Archive: February 20, 2020

For Immediate Release: February 19, 2020
Media Contact:   Alejandro Diaz, 808-541-2711, [email protected]

EPA Awards Grants to UC Berkeley and Riverside Student Teams for Innovative Technology Projects 

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced approximately $447,000 in grant funding for 18 teams of undergraduate and graduate students across the country through its People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition Program. Grantees include student teams from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Riverside. Each team will receive a Phase I grant of up to $25,000 to develop their sustainable designs that will help solve important environmental and public health challenges.

“The innovative ideas that these P3 teams are bringing out of the classroom and into the real world will help solve some of our nation’s most pressing environmental challenges,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “From creating a simple at-home test for consumers to detect lead in tap water to designing a system to remove toxic chemicals from landfill gas, the fresh thinking behind these projects will result in tangible products that will help Americans for generations to come.”

“We celebrate these California students for their dedication to addressing complex environmental issues,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “The research funded will lead to more cost-effective drinking water treatments and construction materials.”

The teams will showcase their projects at EPA’s National Student Design Expo on June 29-30 at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Following the Expo, the P3 teams may compete for Phase II awards of up to $100,000 to further implement their designs.

The University of California, Berkeley, was awarded $25,000 to further develop a better arsenic removal technology for drinking water. Currently, an estimated 55,000 people in California depend on drinking water which is above federal drinking water limits for arsenic (10 parts per billion). This project seeks to create a cost-effective removal system that can treat water which is up to 25 times the limit, and at a capacity capable of operating within a municipal drinking water system.

Professor Ashok Gadgil of Environmental Engineering mentors the team of graduate students that won this award.  He says it is a pleasure to see his graduate students excited and thrilled to get support from EPA for their vision that will eventually benefit the drinking water quality of poor and marginalized rural communities in California and other parts of the US. 

The University of California, Riverside, was awarded $24,998 to develop construction material out of wheat straw. Wheat straw is often sent to landfills as a waste in the harvesting process. This project seeks to replace traditional gypsum-based drywall with a straw-based product that is more workable and has less environmental impact.

To learn more about the 2019 Phase I winners, visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/645/records_per_page/ALL

For more information on the P3 Program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/P3

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For Immediate Release: February 20, 2020

Media Contact: Alejandro Diaz, 808-541-2711, [email protected]

Note: Release was issued on February 20, Guam time

U.S. Navy upgrades Guam’s Apra Harbor wastewater treatment following 2011 agreement with EPA

GUAM – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the U.S. Navy has completed Phase I of significant upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and sewage collection system at Naval Base Guam. These updates were made following a 2011 Federal Facility Compliance Agreement (FFCA) between the EPA and the Navy.

“The upgrades at the Apra Harbor sewage treatment facilities are critical to protecting public health and water quality in Guam,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director Amy Miller. “This is a significant milestone in the Navy meeting their long-term commitments to improve their wastewater treatment plant and collection system.”

“The Navy is committed to sustainable environmental stewardship and compliance with all Federal law and local regulations,” said Naval Base Guam Commanding Officer Capt. Jeffrey Grimes. “Our Environmental Management System program allows us to achieve strategic compliance objectives with the ultimate goal of ensuring compliance, preventing pollution, and reducing risk while accomplishing our mission. We would like to thank the EPA for working with us to meet the FFCA requirements and we look forward to the completion of wastewater infrastructure upgrades which will significantly help to protect Guam’s fragile and unique environment.”

The EPA and Navy entered into the FFCA to address effluent violations at the treatment plant for solids, biological materials, and metals including aluminum, copper, nickel and zinc. The Navy agreed to upgrade its wastewater infrastructure to bring the facilities into full compliance with the Clean Water Act.  

The treatment system now has the capacity to treat six million gallons per day of wastewater generated at the Naval Base by residents, service members deployed to the area and their families, and the industrial support activities.

The Navy completed Phase I of the agreement which included upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant. The Navy also instituted a base-wide pollution prevention program to minimize the release of metals, oils, and other pollutants into the sewer system. To further reduce discharges of aluminum and copper, the Navy has modified the drinking water plant to curtail the loss of aluminum-based treatment chemicals and to prevent the leaching of copper from household piping.

The Navy continues to implement Phase II of the compliance agreement focusing on the replacement and rehabilitation of pipes, manholes, force mains, and pump stations along 30 miles of deteriorated sections of the sewage collection system.

To date, the upgrades have cost approximately $82 million and the Navy expects to spend another $46 million to complete the wastewater infrastructure projects. Completion of Phase II is expected by February 2021.

For more information see: https://www.epa.gov/region09/water/npdes/compliance.html#navy

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