EPA Region 8 August 2012 MONTANA EDITION Issue 369 Why recycle electronics? Around the Region ..............2 WY fills inspector spots States can end Stage II gas vapor recovery Compliance Report ............3 Identifying legal requirements and setting objectives and targets Around the Bend..................5 From the Hill........................5 CourtWatch ........................6 Court disallows citizen suit in CAA case Q&A ......................................6 Import/export TSCA requirements Expert Tips ..........................7 Enforcement Alert ..............7 Rule Changes ......................7 Enforcement........................8 Montana does not have any legislation requiring that electronic equipment be recycled or banning electronics from landfills. Nevertheless, there are many reasons for you to consider recycling your electronic wastes (e-wastes), such as computers, televisions, and cell phones. Here are a few: cause serious damage to human health and pollution of water, air, and soil. E-waste is a direct consequence of our ongoing desire to communicate from anywhere; connect more often; and compute from home, office, or on the road. Add an increasing demand for electronic gaming, higher definition televisions, or smart cars, and the result is a tragic accumula• Electronics contain valuable metals and tion of e-waste. components that can be used again in E-wastes did not even exist as a wasteanother manufacturing process. stream in the 80s. Today, e-waste is one of the fastest growing hazardous waste• Cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, chromium, barium, beryllium, streams. and brominated flame-retardant mate- Information on e-waste solutions is rials are components that can pollute available at http://deq.mt.gov/recycle/ Electronics/default.mcpx. water and air resources. • When e-waste crosses borders illegally and is dumped or dismantled, it can INFO: Contact DEQ’s Sandra Boggs at 406-841-5217. 15868/ae Compliance tip: LO/TO step by step READER INPUT Want to go green? Visit the BLR Green Team blog for tips and discussions on going green: www.blrgreenteam.com. Read what we are doing to create a sustainable workplace. Don’t be shy, leave comments, and share ideas! Here are six basic steps for safe lockout/ tagout (LO/TO) recommended by the Environmental Safety and Health Department at the University of California: Think, plan, and check. a. Identify all parts of any systems that need to be shut down. b. Determine what switches, equipment, and workers will be involved. Communicate. a. Notify all those who need to know that a LO/TO is taking place. Lock out all power sources. a. Each worker should have a personal lock. Tag out all power sources and machines. a. These include controls, pressure lines, starter switches, and suspended parts. b. Tags should include your name, department, how to reach you, the date and time of tagging, and the reason for the lockout. Restart safely. a. After work is completed, remove only your own locks and tags. a. Disconnect electricity. b. Make sure workers in the area are notified of restart. b. Release or block spring energy. c. Drain or bleed hydraulic and pneumatic c. Turn on the power and make sure lines. equipment is running properly. 15860/ae Neutralize all appropriate power at the source. © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources www.blr.com Around Region 8 WY fills inspector spots The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS) has hired seven OSHA safety consultants and has filled an OSHA compliance officer position. Filling the vacant positions was part of implementation of a new state law. The new staff members will undergo an extensive 6 months of training before performing consultations and inspections in the field. An early 2012 state-commissioned report highlighted the lack of a safety culture and the fact that proper procedures were not followed in most fatality cases. As in other states, Wyoming’s OSHA consultation program primarily serves small businesses. Safety consultants target potential hazards and improve occupational safety and health management systems at no cost to the employer. The program is separate from compliance/enforcement programs, and no citations are issued or penalties proposed. 15896/ae States can end Stage II gas vapor recovery One top item in EPA’s August 2011 Final Plan for Periodic Retrospective Reviews was elimination of the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) Stage II vapor recovery requirements for higher throughThe state was found to have the high- put gasoline dispensing facilities est workplace fatality rate in the coun- (GDF). The Agency has now followed try for every year but one between through with a final rule that allows 2003 and 2008. The oil and gas boom states in current or former ozone brought a large influx of workers to nonattainment areas to seek EPA the state during that period. approval of state implementation plan (SIP) revisions that remove the Stage II requirements. Just for Fun BLR’s cartoon is in need of a caption. Send us your caption. We’ll select the best and publish it for all to enjoy! This is your chance to have some fun on the lighter side! E-mail your caption to [email protected], and you may see it in an upcoming issue! As specified in the 1990 CAA Amendments, states in ozone nonattainment areas were required to adopt Stage II programs, which ensured that gasoline vapors forced out of a vehicle’s tank during fueling were circulated into the GDF’s underground storage tank (UST) and not emitted into the atmosphere. New Stage II equipment is normally required to achieve 95 percent control effectiveness. Stage II programs were required in approximately 40 areas nationwide. The CAA also allows the EPA to waive Stage II requirements when use of onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) becomes widespread. ORVRs cause gasoline vapors that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere to be drawn into the vehicle engine, where they are burned as fuel. Based on emissions tests of more than 1,100 in-use ORVR-equipped vehicles, the EPA has concluded that the average in-use efficiency of ORVR is 98 percent, bettering the legal requirement of 95 percent efficiency for ORVRs. In addition, the EPA has been concerned that some states were not ensuring that Stage II equipment was being properly maintained and that control effectiveness was dropping far below the 95 percent requirement. The Agency estimates that implementation of the rule will result in recurring cost savings of about $3,000 per year for a typical GDF and an annual nationwide savings of up to $91 million if Stage II is phased out of approximately 30,600 GDFs. INFO: Contact Lynn Dail at 919-5412363. 15893/ae Compliance Quiz The EPA has registration requirements covering substances used as additives in gasoline and diesel fuel. Currently over 7,500 fuel additives registered with the Agency. To register an additive, a manufacturer must provide the EPA with each of the following, except: a. The volume of the additive expected to be sold annually in the United States. b. The chemical structure of each compound in the additive. c. Description of any technique that can be used to detect the additive in a fuel. d. Public health or welfare effects of emissions produced by the additive. Answer on page 8. Ed Keating, Chief Content Officer; Robert L. Brady, J.D., Founder; Clare Condon, Managing Editor; Ana Ellington, Senior Editor; Elizabeth Dickinson, J.D., Tim Fagan, David Galt, Nancy Teolis, J.D., Amanda Czepiel, J.D., Contributing Editors; Joan Carlson, Sandra Fisher, Corinne Weber, Proofreaders; Linda Costa, Quality Control Associate; Darlene Francis, Product Manager; Rebecca MacLachlan, Graphic Designer; Sheryl Boutin, Content Production Specialist. Contact Customer Service for reprints at 800-727-5257. Environmental Compliance is issued by BLR—Business & Legal Resources, 100 Winners Circle, Suite 300, P.O. Box 41503, Nashville, TN 37204-1503. ©2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources. Issued 12 times per year. Annual subscription rate to the complete service is $595.00 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Old Saybrook, CT 06475-9998. Postmaster: Send address changes to Environmental Compliance, 100 Winners Circle, Suite 300, P.O. Box 41503, Nashville, TN 37204-1503. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use or the internal or personal use of specific clients is granted by BLR®—Business & Legal Resources. For permission to reuse material from Environmental Compliance, ISSN #1066-2553, please go to http://www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of uses. 2 © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369) Compliance Report Identifying legal requirements and setting objectives and targets and end up being fined by an agency for failing to adhere to certain reporting requirements. If you are the corporate environmental manager, you may need to summarize the permit requirements for your plant. If there ISO 14001 requires an organization to are certain permit conditions that you are not sure about, contact the agency identify its legal requirements for right away and obtain clarification. compliance and set environmental objectives and targets. Note that you Don’t wait for the agency inspector to do not have to be in actual compliance clarify them for you in the middle of to get ISO 14001 certification. What an inspection. is required is for you to have a proOther sources from which your gram in place to bring your organiza- employees can obtain legal requiretion into compliance. As part of this ments include Title 40 Code of Federal program, you must identify the legal Regulations (paper copies or CD), requirements that affect or govern agency websites, industrial association your operation. newsletters, commercial subscription services (such as BLR®), etc. Many Identifying legal requirements industrial associations have their own The most practical approach is to ask environmental committees that monithe who, what, when, where, and how tor regulations that may affect their questions. Ask yourself: Who tracks industries. This is an excellent source of information that comes with your your organization’s legal requirements? Is it the legal department? If association membership. For example, so, how is that information transmitted many industrial associations have been to the plants? What do they track, and working with the EPA in developing how often do they track it? Where do the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards required they obtain their information? under the Clean Air Act’s National There are many ways you can identify Emissions Standards for Hazardous your requirements. The most obvious Air Pollutants program for their indusand direct way is to review all your tries. These new standards have sigenvironmental permits. Read the fine nificant costs and compliance print, including the boilerplate lanimplications for the affected industries. guage. Very often this is where many Don’t forget local and state legal requirements are embedded. It is requirements. Many state and local amazing how many permitholders never bother to read their own permits agencies have legal requirements in addition to the federal requirements. This is because federal programs allow states and local agencies to impose Tips on setting environmental more stringent requirements. Always objectives and targets check with your state agencies. • Get senior management buy-in. The manner by which your employees • Tell employees about your gain access to legal requirements objectives and targets. often plays a critical role in your orga• Don’t be overly ambitious the nization’s environmental performance. first year. The issue here is ownership. Do your • Set realistic targets. plant personnel have ownership of • Get employees to decide how to such information? Do they take meet targets. proactive steps to obtain such information themselves, or do they rely on • Communicate your results often. corporate headquarters to feed them the information? Worse yet, do they wait for the agency inspector to tell them? Plants that have some level of information ownership by employees generally perform better than those that rely solely on others. Setting environmental objectives and targets ISO 14001 standards are very explicit about setting environmental objectives and targets and incorporating them into your written environmental policy. Environmental objectives are goals that you would like to meet in the future. Targets are the means of providing verifiable evidence that you have actually met the objective. For example, your environmental objective may be to reduce the generation of hazardous wastes. Your may then set your target at 20 percent reduction within 12 months. In the parlance of ISO 14001, objectives are “documents,” whereas targets are “records.” Documents can be modified, while records cannot. For example, you can modify your objectives, but you cannot change having missed your targets. In setting your targets, make sure you are not overly ambitious—especially during the first year of implementation. Set a target that is realistic and reasonably easy to achieve in the first year. You don’t want your organization to fail the first time it tries to meet an environmental target. Failure can be very demoralizing to your team members. It is much better to set an achievable target and meet it the first year and then set progressively more aggressive targets in following years. Remember that the fundamental basis of an effective environmental management program consists of top-down support and bottom-up involvement. Always get senior management to buy in on the objectives and targets, and make sure you communicate the objectives clearly to the employees. After all, the employees are the ones who are going to make it happen. (continued on page 4) © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369) 3 continued from page 3 Here are some examples of environmental objectives: ✔ Minimize raw material use. ✔ Minimize releases of air contaminants to the environment. ✔ Comply with all applicable environmental laws. ✔ Use recycled products where feasible. ✔ Stop purchasing chemicals that contain carcinogens. ✔ Safeguard the environment for future generations. ✔ Be a responsible neighbor. ✔ Foster openness with employees and the public. Listed below are some examples of environmental objectives and specific target dates: Depending on the objectives, different groups of employees will be involved. For the water consumption objective, all production and maintenance personnel must be involved in the process, since they are the end users of water. Engineering staff will be required to set the baseline and come up with engineering solutions (such as automatic shutoff valves and individual water meters) to help conserve water. Maintenance staff will be trained on more efficient ways of cleaning the facility. Accounting staff will be responsible for billing the production department for water usages. In the case of buying chemicals that do not contain carcinogens, the product development group and purchasing department will take the lead role. Someone in the product development group must evaluate various alternatives to ensure that they do not affect the quality of the final products. Purchasing agents must look for vendors of acceptable alternatives. Senior management will then have to approve the new policy. 15863/ae Your Turn In the case of reducing chemical spills, you must get the support of Examples of environmental targets: ✔ Reduce sanitary waste from routine everyone who handles chemicals. Set up an awareness program so that all operations by 25 percent by 2014, your employees understand the safe using a 2005 baseline. handling procedures and the various ✔ Recycle 45 percent of sanitary reporting requirements in the event of wastes from all operations by 2014 a spill. For example, you may want to and 50 percent by 2020. assign someone in the receiving department the responsibility of ✔ Reduce fleet petroleum consumption by 20 percent by 2014, using a reviewing the material safety data sheet/safety data sheet for safe storage 2000 baseline. requirements before a new chemical is ✔ Ensure that 75 percent of new lightstored in the warehouse. duty vehicles purchased each year are alternative-fuel vehicles. Objectives 4 The EMS process Do you have a success (or horror) story about the EMS process? We’d like to hear from you. Jot down your thoughts and send them to Ana Ellington, Senior Editor, at [email protected]. Or go to our EHS forum and join a discussion or start a new one at http://community.blr.com/ safety/forums! Targets Involved Parties Reduce water consumption. Set water use baseline by 12/1/2012. Benchmark each plant by 3/1/2013. Put program in place by 7/1/2013. Production and maintenance staff Engineering department Accounting department Reduce chemical spills. Train all employees by 9/1/2012. Reduce number of spills 50% by 1/1/2013. Production and maintenance Shipping and receiving Environmental training group Stop buying chemicals that contain carcinogens. Evaluate alternatives by 1/1/2013. Set purchase policy by 3/1/2013. Product development group Purchasing department Improve employee awareness. Train employees within a year. All staff © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369) Around the Bend 10 tips for managers of telecommuters Case studies show that establishing a telecommuting program for your business is a win-win situation. Employers win with increased productivity, lower turnover, and enhanced bottom-line profitability. Participating employees win with increased job satisfaction, greater flexibility, and reduced commuting costs. Yet a major concern is managing telecommuters. But according to one state agency, it’s manageable with the right plan. The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Commuter Services offers the following tips to help you successfully manage your telecommuters. These tips are valuable in any state. 1. Agree on a schedule. Create a viable workday schedule; allow for breaks; post a telecommuting schedule; and revisit the schedule issues as needed. 2. Clarify objectives. Evaluate existing objectives to ensure they are measurable and quantifiable; measure productivity. Expect professionalism—telecommuting should be invisible to those at the other end of the phone or computer line; know what will be performed at telecommuting sites versus traditional worksites. 3. Set expectations. Clarify not only what is expected of telecommuters but also how and how well it is to be done. Such expectations should be no different than those at the traditional worksite—as with all expectations, they should be documented rather than assumed. 4. Uphold standards. Ensure that telecommute sites meet organizational standards for safety, security, efficiency, and confidentiality; see that needed equipment, technology, and supplies are made available. 5. Monitor performance. Focus on evaluating results rather than activities; provide regular feedback on performance; stay in contact with telecommuters; set expectations that telecommuters keep you updated; find a balance that is right for managers and telecommuters. 6. Maintain communications. Keep telecommuters informed of events and information from the traditional worksite; encourage coworkers to keep telecommuters “in the loop” on formal and informal work events; initiate communications and hold telecommuters accountable for the same. 7. Recognize performance. Let telecommuters know that you value their work and that others recognize their achievements; support career growth and opportunities; promote telecommuters to on-site management; reward positive results. 8. Maintain the team. Hold telecommuters and coworkers accountable for achievement of goals. Ensure they support one another. 9. Handle problems right away. Early, equitable resolution of conflict is key; take immediate measures to address issues or perceptions that will impact performance. © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369) 10. Assess/adjust. Solicit feedback periodically on what is working and what isn’t; allow open discussion and private conversation; remain objective and make appropriate adjustments. Remember that no new initiative is without a few bumps in the road, but with your leadership, telecommuting can be a successful organizational initiative. INFO: Contact BLR’s Ana Ellington at 800-727-5257, Ext. 2169. 15858/ae From the Hill U.S., EU begin organic trade As of June 1, 2012, the United States and the European Union (EU) officially opened up their markets to each other’s organic products. “The U.S.-EU equivalency partnership should create more opportunities for small businesses and result in good jobs for Americans who grow, package, ship, and market organic productions,” said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. Previously, producers and companies wanting to trade products on both sides of the Atlantic had to obtain separate certifications to two standards, which resulted in a double set of fees, inspections, and paperwork. The partnership eliminates these significant barriers, which is especially helpful for smalland medium-sized organic farmers, says the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). All products traded under the partnership must be shipped with an organic import certificate, which shows where production occurred, identifies the organization that certified the product, and verifies that growers and handlers did not use prohibited substances and methods. The certificates also allow traded products to be tracked. Both parties state that they are committed to ensuring that products traded under the agreement retain their organic integrity from farm to market. Later this year, representatives from both markets will compare USDA’s organic wine standards with the recently published EU wine standards and determine how wine can fit into the trade partnership. According to the USDA, estimates show the market for U.S. organics sales to the EU could grow substantially within the first few years of the arrangement. Today, more than two-thirds of U.S. consumers buy organic products at least occasionally, and 28 percent buy organic products weekly. Information is at http://www.ams.usda.gov/ AMSv1.0/NOPTradeEuropeanUnion. 15859/ws 5 CourtWatch Court disallows citizen suit in CAA case filed an amicus curiae brief, OEPA’s failure to administer the BAT requirement with respect to small emitters is itself a “violation of . . . The citizen suit provision of the Clean Air Act (CAA) does not allow an emission standard or limitation,” as those terms are used in the citizen a case against a state environmental suit provision of the CAA. The state agency for failure to implement terms of that state’s state implemen- responded that the sentence structation plan (SIP). The provision spec- ture of a provision further along in ifies that a citizen suit is permissible the CAA makes clear that citizen when an emissions standard or limi- suits apply only to standards or limitations that are set forth in a pertation is allegedly violated. In other words, if the state itself had violated mit—which would mean the term does not include the state’s obligaNational Ambient Air Quality tion to enforce the BAT requireStandards (NAAQS), any person ment, since that obligation is set could have lawfully sued under the forth only in the SIP. CAA. But an alleged failure by a state regarding administration of the Appeals court reverses SIP is not technically a CAA violalower court tion and, therefore, is not actionable under the CAA citizen suit provision. The district court that first heard the case agreed with the state but Those are the key points made by decided to rule for the plaintiffs two of three judges for the 6th U.S. based on a 1980 6th Circuit opinion Circuit Court of Appeals in Sierra (United States v. Ohio Department Club v. Korleski. of Highway Safety) that involved another section of the CAA. In that It happened in Ohio case, the 6th Circuit construed the The case involves a decision by the term “violation” as used in the CAA Ohio EPA (OEPA) and its director, provision to include Ohio’s refusal Christopher Korleski, in 2006 to “to withhold registration from vehiissue an amendment to its SIP that cles which have not passed emission allows issuance of new source air inspection.” However, in its current permits to smaller emissions sources opinion, the 6th Circuit points to a (those producing less than 10 tons of subsequent case in 1997 (Bennett v. emissions per year) without first Spear) in which the U.S. Supreme determining whether those sources Court held that language in another will employ best available technol“nearly identical” portion of the ogy (BAT) to control those emisCAA did not permit a citizen suit sions. The OEPA had required BAT against a federal agency for its failfor several decades before allowing ure to perform a regulatory duty. the exception for small sources. In As the 6th Circuit points out, the June 2008, the OEPA requested that Supreme Court’s 1997 ruling indithe U.S. EPA approve the SIP cates that highway safety “is no amendment. The U.S. EPA denied longer good law.” the request but has not chosen to use The 6th Circuit also points out that any of the tools provided under the CAA to induce the OEPA to enforce if the OEPA were found in violation of a CAA emissions limitation, it the BAT requirement for small would be subject to penalties of up sources. Neither has the U.S. EPA to $25,000 a day as well as a possiexercised authority also available under the Act to enforce the require- ble criminal violation because intent is present. “We doubt that the CAA ment itself. should be read to authorize the head of the federal EPA to impose those Sierra Club balks According to the Sierra Club, other penalties against the head of the Ohio EPA,” said the 6th Circuit. In plaintiffs, and the U.S. EPA, which addition, the 6th Circuit again 6 & QA Import/export TSCA requirements Q: We are trying to understand the complexities of TSCA. Can you help us understand the import/export requirements of this law? A: TSCA applies to manufacturers, importers, and processors of chemical substances. TSCA covers any new or existing commercial chemical substances and mixtures. More than 83,000 existing chemicals are listed in EPA’s TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory (TSCA Inventory). The TSCA Inventory consists of substances originally reported under TSCA regulations (40 CFR 710) and substances added as a result of PMN filings. TSCA requires that the EPA be notified at least 90 days before the manufacture or import of a new chemical substance for commercial purposes. For the purposes of TSCA, a new chemical substance is one that is not listed in the Master File of the TSCA Inventory. These new substances trigger the law’s PMN requirements, along with other TSCA mandates. The EPA also has authority under TSCA to regulate the import and export of specific chemical substances and mixtures that pose an “imminent hazard,” such as asbestos and PCBs. There is a topic on www.enviro.blr.com devoted to TSCA, and there is a section in the TSCA analysis that discusses additional Import and Export Notification requirements, including import certification and export notice requirements. 15864/ae Editor’s note: These questions are from the EPA documents or BLR® subscribers. Do you have a question or comment concerning a particular regulation we could answer in this newsletter? Contact Ana Ellington by phone at 800727-5257, Ext. 2169; fax at 860-5107224; or e-mail at [email protected]. referred to Bennett, in which the Supreme Court stated that it was aware of no precedent in which a violation was interpreted in a way to apply to those who administer, as opposed to those who are regulated by, a substantive law. 15869/wcs/cc © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369) ExpertTips Reduce waste at work The U.S. EPA compiled a list of ideas that businesses have used for reducing waste. Here are some that can be adapted for reducing waste at your facility or office. Writing/printing paper • Establish a companywide double-sided copy• • • • • • • • • • • ing policy, and be sure future copiers purchased by your company have double-sided capability. Reuse envelopes or use two-way (send-’nreturn) envelopes. Keep mailing lists current to avoid duplication. Make scratch pads from used paper. Circulate (rather than copy) memos, documents, periodicals, and reports. Use outdated letterhead for in-house memos. Put company bulletins on voice or electronic mail or post on a central bulletin board. Save documents on hard drives or CDs instead of making paper copies. Use central files to reduce the number of hard copies your company retains. Proof documents on the computer screen before printing. Eliminate unnecessary reports. Donate old magazines and journals to hospitals, clinics, or libraries. Equipment • Rent equipment that is used only occasionally. • Reuse worn out tires for landscaping, • • • • • • • swings, etc. Purchase remanufactured office equipment. Establish a regular maintenance routine to prolong the life of such equipment as copiers, computers, and heavy tools. Use rechargeable batteries where practical. Install reusable furnace and air-conditioner filters. Reclaim usable parts from old equipment. Recharge fax and printer cartridges or return them to the supplier for remanufacture. Sell or give old furniture and equipment to other businesses, local charitable organizations, or employees. INFO: Contact Ana Ellington at 800-727-5257, Ext. 2169. 15861/ae © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369) Enforcement Alert Workers must understand training Requirements for employers to train employees exist throughout U.S. OSHA standards. However, some employers and, apparently, some OSHA inspectors, are not aware that training must be conducted in a manner that the employee can understand. !!! OSHA’s general policy is that if an employee receives job instructions in a language other than English, training and information must also be conveyed in that language. Similarly, if employees are not literate, telling them to read training materials will not satisfy the employer’s training obligation. OSHA adds that its training provisions contain a variety of specific requirements to ensure that employees are comprehending instruction. For example, standards covering LO/TO, respiratory protection, and bloodborne pathogens each require that employers take measures to ascertain the level to which the employee has comprehended the safety provisions. In its instructions to inspectors, OSHA states, “If a reasonable person would conclude that the employer had not conveyed the training to its employees in a manner they were capable of understanding, then the violation may be cited as serious.” 15857/ae RULE CHANGES Emissions flexibility for emergency vehicles To ensure the needed level of performance by emergency response vehicles, the EPA has issued a direct final rule that authorizes manufacturers of engines for these vehicles to install devices that allow vehicle operators to decrease the effectiveness of air pollution control equipment so that vehicle performance will not be compromised during an emergency. “Emergency vehicles” are defined in the rule as ambulances or fire trucks. The rule amends EPA’s regulations for heavy-duty diesel engines, which set limits on NOx and PM in vehicle exhaust. To meet the PM standard, manufacturers install diesel particulate filters (DPFs) into their engines. DPFs capture and combust nonmetallic PM in a process called regeneration. But the Agency has been informed by emergency response entities that engine features intended to ensure the proper use and maintenance were limiting the performance of emergency vehicles to such an extent that an indirect risk to public health and safety was occurring. For example, several fire chiefs informed the Agency that when computers in fire trucks directed the engine to regenerate the DPF, power was diverted from the capacity of the truck to pump water to extinguish a fire. EPA’s direct final rule revising required for heavy-duty emergency vehicles was published in the June 8, 2012, FR. 15862/ws/ae 7 Enforcement Pitfalls of Noncompliance You can avoid violations like these by knowing how to comply with federal and state environmental laws. Food distributor releases chemical Pesticide maker violates FIFRA Large food distributor New Hampshire Pesticide distributor Missouri EPA Region 1 Risk management violation: According to the EPA, the facility had an inadequate risk management plan that lacked clear procedures to aid emergency responders when they arrived at the scene, leading to a delay in shutting down the system. $ Penalty: $126,700 fine No sweet penalty Sugar company Maryland EPA Region 3 Penalty: $200,000 fine EPA Region 5 OSHA violations: According to OSHA, a 19-year-old had just finished locating an existing waterline in the trench using a handheld shovel when a sidewall caved in, killing him. Another worker in the 6-foot-deep trench was not injured. $ $ Penalty: $102,000 fine Natural gas producer Utah EPA Region 8 CAA violations: According to the EPA, in violation of the CAA, the producer failed to control hazardous air pollutant emissions from its plant and failed to implement a program for leak detection and repair. $ Penalty: $20,000 fine Companies violate cesspool ban Pump contractor cites in trench fatality Pump contractor Illinois FIFRA violations: According to the EPA, inspections of the distributor’s facility found that the company had received 16 imported shipments of Azoxystrobin Technical, a fungicide, whose bags were not labeled with an accepted EPA label. Gas producer violates CAA CAA violations: According to the EPA, the sugar refinery violated its Title V operating permit requirements related to permit conditions that restricted the operation of boilers that are not equipped with postcombustion control devices to limit emissions of SO2, NOx, or particulate matter. $ EPA Region 7 Penalty: $137,000 fine Three companies Hawaii EPA Region 9 CWA violations: According to the EPA, the companies allegedly failed to close their large-capacity cesspools on the Big Island. Large-capacity cesspools are used by restaurants, hotels, office complexes, and multiple dwellings, such as duplexes, apartments, and condominiums, to dispose of their sanitary waste. $ Penalty: $141,200 fine Poor fracking practices Property manager violates lead rules Natural gas and oil driller Oklahoma Property management company Oregon EPA Region 6 CWA violations: According to the EPA, a tank leaked an estimated 400 to 700 gallons of hydrochloric acid onto the earthen pad surface of the well site. The earthen pad was also flooded with water from recent heavy rainfall. In order to remove the rainwater from the well site, the crew supervisor drove a pickup truck through an earthen berm, causing the rainwater contaminated with hydrochloric acid to flow off the well pad and down into Dry Creek. $ EPA Region 10 Lead disclosure violations: According to the EPA and HUD inspectors, from 2007 to 2010, the property management firm leased 35 units and failed to produce records showing they notified tenants about the potential presence of lead paint and lead-based paint hazards, as required by the Lead Disclosure Rule. $ Penalty: $10,000 fine Penalty: $140,000 fine Answer to quiz: a 8 © 2012 BLR®—Business & Legal Resources (MT 369)
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