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P2 News Items
Deca-bromine to be phased out (02/03/2010)
The controversial fire retardant used on some plastic pallets has been dealt a double blow. Two separate nationwide actions that aim to stop the use of deca-bromine (deca or DecaBDE) by the end of 2013 have arisen. In December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the two largest U.S. producers and the largest U.S. importer of deca-bromine had reached a voluntary agreement with the EPA to phase out the production, importation and sales of the chemical in the United States. The chemical will be phased out for most uses by the end of 2012 and entirely by the end of 2013.
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PA: Pennsylvania DEP highlights benefits of mercury-free thermostat law (02/03/2010)
YORK, Pa., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvanians are at lower risk of exposure to mercury as a result of the Mercury Free Thermostat Act, which took effect on Dec. 8. The law bans the sale, installation and disposal of mercury-containing thermostats and requires contractors and homeowners to recycle out-of-service thermostats.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that affects the brain and nervous system, especially in pregnant women, women of child-bearing years, and children. Mercury accumulates in the environment and can remain active for thousands of years.
"Mercury thermostats were a staple of the heating and cooling industry for decades. Millions of homes and businesses used them and continue to use them safely," said Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary for Waste, Air and Radiation Protection Kenneth Reisinger. "But when out-of-service mercury thermostats are broken, disposed of in landfills or incinerated, the mercury can contaminate the air, surface water and ground water and threaten human health and the safety of the environment.
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MA: Patrick-Murray Administration announces final approval of Nation-Leading Energy Efficiency Plans (02/03/2010)
BOSTON - Heralding a new era in energy efficiency across Massachusetts, the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has given final approval to plans committing the state's investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to a three-year agenda of innovative, customer-focused programs that will deliver unprecedented savings for consumers, the economy and the environment, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles announced today.
"These plans provide a roadmap toward a clean energy future that includes more local jobs in the efficiency sector, a cleaner environment thanks to fewer power plant emissions, and lower electric and natural gas bills for consumers residing in more energy efficient, comfortable homes," Governor Deval Patrick said.
The Green Communities Act signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008 required the state's investor-owned electric and gas utilities (and the Cape Light Compact, which operates efficiency programs on Cape Cod) to prepare energy efficiency plans that secure for their customers all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that cost less than new energy supply. Following an exhaustive process led by EEA's Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council created by the Act unanimously approved the electric and natural gas utilities' three-year efficiency plans last fall, and the utilities filed them with the DPU on October 30, 2009.
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CT: Twelve Connecticut Marinas and Yacht Yards Receive Recognition as "Connecticut Clean Marinas" (02/02/2010)
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today recognized twelve marine facilities, including nine more of the of the Brewer family of Marinas, Yacht Yards and Shipyards in Connecticut, as recreational boating facilities to be certified as "Connecticut Clean Marinas."
At a ceremony at the Connecticut Marine Trades Association (CMTA) Hartford Boat Show, the Clean Marina certification was presented to nine Brewer group recreational boating facilities in Connecticut and to Spicer's Marina in Noank, Reynolds Garage and Marine in Lyme, and Mystic Shipyard East in Mystic. DEP's Clean Marina designation acknowledges the efforts of marinas and other boating facilities to go beyond regulatory compliance and participate in voluntary measures to keep Connecticut waters clean. With the addition of the twelve facilities today, there are now twenty-seven Clean Marinas in Connecticut.
Governor Rell said, "Connecticut's Clean Marina program serves as an outstanding example of responsible use of our natural resources for recreational purposes. I commend the marina and shipyard owners and their excellent teams of marine facility managers for making commitments to go beyond regulatory compliance and participate in voluntary measures to keep Connecticut waters clean. Their efforts serve as models for other marinas, not only in Connecticut, but throughout all of New England."
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ME: Hearing on Maine mercury cleanup under way (01/26/2010)
AUGUSTA, Maine -- A two-week hearing aimed at determining the appropriate cleanup option for the former HoltraChem Manufacturing site on Maine's Penobscot River is under way.
The Board of Environmental Protection will decide the best way to protect the public from mercury and other toxic chemicals buried in five hazardous waste landfills on the site in Orrington.
The factory's former owner, Mallinckrodt LLC, is at odds with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection over the extent of cleanup that's needed on the 235-acre site.
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EPA Increases Transparency on Chemical Risk Information: Action part of continued comprehensive reform of toxic substance laws (01/25/2010)
WASHINGTON -- As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson's commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a new policy to increase the public's access to information on chemicals. Starting today, EPA has announced its intention to reject a certain type of confidentiality claim, known as Confidential Business Information (CBI), on the identity of chemicals. The chemicals that will be affected by this action are those that are submitted to EPA with studies that show a substantial risk to people's health and the environment and have been previously disclosed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Inventory. This action represents another step to use the agency's authority under the existing TSCA to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA's strong belief that the 1976 law is both outdated and in need of reform.
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Funding: Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program (01/14/2010)
This Request for Proposals announces that EPA's Regional Pollution Prevention Program Offices (herein referred to as the Regions) anticipate having up to $130,000 per region to issue Source Reduction Assistance (SRA) awards in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 to support pollution prevention/source reduction and/or resource conservation projects in FY 2011.1 The Regions will issue the awards in the form of grants and/or cooperative agreements. Award selection, funding and grant oversight will be managed by the Regions.
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