Environmental Company Indicted For Discharging Plant Wastes Into Storm Drains The Richardson Brands Corp. of Florida was recently indicted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District in Albany, N.Y., on five felony counts of violating the Clean Water Act. The corporation operates a candy manufacturing plant in Canajoharie, N.Y. The indictment alleges that from October 1993 until June 1997, Richardson discharged a mixture of plant wastes from its North Plant in Canajoharie into storm drains which were then discharged into the Mohawk River. If convicted, Richardson faces fines up to $500,000 per count. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division with support from EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Lab Manager Charged With Fraudulent Environmental Sampling Criminal charges were filed recently in the Eastern District in Philadelphia, Pa., against Judy McCoy, Technical Manager and Acting Lab Director at Hess Environmental Laboratories Inc. McCoy was charged with felony offenses of making false statements to the Department of the Army, mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States government. McCoy allegedly conspired with others at Hess to provide customers, including a U.S. Army facility and Pennsylvania businesses, with fraudulent analysis of environmental sampling between June 1995 through February 1997. The analysis results were fraudulent due either to Hess' use of improper equipment or failure to conduct the analysis in accordance with EPA methods. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter A Bill To Help Small Businesses Comply With Regulations Coping with regulations was cited as one of the greatest challenges facing small business in 1996 according to a Dun and Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE: DNB) Responding to the need for help in dealing with federal regulatory agencies, a bipartisan group of fifteen Pennsylvania members of the U.S. House of Representatives have cosponsored a bill to provide small firms with easy access to common sense answers to their regulatory questions. Without creating a new federal program, House Bill 96, the Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act, takes advantage of the national network of nearly 1,000 Small Business Development Centers to provide small firms with information and confidential assessments on cost-effective compliance options for EPA, IRS and Department of Labor regulations. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Northeasterners Request Crack Down On Midwest Air Polluters Eight states from the Northeast asked the Clinton Administration to crack down on emissions from Midwestern power plants, claiming pollution transported from those areas makes it impossible for northeastern cities to consistently meet federal air quality standards. EPA has stated that it will direct the Midwestern states to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from power plant smokestacks to help deal with the pollution transport problems. "We're really on the same track," said Mary Nichols, assistant EPA administrator for air quality, referring to the petitions filed by the states. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania were the states that asked the agency to take action. "We're getting a significant amount of pollution from the Midwest because they're not complying with the Clean Air Act," said Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci(R). Connecticut Gov. John Rowland (R) stated that the coal burning plants of the Midwest "pollute, and our citizens and our children breathe it. We want this to stop." From the Daily Regulatory Reporter What EPA Inspectors Should Not Tell You EPA inspectors should generally decline providing companies with sophisticated technical advice during enforcement inspections, according to a new report that delineates the role of inspectors in compliance assistance. The report lists various options the inspectors can pursue including sharing information on various compliance practices to providing technical assistance on recognized industry control practices. The report entitled "Role of the EPA Inspector in Providing Compliance Assistance" breaks down compliance assistance activities into three tiers and states that inspectors should shy away from providing assistance for activities in the Tier III category. Tier III includes activities such as "providing interpretations of the finer points of regulatory requirements, providing unwritten policy interpretations and providing detailed design information on a facility's particular problem." An EPA official said the report was based on "common sense" and that not much of the information in the report should surprise the regulated community or agency inspectors. The report's conclusions are based on the recognition that the EPA inspectors "are not consulting engineers," according to the source. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an Inside E.P.A.Weekly Report Clinton Bans Smoking In Federal Buildings, Holds Off on Doorways Edict President Clinton banned smoking in all Federal buildings, but an earlier proposal that would ban smoking from within fifty feet of government buildings was not included in the restriction. President Clinton chose to give that discretion to agency directors. The order does not apply to Congressional or court buildings. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on reports in the New York Times and the Washington Times A Commentary On Recycling Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, highlights a new study from the Reason Foundation "Packaging, Recycling, and Solid Waste" that concludes that recycling "all too often wastes resources." Bandow discusses the various aspects of recycling, and how they economically and environmentally do not make sense. "If people want to worship the Earth by recycling, they are certainly free to do so. But the government shouldn't dragoon skeptics into the same wasteful ceremonies. It is time for an environmental reformation, in which lawmakers change public policy to reflect the wastefulness of recycling." From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on a commentary in the Washington Times Black Market Exterminators Cost Taxpayers Money And Health The business belonging to exterminator Paul Wells Sr. was shut down last year when it was discovered he was illegally using methyl parathion, a neurotoxin so potent that it is sometimes used in suicides in Europe. Wells and his business associate Dock Eatman Jr., sprayed the pesticide into several homes, motel rooms, restaurants and even day-care centers. Today, nine-months after the pair was arrested, 1,213 Mississippians cannot return to their homes because of toxin contamination. Nearly 500 buildings are being stripped and rebuilt at taxpayers' expense. No one has died because of the spraying but several have reported flu-like symptoms. Twenty- two million dollars have been spent this year, more than half of the $40 million the EPA expects to spend this year on the cleanup. The case has raised new questions about the effectiveness of laws that control the distribution of farm chemicals. "It's unparalleled," said Hagan Thompson, a spokesman for the EPA's Region IV in Atlanta. "We've never seen a case of this magnitude, affecting so many people and costing so much money." Nationwide the cost of cleaning up sites where illegal pesticides were sprayed could cost taxpayers $100 million. The cleanup problems are amplified by questions of cost and the opportunism of some homeowners, who try to get free upgrades. "Some people sprayed the stuff in their own houses, and now they're trying to collect," said Fernando Mann, a Moss Point man who watched construction crews work on a neighbor's contaminated house. "Those two [Walls and Eatman] weren't the only ones doing it, just the only ones who got caught." Methyl parathion is used primarily by farmers and is safe when used outdoors because sunlight breaks it down into harmless compounds after several days. Indoors the chemical can remain toxic for months, even years. Since November, federal authorities have mounted an aggressive campaign to catch and prosecute black market exterminators. Six have been arrested and five have been convicted. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on a report in the Washington Post In September 18 Broadcast, EPA Will Explain Med Waste Incinerator Regulations The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will air a satellite broadcast on September 18, 1997, to review and explain the new standards and guidelines on hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerators. The regulations, which were signed Friday, August 15, by EPA Administrator Carol Browner, are the first federal standards designed to reduce air pollution caused by medical waste incineration and are expected to significantly impact medical waste disposal practices in the United States. According to EPA scientists, the new regulations will reduce dioxin emissions from medical waste incineration by as much as 95%. EPA also expects considerable decreases in emissions of mercury, particulate matter and hydrogen chloride. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Greenpeace Funds Frozen in Drilling Dispute British Petroleum is suing Greenpeace for disrupting drilling operations off the coast of Scotland. A British court froze a Greenpeace bank account while the court decides if the environmental group should pay a $2 million settlement. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on a report in the Wall Street Journal Effort For Moratorium On Costly Air Quality Standards Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) recently announced support for a bi-partisan bill that would place a four year moratorium on the costly new standards for particulate matter and ozone designed by the Environmental Protection Agency and recently approved by the White House. The final EPA rule for these new air quality standards was published in the federal register. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on a report from the PRNewswire Calculating the Costs of Federal Regulations Sen. Fred Thompson (R.-TN) and Sen. Carl Levin (D.-MI) have introduced legislation, the Regulatory Improvement Act of 1997, that would require agencies to calculate the costs of major regulations. Environmental organizations, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, argue that this rule would undermine regulations to protect health and the environment. Industry, on the other hand, criticize the bill for being too weak. "The bill is so weak, it's probably not worth passing," said the president of the American Petroleum Institute, Charles di Bona. The bill seeks to formalize the consideration of the costs of regulations, something that has been encouraged by "every President since Gerald R. Ford." Some of the most potentially costly legislation, such as the Clean Air Act, however, specifically prohibits the consideration of costs. Under the proposed bill, regulations would have to be evaluated for costs and benefits by independent experts. Agencies would have to explain why they were choosing one alternative over another and who exactly would be at risk if no regulations were implemented. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on a report in the New York Times Underground-Tank Enforcement Sweep—1998 Deadline Remains U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 said an enforcement sweep of underground-storage-tank facilities in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan and on Tribal lands has netted valuable information about compliance with the stricter 1998 underground-storage- tank standards, which may require upgrading or closure. "We found that about two-thirds of the underground storage tank facilities inspected have not yet been upgraded or closed," said Willie Harris, chief of the regional Program Management Branch. He said EPA has no intention to extend the December 1998 deadline, and will enforce tank upgrade requirements. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Revised Storm Water Permit For Construction Sites EPA will reissue, with proposed changes, its general storm water permit for construction sites. The l987 amendments to the Clean Water Act require EPA to control storm water discharges; EPA issued final rules for major dischargers in 1990. In September l992, EPA began requiring storm water permits for construction sites disturbing five or more acres. The five-year general permit is due to expire in September l997. Proposed revisions to the permit involve improvements in clarity and certain new requirements. The most significant proposed requirements include expanded conditions to protect endangered and threatened species and new conditions to protect historic properties. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter EPA Seeks Comments On Superfund Liability Proposal EPA is seeking comment on a "Municipal Solid Waste Settlement Proposal" designed to promote fairness, consistency and efficiency in Superfund settlements with municipalities and municipal solid waste generators and transporters at sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). The proposal has two principal policy purposes. First, it is designed to address the liability of parties whose only contribution to a Superfund site was household trash or similar wastes, and whom EPA believes should not be drawn into the Superfund liability net. Although EPA has not historically pursued these types of parties, other responsible parties have brought them into Superfund litigation through contribution actions. The second goal is to provide a fair and efficient mechanism to deal with the liability of municipalities who owned or operated landfills as part of their obligation to provide basic waste disposal services to their citizens. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Man Sentenced, Fined $10,050 For Dumping Asbestos Dennis Anderson of Cleveland, Ohio, was recently sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home detention and three years supervised release and ordered to pay a $10,050 fine in U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Anderson pleaded guilty to one felony count of unlawfully disposing of asbestos in violation of the Clean Air Act, after hiring workers to remove asbestos insulation from the former McGuffy school in Cleveland and dispose of the waste at an abandoned house in a low-income community in Cleveland. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the Cleveland Air Pollution Control Authority with the assistance of EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Corporation President And Employees Indicted For Water Violations CH2O Inc. of Olympia, Wash., the company's founder and ex-president Thomas E. Iverson and the former plant manager James Vincent Bucco, were recently indicted in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle. They were indicted on one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act (CWA) and four counts of violating the CWA by illegally discharging chemicals into a sewer. Jeffrey M. Wilsie, CH2O's plant manager, was charged with a CWA misdemeanor violation and Ronald T. Mickelson, the company's production foreman, was charged with a CWA felony violation. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Tighter Nitrous Oxide Standards For Utility And Industrial Boilers EPA Administrator Carol Browner recently signed a proposed rule tightening NOx emission standards for new and refurbished utility and industrial boilers. Under the proposed rule there would no longer be different emissions limits for different types of boilers. Facilities burning coal, oil and natural gas would all be required to meet the same standard. This change in the existing standard for new sources has drawn praise from some industry groups and criticism from others. Bruce Craig, of the Natural Gas Supply Association, says that the new standards would level the playing field among industries. "Gas has not been able to compete for utility business on the basis of what should have been one of its most competitive attributes; its low-polluting, high efficiency qualities," Craig said. However, Craig Harrison, of the Utility Air Regulatory Group, says that the proposal will create "the exact opposite of a level playing field." Harrison says that the new standards would essentially require the use of expensive selective catalytic reduction technology. EPA estimates that there will be 17 new utility boilers and 381 industrial boilers built in the US in the next five years. There is expected to be a decrease in NOx emissions of 42 percent as a result of the proposed standards for these new facilities. EPA estimates the yearly compliance cost of the proposal to be $40 million by the year 2001. These cost estimates break down to an increase of .05 cents to .08 cents per kilowatt hour for gas-burning boilers and .07 cents to .10 cents per kilowatt hour for oil-burning boilers. There would be an increase of .21 cents to .33 cents per kilowatt hour for coal-fired boilers. The standard will apply to retrofits as well as newly-constructed boilers. The proposed rule limits NOx emissions based on a boiler's output, rather than input. This change provides an incentive for facilities to operate as efficiently as possible. EPA said that "energy outputs are relatively easy to measure accurately, and currently are measured routinely in power plants." From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in the Daily Environment Report Unions Demand Federal Action On 'Sick Buildings' Protesters from four federal employee unions gathered outside EPA headquarters recently and demanded new federal guidelines on "sick building syndrome". The protesters distributed a list of 30 federal buildings in the US where workers have reported illnesses caused by poor indoor air quality. Union officials say there are a growing number of workers suffering from symptoms such as headaches, eye and skin irritation, sinus problems, nausea, coughing and respiratory problems. Some doctors feel these ailments could lead to multiple chemical sensitivity. Bill Hirzy, senior vice president of the National Federation of Federal Employees Local 2050, noted that about 100 employees at EPA Headquarters have reported illnesses in the last 10 years, after the agency installed new carpets and room partitions in 1987. Patricia Sims, a former EPA attorney, noticed that she began feeling dizzy, nauseated and she had trouble concentrating soon after she started working at the headquarters location. Her symptoms would disappear when she left the building. "It was all pretty vague and subtle," she said. "It was like continuously having the flu." Several union officials have said that EPA's response to complaints from its employees has been good. They would like to see the agency take a more active role in dealing with sick building syndrome though. EPA spokesperson Dave Ryan said the agency does not have the authority to regulate indoor air pollution. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has developed guidelines, he said. Ryan added that the agency has taken additional steps to deal with the problem at headquarters. All new carpeting is now aired out and EPA has made improvements to its air conditioning system. They have also reduced the number of employees at the location to 4,000 down from 5,500 in 1989. According to the World Health Organization up to 30% of remodeled offices are believed to cause health problems. Workers in air tight, energy efficient offices built in the 1970's are most likely to suffer some symptoms. Medical researchers are not certain whether prolonged exposure to contaminates in buildings will lead to multiple chemical sensitivity. "People who have become ill in a specific building setting may tend to react very differently to odors and stimuli in other settings," said James Keogh, director of the University of Maryland's Occupational Health Project. "In general, people feel lousy in the building and feel enormously better when they go outside." From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in the Washington Post Company Cited, Pays $140,350 For Hazardous Waste Violations U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 has recently cited Envirosafe Services of Ohio, Inc., for hazardous-waste violations at its Oregon, OH, commercial hazardous waste landfill. The civil administrative complaint proposes a penalty of $140,350 and alleges that Envirosafe committed multiple violations of EPA regulations at its treatment, storage, and disposal facility, 836 Otter Creek Rd. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Republicans Now Supporting Environmental Issues? Many Republicans who were last year trying to weaken environmental laws have changed their stance and are now working on environmental efforts. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, New York Governor George Pataki and Senator Alfonse D'Amato(NY) are a few examples of Republicans backing environmental issues recently. While the Republicans seemed to have changed on the issue, Democrats seem unsure about where the party stands. President Clinton announced his support for tighter clean air standards, but later ignored calls to come up with specific targets for reducing greenhouse gases. Some Democrats that were once considered allies by environmental groups are now being criticized by these groups. Nearly 80 Democrats in the House recently urged President Clinton not to support the EPA's proposal to tighten air quality standards. The Republican change of attitude is driven by electoral politics. Many polls have shown that voters think the Republicans do not care about the environment. "The environment is potentially the sleeper issue going into the next millennium," said Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, a Republican pollster. She has advised Gingrich and Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) to tone down their anti- environment rhetoric. Many Republicans are aware of a 1996 election poll done by Linda DiVall. Twenty-four percent of those polled responded that the Republican's stance on the environment was their greatest concern about having a Republican controlled Congress. "It's pretty clear that the environmental ballot box lessons of 1996 were learned by some Republicans better than by some Democrats," said Michael Casey, a spokesman for the Environmental Information Center and a former Democratic Party official. Many environmentalists are suspicious of the Republican's repositioning on the issue and feel the party may be taking their anti-environment views underground. Some Republicans continue to try to weaken acts like the Endangered Species Act. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) complained that his party has been unfairly judged. "Don't judge us by the harsh rhetoric of a few people spouting off with ridiculous exaggerated statements." Environmentalists speculate that Democrats have wavered on the issue because they feel the environmental community would never defect to the Republican party. Since Republicans have backed off on the fight to weaken environmental regulations, Democrats have not had a clear issue to fight against them. The response from the White House has not helped them. "The White House has been more muffled, so it's been confusing for the Democrats," said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. In 1996, Democrats were not helped as much as Republicans were hurt by environmental issues. "Voter's don't give you as much credit for being good as they give you demerits for being bad," Lake said. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in The New York Times No Increased Cancer Risk for Children Living Near Power Lines A major study done by the National Cancer Institute has found that children living near high-voltage power lines do not have a greater risk of developing cancer than other children. The eight-year, $5 million study, involved 1,250 subjects in nine states making it the largest study on the carcinogenicity of electrical and magnetic fields (EMFs). The study was published in "The New England Journal of Medicine". Jerry Williams, director of the radiobiology lab at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center said the study was "the best, strongest study so far". But epidemiologist David Savitz of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said the study, while "an important addition" still "shares uncertainties" of many of the prior attempts to estimate a person's past exposure to EMFs. "I wish I could say they've succeeded completely," he said. "This may be as close as we come for a while to a major new effort." Since the 1979 study in Denver that found links between EMF exposure there have been dozens of research efforts to confirm the findings. The results of these studies have been "conflicting and at times confusing," said Robert Hoover, director of NCI's epidemiology and biostatistics program. For the NCI study, researchers identified 638 children aged 15 or younger with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL). They compared these children to 620 controls. Technicians measured the magnetic fields in one or more homes in which the child had spent most of his or her life. Measurements were taken in various locations in the residence. Technicians also evaluated the subject home's proximity to lines of different wiring configurations, and rated the home on "wire code" scales used in previous studies. After studying the data, the researchers concluded that wire codes were not correlated with incidence of ALL. "Unequivocally, there's nothing there," said NCI researcher Martha Linet. The researchers also could not find a statistically significant link between leukemia and direct field measurements. An editorial accompanying the research in the New England Journals calls for an end to power-line cancer research stating that it has "produced considerable paranoia, but little insight and no prevention. It is time to stop wasting our research resources," wrote journal editor Edward Champion. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in the Washington Post City To Pay $1.5 Million For Past Landfill Cleanup Costs U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 has recently lodged a consent decree resolving the City of Stoughton, WI, liability for cleanup costs at the city landfill. The decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, is an agreement among the U.S. Government (EPA), State of Wisconsin (Dept. of Natural Resources), and City of Stoughton. Under terms of the agreement, Stoughton must pay the U.S. Government and the State a total of $1.5 million ($750,000 each) for past cleanup costs at the site, dating from 1991. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter Philips' Low Mercury Lamp, The Competition, And EPA The Philips Lighting Company is urging the EPA not to take spent fluorescent light bulbs off its list of most-hazardous substances. Philips has created a new line of fluorescent lamp, the Alto, that is currently the only one in the industry to pass EPA's tests for mercury. Users of the Alto could dispose of spent bulbs simply by throwing them away, while users of competitors' brands would still have to arrange for special hazardous waste disposal. Philips' competitors, General Electric and Osram Sylvania, Inc., support a delisting of the bulbs from EPA. Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which can contaminate ground water when disposed of in landfills. Two years ago, Philips' Alto became the first product of its kind to pass EPA's Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure test, or T-Clip, for mercury leaching. Users of the Alto will not have to hire licensed hazardous waste handlers to dispose of their bulbs, a service which costs about $1 per bulb. This gives Philips a marketing advantage in supplying the 550 million fluorescent bulbs used by industry each year. Philips wants the bulbs to be covered under EPA's universal waste rule. This would ease the requirements for record-keeping by Philips' consumers, but would still require special handling. GE and Sylvania want EPA to pass a condition exclusion rule for all fluorescent bulbs, which would allow them to be disposed of in regular landfills. To try to convince EPA and Congress to keep the hazardous waste status of fluorescent bulbs, Philips held a press conference in Washington to announce that it will share its low-mercury technology with its competitors. Philips is hoping the media event will shed enough light on the disposal issue to increase public support for its position. An EPA representative said the technology-sharing issue will soon be a mute point, because mercury levels in all fluorescent bulbs have been declining over the last decade, anyway. "A lot of the newer lamps would pass the T-Clip, because everyone is reducing the amount of mercury that leaches out," said the representative. From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in The New York Times Corporate Immunity For Voluntary Environmental Audits Both the Senate and the House have introduced bills that seek to protect companies from stiff penalties when they conduct voluntary audits of their compliance with federal environmental laws. The Clinton administration strongly opposes the bills. The proposed bills (S 866 and HR 1884) are similar but not identical. They would both partially protect companies from federal civil penalties if they promptly fix any problems found in the audit. They would also give companies' reporting compliance efforts to EPA limited immunity from use of that information in judicial or administrative enforcement proceedings. The Senate bill is cosponsored by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison(R-TX) and Trent Lott(R-MS) and the House bill is sponsored by Rep. Joel Hefley(R-CO). In introducing the Environmental Protection Partnership Act, Hutchison said, "we are not going to come in and threaten you with the hammer of the EPA if you, in fact, move swiftly to come into compliance when you find that you are not in compliance. We need to be preventing pollution, rather than always reacting to environmental problems after they occur." Lott criticized the EPA for using "an adversarial approach" toward immunity laws. At a June 10 hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Steve Herman, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said that although EPA is pursuing its policy of flexibility with the states on enforcement issues, "EPA still expects states to hold violators in their jurisdictions accountable by maintaining and utilizing an adequate enforcement program." From the Daily Regulatory Reporter, based on an article in the Daily Environment Report Copyright © 1997-1999 The Source Line Inc. All Rights Reserved Please send any questions or comments to webmaster@sourcelineny.com