Archive: April 8, 2020

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, [email protected]

Kent, N.Y. (April 8, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a cleanup plan for the Arsenic Mine Superfund Site in Kent, N.Y. that includes offering to purchase certain contaminated properties and permanently relocate affected residents to prevent exposure to arsenic-contaminated soil. Once the properties are vacated, the homes would be demolished.

“EPA is committed to this community in Kent. We previously took actions at the Arsenic Mine Site that have addressed the immediate risks by reducing residents’ exposure to arsenic contamination in the short-term,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “Today, we are proposing the best course of action to protect residents from arsenic-contaminated soil over the long-term.”

The Arsenic Mine Site includes a former mine that was operated intermittently from the mid-1800s through approximately 1918 to extract arsenic for manufacturing products, such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Decades later, residential houses were built on properties around and downslope from the former mine. Arsenic-contaminated soils are found on the residential properties.

Residents with private drinking water supply wells impacted by arsenic contamination at the site are currently utilizing treatment systems or bottled water. EPA has met one-on-one with residents and government partners and repaired a drinking water system where the potable water well had been compromised. EPA continues to regularly monitor residents’ drinking water supplies to ensure that treatment systems continue to be effective.

To reduce the potential for local residents’ short-term exposure to elevated levels of arsenic in the soil, EPA installed barriers to contaminated soil in high-use areas. EPA has also implemented measures to reduce tracking of arsenic-contaminated soil indoors by removing or replacing contaminated soil at the affected properties in gardens and areas used by pets and livestock. These specific measures vary based on the use of each property.

EPA’s proposed plan to address the conditions includes offering to buy certain affected properties and permanently relocating those affected residents. Permanent relocation would include federal financial and logistical support for residents to move away from the site permanently. Residents would be assisted in the relocation process, including identifying and moving into replacement residences.

The vacated homes would then be demolished. This alternative includes institutional controls, such as environmental easements that would limit the future use of the properties. As long as the residents of affected properties remain in their homes, monitoring and maintenance of existing protective measures would continue to ensure the effectiveness of these measures. The estimated cost of EPA’s proposed remedy is $5.83 million. 

As part of the public comment period, EPA will hold a virtual public meeting on the proposed plan on April 22, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. To participate in the meeting, please visit our website for more information: www.epa.gov/superfund/arsenic-mine Please register in advance of the meeting on our website or by emailing Pat Seppi, Community Involvement Coordinator, at [email protected] or calling her at (646) 369-0068. Anyone interested in receiving materials for the public meeting in hard copy should either email or call Ms. Seppi with such a request by Friday, April 17, 2020.

Written comments on EPA’s proposed plan may be mailed or emailed to: Mark Granger, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10007-1866 or [email protected].  Comments postmarked up until May 8, 2020, will be accepted.

To view the EPA’s proposed plan for the site, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/arsenic-mine

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

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U.S. EPA Honors 2020 ENERGY STAR® Partners of the Year in New Jersey

Contact: Jennifer May-Reddy, (212) 637-3658, [email protected]

New York, N.Y. (April 8, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 and the U.S. Department of Energy are honoring 10 ENERGY STAR partners for their outstanding contributions to public health and the environment. These enterprises have earned ENERGY STAR Awards for demonstrating national leadership in cost-saving energy efficient solutions. They are among the 191 ENERGY STAR partners nationwide honored this year as ENERGY STAR Award Winners.

“I salute the 2020 ENERGY STAR award winners,” said Anne Idsal, EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “These leaders demonstrate how energy efficiency drives economic competitiveness in tandem with environmental protection.”

“These ENERGY STAR partners have instituted environmentally responsible practices in their own companies and for their customers,” said EPA Region 2 Administrator Pete Lopez.  “EPA commends these proactive partners for their commitment to advancing energy and cost saving improvements in our homes, businesses and communities.”

Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its thousands of partners helped American families and businesses save more than 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. In 2018 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped Americans avoid nearly $35 billion in energy costs.

ENERGY STAR Award Winners in New Jersey:

(Madison, NJ) Allergan, a pharmaceutical company, invested over $7 million in energy projects in 2019 that contributed to a 6.9% energy intensity improvement over the previous year.

(Kearny, NJ) As a home performance contractor, Ciel Power LLC, grew its efforts in the home performance industry in New Jersey through their community outreach initiatives and partnerships with municipalities and non-profits across the state. They achieved 50% year-over-year growth in completed energy-efficiency projects.

(Wall, NJ) EAM Associates, a home energy rating company, certified over 1,500 homes as ENERGY STAR for the second consecutive year and reached a cumulative total of nearly 18,000 ENERGY STAR certified homes since 2000.

(Berkeley Heights, NJ) Hayward Industries, Inc. is a residential and commercial pool equipment manufacturer.  The company featured a pool pump with the highest weighted energy factor in the industry and consistently outperformed ENERGY STAR requirements across all their pool pumps.

(Englewood Cliffs, NJ) LG Electronics is a manufacturer of consumer electronics, home appliances, and mobile communications.  They are being recognized for their outstanding commitment to ENERGY STAR in expanding ENERGY STAR certified product offerings while participating widely in ENERGY STAR campaigns to expose millions of consumers to the value of ENERGY STAR.

(Mount Laurel, NJ) As a home energy rating company, MaGrann Associates certified more than 1,000 homes as ENERGY STAR in 2019, for a cumulative total of more than 50,000 homes since 1996.

(Kenilworth, NJ) Merck & Co., Inc., a pharmaceutical health care company, is being recognized for its $22 million portfolio of energy projects, which, when completed, will reduce annual energy use by 356,000 MMBtu, carbon dioxide emissions by 35,200 metric tons, and energy costs by $6 million.

(Trenton, NJ) The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is a statewide agency that oversees public utilities and provides energy and telecommunications services.  NJBPU enhanced access to energy savings for low and moderate-income residents and provided rebates for over 44,026 ENERGY STAR certified products and 6,304,000 lighting units.

(Newark, NJ) Panasonic Life Solutions Company America, a company that offers ventilation and indoor air quality solutions, is being recognized for industry leadership in efficient and effective home ventilation.  The company also carries the ENERGY STAR savings message to over 2.5 million individuals, including consumers, trade show visitors, retail staff, and distributor salespeople.

(Ridgefield Park, NJ) Samsung Electronics is a global manufacturer of home appliances, consumer electronics, and mobile communications.  Samsung is being recognized for their leadership within the home appliances sector in manufacturing highly energy-efficient products, providing extensive technical support in ENERGY STAR specification development, and educating customers, employees, and schoolchildren about the value of their ENERGY STAR products.

Read more about each of the award winners’ achievements

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR^® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its thousands of partners helped American families and businesses save more than 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. In 2018 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped Americans avoid nearly $35 billion in energy costs. More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at: energystar.gov/about and energystar.gov/numbers.

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

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Contact: Jennifer May-Reddy, (212) 637-3658, [email protected]

New York, N.Y. (April 8, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 and the U.S. Department of Energy are honoring 18 ENERGY STAR partners for their outstanding contributions to public health and the environment. These enterprises have earned ENERGY STAR Awards for demonstrating national leadership in cost-saving energy efficient solutions. They are among the 191 ENERGY STAR partners nationwide honored this year as ENERGY STAR Award Winners.

“I salute the 2020 ENERGY STAR award winners,” said Anne Idsal, EPA Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation. “These leaders demonstrate how energy efficiency drives economic competitiveness in tandem with environmental protection.”

“These ENERGY STAR partners have instituted environmentally responsible practices in their own companies and for their customers,” said EPA Region 2 Administrator Pete Lopez.  “EPA commends these proactive partners for their commitment to advancing energy and cost saving improvements in our homes, businesses and communities.”

Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its thousands of partners helped American families and businesses save more than 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. In 2018 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped Americans avoid nearly $35 billion in energy costs.

ENERGY STAR Award Winners in New York:

(New York, NY) Bristol-Myers Squibb, a biopharmaceutical company, strengthened its energy program during a major acquisition, while reducing energy intensity by 1.76% in 2019 and by 13.8% since 2013.

(Melville, NY) Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc., manufactures consumer, business and industrial imaging solutions.  Canon U.S.A. reached 100% of its employees and over 37,000 customers with information on the benefits of purchasing ENERGY STAR certified products.

(Poughkeepsie, NY) Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp is a utility that provides power to customers in New York’s Hudson River Valley. The utility substantially increased its energy-saving impact by doubling the number of incentives provided for ENERGY STAR certified LED bulbs and heat pump water heaters.

(New York, NY) CodeGreen Solutions, a real estate sustainability and energy strategy company, provided benchmarking compliance reporting and ENERGY STAR certification services for more than 155 million square feet of real estate in New York City.

(New York, NY) Colgate-Palmolive Company, a consumer products company, continued to demonstrate leadership in energy management by reducing energy intensity by more than 1% in 2019 for a cumulative reduction of 26% since 2005.

(New York, NY) The electric utility, Con Edison, incentivized more than 2.5 million ENERGY STAR certified LED light bulbs and saved customers more than 100,000 megawatt-hours of electricity through ENERGY STAR certified lighting, appliances, smart thermostats, pool pumps, and heat pump water heaters.

(Corning, NY) Corning Incorporated is a producer of specialty glass and ceramics and advanced optical products.  The company built a corporate system that positively impacts the energy performance and reduces the carbon footprint of its operations and products.

(New York, NY) ENGIE Impact, a resource management and sustainability consulting company, provided automated benchmarking services for more than 46,000 client buildings.  They also assisted over 900 clients to receive more than $20 million in rebates for ENERGY STAR certified products.

(Holbrook, NY) As a home performance contractor, Green Team LI completed 530 energy efficiency projects, representing a 63% increase over 2018, and successfully cross-promoted the benefits of energy efficiency and solar installation.

(New York, NY) MetLife, a global financial services company, achieved ENERGY STAR certification for 25 properties in 2019, representing over 12 million square feet of real estate across the company’s own operations and investment portfolio.

(Albany, NY) The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is a public-benefit corporation that promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the state. NYSERDA has served more than 94,000 homes through Home Performance with ENERGY STAR since 2001.

(New York, NY) Nuveen Real Estate, a real estate investment management firm, demonstrated outstanding energy management across its portfolio.  The company maintained its continued dedication to ENERGY STAR by achieving ENERGY STAR Certification for 35 properties in 2019.

(Uniondale, NY) PSEG Long Island is the transmission and distribution operator for the Long Island Power Authority.  This utility implemented process improvements for its Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program.  They also achieved more than 40.5 megawatts and about 150,000 megawatt-hours in energy savings through the promotion of ENERGY STAR certified products in ten categories.

(New York, NY) SL Green Realty Corporation, a fully integrated real estate investment trust, reduced its average weather normalized source energy use intensity by over 5% in 2019.

(New York, NY) Tishman Speyer is an owner, developer, and operator of real estate.  The company is  dedicated to excellence in energy management through leveraging ENERGY STAR tools and resources to achieve its energy reduction goals.

(New York, NY) Verizon, a telecommunications company, expanded its portfolio of ENERGY STAR certified buildings to 280 in 2019 and reduced its energy use by more than 4.5%.

(New York, NY) Vornado Realty Trust is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust.  Vornado Realty Trust maintained its excellent energy management program and consistently promoted ENERGY STAR and energy efficiency best practices throughout its organizations and to its tenants.

(Rochester, NY) As a home performance contractor, Wise Home Energy LLC, demonstrated leadership in the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) program locally and nationally.

Read more about each of the award winners’ achievements

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR^® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its thousands of partners helped American families and businesses save more than 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. In 2018 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped Americans avoid nearly $35 billion in energy costs. More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at: energystar.gov/about and energystar.gov/numbers.

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

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