Archive: March 6, 2020

For Immediate Release: March 5, 2020
Media Contact: Alejandro Diaz, 808-541-2711, [email protected]

EPA completes Factory Street Lead Removal in Honolulu

HONOLULU – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is paving part of Factory Street as the last activity in the removal of lead-contaminated soil in the Kalihi-Palama neighborhood of Honolulu.

On January 20, work began to remove and dispose of soil and other project debris. EPA ensured that proper dust control measures were in place during the excavation and monitored and sampled the air to verify that the community was not impacted by our work.

High lead levels of up to 24,000 parts per million (ppm) were found under Factory Street. Removing the lead was the most protective action for the community, since no one is responsible for maintaining the private street. Beginning today, no parking is permitted on the paved portion of the street for the next two weeks, to allow the paved area to dry completely.

“EPA is working hard to reduce childhood exposure to lead in Hawai’i,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “The work completed today is an important step towards that goal.”

This project stems from the Hawai’i Department of Health’s April 2019 request for EPA to address high levels of lead in soil under a portion of Factory Street.

In older neighborhoods like Kalihi-Palama there are a number of ways that people may be exposed to lead. EPA has a strong partnership with the Hawai’i Department of Health and encourages residents to explore the great resources on their website; lead.hawaii.gov to learn more and protect themselves and their children from lead exposure.

For additional project information please visit: https://response.epa.gov/site/factorystreet

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

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NEW YORK (March 5, 2020) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awards $1,960,000 in grant funding to assist the New York State Office of Children and Family Services with identifying sources of lead in drinking water in schools or child care facilities.

“EPA has worked closely with New York and several local governments across the state to address lead in drinking water,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “One common issue faced by communities and states is limited resources, and this grant will help support their use of EPA’s Training Testing and Taking Action program to reduce kids’ exposure to lead in school or at daycare.”

Under EPA’s new Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program, EPA has awarded $43.7 million in grants to fund the implementation of testing for lead in drinking water. This funding is a resource that creates or expands programs to test for lead in drinking water at schools and child care programs in states and the District of Columbia. New York State Office of Children and Family Services will use the grant money to implement a program of voluntary testing for lead in drinking water at local schools and child care centers. Specifically, the recipient will utilize the EPA’s Training, Testing, and Taking Action program (3Ts) to test for lead in drinking water at state-licensed and registered child care facilities. New York intends to prioritize facilities located in low-income communities serving children ages 6 years and under and child care facilities that are not included in existing school-based lead testing programs. This includes communicating the results and important lead information to the community, parents and the public, training licensed/registered child care programs on the risks of lead in drinking water, testing all outlets used for consumption in child care facilities, taking action to develop a plan for responding to results of testing conducted and addressing potential elevated lead levels where necessary. EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools will be used by the grantee to assist schools in implementing lead in drinking water testing including identifying sources of lead such as fountains.

Background:

Under Administrator Wheeler’s leadership, EPA announced the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts with its federal partners in December 2018. Through this Action Plan, EPA is working to reduce lead exposures from multiple sources including paint, ambient air and soil and dust contamination. As part of this Action Plan, EPA proposed a rule in October 2019 that significantly improves the actions that water systems must take to reduce lead in the nation’s drinking water. This proposed rule represents the first major overhaul of the Lead and Copper Rule since 1991 and will better protect children in schools and child care facilities by requiring water systems to take drinking water samples from the schools and child care facilities served by the system.

The other significant actions the agency is taking to modernize aging water infrastructure and reduce exposure to lead include:

• Financing drinking water infrastructure improvement projects through EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. In 2019, 11 of the 38 selected projects will reduce lead or emerging drinking water contaminants.
• Working with states, tribes, and territories to award $87 million in funding through EPA’s two new drinking water grant programs established by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN)— the Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program and the Assistance for Small and Disadvantaged Communities grant program. EPA will announce funding details for WIIN’s third newly-created grant program dedicated to reducing lead in drinking water systems later this year.
• Providing more than $1 billion in 2019 in new federal grant funding for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) that can be used for loans that help drinking water systems improve distribution systems by removing lead service lines.

Learn more about this grant and EPA’s WIIN grant programs at https://www.epa.gov/safewater/grants

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2

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WASHINGTON (March 5, 2020) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking grant applications through the Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program from states, federally recognized tribes, universities, local governments, and other groups to support innovative solutions for source reduction or pollution prevention (P2) through research, education, training, or certain other methods. As the agency highlights chemical safety during the month of March, these grants support that goal by providing information, training, and tools to improve public health and the surrounding environment, reduce pollutants, and decrease resource use (e.g., water and energy).

“Commemorating the 50^th anniversary of EPA reminds us that one way to advance chemical safety is through supporting the development and implementation of original, practical solutions to reducing pollution,” said EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn. “The assistance provided through these grants supports EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment while helping American businesses improve environmental performance and reduce costs.”

EPA anticipates awarding individual grants in the range of $20,000-$200,000 for a two-year funding period (or between $10,000 – $100,000 per year), though award amounts may vary based on EPA region. EPA anticipates awarding 20 grants in total.

Grant applications should focus on at least one of the following P2 priority areas, also referred to as National Emphasis Areas (NEAs) that support several of the Agency’s Smart Sectors. Through these grants, technical assistance and projects should encourage businesses to identify, develop, and adopt P2 practices and reduce waste in the following sectors.   

• Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Processing (NEA #1)
• Chemical Manufacturing, Processing and Formulation (NEA #2)
• Automotive Manufacturing and Maintenance (NEA #3)
• Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing and Maintenance (NEA #4)
• Metal Manufacturing and Fabrication (NEA #5)

Proposals are due by April 30, 2020. Additional information is available on www.grants.gov, under Funding Opportunity Announcement EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-002.

Read more about the Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program.

Contact:  [email protected]

EPA Announces Award of $21 Million in Funding for State and Tribal Environmental Priorities

Funding to Delaware will support priorities of three state agencies

PHILADELPHIA (March 4, 2020) –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today the state of Delaware is among the nation’s states and Tribes to receive a portion of $21 million in Multipurpose Grants for addressing their environmental priorities.  Three Delaware state agencies will use EPA’s multipurpose grant funding to complement existing environmental protection efforts. 

“EPA recognizes the important role of states and local governments in protecting the health and future of our communities,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This funding enables partners like Delaware to carry out activities that address their environmental and public health priorities.”

EPA’s Multipurpose Grant (MPG) program for States and Tribes supports states, tribes and territories in addressing high-priority environmental issues. Recognizing that environmental challenges differ due to variations in geography, population density, and other factors, this program provides EPA’s co-regulator partners with the flexibility to target funds to their highest priority efforts to protect human health and the environment.  With this grant funding, states and tribes are supporting a range of projects, including: addressing contaminants such as PFAS and lead, streamlining permitting processes, performing inspections, updating air and water monitoring equipment, testing radon in schools, and conducting outreach and education in areas such as pesticides application and harmful algal blooms.

The Multipurpose Grants awarded to Delaware include:

• DE Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control:
  • $112,168 – The Department will use this funding to enhance its Division of Air Quality’s air monitoring network; to fund a new annual air quality forecasting contract; and to manage PCB pollution in the A-Street Ditch in Wilmington.
• DE Department of Health and Social Services:
  • $58,544 – The Department will use this funding for planning, development and implementation of a regulatory structure to address emerging contaminants, focusing initially on PFAS-related compounds.
• DE Department of Agriculture:
  • $53,219 – The Department will utilize this funding to provide cost assistance for nutrient management planning for agriculture acres in Delaware, which will reduce non-point source nutrient pollution including nitrogen and phosphorus.

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Contact:  [email protected]

EPA Announces Award of $21 Million in Funding for State and Tribal Environmental Priorities

Funding to Pennsylvania will support priorities of two state agencies

PHILADELPHIA (March 4, 2020) –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today the state of Pennsylvania is among the nation’s states and Tribes to receive a portion of $21 million in Multipurpose Grants for addressing their environmental priorities.  Two Pennsylvania state agencies will use EPA’s multipurpose grant funding to complement existing environmental protection efforts. 

“EPA recognizes the important role of states and local governments in protecting the health and future of our communities,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This funding enables partners like Pennsylvania to carry out activities that address their environmental and public health priorities.”

EPA’s Multipurpose Grant (MPG) program for States and Tribes supports states, tribes and territories in addressing high-priority environmental issues. Recognizing that environmental challenges differ due to variations in geography, population density, and other factors, this program provides EPA’s co-regulator partners with the flexibility to target funds to their highest priority efforts to protect human health and the environment.  With this grant funding, states and tribes are supporting a range of projects, including: addressing contaminants such as PFAS and lead, streamlining permitting processes, performing inspections, updating air and water monitoring equipment, testing radon in schools, and conducting outreach and education in areas such as pesticides application and harmful algal blooms.

The Multipurpose Grants awarded to Pennsylvania include:

• PA Department of Environmental Protection:
  • $319,674 – The Department will use this funding to characterize ambient concentrations of methane in 10 counties across the Commonwealth.  They will also identify natural gas fugitive emissions near roads from various types of sources, and use drone-based methane detectors to estimate emissions from specific equipment used in natural gas development.
• PA Department of Labor and Industry:
  • $52,380 – The Department will add this funding to its lead program, specifically using MPG funds to update the PA Lead Online Database.