de renuncia de dos semanas a TCB Industrial el día anterior. Luego me enteré que ella había sometido mi nombre y mi resumé al dueño de TCB para que yo fuera su possible reemplazo. Me llamaron para una segunda entrevista. Salió bien. El combinar mi experiencia previa, con la capacitación medioambiental reciente me convirtió en el candidato perfecto, lo cual me ha llevado a donde estoy hoy: el Director de Operaciones para el Pacifico Noroeste de la Corporación Industrial TCB.

Estoy seguro que mi patrono actual no me hubiese considerado sin la capacitación directa de HAZWOPER provista bajo el programa brownfields financiado por la EPA. Es un gran honor, placer y privilegio continuar trabajando con el Colegio Técnico de Clover Park, y los Juegos de la Buena Voluntad de los Juegos Olímpicos, y con la EPA. Nuestros esfuerzos combinados han permitido que TCB Industrial emplee a varios graduandos del prorama de capacitación de empleos de la EPA y los coloque en varios proyectos brownfields en la region de Puget Sound.

Nada de esto hubiese sido possible sin el Programa de Capacitación de Empleos y Desarrollo de la Fuerza Laboral Ambiental. Por ello estoy eternamente agradecido.

Sinceramente,

Ricardo Loza

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2rcAWLY

Tacoma, Washington

El Programa de Capacitación de Empleos y Desarrollo de la Fuerza Laboral Ambiental de la EPA (EWDJT, por sus siglas en inglés) está destinado a mejorar la salud ambiental de las comunidades a nivel nacional mientras mejora el medio de sustento para los residentes que viven en estas comunidades. A lo largo de los años, los programas EWDJT han sido implementados en todo el país, impactando las vidas de muchos. En sus propias palabras, vea cómo el programa EWDJT de Brownfields de la EPA permitió que Ricardo Loza combiara su carrera:

Pasé más de 20 años de mi vida professional en el negocio de transportación, trabajando en operaciones, cotización de precios y gerencia antes de perder mi empleo durante la recesión del 2008. En enero del 2013, después de estar desempleado por casi cinco años, me encontré en Tacoma, WA solicitando cupones de alimentos por la primera vez en mi vida. Como mucha gente, he tenido tiempos buenos y tiempos malos; este para mí fue el punto más bajo de mi vida. Mientras salía de la oficina del Departamento de Servicios Sociales y de Salud de Washington, vi una boletin acerca del programa de capacitación de empleos ambientales de la Ciudad de Tacoma.

Regresé adonde me estaba quedando y le dije a la persona de la cual estaba alquilando la habitación, que tuviera paciencia conmigo porque iba a tomar un curso de seis semanas. Por suerte, aplazaron el plago de mi alquiler por dos meses. El día de la orientación, vi todos los libros de texto y me pregunté a mí mismo en qué situación me había metido.

Lo que parecía una labor insuperable se convirtió en una progresión paso a paso hacia el aprendizaje de las destrezas para cada certificación, gracias a mis instructores increibles, Chris Goodman y Bill Routely, nos mantuvimos centrados en la meta. A mi edad de 50 años, yo era la persona con mayor edad en la clase y me sentía desaventajado. Un sentimiento que tan solo se exacerbó cuando empecé a buscar trabajo.

Como parte de la ceremonia de graduación, había una hoja de TCB Industrial para alistarse para asistir a una entrevista de grupo. Recibí una llamada de quien se convertiría en mi predecesora para que asistiera. Como TCB era un contratista de empleos temporeros, pensé que iba a ganar algún dinero y luego buscar un empleado permanente. Cuando nuestro grupo comenzó a retirarse, le mencioné que cuando revisara mi resumé viera que ya yo tenia varios años de experiencia administrativa y de trabajar en oficinas. Le dije que yo podría aplicar mi reciente capacitación en el negocio de manejo de materiales peligrosos en conjunto con mi existente experiencia en el suite Microsoft para trabajar como oficinista temporero para ayudar a TCB.

Sin saberlo, ella acababa de someter su notificación de renuncia de dos semanas a TCB Industrial el día anterior. Luego me enteré que ella había sometido mi nombre y mi resumé al dueño de TCB para que yo fuera su possible reemplazo. Me llamaron para una segunda entrevista. Salió bien. El combinar mi experiencia previa, con la capacitación medioambiental reciente me convirtió en el candidato perfecto, lo cual me ha llevado a donde estoy hoy: el Director de Operaciones para el Pacifico Noroeste de la Corporación Industrial TCB.

Estoy seguro que mi patrono actual no me hubiese considerado sin la capacitación directa de HAZWOPER provista bajo el programa brownfields financiado por la EPA. Es un gran honor, placer y privilegio continuar trabajando con el Colegio Técnico de Clover Park, y los Juegos de la Buena Voluntad de los Juegos Olímpicos, y con la EPA. Nuestros esfuerzos combinados han permitido que TCB Industrial emplee a varios graduandos del prorama de capacitación de empleos de la EPA y los coloque en varios proyectos brownfields en la region de Puget Sound.

Nada de esto hubiese sido possible sin el Programa de Capacitación de Empleos y Desarrollo de la Fuerza Laboral Ambiental. Por ello estoy eternamente agradecido.

Sinceramente,

Ricardo Loza

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2rcAWLY

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Richmond, California

EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program is aimed at improving the environmental health of communities nationwide while improving the livelihood of the residents who live in those communities. Over the years, successful EWDJT programs have been implemented throughout the country, impacting the lives of many. In his own words, here is how the EPA Brownfields EWDJT program allowed Jonathan Brito to change his career:

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Richmond, California

Before I started on my journey at the RichmondBUILD Academy, I was a father to a beautiful 3-year-old daughter, and I had just been laid off of my 6-year career as an auto body technician. I ran into many career dead ends and depression set in. I then found myself in the middle of a heavy drug addiction.  I lost everything and found myself on the streets living a very hard life. I knew that I had to make things better and heard about a local job training program through the media. This job training program helped local residents, such as myself, start a career in the environmental remediation and construction industry with good living wages.

Jonathan Brito in his Tyvek suit during EPA funded HAZWOPER 40-hour training.

I was very fortunate to become a student at the RichmondBUILD Academy. I must admit it was not easy to get in the Academy and even harder to endure the twelve weeks of intensive training. They pushed me physically and mentally. They helped me regain my self-esteem and confidence. Through the RichmondBUILD program, I learned the skills and knowledge necessary to enter the environmental industry and earned valuable certifications, such as my Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) 40-hour certification, OSHA 10-hour, work zone safety, and first aid/CPR. The Academy also taught me to follow my passion: Solar!

Since my graduation, I’ve worked on the Freethy Industrial Park, a new, two-megawatt, ground-mounted solar project in Richmond and I’m currently employed with Ally Electric doing residential solar installation. I’ve also interviewed with firms that will install solar panels at a new 49-acre, 10.5 MW ground mount solar farm on a former brownfield site in Richmond, California. Most importantly, I have the love of my daughter and family again!

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the City of Richmond, EPA, and the RichmondBUILD Academy. I don’t know where I’d be today without them. I’m forever thankful for the opportunities that have been presented to me. As I look to the future, I would like to become a local contractor and hire people that have been in the same predicament as me. And I will definitely hire them from RichmondBUILD!

–###–

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2rnlolV

EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program is aimed at improving the environmental health of communities nationwide while improving the livelihood of the residents who live in those communities. Over the years, successful EWDJT programs have been implemented throughout the country, impacting the lives of many. In his own words, here is how the EPA Brownfields EWDJT program allowed Jonathan Brito to change his career:

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Richmond, California

Before I started on my journey at the RichmondBUILD Academy, I was a father to a beautiful 3-year-old daughter, and I had just been laid off of my 6-year career as an auto body technician. I ran into many career dead ends and depression set in. I then found myself in the middle of a heavy drug addiction.  I lost everything and found myself on the streets living a very hard life. I knew that I had to make things better and heard about a local job training program through the media. This job training program helped local residents, such as myself, start a career in the environmental remediation and construction industry with good living wages.

Jonathan Brito in his Tyvek suit during EPA funded HAZWOPER 40-hour training.

I was very fortunate to become a student at the RichmondBUILD Academy. I must admit it was not easy to get in the Academy and even harder to endure the twelve weeks of intensive training. They pushed me physically and mentally. They helped me regain my self-esteem and confidence. Through the RichmondBUILD program, I learned the skills and knowledge necessary to enter the environmental industry and earned valuable certifications, such as my Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) 40-hour certification, OSHA 10-hour, work zone safety, and first aid/CPR. The Academy also taught me to follow my passion: Solar!

Since my graduation, I’ve worked on the Freethy Industrial Park, a new, two-megawatt, ground-mounted solar project in Richmond and I’m currently employed with Ally Electric doing residential solar installation. I’ve also interviewed with firms that will install solar panels at a new 49-acre, 10.5 MW ground mount solar farm on a former brownfield site in Richmond, California. Most importantly, I have the love of my daughter and family again!

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the City of Richmond, EPA, and the RichmondBUILD Academy. I don’t know where I’d be today without them. I’m forever thankful for the opportunities that have been presented to me. As I look to the future, I would like to become a local contractor and hire people that have been in the same predicament as me. And I will definitely hire them from RichmondBUILD!

–###–

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2rnlolV

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Tacoma, Washington

EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program is aimed at improving the environmental health of communities nationwide while improving the livelihood of the residents who live in those communities. Over the years, successful EWDJT programs have been implemented throughout the country, impacting the lives of many. In his own words, here is how the EPA Brownfields EWDJT program allowed Ricardo Loza to change his career:

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Tacoma, Washington

I spent over 20 years of my professional life in the transportation business, working in operations, pricing and management before losing my job during the recession in 2008. In January 2013, after being unemployed for nearly five years, I found myself in Tacoma, WA applying for food stamps for the first time in my life. Like most people, I’ve had good and bad times; this for me was the very lowest point in my life. As I walked out of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services office, I spotted a flyer for the City of Tacoma’s environmental job training program.

I went back to where I was staying and asked the person I was renting a room from to please bear with me while I took a six-week course. Thankfully, they agreed to put off my rent for two months.
On orientation day, I saw all those text books and wondered what I had gotten myself into.

What seemed like an insurmountable task turned into a step by step progression in learning the skill for each certification, thanks to my wonderful instructors, Chris Goodman and Bill Routely, who kept us focused. At age 50, I was the oldest person in my class and I felt I was at a disadvantage. A feeling that was only exacerbated when I went to look for work.

As part of the graduation ceremony, there was a sign-up sheet for TCB Industrial to attend a group interview. I got a call back from my would-be predecessor asking me to attend. With TCB being a temporary labor contractor, my thought was I could gather some money and move forward looking for permanent employment. As our group was leaving, I mentioned to her that when she reviews my resume she will see I have several years of administrative and office experience. I told her I could apply my recent training in the hazardous materials business along with my existing years of experience with the full Microsoft suite to work as temporary office help for TCB.

Unbeknownst to me, she had just submitted her two weeks’ notice to TCB Industrial the day prior. I found out later that she submitted my name and resume to the owner of TCB as her possible replacement. I was called back in for a second interview. It went well. Combining my previous experience and recent environmental training made me the perfect candidate, which has led me to where I am today: The Pacific Northwest Director Operations for TCB Industrial Corporation.

I am certain I wouldn’t have been considered by my current employer without the direct HAZWOPER training provided by the EPA funded brownfields program. It’s a great honor, pleasure and privilege to continue to work with Clover Park Technical College, Goodwill of the Olympics, and EPA. Our combined efforts have allowed TCB Industrial to hire several EPA job training graduates and place them with brownfields projects throughout the Puget Sound region.

None of this would have been possible without the EPA Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. For that I will be forever grateful.

Sincerely,
Ricardo Loza

 

# # #

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2qNY9UX

EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program is aimed at improving the environmental health of communities nationwide while improving the livelihood of the residents who live in those communities. Over the years, successful EWDJT programs have been implemented throughout the country, impacting the lives of many. In his own words, here is how the EPA Brownfields EWDJT program allowed Ricardo Loza to change his career:

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Tacoma, Washington

I spent over 20 years of my professional life in the transportation business, working in operations, pricing and management before losing my job during the recession in 2008. In January 2013, after being unemployed for nearly five years, I found myself in Tacoma, WA applying for food stamps for the first time in my life. Like most people, I’ve had good and bad times; this for me was the very lowest point in my life. As I walked out of the Washington Department of Social and Health Services office, I spotted a flyer for the City of Tacoma’s environmental job training program.

I went back to where I was staying and asked the person I was renting a room from to please bear with me while I took a six-week course. Thankfully, they agreed to put off my rent for two months.
On orientation day, I saw all those text books and wondered what I had gotten myself into.

What seemed like an insurmountable task turned into a step by step progression in learning the skill for each certification, thanks to my wonderful instructors, Chris Goodman and Bill Routely, who kept us focused. At age 50, I was the oldest person in my class and I felt I was at a disadvantage. A feeling that was only exacerbated when I went to look for work.

As part of the graduation ceremony, there was a sign-up sheet for TCB Industrial to attend a group interview. I got a call back from my would-be predecessor asking me to attend. With TCB being a temporary labor contractor, my thought was I could gather some money and move forward looking for permanent employment. As our group was leaving, I mentioned to her that when she reviews my resume she will see I have several years of administrative and office experience. I told her I could apply my recent training in the hazardous materials business along with my existing years of experience with the full Microsoft suite to work as temporary office help for TCB.

Unbeknownst to me, she had just submitted her two weeks’ notice to TCB Industrial the day prior. I found out later that she submitted my name and resume to the owner of TCB as her possible replacement. I was called back in for a second interview. It went well. Combining my previous experience and recent environmental training made me the perfect candidate, which has led me to where I am today: The Pacific Northwest Director Operations for TCB Industrial Corporation.

I am certain I wouldn’t have been considered by my current employer without the direct HAZWOPER training provided by the EPA funded brownfields program. It’s a great honor, pleasure and privilege to continue to work with Clover Park Technical College, Goodwill of the Olympics, and EPA. Our combined efforts have allowed TCB Industrial to hire several EPA job training graduates and place them with brownfields projects throughout the Puget Sound region.

None of this would have been possible without the EPA Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. For that I will be forever grateful.

Sincerely,
Ricardo Loza

 

# # #

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2qNY9UX

Brownfields Job Training is a Win-Win for Job Creation and Environmental Protection

For nearly two decades, our Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program has helped put people to work by building a skilled, local environmental workforce equipped to take advantage of the job opportunities created when cleaning up brownfields sites. The program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train and place unemployed and underemployed individuals living in brownfields communities, in a wide range of environmental careers. By doing so, EPA has touched and changed the lives of thousands of local community members, often including low-income and minority residents, and other individuals with extreme barriers to employment, by helping them develop skills they can use to find sustainable careers and opportunities for economic advancement.

Approximately 16,300 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 11,900 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage of over $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative job placement rate of 73 percent of graduates.

EPA is pleased to announce today the selection of 14 new entities that continue this local approach to environmental protection.

To hear directly from individuals who have completed training funded by EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, please visit:

• Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Richmond, CaliforniaEnvironmental Workforce
• Development and Job Training Success Stories: Tacoma, Washington

For more information on Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grantees, including past EWDJT grantees, please visit:
http://ift.tt/2qo79yo

For more information on EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, please visit:
http://ift.tt/2dLq64K

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2qoc4jb

For nearly two decades, our Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program has helped put people to work by building a skilled, local environmental workforce equipped to take advantage of the job opportunities created when cleaning up brownfields sites. The program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train and place unemployed and underemployed individuals living in brownfields communities, in a wide range of environmental careers. By doing so, EPA has touched and changed the lives of thousands of local community members, often including low-income and minority residents, and other individuals with extreme barriers to employment, by helping them develop skills they can use to find sustainable careers and opportunities for economic advancement.

Approximately 16,300 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 11,900 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage of over $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative job placement rate of 73 percent of graduates.

EPA is pleased to announce today the selection of 14 new entities that continue this local approach to environmental protection.

To hear directly from individuals who have completed training funded by EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, please visit:

• Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Success Stories: Richmond, CaliforniaEnvironmental Workforce
• Development and Job Training Success Stories: Tacoma, Washington

For more information on Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grantees, including past EWDJT grantees, please visit:
http://ift.tt/2qo79yo

For more information on EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, please visit:
http://ift.tt/2dLq64K

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2qoc4jb

How One Bus Ride Led Me To Public Service

By Elle Chang

“If you look to the right, you’ll see power plants and waste incinerators have been positioned next to elementary school playgrounds, where mercury and lead exposure are harming children, and little is being done to address it. These are environmental justice communities,” our guide explained. Ten years ago, I was on a bus driving through a neighborhood off of North Capitol Street, not too far from where I live now in Washington, DC. It was freshman year of college and that weekend, I had joined thousands of other social justice advocates, student government leaders, and other community representatives at a national conference about climate justice, environmental racism, lobbying, voter education, and inspire others to plug into movements they cared about.  

The images from that bus ride stick with me to this day as a reminder that we have much to accomplish in terms of protecting human health and the environment. Understanding the relationship between communities and their natural environments has been a theme that I have found myself attempting to understand in each major phase of my life. Seeing many environmental issues with health implications for communities made friends of mine so upset in college that they were willing to skip class to chain themselves to doors of buildings. Potentially telling my mother that I had been arrested for trespassing because I cared about protecting the environment wasn’t an option, so I took a less radical approach and began attending community meetings to listen and see where my intentions could be more useful. The intersection of public participation, good governance, sustainable development, and cooperative management models are what led me to get a degree in political science and work as a Peace Corps volunteer, graduate student, United Nations staffer, climate change researcher, and in my current role as an EPA analyst.

With a deep belief in public service, community engagement, policy and science-based facts, my role in the American Indian Environmental Office involves managing the partnership with the National Tribal Caucus that includes a national group of tribal environmental leaders who advise EPA on policies affecting Indian country. One of the best aspects about my job is that I get to work with the tribal offices in the regions, at headquarters, and throughout the federal family and it pushes me to continuously learn about new issues in highly diverse communities from a social justice and environmental policy perspective. Though the work can feel overwhelming, I am always inspired by the positivity, passion, and necessity to persevere and protect our shared environment by our tribal partners who are a reminder that our policies and actions here in Washington, DC have wider and deeper implications than we will ever experience.

Prior to joining EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs, Elle Chang graduated from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University with a master’s degree in International Development where she explored the intersection of integrated conservation solutions and indigenous issues as it relates to natural resource management. Ms. Chang served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in East Java, Indonesia where she focused on secondary school education and gender empowerment programs.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2pOqVAe

By Elle Chang

“If you look to the right, you’ll see power plants and waste incinerators have been positioned next to elementary school playgrounds, where mercury and lead exposure are harming children, and little is being done to address it. These are environmental justice communities,” our guide explained. Ten years ago, I was on a bus driving through a neighborhood off of North Capitol Street, not too far from where I live now in Washington, DC. It was freshman year of college and that weekend, I had joined thousands of other social justice advocates, student government leaders, and other community representatives at a national conference about climate justice, environmental racism, lobbying, voter education, and inspire others to plug into movements they cared about.  

The images from that bus ride stick with me to this day as a reminder that we have much to accomplish in terms of protecting human health and the environment. Understanding the relationship between communities and their natural environments has been a theme that I have found myself attempting to understand in each major phase of my life. Seeing many environmental issues with health implications for communities made friends of mine so upset in college that they were willing to skip class to chain themselves to doors of buildings. Potentially telling my mother that I had been arrested for trespassing because I cared about protecting the environment wasn’t an option, so I took a less radical approach and began attending community meetings to listen and see where my intentions could be more useful. The intersection of public participation, good governance, sustainable development, and cooperative management models are what led me to get a degree in political science and work as a Peace Corps volunteer, graduate student, United Nations staffer, climate change researcher, and in my current role as an EPA analyst.

With a deep belief in public service, community engagement, policy and science-based facts, my role in the American Indian Environmental Office involves managing the partnership with the National Tribal Caucus that includes a national group of tribal environmental leaders who advise EPA on policies affecting Indian country. One of the best aspects about my job is that I get to work with the tribal offices in the regions, at headquarters, and throughout the federal family and it pushes me to continuously learn about new issues in highly diverse communities from a social justice and environmental policy perspective. Though the work can feel overwhelming, I am always inspired by the positivity, passion, and necessity to persevere and protect our shared environment by our tribal partners who are a reminder that our policies and actions here in Washington, DC have wider and deeper implications than we will ever experience.

Prior to joining EPA’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs, Elle Chang graduated from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University with a master’s degree in International Development where she explored the intersection of integrated conservation solutions and indigenous issues as it relates to natural resource management. Ms. Chang served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in East Java, Indonesia where she focused on secondary school education and gender empowerment programs.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2pOqVAe

Haskell Indian Nations University’s ecoAmbassadors Bolster Composting and Waste Reduction

By Travis Robinett

Not long ago, a student group called the ecoAmbassadors at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., set out to enhance the university’s composting system with the help of an EPA partnership and grant assistance through EPA’s Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program. I recently had the pleasure to see firsthand the successful implementation of these students’ hard work.

Haskell student Steven Peña asks about composting methods at a recent meeting between students, EPA Region 7 and KDHE at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. Liz Blackburn, EPA tribal solid waste coordinator (right), is helping Haskell build a composting program from the ground up.

Haskell University has improved its composting system this semester, with support from EPA and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Liz Blackburn, tribal solid waste coordinator with EPA Region 7’s Air and Waste Management Division, set up a meeting recently between Haskell students and Arthur Fink, KDHE composting expert, who was consulted on their plan. He explained how best to monitor and adjust the pile, helping waste break down into healthy compost. Food waste collection for the new system began in early March 2017.

Region 7 has assisted students in bringing composting to Haskell since 2015, building on previous joint efforts from a Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and the university. Blackburn said she’s proud to continue strengthening that partnership.

KDHE’s Arthur Fink (right) gives expert advice to Haskell students on their composting plan recently. He’s standing beside wooden pallets for holding food waste as it breaks down, allowing airflow through the compost pile. The oxygen keeps food waste from decomposing in anaerobic conditions and emitting methane.

“It’s exciting, because I think improving waste management is the best way to target pollution prevention and reduction,” she said.

In 2015, Haskell’s ecoAmbassadors set out to improve the school’s food-waste management with grant assistance through EPA’s Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program. The composting system is a major piece of their waste reduction plan, which arose after fall 2015 assessments at Haskell’s dining hall showed how much food could be composted.

Haskell started composting shortly afterward with a one-bin system, but the students wanted to improve their methods. So they sought out ideas from a variety of places, including EPA and nearby Tribal Nations.

A compost thermometer shows the temperature under the surface. Compost piles can get hot. If the pile reaches about 140 degrees, the heat will kill most pathogens and denature any seeds. If it dips below 120 degrees, and food isn’t broken down, that’s the time to turn and mix the compost.

Based on what they learned, students built three adjacent bins with reused untreated wood pallets. The pallets allow for airflow, which keeps the compost from producing methane. Having three bins allows for older piles to break down while a new one begins.

According to EPA’s composting website, it takes anywhere from two months to two years for food waste to become dark, nutrient-rich compost. Fink said to help it break down, one key aspect to focus on is temperature. He brought a long composting thermometer, which measures the temperature underneath the pile’s surface.

“At 140 degrees Fahrenheit, most pathogens will be destroyed,” Fink said. “It also denatures any seeds.”

Fink explains the benefits of adding the proper amount of wood chips to the compost pile. The wood draws moisture from the decaying food and helps it break down, but it shouldn’t be too dry when added to the pile.

If the temperature drops to 120 degrees and the waste hasn’t broken down yet, he said it’s time to turn the pile.

One of the big benefits of composting and diverting food, Fink said, is that food takes up a lot of landfill space and is heavy to transport. Also in landfills, food often breaks down without oxygen, giving off methane as a byproduct.

Steven Peña, a student in Haskell’s American Indian Studies Program, said he hopes this effort is successful enough that in two to three years, the university can build something more permanent with concrete.

“Also, composting is something you can use at home,” Peña said. “We’re hoping people here take this habit with them.”

About the Author: Travis Robinett has been a Student Intern at EPA Region 7 since June 2016. He is a second-year graduate student at the University of Kansas (KU), working toward a master’s degree in environmental assessment, and holds two bachelor’s degrees in journalism and English from KU. Travis has a passion for sustainability, public service, teaching, volunteering, and the great outdoors.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2p1mW72

By Travis Robinett

Not long ago, a student group called the ecoAmbassadors at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., set out to enhance the university’s composting system with the help of an EPA partnership and grant assistance through EPA’s Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program. I recently had the pleasure to see firsthand the successful implementation of these students’ hard work.

Haskell student Steven Peña asks about composting methods at a recent meeting between students, EPA Region 7 and KDHE at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. Liz Blackburn, EPA tribal solid waste coordinator (right), is helping Haskell build a composting program from the ground up.

Haskell University has improved its composting system this semester, with support from EPA and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Liz Blackburn, tribal solid waste coordinator with EPA Region 7’s Air and Waste Management Division, set up a meeting recently between Haskell students and Arthur Fink, KDHE composting expert, who was consulted on their plan. He explained how best to monitor and adjust the pile, helping waste break down into healthy compost. Food waste collection for the new system began in early March 2017.

Region 7 has assisted students in bringing composting to Haskell since 2015, building on previous joint efforts from a Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and the university. Blackburn said she’s proud to continue strengthening that partnership.

KDHE’s Arthur Fink (right) gives expert advice to Haskell students on their composting plan recently. He’s standing beside wooden pallets for holding food waste as it breaks down, allowing airflow through the compost pile. The oxygen keeps food waste from decomposing in anaerobic conditions and emitting methane.

“It’s exciting, because I think improving waste management is the best way to target pollution prevention and reduction,” she said.

In 2015, Haskell’s ecoAmbassadors set out to improve the school’s food-waste management with grant assistance through EPA’s Tribal ecoAmbassadors Program. The composting system is a major piece of their waste reduction plan, which arose after fall 2015 assessments at Haskell’s dining hall showed how much food could be composted.

Haskell started composting shortly afterward with a one-bin system, but the students wanted to improve their methods. So they sought out ideas from a variety of places, including EPA and nearby Tribal Nations.

A compost thermometer shows the temperature under the surface. Compost piles can get hot. If the pile reaches about 140 degrees, the heat will kill most pathogens and denature any seeds. If it dips below 120 degrees, and food isn’t broken down, that’s the time to turn and mix the compost.

Based on what they learned, students built three adjacent bins with reused untreated wood pallets. The pallets allow for airflow, which keeps the compost from producing methane. Having three bins allows for older piles to break down while a new one begins.

According to EPA’s composting website, it takes anywhere from two months to two years for food waste to become dark, nutrient-rich compost. Fink said to help it break down, one key aspect to focus on is temperature. He brought a long composting thermometer, which measures the temperature underneath the pile’s surface.

“At 140 degrees Fahrenheit, most pathogens will be destroyed,” Fink said. “It also denatures any seeds.”

Fink explains the benefits of adding the proper amount of wood chips to the compost pile. The wood draws moisture from the decaying food and helps it break down, but it shouldn’t be too dry when added to the pile.

If the temperature drops to 120 degrees and the waste hasn’t broken down yet, he said it’s time to turn the pile.

One of the big benefits of composting and diverting food, Fink said, is that food takes up a lot of landfill space and is heavy to transport. Also in landfills, food often breaks down without oxygen, giving off methane as a byproduct.

Steven Peña, a student in Haskell’s American Indian Studies Program, said he hopes this effort is successful enough that in two to three years, the university can build something more permanent with concrete.

“Also, composting is something you can use at home,” Peña said. “We’re hoping people here take this habit with them.”

About the Author: Travis Robinett has been a Student Intern at EPA Region 7 since June 2016. He is a second-year graduate student at the University of Kansas (KU), working toward a master’s degree in environmental assessment, and holds two bachelor’s degrees in journalism and English from KU. Travis has a passion for sustainability, public service, teaching, volunteering, and the great outdoors.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2p1mW72

My Journey from Peace Corps to Minamata

By Marianne Bailey

Every day at EPA, I have the privilege of working with our staff to advance public health and environmental protection through international cooperation. As a high school student in the 1970s, I knew that diplomacy in some form was my path. As it turns out, diplomacy comes in many guises, and the kind we do at EPA is the most fulfilling kind I could have imagined.

After getting some work experience under my belt after college, I got an MPA degree then joined the Peace Corps in Mali, where I worked on agroforesty and nutrition. After that, EPA became my home. I worked on our Asia and Africa programs early in my EPA career. EPA’s expertise is unrivalled in the world, and is in big demand.

Working in close cooperation with our program and regional offices, and with strong management involvement, we achieved a very rapid phase out of leaded gasoline in China and many other countries in both regions, started air monitoring programs, and advanced environmental health initiatives such as the Chemical Information Exchange Network.

More recently, I was proud to have been involved in negotiating the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The Convention requires all countries to meet the same obligations to reduce the globally circulating emissions which impact the food Americans consume.

The Convention even addresses an informal sector, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, which has emerged as the largest source of global mercury emissions. It addresses that sector in a way that respects miners and their families, and should allow them to continue this important income-generating activity without facing the severe health impacts caused by inhaling mercury when the mercury-gold amalgam is burned to make pure gold.

And now, I am so proud of how our newer staff members have put their intelligence and leadership qualities to work on today’s most pressing challenges. Because what has stuck with me the most about this work over the years is that we can make such a big, positive difference in peoples’ lives through our public service.

My advice to those thinking about public service, including careers in environmental protection, and to those embarking on their careers: be willing and eager to take on new challenges, to stretch, to reach for something that might seem unachievable at first look. Look again – there is no challenge too big for your vision!

About the author: Marianne Bailey is the Deputy Director for Global Affairs and Policy at the US Environmental Protection Agency, which works on a wide range of global environmental issues. Marianne has worked on global mercury issues for over a decade and was the US negotiator for the Minamata Convention’s ASGM provisions. She has previously managed US EPA’s bilateral efforts in Africa and Asia; served as a US Peace Corps agroforestry volunteer in Mali; and worked for the US House of Representatives.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2pppdVy

By Marianne Bailey

Every day at EPA, I have the privilege of working with our staff to advance public health and environmental protection through international cooperation. As a high school student in the 1970s, I knew that diplomacy in some form was my path. As it turns out, diplomacy comes in many guises, and the kind we do at EPA is the most fulfilling kind I could have imagined.

After getting some work experience under my belt after college, I got an MPA degree then joined the Peace Corps in Mali, where I worked on agroforesty and nutrition. After that, EPA became my home. I worked on our Asia and Africa programs early in my EPA career. EPA’s expertise is unrivalled in the world, and is in big demand.

Working in close cooperation with our program and regional offices, and with strong management involvement, we achieved a very rapid phase out of leaded gasoline in China and many other countries in both regions, started air monitoring programs, and advanced environmental health initiatives such as the Chemical Information Exchange Network.

More recently, I was proud to have been involved in negotiating the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The Convention requires all countries to meet the same obligations to reduce the globally circulating emissions which impact the food Americans consume.

The Convention even addresses an informal sector, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, which has emerged as the largest source of global mercury emissions. It addresses that sector in a way that respects miners and their families, and should allow them to continue this important income-generating activity without facing the severe health impacts caused by inhaling mercury when the mercury-gold amalgam is burned to make pure gold.

And now, I am so proud of how our newer staff members have put their intelligence and leadership qualities to work on today’s most pressing challenges. Because what has stuck with me the most about this work over the years is that we can make such a big, positive difference in peoples’ lives through our public service.

My advice to those thinking about public service, including careers in environmental protection, and to those embarking on their careers: be willing and eager to take on new challenges, to stretch, to reach for something that might seem unachievable at first look. Look again – there is no challenge too big for your vision!

About the author: Marianne Bailey is the Deputy Director for Global Affairs and Policy at the US Environmental Protection Agency, which works on a wide range of global environmental issues. Marianne has worked on global mercury issues for over a decade and was the US negotiator for the Minamata Convention’s ASGM provisions. She has previously managed US EPA’s bilateral efforts in Africa and Asia; served as a US Peace Corps agroforestry volunteer in Mali; and worked for the US House of Representatives.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2pppdVy

Progress – Story by Story

by Amanda Pruzinsky

Mapping progress stories by location

Our EPA region does a lot of work with partners to improve water quality.  We’re capturing examples of those actions in an online series.

The stories illustrate how EPA – working with states, cities, utilities, non-profit groups and businesses – helps people and communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

The stories are available through an interactive map with the content and location of each story.  You can click on an individual water droplet for a story happening in a particular area.  Or you can access all of the stories we have to date for a given state.

In the series, you’ll find a story about an EPA-funded project in West Virginia to resolve conditions caused by failing or non-existent septic systems.  While you’re on that page, learn about the rebirth of the Cheat River, a haven for outdoors enthusiasts and those who enjoy fishing.

Among other stories, you can check out the recovery of a river scarred by acid mine drainage in Pennsylvania, a recycled water project in Virginia, an urban farm in the District of Columbia, and a 60 percent reduction in contaminants in Delaware’s Mirror Lake.

The stories showcase the variety of ways EPA is making a difference – from improvements to the Chesapeake Bay through wastewater treatment plant upgrades to green street initiatives that reduce stormwater and transform communities.

Take some time to browse the map and check back for the latest updates.

 

About the Author: Amanda Pruzinsky is a physical scientist for the Water Protection Division in EPA’s mid-Atlantic region working to support all of the water programs with a focus on data management, analysis, and communication.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2oHtPtK

by Amanda Pruzinsky

Mapping progress stories by location

Our EPA region does a lot of work with partners to improve water quality.  We’re capturing examples of those actions in an online series.

The stories illustrate how EPA – working with states, cities, utilities, non-profit groups and businesses – helps people and communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

The stories are available through an interactive map with the content and location of each story.  You can click on an individual water droplet for a story happening in a particular area.  Or you can access all of the stories we have to date for a given state.

In the series, you’ll find a story about an EPA-funded project in West Virginia to resolve conditions caused by failing or non-existent septic systems.  While you’re on that page, learn about the rebirth of the Cheat River, a haven for outdoors enthusiasts and those who enjoy fishing.

Among other stories, you can check out the recovery of a river scarred by acid mine drainage in Pennsylvania, a recycled water project in Virginia, an urban farm in the District of Columbia, and a 60 percent reduction in contaminants in Delaware’s Mirror Lake.

The stories showcase the variety of ways EPA is making a difference – from improvements to the Chesapeake Bay through wastewater treatment plant upgrades to green street initiatives that reduce stormwater and transform communities.

Take some time to browse the map and check back for the latest updates.

 

About the Author: Amanda Pruzinsky is a physical scientist for the Water Protection Division in EPA’s mid-Atlantic region working to support all of the water programs with a focus on data management, analysis, and communication.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2oHtPtK

From Brownfield to Ball Field, Springfield, Mo., Hit a Home Run!

By Ashley Murdie

Hammons Field, home of the Springfield Cardinals, in Springfield, Mo., was constructed from a former brownfield site made ready for reuse with the support of EPA funding.

Baseball is back! It’s Opening Day of the 2017 season and just knowing that makes today, a Monday, not half bad. The opening of baseball season is like spring itself. It ushers in a new beginning for the ever-hopeful baseball fans. EPA Region 7’s Brownfields team is in Springfield, Mo., today, where they’ve been working for a couple of decades on projects with the city to revitalize downtown, including Hammons Field, home of the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, a farm club for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The EPA Region 7 team is in Springfield for a graduation ceremony with the city’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, which represents just the latest new beginning created from this long partnership.

The EPA team has been working since 1999 with city officials and members of the Citizens Advisory Council on the Jordan Valley Corridor, an underused, 300-acre downtown industrial area that served as the starting point for redevelopment of the entire industrial corridor. Previously, the Hammons Field property was the site of warehouses, but that changed when the city of Springfield decided to include it as part of this revitalization project.

Over the years, the city leveraged $7 million in EPA Brownfields Program assistance funds that drew in more than $460 million in other public and private investments.

The project began when Springfield received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant from EPA in 1999. This grant provided the initial push by funding assessments on six of the 28 properties acquired for the first phase of the Jordan Valley Park redevelopment project. The city brought in additional funds for the project from the Federal Highway Administration, Economic Development Administration, and from many private contributors.

Benjamin Alexander, project manager for the park, stressed the importance of EPA’s Brownfields Program. “We had a vision and a plan, but I don’t think we would have been as successful as quickly without the Brownfields program.”

The assessments revealed less contamination than expected, allowing for demolition of current buildings and redevelopment to start.

Construction began on the stadium in July 2002 and just two years later, the first pitch at Hammons field was thrown April 2, Opening Day of the 2004 season.

Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.

Since Springfield began its local Brownfields program, the city has applied for and received 17 separate EPA Brownfields grants, totaling $6.3 million, along with non-cash technical assistance valued at more than $800,000, for a total of $7.1 million in support from the agency. This brownfield funding has led to more than 260 environmental property assessments conducted on projects large and small.

As a result, the city has leveraged an amazing $460 million in public and private investments toward the revitalization of former brownfields, with more projects underway.

In baseball terms, that’s like a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth in a tied game seven of the World Series!

 

About the Author: Ashley Murdie is a public affairs specialist with the EPA Region 7 Office of Public Affairs.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2oCXPE2

By Ashley Murdie

Hammons Field, home of the Springfield Cardinals, in Springfield, Mo., was constructed from a former brownfield site made ready for reuse with the support of EPA funding.

Baseball is back! It’s Opening Day of the 2017 season and just knowing that makes today, a Monday, not half bad. The opening of baseball season is like spring itself. It ushers in a new beginning for the ever-hopeful baseball fans. EPA Region 7’s Brownfields team is in Springfield, Mo., today, where they’ve been working for a couple of decades on projects with the city to revitalize downtown, including Hammons Field, home of the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, a farm club for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The EPA Region 7 team is in Springfield for a graduation ceremony with the city’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, which represents just the latest new beginning created from this long partnership.

The EPA team has been working since 1999 with city officials and members of the Citizens Advisory Council on the Jordan Valley Corridor, an underused, 300-acre downtown industrial area that served as the starting point for redevelopment of the entire industrial corridor. Previously, the Hammons Field property was the site of warehouses, but that changed when the city of Springfield decided to include it as part of this revitalization project.

Over the years, the city leveraged $7 million in EPA Brownfields Program assistance funds that drew in more than $460 million in other public and private investments.

The project began when Springfield received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant from EPA in 1999. This grant provided the initial push by funding assessments on six of the 28 properties acquired for the first phase of the Jordan Valley Park redevelopment project. The city brought in additional funds for the project from the Federal Highway Administration, Economic Development Administration, and from many private contributors.

Benjamin Alexander, project manager for the park, stressed the importance of EPA’s Brownfields Program. “We had a vision and a plan, but I don’t think we would have been as successful as quickly without the Brownfields program.”

The assessments revealed less contamination than expected, allowing for demolition of current buildings and redevelopment to start.

Construction began on the stadium in July 2002 and just two years later, the first pitch at Hammons field was thrown April 2, Opening Day of the 2004 season.

Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo.

Since Springfield began its local Brownfields program, the city has applied for and received 17 separate EPA Brownfields grants, totaling $6.3 million, along with non-cash technical assistance valued at more than $800,000, for a total of $7.1 million in support from the agency. This brownfield funding has led to more than 260 environmental property assessments conducted on projects large and small.

As a result, the city has leveraged an amazing $460 million in public and private investments toward the revitalization of former brownfields, with more projects underway.

In baseball terms, that’s like a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth in a tied game seven of the World Series!

 

About the Author: Ashley Murdie is a public affairs specialist with the EPA Region 7 Office of Public Affairs.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2oCXPE2

Traveling Bed Bug Free During Vacation

by Marcia Anderson

A close friend, Sandra, recently contacted me for advice on a bed bug incident she had in a shore bungalow she had rented for a family vacation.

It was not until the family noticed strange bites on the second and third mornings in the bungalow that they thought to look for bugs. They found bed bugs on the mattresses, box springs and on bed frames, and that was just for starters. They also found some behind the night stand and tucked into floor moldings. She sent me photos to confirm the diagnosis. Yes, they were bed bugs, and lots of them. You can see an example of them mounded along the seams of the mattress in the photo below.

Bed bugs in mattress seam

Nothing like a bed bug scare to bring the entire family together! Sandra admitted that neither she nor her husband inspected the dwelling before they moved in all of their luggage. In addition, they promptly plopped their suitcases on the beds when they arrived.

Based on the number and life stages of bed bugs that I saw in her photographs, those insects had set up house long ago and have been happily biting and breeding for many months.

Sandra confronted the owner, but she swore that the property never had bed bugs and the family must have brought them in and infested her property. They argued, but to no avail. It was a painful and time consuming lesson.

Many people have a fear of bringing bed bugs home due to the social stigma associated with them.  Once established, bed bugs can be very difficult to eliminate. One reason is that bed bugs have developed resistance to many commonly used pesticides. Another is that they hide in very tiny places and only come out to feed every fourth or fifth day.

The best advice that I can give vacationers to avoid a repeat of Sandra’s story is to go to the EPA bed bug website and download the Travelers Beware of Bed Bugs card. Keep it in your wallet and follow the directions carefully when you are about to stay anywhere outside of your home. The University of Minnesota also has an informative flier on inspecting your hotel room for bed bugs.

It is recommended that you:

• Leave your luggage in the car a few extra minutes or place it in the rental property’s bathtub.
• NEVER lay luggage on the bed.
• Use a small flashlight (LEDs are best) and magnifying glass to look for signs of bed bugs. If you have children, you can all play Sherlock Holmes while you inspect the mattress seams, box springs, headboards, upholstered furniture, luggage rack, and other places around the room for bed bugs. Anyone who finds one gets a prize.
• Say something immediately if you find any bed bugs. You stand a better chance of bargaining for bed bug-free lodging.

Tips for travelers to prevent bed bugs

If you are concerned about bringing bed bugs home with you, download EPA’s bed bug prevention, detection and control flier and follow the directions carefully.

Bed bugs should be managed using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach.  IPM is a long-term, sustainable, approach to successful pest management. IPM programs address not only the safety concerns of using pesticides, but also focus on solution-based practices that identify, solve, and prevent future pest issues. Bed bug IPM is not a one-size-fits-all method or silver bullet, but rather a combination of biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools that minimize health and environmental risks.

It is better to be safe than sorry and to take precautions when it comes to bed bugs.  Because once bed bugs become established, they can be very costly and hard to control.

Sandra and her family followed all of the IPM steps they were given to insure they were bed bug free when they returned home. They placed all of their clothing in tightly sealed plastic bags inside their luggage until it could be washed and heat dried. They also placed the luggage in large plastic bags so, just in case a bed bug did decided to hitchhike home with them, it would not be welcomed inside. They placed their books in clear plastic zip-top bags and small electronics into separate zip-top bags until they could be carefully inspected and cleaned. Finally, they purchased a few sets of bed bug interceptors to place under the legs of their beds and couch to trap any wandering bed bugs…just in case.

Have a safe and bed bug free vacation!

 

About the Author: Marcia is with EPA’s Center of Expertise for School IPM in Dallas, Texas. She holds a PhD in Environmental Management from Montclair State University along with degrees in Biology, Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture, and Instruction and Curriculum. Marcia was formerly with the EPA Region 2 Pesticides Program and has been a professor of Earth and Environmental Studies, Geology, and Oceanography at several universities.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2n4anH7

by Marcia Anderson

A close friend, Sandra, recently contacted me for advice on a bed bug incident she had in a shore bungalow she had rented for a family vacation.

It was not until the family noticed strange bites on the second and third mornings in the bungalow that they thought to look for bugs. They found bed bugs on the mattresses, box springs and on bed frames, and that was just for starters. They also found some behind the night stand and tucked into floor moldings. She sent me photos to confirm the diagnosis. Yes, they were bed bugs, and lots of them. You can see an example of them mounded along the seams of the mattress in the photo below.

Bed bugs in mattress seam

Nothing like a bed bug scare to bring the entire family together! Sandra admitted that neither she nor her husband inspected the dwelling before they moved in all of their luggage. In addition, they promptly plopped their suitcases on the beds when they arrived.

Based on the number and life stages of bed bugs that I saw in her photographs, those insects had set up house long ago and have been happily biting and breeding for many months.

Sandra confronted the owner, but she swore that the property never had bed bugs and the family must have brought them in and infested her property. They argued, but to no avail. It was a painful and time consuming lesson.

Many people have a fear of bringing bed bugs home due to the social stigma associated with them.  Once established, bed bugs can be very difficult to eliminate. One reason is that bed bugs have developed resistance to many commonly used pesticides. Another is that they hide in very tiny places and only come out to feed every fourth or fifth day.

The best advice that I can give vacationers to avoid a repeat of Sandra’s story is to go to the EPA bed bug website and download the Travelers Beware of Bed Bugs card. Keep it in your wallet and follow the directions carefully when you are about to stay anywhere outside of your home. The University of Minnesota also has an informative flier on inspecting your hotel room for bed bugs.

It is recommended that you:

• Leave your luggage in the car a few extra minutes or place it in the rental property’s bathtub.
• NEVER lay luggage on the bed.
• Use a small flashlight (LEDs are best) and magnifying glass to look for signs of bed bugs. If you have children, you can all play Sherlock Holmes while you inspect the mattress seams, box springs, headboards, upholstered furniture, luggage rack, and other places around the room for bed bugs. Anyone who finds one gets a prize.
• Say something immediately if you find any bed bugs. You stand a better chance of bargaining for bed bug-free lodging.

Tips for travelers to prevent bed bugs

If you are concerned about bringing bed bugs home with you, download EPA’s bed bug prevention, detection and control flier and follow the directions carefully.

Bed bugs should be managed using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach.  IPM is a long-term, sustainable, approach to successful pest management. IPM programs address not only the safety concerns of using pesticides, but also focus on solution-based practices that identify, solve, and prevent future pest issues. Bed bug IPM is not a one-size-fits-all method or silver bullet, but rather a combination of biological, cultural, physical and chemical tools that minimize health and environmental risks.

It is better to be safe than sorry and to take precautions when it comes to bed bugs.  Because once bed bugs become established, they can be very costly and hard to control.

Sandra and her family followed all of the IPM steps they were given to insure they were bed bug free when they returned home. They placed all of their clothing in tightly sealed plastic bags inside their luggage until it could be washed and heat dried. They also placed the luggage in large plastic bags so, just in case a bed bug did decided to hitchhike home with them, it would not be welcomed inside. They placed their books in clear plastic zip-top bags and small electronics into separate zip-top bags until they could be carefully inspected and cleaned. Finally, they purchased a few sets of bed bug interceptors to place under the legs of their beds and couch to trap any wandering bed bugs…just in case.

Have a safe and bed bug free vacation!

 

About the Author: Marcia is with EPA’s Center of Expertise for School IPM in Dallas, Texas. She holds a PhD in Environmental Management from Montclair State University along with degrees in Biology, Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture, and Instruction and Curriculum. Marcia was formerly with the EPA Region 2 Pesticides Program and has been a professor of Earth and Environmental Studies, Geology, and Oceanography at several universities.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2n4anH7

Eight Years Later: EPA Assists Iowa City’s Sustainable Recovery After Historic 2008 Flood

By David Doyle

In June 2008, parts of eastern Iowa were devastated by a 500-year flood, the second such event in 15 years. Total losses from the flooding were estimated at nearly $3.5 billion.

Flooding in eastern Iowa, June 2008

The disaster’s greatest impact was on Cedar Rapids, where more than 5,200 homes and almost 1,000 businesses were damaged or destroyed. However, the flood also affected dozens of other communities along the Des Moines, Cedar, Iowa, and Mississippi rivers and their many tributaries.

My Role in Tornado Recovery

The previous year, I had been assigned to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) long-term community recovery efforts in response to the EF-5 tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan. This was my first opportunity to participate in a long-term recovery effort in response to a natural disaster.

Aftermath of Iowa flooding, June 2008

EPA’s traditional role after disasters primarily had been responding to the threat and impacts from the release of hazardous materials, along with addressing the impacts on community water and wastewater systems. Long-term recovery was a relatively new role for EPA and involved providing assistance with sustainable community planning to make a community more sustainable and resilient to future disasters.

My role in Greensburg was to help FEMA develop the long-term community recovery plan which was completed after several months of work and quickly implemented, eventually making Greensburg arguably the greenest city in the country.

In 2008, I was again assigned to work with FEMA in Iowa on post-disaster, sustainable long-term planning efforts. I quickly realized that making such plans after a flood was very different than for a tornado.

A Very Different Experience

While Greensburg was a one-square-mile city, much of Iowa was impacted in one way or another by this flood. Fortunately, then Governor Chet Culver established a state government agency called the Rebuild Iowa Office, which spent considerable time immediately after the disaster working with FEMA to determine the long-term recovery needs of communities.

Flooding in eastern Iowa, June 2008

Meanwhile, learning from my experience in Greensburg, I started to reach out to various EPA headquarters offices looking for assistance, knowing there was no funding available from EPA Region 7 to assist with the needed recovery planning.

I quickly found that EPA’s offices of Sustainable Communities and Brownfields & Land Revitalization were willing partners. Both provided funding to bring in technical experts on economic development, transportation planning, and sustainable urban design.

Iowa City Makes the Most of EPA’s Assistance

The Iowa community that took most advantage of these resources was Iowa City, the state’s fourth largest city and home to the University of Iowa and a major medical center. For years, the city had been looking to redevelop an area south of their downtown. The 2008 flood gave them an opportunity to do just that.

This 30-square-block area, renamed the Riverfront Crossings District, includes an aging wastewater treatment plant, recycling center, animal shelter, and various other underutilized properties, many of which were impacted by the flooding.

Diagram from EPA’s “Enhancing Sustainable Communities with Green Infrastructure”

After conducting a retail and housing market analysis, along with a transit-oriented development study, both commissioned by EPA, it was decided that this area could be transformed into a mixed-use, pedestrian- and transit-friendly neighborhood. Again, utilizing EPA funding, contractors with expertise in sustainable urban planning initiated a process to develop conceptual plans for such a neighborhood. After considerable interaction with local stakeholders, EPA finalized these plans in May 2011.

Since EPA’s Involvement

As it takes years – not only for plans to be finalized from conception, but also for them to be implemented – I recently asked Karen Howard, Iowa City’s assistant planning director, to update me on what has happened in the community since EPA’s involvement.

She said a Riverfront Crossings District Master Plan was adopted in 2013, along with a form-based zoning code for the district in 2014 (one of the recommendations from the initial EPA technical assistance grant).

Illustration of Riverfront Crossings District restoration after removal of wastewater plant

Since the form-based code was adopted, private investment in new construction totaled about $160 million, with many projects still under construction, and another $100 to $150 million in private investment is in the planning stages. This is only a small fraction of the redevelopment potential of the Riverfront Crossings District that Howard expects in the coming years.

New private building projects include two new hotels, a 6-story Class A office building, stand-alone restaurant, convenience store/gas station, craft brewery, multi-family and mixed-use buildings with ground floor retail space, and a considerable number of residential apartments and condominiums.

Public investment in the district includes the decommissioned and demolished, flood-prone wastewater treatment plant; the first phase of a new riverfront park, a 600-space public parking facility (under construction), new ambulance and medical examiners’ offices (under construction), and a new University of Iowa School of Music (completed in fall 2016). A number of street improvement projects are also in the planning stages.

The old saying, “With disaster brings opportunity,” certainly couldn’t be more applicable to the sustainable recovery efforts that rejuvenated Iowa City after the flood of 2008.

About the Author: David Doyle serves as the Sustainable Communities Coordinator at EPA Region 7. David has a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering from Syracuse University, and a Master of Science in environmental health engineering from the University of Kansas.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2mLQSjj

By David Doyle

In June 2008, parts of eastern Iowa were devastated by a 500-year flood, the second such event in 15 years. Total losses from the flooding were estimated at nearly $3.5 billion.

Flooding in eastern Iowa, June 2008

The disaster’s greatest impact was on Cedar Rapids, where more than 5,200 homes and almost 1,000 businesses were damaged or destroyed. However, the flood also affected dozens of other communities along the Des Moines, Cedar, Iowa, and Mississippi rivers and their many tributaries.

My Role in Tornado Recovery

The previous year, I had been assigned to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) long-term community recovery efforts in response to the EF-5 tornado that devastated Greensburg, Kan. This was my first opportunity to participate in a long-term recovery effort in response to a natural disaster.

Aftermath of Iowa flooding, June 2008

EPA’s traditional role after disasters primarily had been responding to the threat and impacts from the release of hazardous materials, along with addressing the impacts on community water and wastewater systems. Long-term recovery was a relatively new role for EPA and involved providing assistance with sustainable community planning to make a community more sustainable and resilient to future disasters.

My role in Greensburg was to help FEMA develop the long-term community recovery plan which was completed after several months of work and quickly implemented, eventually making Greensburg arguably the greenest city in the country.

In 2008, I was again assigned to work with FEMA in Iowa on post-disaster, sustainable long-term planning efforts. I quickly realized that making such plans after a flood was very different than for a tornado.

A Very Different Experience

While Greensburg was a one-square-mile city, much of Iowa was impacted in one way or another by this flood. Fortunately, then Governor Chet Culver established a state government agency called the Rebuild Iowa Office, which spent considerable time immediately after the disaster working with FEMA to determine the long-term recovery needs of communities.

Flooding in eastern Iowa, June 2008

Meanwhile, learning from my experience in Greensburg, I started to reach out to various EPA headquarters offices looking for assistance, knowing there was no funding available from EPA Region 7 to assist with the needed recovery planning.

I quickly found that EPA’s offices of Sustainable Communities and Brownfields & Land Revitalization were willing partners. Both provided funding to bring in technical experts on economic development, transportation planning, and sustainable urban design.

Iowa City Makes the Most of EPA’s Assistance

The Iowa community that took most advantage of these resources was Iowa City, the state’s fourth largest city and home to the University of Iowa and a major medical center. For years, the city had been looking to redevelop an area south of their downtown. The 2008 flood gave them an opportunity to do just that.

This 30-square-block area, renamed the Riverfront Crossings District, includes an aging wastewater treatment plant, recycling center, animal shelter, and various other underutilized properties, many of which were impacted by the flooding.

Diagram from EPA’s “Enhancing Sustainable Communities with Green Infrastructure”

After conducting a retail and housing market analysis, along with a transit-oriented development study, both commissioned by EPA, it was decided that this area could be transformed into a mixed-use, pedestrian- and transit-friendly neighborhood. Again, utilizing EPA funding, contractors with expertise in sustainable urban planning initiated a process to develop conceptual plans for such a neighborhood. After considerable interaction with local stakeholders, EPA finalized these plans in May 2011.

Since EPA’s Involvement

As it takes years – not only for plans to be finalized from conception, but also for them to be implemented – I recently asked Karen Howard, Iowa City’s assistant planning director, to update me on what has happened in the community since EPA’s involvement.

She said a Riverfront Crossings District Master Plan was adopted in 2013, along with a form-based zoning code for the district in 2014 (one of the recommendations from the initial EPA technical assistance grant).

Illustration of Riverfront Crossings District restoration after removal of wastewater plant

Since the form-based code was adopted, private investment in new construction totaled about $160 million, with many projects still under construction, and another $100 to $150 million in private investment is in the planning stages. This is only a small fraction of the redevelopment potential of the Riverfront Crossings District that Howard expects in the coming years.

New private building projects include two new hotels, a 6-story Class A office building, stand-alone restaurant, convenience store/gas station, craft brewery, multi-family and mixed-use buildings with ground floor retail space, and a considerable number of residential apartments and condominiums.

Public investment in the district includes the decommissioned and demolished, flood-prone wastewater treatment plant; the first phase of a new riverfront park, a 600-space public parking facility (under construction), new ambulance and medical examiners’ offices (under construction), and a new University of Iowa School of Music (completed in fall 2016). A number of street improvement projects are also in the planning stages.

The old saying, “With disaster brings opportunity,” certainly couldn’t be more applicable to the sustainable recovery efforts that rejuvenated Iowa City after the flood of 2008.

About the Author: David Doyle serves as the Sustainable Communities Coordinator at EPA Region 7. David has a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering from Syracuse University, and a Master of Science in environmental health engineering from the University of Kansas.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2mLQSjj

A Scent of Spring Awaits

by Jeff Lapp

Sarracenia flava

Preparations are almost complete for the 2017 Philadelphia Flower Show, March 11-19!

Whether the show team at EPA is ready or not, the time for set-up is once again upon us.  The official day to begin construction of our display is March 6, however, plants have been forced for weeks and the show design and construction is nearing the end.

The theme for this year’s show is Holland and celebrating the multitude of contributions which that country has given to the horticultural industry.  EPA’s display, “America: Land of Flowers” will focus on the wonderful palette of native flora which thrive right here in our own backyards.  Many of these were exported abroad and returned to us with bigger and brighter flowers, but underneath they are still ancestors of the region’s rich diversity of native plants.

The weather in the past week or so has whetted our appetites for spring.  The Philadelphia Flower Show will cure our need for flowers and the scent of a season quickly knocking on our door step.

If you are in the area, please stop by the EPA display at the show and share in our celebration of native species, the unique habitats they create, the water savings and runoff protection they provide, and the important ecological role they fill.

 

About the author: Jeff Lapp is a Wetlands Scientist who has been working in the Mid-Atlantic region since 1989 and has been designing and forcing for the show since 1991.  He is an avid botanist and grows many native plants, specializing in our native pitcher plants, at his home in Bucks County.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2lhR7Wa

by Jeff Lapp

Sarracenia flava

Preparations are almost complete for the 2017 Philadelphia Flower Show, March 11-19!

Whether the show team at EPA is ready or not, the time for set-up is once again upon us.  The official day to begin construction of our display is March 6, however, plants have been forced for weeks and the show design and construction is nearing the end.

The theme for this year’s show is Holland and celebrating the multitude of contributions which that country has given to the horticultural industry.  EPA’s display, “America: Land of Flowers” will focus on the wonderful palette of native flora which thrive right here in our own backyards.  Many of these were exported abroad and returned to us with bigger and brighter flowers, but underneath they are still ancestors of the region’s rich diversity of native plants.

The weather in the past week or so has whetted our appetites for spring.  The Philadelphia Flower Show will cure our need for flowers and the scent of a season quickly knocking on our door step.

If you are in the area, please stop by the EPA display at the show and share in our celebration of native species, the unique habitats they create, the water savings and runoff protection they provide, and the important ecological role they fill.

 

About the author: Jeff Lapp is a Wetlands Scientist who has been working in the Mid-Atlantic region since 1989 and has been designing and forcing for the show since 1991.  He is an avid botanist and grows many native plants, specializing in our native pitcher plants, at his home in Bucks County.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2lhR7Wa

Zero Waste is Within Our Reach, But….

Most of the waste in our trash containers bound for the landfill should have been recycled or composted.

By Sarah Levinson

I would have guessed that my fellow EPA employees would be leaders when it comes to recycling and reducing wastes. Turns out we are leaders, but not quite as far out front as I had hoped. In 2015, a presidential Executive Order on Sustainability directed federal agencies to do their best to divert at least half our non-hazardous wastes into recycling and composting, and to work our darnedest to reach zero waste. While we at EPA’s New England office have indeed succeeded in diverting more than half our waste to recycling and compost,  our regional office has yet to achieve net-zero waste (defined as sending at least 90 percent of our waste to recycling or composting) despite our best efforts.  We, like many other organizations, face many of the same challenges when it comes to modifying our own behavior.

My job has been to help my colleagues make the “green choice” when managing wastes they generate in the office. By working with a small team of dedicated volunteers, the Green Team as we are known, instituted a composting program and we have done extensive education and outreach to promote both recycling and composting. We have put out recycling guides and compost guides, posted clear signage showing usual items for composting as well as recycling, held informational sessions, provided tips for preventing waste in the first place, and demonstrated the impact that compost amended soil can have on moisture retention and plant growth. We have also reduced paper communications and urged employees to carry reusable shopping bags, even providing the bags in our lobby. We tried to tap into the competitive spirt, running a contest between offices to see which office could divert the most from the trash stream.

Even with all of these activities and ever since we instituted composting which greatly boosted to our diversion rate, our diversion rate seems to have become stagnant. After some thought about this challenge, the Green Team decided that in order to keep improving, we needed to know what was being thrown into our trash. Specifically, we sought to identify “contaminants” that shouldn’t be in the trash.

Consequently, and timed to coincide with America Recycles Day Nov. 15, The Green Team undertook a messy, but

Most of the waste in our trash containers bound for the landfill should have been recycled or composted.

detailed one-day waste audit. Eight dedicated sorters separated 44 pounds of trash in about two hours. To our surprise, although staff had composted and recycled 75 percent of their unwanted materials, we found that two thirds of the material thrown in the trash could still have been recycled or composted. There were apple cores, banana and orange peels, paper bags, plastic containers and glass bottles all in the trash, when these things could have and should have been placed in recycling or the compost collection. It turned out that only a third of the material in the trash was truly trash and furthermore, we found that had staff properly sorted these items, we could have met the goal of zero waste for that day!

So while we didn’t attain our zero waste goal on Nov. 15, we now know that zero waste is well within our reach. Additionally, because we took many pictures of the “contamination” found in our trash, we now are using the photos to conduct targeted education and outreach. We hope that for many, “seeing” the poor choices that they made will turn them into “believing” the errors of their ways and modify their behavior accordingly. Additionally, by looking closely at was in our trash, we are able to strategize and discuss new ideas to implement to further reduce our waste.

I know that the Green Team will persevere with new ideas, and new efforts to guide and motivate behavioral change. I know that the Green Team won’t give up our quest and am confident that it is just a matter of time until we attain our zero waste goal, becoming true leaders in living a more sustainable lifestyle, especially because we have shown it to be possible.

-30-

Sarah Levinson leads the Green Team at EPA’s New England office in Boston.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iH68PK

Most of the waste in our trash containers bound for the landfill should have been recycled or composted.

By Sarah Levinson

I would have guessed that my fellow EPA employees would be leaders when it comes to recycling and reducing wastes. Turns out we are leaders, but not quite as far out front as I had hoped. In 2015, a presidential Executive Order on Sustainability directed federal agencies to do their best to divert at least half our non-hazardous wastes into recycling and composting, and to work our darnedest to reach zero waste. While we at EPA’s New England office have indeed succeeded in diverting more than half our waste to recycling and compost,  our regional office has yet to achieve net-zero waste (defined as sending at least 90 percent of our waste to recycling or composting) despite our best efforts.  We, like many other organizations, face many of the same challenges when it comes to modifying our own behavior.

My job has been to help my colleagues make the “green choice” when managing wastes they generate in the office. By working with a small team of dedicated volunteers, the Green Team as we are known, instituted a composting program and we have done extensive education and outreach to promote both recycling and composting. We have put out recycling guides and compost guides, posted clear signage showing usual items for composting as well as recycling, held informational sessions, provided tips for preventing waste in the first place, and demonstrated the impact that compost amended soil can have on moisture retention and plant growth. We have also reduced paper communications and urged employees to carry reusable shopping bags, even providing the bags in our lobby. We tried to tap into the competitive spirt, running a contest between offices to see which office could divert the most from the trash stream.

Even with all of these activities and ever since we instituted composting which greatly boosted to our diversion rate, our diversion rate seems to have become stagnant. After some thought about this challenge, the Green Team decided that in order to keep improving, we needed to know what was being thrown into our trash. Specifically, we sought to identify “contaminants” that shouldn’t be in the trash.

Consequently, and timed to coincide with America Recycles Day Nov. 15, The Green Team undertook a messy, but

Most of the waste in our trash containers bound for the landfill should have been recycled or composted.

detailed one-day waste audit. Eight dedicated sorters separated 44 pounds of trash in about two hours. To our surprise, although staff had composted and recycled 75 percent of their unwanted materials, we found that two thirds of the material thrown in the trash could still have been recycled or composted. There were apple cores, banana and orange peels, paper bags, plastic containers and glass bottles all in the trash, when these things could have and should have been placed in recycling or the compost collection. It turned out that only a third of the material in the trash was truly trash and furthermore, we found that had staff properly sorted these items, we could have met the goal of zero waste for that day!

So while we didn’t attain our zero waste goal on Nov. 15, we now know that zero waste is well within our reach. Additionally, because we took many pictures of the “contamination” found in our trash, we now are using the photos to conduct targeted education and outreach. We hope that for many, “seeing” the poor choices that they made will turn them into “believing” the errors of their ways and modify their behavior accordingly. Additionally, by looking closely at was in our trash, we are able to strategize and discuss new ideas to implement to further reduce our waste.

I know that the Green Team will persevere with new ideas, and new efforts to guide and motivate behavioral change. I know that the Green Team won’t give up our quest and am confident that it is just a matter of time until we attain our zero waste goal, becoming true leaders in living a more sustainable lifestyle, especially because we have shown it to be possible.

-30-

Sarah Levinson leads the Green Team at EPA’s New England office in Boston.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iH68PK

EPA Regulations and Court Victories Translate Directly into Wins for the American People

Over the past few years we have heard a pretty constant refrain about “EPA overreach” which is shorthand for saying EPA has gone beyond the authority given to it by Congress.   Even though as Administrator both Lisa Jackson and I pledged to follow two guiding principles – the rule of law and scientific integrity – it seemed with few exceptions that nearly every significant step EPA took to protect public health and the environment was met with criticisms of EPA overreach.   So I recently asked Avi Garbow, EPA’s General Counsel, to conduct an analysis of court decisions reviewing the actions taken by the Obama EPA under the Clean Air Act – which were the largest set of actions EPA took.  The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether in fact, the EPA followed these first principles of law and science.

Today I received the General Counsel’s memo summarizing the results of his analysis and in short, the record clearly shows that EPA followed the law and the science.  Overall, EPA won or mostly won, 81% of these D.C. Circuit cases and lost or mostly lost only 10% of the cases, with the rest resulting in mixed decisions.   And during the last two years, 2015-2016, EPA won 90% of the cases.  While we are concerned about any losses in court, we recognize that our rulemakings necessarily involve making judgments about matters on which the law is not settled, and as a result, some court losses are inevitable.

That said, ours is an excellent record on its face. And several other considerations make it even more impressive. About one-quarter of the losses resulted in remands without vacatur, meaning that the rule stayed in effect while EPA took additional action – in most cases, no more than providing additional explanation — to remedy the deficiency.  Furthermore, it should be noted that the judges on the D.C. Circuit are almost evenly split between those appointed by Democratic Presidents and those appointed by Republican Presidents, but Republican-appointed judges upheld EPA’s actions as often as Democratic-appointed judges.

Now as thorough and straightforward as this analysis is, I am sure it won’t quiet those who have claimed EPA overreach.  But, to the many hardworking, selfless EPA career staff who accomplished so much these past eight years, I am hoping they will read the memo and be filled with pride in so many jobs well done.  EPA not only followed science and the law, we identified reasonable, common sense steps forward that not only make our world cleaner and safer, but to support the amazing economic turn around and job growth that has taken place during this Administration.

But most importantly, I hope this analysis provides added comfort to the vast majority of Americans who support the work of EPA and want to know that the actions we have taken to deliver cleaner air, water and land – as well as a more stable planet – will be sustained.   EPA under President Obama’s leadership has a remarkable success story to tell.   My hope is that our record will remind people that government can and does work for them, and it will inspire young people everywhere to consider careers in public service because it is indeed the most noble profession.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2k5cHrE

Over the past few years we have heard a pretty constant refrain about “EPA overreach” which is shorthand for saying EPA has gone beyond the authority given to it by Congress.   Even though as Administrator both Lisa Jackson and I pledged to follow two guiding principles – the rule of law and scientific integrity – it seemed with few exceptions that nearly every significant step EPA took to protect public health and the environment was met with criticisms of EPA overreach.   So I recently asked Avi Garbow, EPA’s General Counsel, to conduct an analysis of court decisions reviewing the actions taken by the Obama EPA under the Clean Air Act – which were the largest set of actions EPA took.  The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether in fact, the EPA followed these first principles of law and science.

Today I received the General Counsel’s memo summarizing the results of his analysis and in short, the record clearly shows that EPA followed the law and the science.  Overall, EPA won or mostly won, 81% of these D.C. Circuit cases and lost or mostly lost only 10% of the cases, with the rest resulting in mixed decisions.   And during the last two years, 2015-2016, EPA won 90% of the cases.  While we are concerned about any losses in court, we recognize that our rulemakings necessarily involve making judgments about matters on which the law is not settled, and as a result, some court losses are inevitable.

That said, ours is an excellent record on its face. And several other considerations make it even more impressive. About one-quarter of the losses resulted in remands without vacatur, meaning that the rule stayed in effect while EPA took additional action – in most cases, no more than providing additional explanation — to remedy the deficiency.  Furthermore, it should be noted that the judges on the D.C. Circuit are almost evenly split between those appointed by Democratic Presidents and those appointed by Republican Presidents, but Republican-appointed judges upheld EPA’s actions as often as Democratic-appointed judges.

Now as thorough and straightforward as this analysis is, I am sure it won’t quiet those who have claimed EPA overreach.  But, to the many hardworking, selfless EPA career staff who accomplished so much these past eight years, I am hoping they will read the memo and be filled with pride in so many jobs well done.  EPA not only followed science and the law, we identified reasonable, common sense steps forward that not only make our world cleaner and safer, but to support the amazing economic turn around and job growth that has taken place during this Administration.

But most importantly, I hope this analysis provides added comfort to the vast majority of Americans who support the work of EPA and want to know that the actions we have taken to deliver cleaner air, water and land – as well as a more stable planet – will be sustained.   EPA under President Obama’s leadership has a remarkable success story to tell.   My hope is that our record will remind people that government can and does work for them, and it will inspire young people everywhere to consider careers in public service because it is indeed the most noble profession.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2k5cHrE

Innovation in Government

By Kacey Fitzpatrick

EPA and other federal agencies are tasked with finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing and complicated problems. These problems require innovative solutions, which EPA supports through use of crowdsourcing, citizen science, and public engagement.

Two of these efforts have advanced to the semifinalist stage of the 2017 Innovations in American Government Awards presented by the Harvard Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. The award recognizes and promotes excellence and creativity in the public sector.

Here’s a quick look at the two EPA-connected projects.

CitizenScience.gov and the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science

In 2012, a small group of EPA and other federal agency officials recognized a surge of interest in citizen science and crowdsourcing. This informal group grew to the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science, an organization with over 300 members representing over 60 agencies. As co-chair of this rapidly expanding and productive group, EPA participates in and aids high-level federal efforts to facilitate and implement crowdsourcing and citizen science.

One of these efforts is CitizenScience.gov, which was created in partnership with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Commons Lab at the Wilson Center, and the General Services Administration. The site includes a searchable catalog of federally-supported citizen science and crowdsourcing projects, a Toolkit to assist with designing and maintaining projects, and a gateway to the Federal Community of Practice. The resources this site provides helps the public and the federal community work together to address the complex problems our nation faces. The group continues to focus on increasing and enhancing in citizen science and crowdsourcing across the federal government.

The Village Green Project

Village Green station in Durham, NC

The Village Green project is an EPA-led, community-based research effort to demonstrate real-time air monitoring technology, engage the public in learning about local air quality, and collect high-quality data for research.  Working with state and community partners, the Village Green team places park benches in cities across the US that provide local, real-time air pollution measurements using low-cost monitoring sensor technologies. Each solar- and wind-powered system continuously measures two common air pollutants (ozone and fine particulate matter), as well as wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity. The measurements are transmitted to a website every minute.

Beyond measuring the air and weather, the Village Green Project is also about engaging with neighbors in the immediate area about their environment and the public on the web. The station can be used as a community gathering place to learn about new technology, the environment, or simply to sit down and read a book. The stations are currently all located in public environments, including elementary schools, public libraries, the National Zoo, a national park historic site, and a public children’s garden. Learn more about the Village Green Project.

 

About the Author: Kacey Fitzpatrick is a writer on the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iNEM64

By Kacey Fitzpatrick

EPA and other federal agencies are tasked with finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing and complicated problems. These problems require innovative solutions, which EPA supports through use of crowdsourcing, citizen science, and public engagement.

Two of these efforts have advanced to the semifinalist stage of the 2017 Innovations in American Government Awards presented by the Harvard Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. The award recognizes and promotes excellence and creativity in the public sector.

Here’s a quick look at the two EPA-connected projects.

CitizenScience.gov and the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science

In 2012, a small group of EPA and other federal agency officials recognized a surge of interest in citizen science and crowdsourcing. This informal group grew to the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science, an organization with over 300 members representing over 60 agencies. As co-chair of this rapidly expanding and productive group, EPA participates in and aids high-level federal efforts to facilitate and implement crowdsourcing and citizen science.

One of these efforts is CitizenScience.gov, which was created in partnership with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Commons Lab at the Wilson Center, and the General Services Administration. The site includes a searchable catalog of federally-supported citizen science and crowdsourcing projects, a Toolkit to assist with designing and maintaining projects, and a gateway to the Federal Community of Practice. The resources this site provides helps the public and the federal community work together to address the complex problems our nation faces. The group continues to focus on increasing and enhancing in citizen science and crowdsourcing across the federal government.

The Village Green Project

Village Green station in Durham, NC

The Village Green project is an EPA-led, community-based research effort to demonstrate real-time air monitoring technology, engage the public in learning about local air quality, and collect high-quality data for research.  Working with state and community partners, the Village Green team places park benches in cities across the US that provide local, real-time air pollution measurements using low-cost monitoring sensor technologies. Each solar- and wind-powered system continuously measures two common air pollutants (ozone and fine particulate matter), as well as wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity. The measurements are transmitted to a website every minute.

Beyond measuring the air and weather, the Village Green Project is also about engaging with neighbors in the immediate area about their environment and the public on the web. The station can be used as a community gathering place to learn about new technology, the environment, or simply to sit down and read a book. The stations are currently all located in public environments, including elementary schools, public libraries, the National Zoo, a national park historic site, and a public children’s garden. Learn more about the Village Green Project.

 

About the Author: Kacey Fitzpatrick is a writer on the science communication team in EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iNEM64

Progress in Strengthening Our Government-to-Government Relationship with Tribal Nations

By: JoAnn Chase and Ethan Shenkman

EPA has long honored tribal rights to sovereignty, self-governance and self-determination. These principles are enshrined in EPA’s Indian Policy, signed by Administrator Ruckelshaus in 1984 and reaffirmed by every EPA Administrator since. Thanks to the unique partnership between our offices — EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO) and EPA’s Indian law team in the Office of General Counsel — we have made great strides in bringing these principles to life and weaving them into the very fabric of this agency.

One important example is our work to ensure tribal nations have the tools they need to protect waters on Indian lands. Under the Clean Water Act, tribes may apply to EPA for the ability to administer certain regulatory programs on their reservations, just as states do. To date, over 50 tribes have used this special status to issue their own water quality standards under the Act. We worked closely with the Office of Water to streamline and simplify the process for tribes wishing to apply for this status, so that more tribes can take advantage of these opportunities. In addition, we worked together to expand the scope of authorities that tribes can assume by providing a new pathway for tribes to engage in water quality restoration. Tribes who take advantage of these new authorities will be able to issue lists of impaired waters and develop “total maximum daily loads” (TMDLs) for those waters – critical regulatory tools for ensuring the protection of their waters, and the ecosystems and communities who depend on them.

EPA has also made tremendous strides under this Administration in living up to the ideals of true government-to-government consultation with tribal nations. In 2009, President Obama issued a Memorandum directing federal agencies to develop a plan for implementing the tribal consultation obligation in Executive Order 13175. In 2011, we issued the Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes, which sets a very high bar for ensuring meaningful, government-to-government consultation on EPA actions that affect tribal interests.

When we consulted with tribal leaders across the country, we listened, and we learned. It became clear that we needed to do more to ensure that we consistently consider tribal treaty rights when making decisions that may affect tribal natural resources. We recognize that treaties between the United States and tribal nations are the Supreme Law of the land, and that we have a solemn obligation to ensure that our decisions do not compromise those commitments. As a result, with terrific input from tribal nations, in February 2016, we issued a groundbreaking Treaty Rights Guidance as a supplement to our tribal consultation policy.

The new guidance ensures that EPA staff will engage in a critical inquiry with tribes about treaty rights (and similar federally-protected reserved rights) when the agency is making decisions focused on specific geographic areas where tribal hunting, fishing and gathering rights may exist. Under the guidance, EPA will “consider all relevant information obtained to help ensure that EPA’s actions do not conflict with treaty rights, and to help ensure that EPA is fully informed when it seeks to implement its programs and to further protect treaty rights and resources when it has discretion to do so.”

EPA’s treaty rights guidance was well received by our tribal partners. The White House Council on Native American Affairs was then asked by tribes to consider embracing the concept more broadly. As a result of conversations that we at EPA had with our federal partners, in September 2016 we signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve coordination and collaboration in the protection of treaty rights and similar tribal rights. We are delighted that nine agencies have thus far signed on to the MOU, most at the Secretarial level, and EPA and the Department of Agriculture are co-chairing a working group to implement this commitment moving forward.

These are but a few examples of the tremendous progress we have made in strengthening EPA’s government-to-government relationship with tribal nations – progress that is owed to the outstanding dedication and talents of the employees of our respective offices, and to the steadfast support of EPA’s Administrator and senior leadership. Nor could this progress have occurred without the close collaboration and partnership of our tribal counterparts. We are grateful for the opportunity to have served our shared mission of protecting human health and the environment for the benefit of future generations.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2k7hj4N

By: JoAnn Chase and Ethan Shenkman

EPA has long honored tribal rights to sovereignty, self-governance and self-determination. These principles are enshrined in EPA’s Indian Policy, signed by Administrator Ruckelshaus in 1984 and reaffirmed by every EPA Administrator since. Thanks to the unique partnership between our offices — EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO) and EPA’s Indian law team in the Office of General Counsel — we have made great strides in bringing these principles to life and weaving them into the very fabric of this agency.

One important example is our work to ensure tribal nations have the tools they need to protect waters on Indian lands. Under the Clean Water Act, tribes may apply to EPA for the ability to administer certain regulatory programs on their reservations, just as states do. To date, over 50 tribes have used this special status to issue their own water quality standards under the Act. We worked closely with the Office of Water to streamline and simplify the process for tribes wishing to apply for this status, so that more tribes can take advantage of these opportunities. In addition, we worked together to expand the scope of authorities that tribes can assume by providing a new pathway for tribes to engage in water quality restoration. Tribes who take advantage of these new authorities will be able to issue lists of impaired waters and develop “total maximum daily loads” (TMDLs) for those waters – critical regulatory tools for ensuring the protection of their waters, and the ecosystems and communities who depend on them.

EPA has also made tremendous strides under this Administration in living up to the ideals of true government-to-government consultation with tribal nations. In 2009, President Obama issued a Memorandum directing federal agencies to develop a plan for implementing the tribal consultation obligation in Executive Order 13175. In 2011, we issued the Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes, which sets a very high bar for ensuring meaningful, government-to-government consultation on EPA actions that affect tribal interests.

When we consulted with tribal leaders across the country, we listened, and we learned. It became clear that we needed to do more to ensure that we consistently consider tribal treaty rights when making decisions that may affect tribal natural resources. We recognize that treaties between the United States and tribal nations are the Supreme Law of the land, and that we have a solemn obligation to ensure that our decisions do not compromise those commitments. As a result, with terrific input from tribal nations, in February 2016, we issued a groundbreaking Treaty Rights Guidance as a supplement to our tribal consultation policy.

The new guidance ensures that EPA staff will engage in a critical inquiry with tribes about treaty rights (and similar federally-protected reserved rights) when the agency is making decisions focused on specific geographic areas where tribal hunting, fishing and gathering rights may exist. Under the guidance, EPA will “consider all relevant information obtained to help ensure that EPA’s actions do not conflict with treaty rights, and to help ensure that EPA is fully informed when it seeks to implement its programs and to further protect treaty rights and resources when it has discretion to do so.”

EPA’s treaty rights guidance was well received by our tribal partners. The White House Council on Native American Affairs was then asked by tribes to consider embracing the concept more broadly. As a result of conversations that we at EPA had with our federal partners, in September 2016 we signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve coordination and collaboration in the protection of treaty rights and similar tribal rights. We are delighted that nine agencies have thus far signed on to the MOU, most at the Secretarial level, and EPA and the Department of Agriculture are co-chairing a working group to implement this commitment moving forward.

These are but a few examples of the tremendous progress we have made in strengthening EPA’s government-to-government relationship with tribal nations – progress that is owed to the outstanding dedication and talents of the employees of our respective offices, and to the steadfast support of EPA’s Administrator and senior leadership. Nor could this progress have occurred without the close collaboration and partnership of our tribal counterparts. We are grateful for the opportunity to have served our shared mission of protecting human health and the environment for the benefit of future generations.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2k7hj4N

Day of Service Along the Delaware River

by Tom Damm

Signing up for the clean up

Actions of all sizes are helping to restore the Delaware River and its surrounding areas.

There are broad steps, like the recently approved Delaware River Basin Conservation Act that will help coordinate and advance protection activities.

And there are more focused ones, like this week’s trash cleanup at the Bristol Marsh in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania.

On Monday morning – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – a dozen EPA employees, plus family and friends joined other volunteers, mainly high school and middle school students, to spruce up this critical resource along the main stem of the Delaware River.

With trash bags in hand, the nearly 90 volunteers – almost double the expected number – combed the marsh for discarded items.

Small sample of the junk pulled from the marsh

Along with the commonplace bottles, cans and paper litter, we had some unusual finds: a buoy, a One Way sign, flip flops, even a bedframe, unearthed as if it were an archeological discovery.

The effort to give the marsh a clean slate, organized by the Nature Conservancy and the Heritage Conservancy, was well worth it considering all the marsh returns for the favor.

The freshwater tidal marsh, a wetland rarely found in Pennsylvania, supports a wide variety of plants, birds and animals.  It also provides spawning and nursery areas for fish and improves water quality by filtering pollutants and adding oxygen.

The marsh promotes recreational activities like bird watching, nature study and fishing and protects the riverfront from the impacts of flooding and stormwater pollution while trapping trash that floats in from the Delaware.

Hauling out a tire

A range of efforts – some that will take many years, others just a few hours on a holiday morning – are making a difference for the Delaware and its 13,600-square-foot basin that provides drinking water for more than 15 million people and contributes billions of dollars to the regional economy.

From major new initiatives to the removal of societal junk from Bristol Marsh, many hands are at work in the cleanup.

 

About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2jrQPb2

by Tom Damm

Signing up for the clean up

Actions of all sizes are helping to restore the Delaware River and its surrounding areas.

There are broad steps, like the recently approved Delaware River Basin Conservation Act that will help coordinate and advance protection activities.

And there are more focused ones, like this week’s trash cleanup at the Bristol Marsh in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania.

On Monday morning – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – a dozen EPA employees, plus family and friends joined other volunteers, mainly high school and middle school students, to spruce up this critical resource along the main stem of the Delaware River.

With trash bags in hand, the nearly 90 volunteers – almost double the expected number – combed the marsh for discarded items.

Small sample of the junk pulled from the marsh

Along with the commonplace bottles, cans and paper litter, we had some unusual finds: a buoy, a One Way sign, flip flops, even a bedframe, unearthed as if it were an archeological discovery.

The effort to give the marsh a clean slate, organized by the Nature Conservancy and the Heritage Conservancy, was well worth it considering all the marsh returns for the favor.

The freshwater tidal marsh, a wetland rarely found in Pennsylvania, supports a wide variety of plants, birds and animals.  It also provides spawning and nursery areas for fish and improves water quality by filtering pollutants and adding oxygen.

The marsh promotes recreational activities like bird watching, nature study and fishing and protects the riverfront from the impacts of flooding and stormwater pollution while trapping trash that floats in from the Delaware.

Hauling out a tire

A range of efforts – some that will take many years, others just a few hours on a holiday morning – are making a difference for the Delaware and its 13,600-square-foot basin that provides drinking water for more than 15 million people and contributes billions of dollars to the regional economy.

From major new initiatives to the removal of societal junk from Bristol Marsh, many hands are at work in the cleanup.

 

About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2jrQPb2

EPA Scientists Participate in Study to Determine Causes of Poor Air Quality in Utah Valleys

By Ann Brown and Karen Stewart

Winter in Utah brings to mind crystal clear blue skies, snow-capped mountains, and a long ski season. But during the winter in Utah’s northern valleys, cold air inversions trap pollution emitted from multiple sources, including vehicles, industry, and agriculture. This allows for the mixing of atmospheric chemicals that leads to the formation of PM2.5, which is harmful to health at high levels.

The area’s more than two million residents experience levels that exceed air quality standards an average of 18 days during the winter. It has contributed to a 42 percent higher rate of emergency room visits for asthma and a 4.5 percent increase in the risk for coronary events like heart attacks.

EPA scientists packed up their research trailers with air monitoring instruments and traveled to Logan, Utah to assist with the study.

Earlier this month, EPA scientists packed up their research trailers with air monitoring instruments and traveled to Utah to assist in determining how to solve the area’s air pollution problem. They are participating in the Utah Winter Fine Particle Study, one of the most comprehensive efforts to date to analyze the area’s pollutants and determine the chemical processes in the atmosphere that lead to the formation of PM2.5. The study is being conducted by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other research organizations.

Starting this week, EPA and its partners in the study are taking daily measurements of air pollutants in three valleys using sophisticated ground-based instruments and remote sensing monitors. EPA scientists are providing their expertise in air quality measurement and have developed new and advanced technology to better monitor air pollutants. At the same time, NOAA’s research aircraft is flying over the region to measure air pollutants in the upper atmosphere.

The study will help to identify key emission sources and evaluate other factors—such as meteorology, geography, snow cover, and time of day—that may play a role in the formation of PM2.5. Once data is collected, Utah can use the information to determine the most effective strategies to reduce PM2.5 levels during the winter months and improve air quality for public health. The study is also expected to help other states with similar mountain valleys make decisions on how to protect air quality for their residents.

About the Authors:

Ann Brown is the communications lead for EPA’s Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program

Karen Stewart is an Oak Ridge Associated University contractor with EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iBNYPt

By Ann Brown and Karen Stewart

Winter in Utah brings to mind crystal clear blue skies, snow-capped mountains, and a long ski season. But during the winter in Utah’s northern valleys, cold air inversions trap pollution emitted from multiple sources, including vehicles, industry, and agriculture. This allows for the mixing of atmospheric chemicals that leads to the formation of PM2.5, which is harmful to health at high levels.

The area’s more than two million residents experience levels that exceed air quality standards an average of 18 days during the winter. It has contributed to a 42 percent higher rate of emergency room visits for asthma and a 4.5 percent increase in the risk for coronary events like heart attacks.

EPA scientists packed up their research trailers with air monitoring instruments and traveled to Logan, Utah to assist with the study.

Earlier this month, EPA scientists packed up their research trailers with air monitoring instruments and traveled to Utah to assist in determining how to solve the area’s air pollution problem. They are participating in the Utah Winter Fine Particle Study, one of the most comprehensive efforts to date to analyze the area’s pollutants and determine the chemical processes in the atmosphere that lead to the formation of PM2.5. The study is being conducted by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other research organizations.

Starting this week, EPA and its partners in the study are taking daily measurements of air pollutants in three valleys using sophisticated ground-based instruments and remote sensing monitors. EPA scientists are providing their expertise in air quality measurement and have developed new and advanced technology to better monitor air pollutants. At the same time, NOAA’s research aircraft is flying over the region to measure air pollutants in the upper atmosphere.

The study will help to identify key emission sources and evaluate other factors—such as meteorology, geography, snow cover, and time of day—that may play a role in the formation of PM2.5. Once data is collected, Utah can use the information to determine the most effective strategies to reduce PM2.5 levels during the winter months and improve air quality for public health. The study is also expected to help other states with similar mountain valleys make decisions on how to protect air quality for their residents.

About the Authors:

Ann Brown is the communications lead for EPA’s Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program

Karen Stewart is an Oak Ridge Associated University contractor with EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iBNYPt

Supporting Economic Recovery in Former Automotive Communities

By: Greg Rudloff

The Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response trust (RACER) was created by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to clean up and position for redevelopment former General Motors (GM) properties. EPA and state environmental programs work with RACER to review, approve and undertake response actions to address contamination at each property. Here are a few of our success stories.

Artist’s concept of the M1 Concourse facility

One redevelopment project is the RACER Pontiac Validation site located in Pontiac, MI. This 87-acre site is a former GM automotive manufacturing and assembly facility. We issued a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) in 2013 to assist with sale and redevelopment of the property.

 

Banks of automotive condos under construction

In 2015, ground was broken for the construction of an auto enthusiast’s development which includes a performance track, more than 250 private garages, restaurants, and an auto-focused shopping village and office space. Over 135 units have been sold and we expect more than 100 workers to be employed at the facility. The facility opened in August, 2016.

WW II Bomber Plant

 

A redevelopment project involving the preservation of history is the RACER Willow Run facility located in Ypsilanti, MI. This facility was a former bomber manufacturing plant that was constructed in 1941. After WWII, operations at the plant switched to the production of automobiles and operations continued until 2010. The facility was demolished in 2014-2015 except for the southeast corner. In 2014, we issued a comfort letter to facilitate the purchase of a 3.4-acre parcel containing the undemolished portion of the plant. On December 5, 2014, we issued a PPA to further facilitate the purchase of the parcel. On October 30, 2014, the Yankee Air Museum completed the purchase of the parcel. Construction is currently underway to enclose this portion of the plant for redevelopment as a historical aircraft museum.

Yankee Air Museum Concept

Interior of Fuyao plant

A redevelopment project that created a significant number of new jobs is the RACER Moraine facility located in Moraine, OH. This 465-acre former GM facility operated from the 1920s to 2008. Many of the buildings have since been demolished. In 2014, we facilitate Fuyao Glass America, Inc.’s purchase of 95 acres of the facility for construction of an automotive glass plant. In July, 2015, Fuyao unveiled the first automotive windshield produced at the former GM Moraine plant. Fuyao has hired 1,400 new employees to date, and plans to hire an additional 500 employees.

Greg Rudloff has worked at EPA’s Region 5 office since 1991. He has spent his EPA career in the Land and Chemicals Division supporting the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Program as both a Permit Writer and a Corrective Action Project Manager.  In recent years, he has also served as the RACER Coordinator for the corrective action program.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2jyWFJP

By: Greg Rudloff

The Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response trust (RACER) was created by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to clean up and position for redevelopment former General Motors (GM) properties. EPA and state environmental programs work with RACER to review, approve and undertake response actions to address contamination at each property. Here are a few of our success stories.

Artist’s concept of the M1 Concourse facility

One redevelopment project is the RACER Pontiac Validation site located in Pontiac, MI. This 87-acre site is a former GM automotive manufacturing and assembly facility. We issued a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) in 2013 to assist with sale and redevelopment of the property.

 

Banks of automotive condos under construction

In 2015, ground was broken for the construction of an auto enthusiast’s development which includes a performance track, more than 250 private garages, restaurants, and an auto-focused shopping village and office space. Over 135 units have been sold and we expect more than 100 workers to be employed at the facility. The facility opened in August, 2016.

WW II Bomber Plant

 

A redevelopment project involving the preservation of history is the RACER Willow Run facility located in Ypsilanti, MI. This facility was a former bomber manufacturing plant that was constructed in 1941. After WWII, operations at the plant switched to the production of automobiles and operations continued until 2010. The facility was demolished in 2014-2015 except for the southeast corner. In 2014, we issued a comfort letter to facilitate the purchase of a 3.4-acre parcel containing the undemolished portion of the plant. On December 5, 2014, we issued a PPA to further facilitate the purchase of the parcel. On October 30, 2014, the Yankee Air Museum completed the purchase of the parcel. Construction is currently underway to enclose this portion of the plant for redevelopment as a historical aircraft museum.

Yankee Air Museum Concept

Interior of Fuyao plant

A redevelopment project that created a significant number of new jobs is the RACER Moraine facility located in Moraine, OH. This 465-acre former GM facility operated from the 1920s to 2008. Many of the buildings have since been demolished. In 2014, we facilitate Fuyao Glass America, Inc.’s purchase of 95 acres of the facility for construction of an automotive glass plant. In July, 2015, Fuyao unveiled the first automotive windshield produced at the former GM Moraine plant. Fuyao has hired 1,400 new employees to date, and plans to hire an additional 500 employees.

Greg Rudloff has worked at EPA’s Region 5 office since 1991. He has spent his EPA career in the Land and Chemicals Division supporting the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Program as both a Permit Writer and a Corrective Action Project Manager.  In recent years, he has also served as the RACER Coordinator for the corrective action program.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2jyWFJP

Planning Catalyst Cleanups to Spur Broad Community Revitalization

By: Mathy Stanislaus

At EPA, we recognize that successful, sustained community revitalization occurs when neighborhood stakeholders, local governments and the private sector work together on a shared plan for community-wide improvement. That is why we created the Area-Wide Planning (AWP) grants program for brownfield sites; a legacy I’m particularly proud of.

The Brownfields AWP grant program is an innovation initiated by the Obama Administration to empower communities to transform economically and environmentally distressed areas, including communities impacted by manufacturing plant closures, into vibrant future destinations for business, jobs, housing and recreation. These grants allow communities to develop revitalization plans that best meet their vision and needs, and execute them in a manner that benefits the community and does not displace long-term residents. In developing this national grants program, we learned from our state counterparts. Our AWP program was inspired by New York State’s Brownfields Opportunity Area (BOA) Program.

For 2017, EPA is investing approximately $3.8 million in 19 communities from across the nation to assist with planning for cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites. Each recipient will receive up to $200,000 to engage their community, conduct research activities and complete a plan for cleaning up and reusing their key brownfield sites.

Several communities selected to receive funding for 2017 have been affected by manufacturing plant closures. They are looking to make environmentally sound cleanup decisions on these properties and reopen them for business, sparking additional redevelopment in surrounding areas. Some of the notable projects involve improving community housing, transportation options, recreation and open space, education and health facilities and renewed infrastructure, which will lead to increased commerce and employment opportunities.

For example, these planning projects include the area around a former electronics manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana and a closed paper mill in Bucksport, Maine. One area selected in Wayne County, Michigan is anticipating a coal-fired power plant closure and is aiming to get ahead of the economic disruption that it will cause to its community. Others have recently felt the effects of climate change related natural disasters such as flooding in Norfolk, Virginia and Burlington, Iowa.  Communities in Indianapolis and Maine have been working to recover from both natural disasters and plant closures.

The AWP program helps coordinate federal investments, like infrastructure and economic development, that help environmentally overburdened, underserved, and economically distressed communities. Aligning federal resources allows agencies to better meet communities’ needs and lets communities reap the benefits of collaborative investments for area-wide revitalization. This coordination allocates resources based on community-directed plans rather than historic practices of individual infrastructure funding criteria, which can result in urban sprawl.

For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation has committed to prioritizing communities who use the outcomes of the AWP process to inform further transportation projects in their Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant selection process. Carlisle, Pennsylvania is one example of this collaboration. In addition to the Area-Wide Planning grant the Carlisle Borough received in 2013, they received a $5 million TIGER grant in 2016 to help them advance the brownfields revitalization efforts laid out in their area-wide plan. Since 2013, Carlisle has also leveraged more than $10 million through state, local and private funding.

This is the fourth round of grants awarded under our Brownfields AWP program. So far, EPA has awarded a total of over $11 million to 64 grantees. To date, AWP grantees have leveraged over $385 million in additional public and private funding, as well as other EPA resources, to help address key brownfield sites within their communities.

Cleaning up brownfields sites results in significant benefits for communities. Studies have shown that residential property values near cleaned up sites increased between 5 and 15 percent. Data also shows that brownfields clean ups can increase overall property values within a one-mile radius. Preliminary analysis involving 48 brownfields sites shows that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup.

I’m proud of the success we’ve seen across the country and hope to see the continuation of communities utilizing the AWP grant funding to work together with neighborhood stakeholders, local government and the private sector, for a shared vision for community-wide revitalization.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iLFQdD

By: Mathy Stanislaus

At EPA, we recognize that successful, sustained community revitalization occurs when neighborhood stakeholders, local governments and the private sector work together on a shared plan for community-wide improvement. That is why we created the Area-Wide Planning (AWP) grants program for brownfield sites; a legacy I’m particularly proud of.

The Brownfields AWP grant program is an innovation initiated by the Obama Administration to empower communities to transform economically and environmentally distressed areas, including communities impacted by manufacturing plant closures, into vibrant future destinations for business, jobs, housing and recreation. These grants allow communities to develop revitalization plans that best meet their vision and needs, and execute them in a manner that benefits the community and does not displace long-term residents. In developing this national grants program, we learned from our state counterparts. Our AWP program was inspired by New York State’s Brownfields Opportunity Area (BOA) Program.

For 2017, EPA is investing approximately $3.8 million in 19 communities from across the nation to assist with planning for cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites. Each recipient will receive up to $200,000 to engage their community, conduct research activities and complete a plan for cleaning up and reusing their key brownfield sites.

Several communities selected to receive funding for 2017 have been affected by manufacturing plant closures. They are looking to make environmentally sound cleanup decisions on these properties and reopen them for business, sparking additional redevelopment in surrounding areas. Some of the notable projects involve improving community housing, transportation options, recreation and open space, education and health facilities and renewed infrastructure, which will lead to increased commerce and employment opportunities.

For example, these planning projects include the area around a former electronics manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana and a closed paper mill in Bucksport, Maine. One area selected in Wayne County, Michigan is anticipating a coal-fired power plant closure and is aiming to get ahead of the economic disruption that it will cause to its community. Others have recently felt the effects of climate change related natural disasters such as flooding in Norfolk, Virginia and Burlington, Iowa.  Communities in Indianapolis and Maine have been working to recover from both natural disasters and plant closures.

The AWP program helps coordinate federal investments, like infrastructure and economic development, that help environmentally overburdened, underserved, and economically distressed communities. Aligning federal resources allows agencies to better meet communities’ needs and lets communities reap the benefits of collaborative investments for area-wide revitalization. This coordination allocates resources based on community-directed plans rather than historic practices of individual infrastructure funding criteria, which can result in urban sprawl.

For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation has committed to prioritizing communities who use the outcomes of the AWP process to inform further transportation projects in their Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant selection process. Carlisle, Pennsylvania is one example of this collaboration. In addition to the Area-Wide Planning grant the Carlisle Borough received in 2013, they received a $5 million TIGER grant in 2016 to help them advance the brownfields revitalization efforts laid out in their area-wide plan. Since 2013, Carlisle has also leveraged more than $10 million through state, local and private funding.

This is the fourth round of grants awarded under our Brownfields AWP program. So far, EPA has awarded a total of over $11 million to 64 grantees. To date, AWP grantees have leveraged over $385 million in additional public and private funding, as well as other EPA resources, to help address key brownfield sites within their communities.

Cleaning up brownfields sites results in significant benefits for communities. Studies have shown that residential property values near cleaned up sites increased between 5 and 15 percent. Data also shows that brownfields clean ups can increase overall property values within a one-mile radius. Preliminary analysis involving 48 brownfields sites shows that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup.

I’m proud of the success we’ve seen across the country and hope to see the continuation of communities utilizing the AWP grant funding to work together with neighborhood stakeholders, local government and the private sector, for a shared vision for community-wide revitalization.

from The EPA Blog http://ift.tt/2iLFQdD