Environmental Field Technician - Job Opportunity in Columbus, Ohio

Cox-Colvin & Associates is seeking an entry level environmental field technician in our Columbus, Ohio office for field data collection activities, operation and maintenance of remediation systems, and detailed documentation of field activities. Position requires strict adherence to Health and Safety procedures and attention to detail. Position involves working outdoors, long work days (10 hours typical in the field), walking, and heavy lifting. Travel to out-of-town locations as much as 90% of the time; overnight stays required depending on distance to job site. Looking for a self-motivated individual who possesses good hands-on mechanical and electrical skills and is willing to learn. Click here to learn more about this position, or to apply.

Determining When a Hazardous Waste Container is Closed

The regulations in 40 CFR 265, subpart I require, among other things, that "a container holding hazardous waste must always be closed during storage, except when it is necessary to add or remove waste." For many years, the regulated hazardous waste community has expressed some confusion over the application of the "closed container". Consequently, EPA recently has provided guidance on the federal RCRA hazardous waste regulations regarding the meaning of "closed containers." The guidance is in the form of a memorandum from Robert Dellinger to RCRA Division Directors, and is titled "Guidance on 40 CFR 264.173(a) and 265.173(a): Closed Containers."

New Ohio EPA Guidance for Solid Waste "Rule 13"

The Ohio EPA Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management (DSIWM) has created a new guidance document regarding development on or adjacent to a closed landfill facility. The primary authorization required from Ohio EPA to proceed with construction on, and in some cases adjacent to, a closed landfill is prescribed by ORC 3734.02(H) and OAC 3745-27-13. "Rule 13", as it's known, establishes the procedure for obtaining authorization from the director to fill, grade, excavate, build, drill, or mine on land where a hazardous waste or solid waste facility was operated. The new guidance focuses on development activities and supplements 2005 guidance on implementation of "Rule 13".

Ohio EPA to Publish Second Draft of Multi-Program Groundwater Monitoring Rules

In August 2006, Ohio EPA published draft Ground Water Rules that are intended to be codified under Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3745-506. Ohio EPA intends to replace the existing groundwater monitoring programs for individual landfill types (i.e., municipal, industrial, and construction & demolition debris [newly regulated]) and bring their monitoring programs together under one unified set of rules (multi-program groundwater rules). After four years of struggling through various iterations and numerous comments from the regulated community, Ohio EPA is set to once again issue draft rules. Click Here to read more.

Paradox Relational Database Turns 25!

In 1985, the Ansa Software Company (Richard Schwartz and Robert Shostak) introduced Paradox for DOS, the first relational database for the PC market. This database was ahead of the curve from day one, offering true relational database capabilities, query-by-example, and a fairly robust form generating and reporting interface. Later versions included the Paradox Application Language (PAL) that essentially allowed users to develop stand alone database applications using a rudimentary graphical user interface. PAL’s user interface was a forerunner of many of the programming environments in use today.

As MS-Windows took hold in the 1990s, Paradox (then owned by Borland Software) was the only pre-Windows database software to successfully negotiate the transition, partly because of its basic file structure. It was so well designed that databases developed in the late 1980s can still be read by the latest versions of Paradox. Despite the recent dominance of MS-Access in the PC market, Paradox (now owned by Corel) still maintains a world-wide presence, a strong user community, and a passionate following. There aren’t many software products today that can boast that they’ve survived a quarter century. I bought my first copy (Version 1.1) in 1986 and still use Paradox everyday. It’s still a great way to manage data.

As a side note, Paradox was introduced to the computing public on page 11 in the September 23, 1985 issue of InfoWorld. On the facing page of that issue was the announcement that Steve Jobs, looking not a day over 15, had resigned from Apple.

I we can help you develop or maintain your Paradox application, please drop us a line at info@coxcolvin.com, include Paradox in the subject,

International Conference: Green Remediation - Environment, Energy, Economics

On June 15-17, 2010 I attended the the International Conference on Green Remediation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The conference included a wide range of technical presentations which covered environmental, energy and economic aspects of green and sustainable remediation. Some of the presentation topics included energy requirements of treatment systems, air emissions, water use requirements and impacts on water resources, land and ecosystem use and impacts, energy use and renewables, material consumption, reuse, and waste generation. In addition to attending the presentations, I presented a poster during the conference poster session. The poster topic discussed the uncertainties and barriers associated with green and sustainable remediation encountered during a RCRA Corrective Action cleanup. Overall, the conference was very informative and provided a good indication of the current state of green and sustainable remediation from the perspective of government agencies, public and private sectors, and academia. Conference presentations and posters will be posted on-line by the end of this month. Manuscripts of proceedings will be posted on-line sometime toward the end of summer. It will be well worth your time to take a look at some of the presentations, posters, and manuscripts once they are posted on-line!

EPA Extends Comment Period on Plan for Stricter PCE and TCE Drinking Water Limits

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires EPA to conduct a periodic review of existing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations and to determine which, if any, need to be revised. The purpose of the review, known as the Six-Year Review, is to identify those and limits requiring revision to improve or strengthen public health protection. EPA published its detailed review on March 29 2010 (75 FR 15500, March 29, 2010) and believes that four compounds are candidates for regulatory revision including acrylamide, epichlorohydrin, and the ubiquitous groundwater contaminants tetrachloroethene (PCE), and trichloroethene (TCE). The review suggest that stricter limits may be required for the compounds. Lowering of the MCLs for PCE and TCE would not only affect public drinking water supplies, but would require significant changes in groundwater monitoring programs and, in some cases, would push monitoring programs into corrective measures. EPA established a 60 day comment period for the March publication. This most recent extension, announced in a June 1 Federal Register notice, provides an additional 30 days (until July 1, 2010) to provide comments.