EPA Re-Evaluates the Risk from Fluoride Exposure

There has long been a debate about the use of fluoride in drinking water, pitting those who strongly believe in the benefits of fluoride to dental hygiene against those who even believe that there is no safe exposure level for fluoride. Recent EPA risk analyses of fluoride in groundwater will likely result in lower drinking water standards for fluoride. While the major impacts of these efforts will likely be to drinking water fluoridation and the use of fluoride-based insecticides in agriculture, industries with environmental issues that include fluoride will also feel the backlash, resulting in greater investigation and remediation costs. Click here to Read More.

Will EPA Meet Its 2020 Goals for the RCRA Corrective Action Program?

EPA recently reported in its annual performance report for 2010 that remedy construction has been completed at 37 percent of the 3,746 facilities on the RCRA Corrective Action 2020 baseline. To meet the goal of the 2020 Initiative, EPA and authorized states need to have achieved remedy construction status at 95 percent of the baseline facilities by the year 2020. With only nine years to go, what are the chances of meeting this ambitious goal?
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Is Excavated Soil Considered Hazardous?

Through the use of the Area of Contamination (AOC) policy, soil contaminated with a listed waste or exhibiting a hazardous waste characteristic which is excavated during pipeline work or construction may not need to be managed as hazardous if the soil is kept within the immediate area and returned to the trench. Read More

EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program

On October 30, 2009, EPA released a final rule requiring the mandatory reporting of green house gas (GHG) emissions from suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial GHGs, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and various other applicable public and private sector facilities. Generally, applicable facilities and suppliers were required to begin collecting data and complying with the requirements of the GHG rule on January 1, 2010. Click here to read more.

Planning, Implementing, Maintaining, and Enforcing Institutional Controls

On November 30, 2010, EPA released for public comment its interim final guidance titled Institutional Controls: A Guide to Planning, Implementing, Maintaining, and Enforcing Institutional Controls at Contaminated Sites. Comments were accepted through January 14, 2011. The guidance document applies to CERCLA, Brownfield, federal facility, underground storage tank, and RCRA site cleanups. Click here to read more.

EPA Considers Establishing an Enforceable MCL for Hexavalent Chromium

Since 2008, EPA has been re-evaluating its 20-year old drinking water standard for total chromium with respect to the carcinogenicity of orally ingested hexavalent chromium (chromium-6), the more toxic species of the metal. EPA is being pressured about the findings of a draft assessment of chromium-6 by both industry (claiming overestimate of risk) and environmental groups (claiming underestimate of risk). Whatever the outcome of the argument, EPA is likely to establish a chromium-6 MCL that is significantly lower than the current total chromium standard. This will have major implications for sites investigating, monitoring, or remediating media impacted by chromium-6, as well as for our nation's municipal drinking water supply systems. Click Here to read more.

Ohio EPA Issues Latest Version of Draft 506 Rules (Multi-Program Groundwater Monitoring Rules)

Ohio EPA's first draft of the multi-program groundwater monitoring rules (OAC 3745-506), issued in 2006, was met with substantial comment from stakeholders and interested parties. On January 3, 2011, Ohio EPA issued their revised draft 506 Rules. Other draft rules issued recently by Ohio EPA appear to indicate that they intend to fast track implementation of the multi-program rules. Cox-Colvin is currently reviewing the draft language and will be providing periodic updates as we approach the April 1, 2011 comment deadline. Click Here to read more.