News


Maryland Trust Fund Awards Water Quality Grants

The grants will provide funding to stream and wetland restoration, innovative stormwater management practices, riparian tree buffer plantings, and more in multiple counties in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

ATSDR Publishes Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls

People can be exposed to PFAs in the air; in indoor dust, food, and water; and in some home products. The main sources of exposure to PFAs, such as PFOA and PFOS, are usually from eating food and drinking water that has these chemicals.

New Underground Ventilation System Under Construction at WIPP

The system will provide approximately 540,000 cubic feet per minute of air to the WIPP underground, significantly more than the current ventilation system. At an estimated cost of $288 million, the new ventilation system is expected to be completed by early 2021.

NYC Department of Buildings Seeks 2019 Energy Code Advisory Committee Members

Applications from those seeking to be considered for 2019 Energy Code Advisory Committee membership must submit a completed application no later than June 21. Residential applications are especially needed, according to the department's posted announcement.

Casella Devices Monitoring Shanghai's Air

"Clean Air Day awareness initiatives like those in the U.K. and Canada this June act as a fantastic platform that highlights the real threat of air pollution. We hope that as local awareness increases, such a campaign can soon be run in China," said Sean Gao, Business Unit manager at Casella.

Anguil Environmental Systems to Celebrate 40th Anniversary

Anguil Environmental Systems will be celebrating its 40th anniversary on Aug. 12, 2018, with a party in downtown Milwaukee.

Volkswagen Accepts $1.2 Billion Penalty in Diesel Scandal

Volkswagen AG accepted the fine and, by doing so, admitted its responsibility.

Oil Spill Task Force Meeting June 19

The June 19 event in Portland, Ore., will feature a series of panel discussions with guests who are actively involved in federal, state, or provincial efforts to manage abandoned and derelict vessels, along with information on funding, prevention, cleanup and removal, and other challenges associated with managing these vessels across the task force's jurisdictions.



American Chemistry Council's CEO Staying On

CEO Cal Dooley has agreed to stay through 2019 after the council's board of directors agreed that the chemicals and plastics industry must take a global leadership role to reduce and ultimately eliminate plastic waste.

DOE Funding Projects to Support Advanced Nuclear Plant Designs

The MEITNER projects will leverage design, new manufacturing processes, and technologies to lower costs and increase the competitiveness of nuclear power; these funded projects will support advanced reactor designs that achieve lower construction cost and autonomous operations while improving safety.

New Orleans Holds 8th Annual Household Hazardous Materials Cleanup

Orleans Parish residents were able to bring paint, pesticides, antifreeze, garden chemicals, flammable liquids, muriatic acid, small mercury devices, aerosols, pool shock, household cleaners, motor oil, automobile batteries, and motorcycle batteries for disposal or recycling.

EPA Publishes TSCA Formulation Documents, Asbestos Rule

"These actions provide the American people with transparency and an opportunity to comment on how EPA plans to evaluate the ten chemicals undergoing risk evaluation, select studies, and use the best available science to ensure chemicals in the marketplace are safe," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said. "At the same time, we are moving forward to take important, unprecedented action on asbestos."

California Investing in Cleaner School Buses

In all, California Climate Investments will fund about 150 cleaner school buses across the state, including zero-emission battery electric models and conventional models using renewable diesel. The year-old Rural School Bus Pilot Project has received $25 million in cap-and-trade funding to fund as many as 60 of those new school buses statewide in rural areas.

Nominations Sought for 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards

Nominations for innovations in six categories are due by July 2, 2018. The categories are academic, small business, greener synthetic pathways, greener reaction conditions, designing greener chemicals, and climate change.

Grant Funds Available for Development of Abandoned Mine Land in WV

Applications are being accepted for a portion of $25 million in grant funding available for economic development projects. The projects must be located on or adjacent to mine sites that ceased operations prior to the signing of the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act on Aug. 3, 1977.

Siemens Gamesa to Build Australian Wind Farm with Storage Battery

The company's contract with the renewable energy company Neoen calls for Siemens Gamesa to build the entire complex and then maintain it for 25 years.

GAO Recommends Eliminating Coal Mine Operators' Self-Bonding

GAO found that state agencies and OSMRE report they hold approximately $10.2 billion in surety bonds, collateral bonds, and self-bonds as financial assurances for coal mine reclamation. The stakeholders GAO interviewed identified several challenges OSMRE and state agencies face in managing financial assurances, citing industry bankruptcies and lower coal demand.

NNSA Team Wins Project Management Award

The presentation took place during the 2018 DOE Project Management Workshop held in Arlington, Va. The TWF project at Los Alamos National Laboratory is NNSA's first Hazard Category 2 Nuclear Facility project completed under budget.

New Compliance Date for EPA's Formaldehyde in Composite Wood Products Regulation

The new compliance date is June 1, 2018, for its formaldehyde emissions regulation for composite wood products, under Title VI of the Toxic Substances Control Act.

West Virginia Debuts Webpage on Pipeline Projects

Information available on the page includes maps of the proposed pipeline routes and a link to WVDEP's searchable online database where additional information, such as any inspection and enforcement actions and any permit modifications, can be found.