April 19, 2010 GASP and RRI Energy Reach Agreement on
Lead Emissions from Cheswick Power Station
This week GASP and RRI Energy finalized an agreement to address lead
emissions from RRI's coal-fired Cheswick Power Station in Springdale,
Pennsylvania. The negotiations were prompted after GASP, a number of residents
living near the Cheswick Power Station, and students at Springdale High School
expressed concern that a proposed permit amendment could result in
increased lead emissions from the plant.
Under the terms of the agreement, RRI will ask the Allegheny County Health
Department (ACHD) to make several changes to RRI's permit to install a
scrubber at the Cheswick facility. These changes will include a lower limit on
permissible lead emissions, an increase in the frequency of stack testing
for lead from every 5 years to every 2 years, and a requirement that RRI
provide the monthly average lead content of coal combusted at the facility to
ACHD.
"We're pleased with the agreement," said Joe Osborne, GASP legal director.
"We approached RRI with our concerns, and, to their credit, they worked
with us to find a solution we could all be satisfied with. This agreement
provides assurance that emissions of toxic lead will not increase as a result
of the scrubber project."
In addition to providing for no increase in lead emissions, the scrubber
project should significantly reduce the Cheswick Plant's emissions of
several pollutants, most notably sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Read more:
Valley News Dispatch: _Springdale power plant owner RRI Energy agrees to
cap lead emissions _ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1
103314712994&s=244&e=0017cpqG4_hvmjBui6DdhzEiANW4ZfzTeWA1aZ-1DmbyvWWqd8Xg8lz4AywSxDpaExpefIwFKFGSKQ2aO
xt4wukLGCDvz7xERJ_pR1KhM4-I162-lMIzVLLWTxkIrXT7MyuWrRcO049GmWyyCvxo0pq-bZC-T
ObJH39gY-Hl10QZSk=)
Pittsburgh Post Gazette: _Power plant to cap output of lead_
(http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103314712994&s=244&e=0017cpqG4_hvmgZPLJ1Dl4dy…
ZXMuWOOceownaMDVlGQw499mkbyuqszA8-pdzGlJvjMl9JyVYStLXofXzuMIYWOrc3K5WgcWcRew
NBDupViUrfPJBGwhfU2FFJqIIMgxnOq6KDr4SF1OJ2HDqV4pi)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) is a non-profit citizens’
group in Southwestern Pennsylvania working for a healthy, sustainable
environment. Founded in 1969, GASP has been a diligent watchdog, educator,
litigator, and policy-maker on many environmental issues, with a focus on air
quality in the Pittsburgh region.
_Learn more about GASP_ (http://www.gasp-pgh.org/about-gasp) .
Web-site: www.gasp-pgh.org
EPA LAUNCHES ACID RAIN BLOGS
Although the pollutants that form acid rain, mainly sulfur dioxide (SO2)
and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions have each been cut by more than 60 percent
since 1995, acid rain continues to negatively affect our environment.
Acid rain pollutants can cause respiratory illnesses and premature death in
people, damage lakes, streams, and forests and the plants and animals in
these ecosystems. EPA has launched some daily blogs to help the public keep
abreast of the issue in an interactive way: _Whatever happened to Acid Rain?_
(http://blog.epa.gov/blog/) and _Acid Rain and Cap and Trade_
(http://blog.epa.gov/acidrain/) To follow the series on Facebook and Twitter, go to
_www.facebook.com/EPAairmarkets_ (http://www.facebook.com/EPAairmarkets)
and _www.twitter.com/EPAairmarkets_ (http://www.twitter.com/EPAairmarkets)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
EPA TO ADD 16 CHEMICALS TO ITS TOXIC CHEMICAL LIST TO PROTECT THE
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH
EPA is proposing to add 16 additional toxic chemicals to its Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI) list to which industries and federal facilities must
contribute when reporting their chemical releases and waste management
activities. This will add to the database of nearly 650 chemicals and chemical groups
from about 22,000 industrial facilities nationwide. EPA will accept
public comments on the proposal for 60 days after it appears in the Federal
Register. For a list of the 16 chemicals, go to
_http://www.epa.gov/tri/lawsandregs/ntp_chemicals/index.html_
(http://www.epa.gov/tri/lawsandregs/ntp_chemicals/index.html) For information on TRI, go to _http://www.epa.gov/tri_
(http://www.epa.gov/tri)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
OUTDOOR BURNING BANNED IN WEST VIRGINIA
Number of fires has almost tripled since April 1
Gov. Joe Manchin has issued a ban on all outdoor burning that will take
effect at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 10, 2010. This proclamation will be in
effect until the governor rescinds the order.
The ban includes fires built for camping, the burning of debris or for
warming purposes; however, the following items are excluded from the
restrictions:
•Fires for the purpose of chemical production, where fire is essential to
operation.
•Fires for commercial land-clearing, such as mining, highway construction,
and development: Provided that a permit is obtained from the Division of
Forestry prior to burning.
•Training fires conducted under the direct control and supervision of
qualified instructors at a training facility operated by a fire department or
government entity: Provided that a permit for such training fires is
obtained from the Division of Forestry prior to burning.
•Fires for outdoor cooking conducted for fundraising events and charitable
organizations: Provided that a water source capable of extinguishing the
fire must be present and a permit is obtained from the Division of Forestry
prior to the operation.
•Grills, lanterns or liquid-fueled gas fire stoves.
Since April 1, the number of fires has increased from 108 to 283. The
number of burned acres has escalated from 773 to almost 8,500. Warm, dry
weather and windy conditions, plus an abundance of vegetative material like
downed trees, limbs and leaves have led to these increases. Forty-two percent of
these fires have resulted from escaped debris fires.
--------------------------------------------------------------
OZONE SEASON BEGAN OFFICIALLY ON APRIL 1
As the weather warms, exposure to unhealthy ground-level ozone conditions
becomes more likely and especially harmful to asthmatics and those with
respiratory conditions.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and Nitrous Oxides (NOx) react with hot
temperatures in the air to form ground-level ozone. To alert and protect the
public,
EPA's AIRNow website at (_http://airnow.gov/_ (http://airnow.gov/) )
provides information about air quality conditions to prevent dangerous
over-exposure to ozone pollution.
For more information, go to
_http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/index.html_ (http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/index.html)
EPA WEBSITE PROVIDES UNLIMITED INFO ON CLIMATE CHANGE
The EPA mid-Atlantic region's new climate change website is a central
source of climate change information on a variety of local, regional and
national websites. The site provides a description of the various impacts climate
change is having/may have on the region, especially sea-level rise on
estuaries, barrier islands and coastal cities as well as related information
linked to local, state and national sites. Tables and charts show total, per
capita and percentage CO2 emissions for sectors and states within the
region as well as emissions for the region and nation as a whole. For more
information, go to _http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/_
(http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/)
I am fairly sure if this is a reference to the Coresco site. Here are
some notes from the (unapproved) minutes I took for another organization
when scientists Petra and John Wood came and spoke to us:
Coresco Landfill - (Petra) - The strip mining occurring close to our
home has a high acidic coal that in the past wouldn't have been
mined, but now it is being performed with the justification that the
alkaline substitutes from coal combustion waste (fly ash - fluidized
bed and scrubber waste) that are being added, neutralizes the site.
However, this has been shown to have associated problems like heavy
metal leaching. We have become cognizant about how bad coal
combustion waste issues can be, and EPA is slowly establishing
regulations. Meanwhile, the Coresco site may be one of the largest
in the Nation. This is a time bomb waiting to happen because of the
leaching of heavy metals.
(Jim Kotcon) ... Coresco would receive fly ash from a coalition of
powerplants (Hatfield, Longview, etc). Coresco argues that they are
exempt from certain landfill laws. Their landfill would be 500 feet
tall on a 300 acre plot without any liner. Our argument is that DEP
should wait until there are new landfill rules; DEP hasn't been very
helpful and they are intent on allowing a permit to Coresco. ...
Yes, I support this, and I am glad that MVCAC is on top of this. I
suggest we invite the Woods to a public informational meeting.
-Jonathan
Reger-Nash, Bill wrote:
> Duane et al,
>
> I support this proposed action.
>
> Be well and have a nice holiday weekend.
>
> Bill
> Bill Reger-Nash, EdD
>
> Walk 30 minutes or more daily.
> Feel the Power of Half an Hour.
>
> WVU Department of Community Medicine
> Room 3812 E, Health Sciences South
> One Medical Center Drive
> Morgantown, WV 26506-9190
> 304-293-0763
> wreger <mailto:wreger@hsc.wvu.edu>@hsc.wvu. <mailto:wreger@hsc.wvu.edu>edu
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* mvcac-bounces(a)cheat.org [mvcac-bounces(a)cheat.org] On Behalf Of
> Paula Hunt [pjhunt(a)xemaps.com]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 31, 2010 9:43 PM
> *To:* mvcac(a)cheat.org
> *Subject:* Re: [MVCAC] PROPOSED ACTION ON COAL ASH TOXIC WASTE
>
> Let's do it!
>
> - paula huntAt 3/31/2010 07:58 PM, you wrote:
>> IT IS HEREWITH PROPOSED THAT THE MON VALLEY CLEAN AIR COALITION JOIN
>> OTHERS REGARDING
>> THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SPREADING OF COAL ASH
>> WITHOUT ADEQUATE
>> SAFEGUARDS. COAL ASH FROM BOTH THE FORT MARTIN POWER PLANT AND THE
>> LONGVIEW POWER
>> PLANT ARE BEING CONSIDERED FOR "BENEFICIAL USE" DISPOSAL IN NORTH
>> WESTERN MONONGALIA
>> COUNTY. THIS PLAN INVOLVES SPREADING THE ASH ON THE SOIL, CLAIMING
>> TO NEUTRALIZE ACIDIC
>> COMPONENTS IN THE SOIL, WITHOUT FULL CONSIDERATION OF THE DEPTH OF
>> APPLICATION OR THE
>> TOXIC ELEMENTS THAT WILL LEACH THEREFROM.
>>
>> PLEASE INDICATE BY APRIL 5TH WHETHER YOU SUPPORT THIS PROPOSED ACTION
>> BY THE "MVCAC".
>>
>> THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, DUANE NICHOLS (DUANE NICHOLS,
>> 304-216-5535)
>>
>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>
>> *From:* Emily Enderle [ mailto:eenderle@earthjustice.org]
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 31, 2010 2:10 PM
>>
>> *Subject:* Organizational CEO-level Sign on Letter to President Obama
>> - Protect People from Toxic Coal Ash
>>
>> Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>>
>> Thank you all for your continued support on the coal ash issue. We
>> hope your organizations will again join us in supporting another
>> effort to protect people from this toxic waste.
>>
>> EPA committed to releasing a rule regulating the disposal of toxic
>> coal ash, the second largest industrial waste in the U.S., by the end
>> of 2009. EPA did its part by submitting the rule to the White House
>> Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in mid-October. OMB has taken
>> more than five months to review the rule—an extraordinary length of
>> time. Durring this time, OMB has had more than 30 meetings with
>> industry groups, providing industry with unprecedented closed-door
>> access. Additionally, the White House itself has met with industry
>> groups on this topic. The longer this rule drags out, the more time
>> industry has to instill fear in lawmakers and the public by wildly
>> exaggerating the costs and impacts of the regulation. In the
>> meantime, as the Administration delays, our communities and
>> environment are put at risk from the devastating impacts of unsafe
>> coal ash disposal.
>>
>> In this letter, the CEOs of Earthjustice, NRDC, Environmental Justice
>> Resource Center at Clark-Atlanta University, Physicians for Social
>> Responsibility, Southern Environmental Law Center, Environmental
>> Integrity Project and Sierra Club, are asking President Obama to
>> stand by his Administration's principles - to allow science not
>> industry to decide, provide a transparent process that enables the
>> public to participate in a meaningful way, and protect people and
>> their environment from toxic waste.
>>
>> Please have your organizations join us in signing on to the attached
>> CEO-level letter (also pasted below). A fact sheet on the issue is
>> attached.
>>
>> *To sign on, please email your* *CEO-level sign on information to
>> Jeremy Graham at Earthjustice (jgraham(a)earthjustice.org
>> <UrlBlockedError.aspx>) by Tuesday, April 6, 2010. Also, it'd be much
>> appreciated if you'd circulate this to your networks.
>> *
>> CEO Name
>> Title
>> Organization
>> City, State
>>
>> Thank you in advance for your help on this critical issue.
>> Emily
>>
>> _____________________________________
>> Emily Ederle
>> Legislative Associate
>> Earthjustice
>> 1625 Massachusetts Ave., NW
>> Suite 702
>> Washington, DC 20036
>> T: 202-667-4500 ext. 201
>> C: 202-253-2397
>> F: 202-667-2356
>> www.earthjustice.org <UrlBlockedError.aspx>
>>
>>
>> April ____, 2010
>>
>>
>> President Barack Obama
>> The White House
>> 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
>> Washington, DC 20500
>>
>> Dear Mr. President:
>>
>> On behalf of our millions of members and supporters, we urge you to
>> protect communities across this nation from the widespread
>> mismanagement of coal combustion waste that endangers public health
>> and the environment – and for which there are no current federall
>> regulations.
>>
>> Following the disastrous spill of more than 1 billion gallons of coal
>> ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in
>> December 2008, 109 directors of environmental groups called upon EPA
>> Administrator Lisa Jackson to develop federally enforceable standards
>> for regulating coal combustion waste. Shortly thereafter,
>> Administrator Jackson pledged to publish a regulatory proposal by
>> December 2009. In keeping with her commitment, Administrator Jackson
>> submitted a draft coal ash rule to the White House Office of
>> Management and Budget (OMB) in October 2009—but over five months
>> later, this rule remaiins under review at OMB. The undersigned
>> [number of] public interest groups ask you to side with the public
>> and sound science to ensure a rule that protects people and the
>> environment is released in April.
>>
>> Continued delay in the issuance of federal regulations for the
>> disposal of the 136 million tons of toxic coal combustion waste
>> generated annually is dangerous and unacceptable. Unmitigated harm,
>> often to poor and minority communities, continues to threaten the
>> lives and environment of millions of Americans. Communities near
>> America’s thousands of coal ash dumps are threatened with poisoned
>> drinking water, polluted waterways, and life-threatening failures of
>> decades-old dams. The failure to act makes another catastrophic
>> failure, like the disaster in Kingston, ever more likely, and it
>> makes the poisoning of additional water sources a near certainty.
>>
>> Releasing the draft rule would trigger the public process of
>> rulemaking, thereby ensuring a fair and open process in which all
>> stakeholders have an equal opportunity to address the complexities of
>> the proposed rule. Until the draft rule is released for public
>> comment, the debate occurs almost entirely behind closed doors.
>> Industry groups that oppose mandatory federal standards have had more
>> than 30 meetings with OMB on this rule – more than ever before on any
>> single topic. These groups continue to present unfounded claims of
>> power plant closures and exaggerated cost estimates as “fact,�
>> thereby fomenting widespread but unwarranted fear of EPA regulations.
>>
>> One of the issues industry is using to slow down the rulemaking
>> process is the argument that the regulation of coal combustion waste
>> will place a stigma on the recycling of fly ash. We believe this
>> argument is overstated. Our groups support the beneficial use of fly
>> ash. We do not expect the reuse of fly ash to decrease if the
>> disposal of ash is regulated as hazardous waste. On the contrary,
>> companies will be able to avoid the hazardous waste requirements by
>> using coal ash beneficially. Therefore, we think coal ash regulation
>> will promote more beneficial use. However, if the coal ash is not
>> going to be reused or recycled, then it needs to be disposed of
>> following tailored hazardous waste rules.
>>
>> The EPA’s latest scientific findings lend urgency to the
>> promulgation of federally enforceable standards. New EPA leach tests,
>> specifically designed for coal ash, reveal that toxic chemicals such
>> as arsenic, chromium and selenium, can leak from coal combustion
>> waste in concentrations far exceeding the threshold that the EPA uses
>> to identify hazardous waste. The EPA also found that the cancer risk
>> for children exposed to arsenic in drinking water from unlined ash
>> ponds is as high as 1 in 50, which is 2,000 times the EPA's goal of
>> reducing cancer risk to 1 in 100,000 individuals.
>>
>> Further, leading coal combustion waste (CCW) scientists, with more
>> than 100 years of combined research experience on the environmental
>> fate and toxic impacts of coal ash, recommend federally enforceable
>> standards. Drs. E. Dennis Lemly and Christopher Rowe, among others,
>> recently submitted a letter to OMB stating “Make no mistake about
>> it, CCW is a deadly poison to fish and wildlife, and a threat to
>> human health when improperly managed.� They conclude:
>>
>> Some of the most destructive and pressing environmental problems with
>> CCW are not ‘in the distant past’ but are taking place NOW using
>> ‘state approved’ disposal practices. Threats and impacts are not
>> being addressed by the coal power industry and they will not go
>> away. They will be a recurring, escalating problem unless adequate
>> regulatory controls are put in place. State efforts are
>> inadequate….federall regulatory oversight is necessary. Experience
>> shows that CCW’s will need to carry a hazardous waste ‘C’
>> designation if they are to be regulated and disposed in a manner that
>> will afford adequate protection to fish and wildlife, as well as
>> humankind.
>>
>> We urge you to consider the EPA’s latest scientific findings and
>> the recommendations of scientific experts and put an end to further
>> delay.
>>
>> Thus the undersigned [number] public interest organizations,
>> representing several million citizens, respectfully ask the
>> Administration to release the proposed coal ash rule for public
>> comment this month and to ensure that the rule proposes federally
>> enforceable standards that will protect all United States citizens
>> and their environment from a truly toxic substance.
>>
>> Signed:
>>
>>
>> Trip Van Noppen
>> President
>> Earthjustice
>> Oakland, CA
>>
>> Eric Schaeffer
>> Executive Director
>> Environmental Integrity Project
>> Washington, D.C.
>>
>> Dr. Robert Bullard
>> Director
>> Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University
>> Atlantic, GA
>>
>> Frances Beinecke
>> President
>> Natural Resources Defense Council
>> New York, NY
>>
>> Peter Wilk
>> Executive Director
>> Physicians for Social Responsibility
>> Washington, D.C.
>>
>> Michael Brune
>> Executive Director
>> Sierra Club
>> San Francisco, CA
>>
>> --
>> Ryan Rittenhouse
>> Public Citizen Texas
>> 1303 San Antonio St.
>> Austin, TX 78701
>> 512-477-1155
>> www.CoalBlock.org <UrlBlockedError.aspx>
>>
>> "If we use fuel to get our power, we are living on our capital and
>> exhausting it rapidly.
>> This method is barbarous and wantonly wasteful, and will have to be
>> stopped in the interest of coming generations."
>> - Nikola Tesla, 1915
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> MVCAC mailing list
>> MVCAC(a)cheat.org
>> http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/mvcac
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> MVCAC mailing list
> MVCAC(a)cheat.org
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