Archive: March 15, 2022

US EPA Receives New NOI

RE: New Notice of Intent to Sue EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently received a notice of intent to sue (NOI) that may be of interest to you. The NOI concerns Washington’s 303(d) list. This information is provided for your information only, and this notice does not require you to take any action.

A copy of the NOI can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-06/documents/nwea_noi_wa_303d_lists_june_2019.pdf

# # #

To view other NOIs, complaints, and filings, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ogc

You are receiving this notice because this email address is subscribed to this topic. Manage your subscription at https://www.epa.gov/ogc/email-subscriptions-new-litigation-notifications.

Disclaimer: Posting does not mean that the notice was properly filed and/or served upon EPA or the United States, and EPA does not waive any defenses related to improper filing or service as it relates to the notices posted.

EPA Announces Nearly $2 Million in Supplemental Funds to Clean Up and Reuse Brownfield Sites in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

Funds are part of $9.3 million awarded nationwide

Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, [email protected] or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (June 21, 2019) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $9.3 million in supplemental funding for 24 current successful Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees. These funds include $400,000 each for the South Central (Louisiana) Planning and Development Commission; the New Mexico Environment Department; the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; and the city of Texarkana, Texas; and $373,170 for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The supplemental funds announced today are going to communities that have demonstrated success in using their RLF funds to clean up and redevelop brownfield sites. The funds will be used to continue their progress in reusing vacant and abandoned properties and turning them into community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, social services, and commerce opportunities.

“This Brownfields supplemental funding will provide additional resources to 24 communities with a proven track record of success so they can continue their progress revitalizing their local economy and improving the health and wellbeing of their community,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.  “We are proud to report that a majority of communities receiving these supplemental funds have Opportunity Zones within their jurisdiction, which means we are reaching communities most in need.”

“Region 6 is fortunate to have great communities as partners in our Brownfields program. This partnership has resulted in the productive revitalization of many communities, including those in Opportunity Zones,” said Acting Regional Administrator David W. Gray. “Today’s supplemental funding announcement will further support this vital partnership for these communities.”

Recipients of EPA’s Brownfields RLF funding provide low-interest loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfields sites. When loans are repaid, the loan amount is returned into the fund and re-lent to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community. To date, EPA’s RLF grantees across the country have completed 694 cleanups and attracted approximately 42,000 jobs and $8 billion in public and private funding.

A majority of the communities receiving supplemental funds have census tracks designated as federal Opportunity Zones within their jurisdiction. An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investment, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

The 24 communities selected for FY19 RLF supplemental funding are:

Background

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. There are estimated to be more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S.

Grants awarded by EPA’s Brownfield Program provide communities across the country with an opportunity to transform contaminated sites into community assets that attract jobs and achieve broader economic development outcomes while taking advantage of existing infrastructure. For example, Brownfields grants have been shown to:

• Increase Local Tax Revenue: A study of 48 brownfields sites found that an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional local tax revenue was generated in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to the cleanup of these sites.
• Increase Residential Property Values: Another study found that property values of homes near revitalized brownfields sites increased between 5% and 15% following cleanup.

As of May 2019, under the EPA Brownfields Program, 30,153 properties have been assessed and 86,131 acres of idle land have been made ready for productive use. In addition, communities have been able to use Brownfields grants to attract 150,120 jobs and more than $28 billion of public and private funding.

The 2019 National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on December 11-13 in Los Angeles, California. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing formerly utilized commercial and industrial properties. EPA cosponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

For more on Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

2019 National Brownfields Training Conference: https://brownfields2019.org/

Connect with EPA Region 6:

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6 

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6

About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central  

# # #

U.S. EPA Lisa McClain-Vanderpool; [email protected]; 303-312-6077

U. S. Housing and Urban Development Christine Baumann; [email protected]; 720-666-2587

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2019

EPA and HUD announce new lead dust standards to protect children’s health

DENVER (June 21, 2019) — Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler, along with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, announced new, tighter standards for lead in dust on floors and window sills to protect children from the harmful effects of lead exposure. EPA Region 8 Regional Administrator Gregory Sopkin participated in an event today alongside Evelyn Lim, HUD Region 8 Regional Administrator and Robin Hickey, Deputy Director of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority at EPA’s Regional Office in downtown Denver.

“EPA is delivering on our commitment in the Trump Administration’s Federal Lead Action Plan to take important steps to reduce childhood lead exposure,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Today’s final rule is the first time in nearly two decades EPA is issuing a stronger, more protective standard for lead dust in homes and child care facilities across the country.”

“EPA’s updating its standards for lead dust on floors and window sills in pre-1978 homes and child-occupied facilities is an important advance,” said Secretary Carson. “We will use this new rule in updating the lead safety requirements for the pre-1978 housing we assist.”

“These new standards will strengthen our efforts to protect young children by reducing lead dust exposure in homes, schools and child care facilities throughout the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains states,” said EPA Regional Administrator Gregory Sopkin. “EPA, HUD, and our federal partners are committed to securing safer and healthier communities through the Federal Lead Action Plan.”

“We know that eliminating lead in housing improves health and education outcomes for children in our communities,” said Rocky Mountain Regional Administrator Evelyn Lim. “The new lead standards announced today continue our progress in helping more families live in lead-free homes by warranting earlier intervention which in turn saves health care costs.”

“Every family in our city deserves to live in a home that is safe and healthy. No one should have to worry about their children breathing lead-contaminated dust or soil,” says Robert McDonald, Executive Director and the Public Health Administrator of the Denver Department of Public Health and the Environment.

Since the 1970s, the United States has made tremendous progress in lowering children’s blood lead levels. In 2001, EPA set standards for lead in dust for floors and window sills in housing, however since that time, the best available science has evolved to indicate human health effects at lower blood lead levels than previously analyzed.

To protect children’s health and to continue making progress on this important issue, EPA is lowering the dust-lead hazard standards from 40 micrograms of lead per square foot (µg/ft²) to 10 µg/ft² on floors and from 250 µg/ft² to 100 µg/ft² on window sills. The more protective dust-lead hazard standards will apply to inspections, risk assessments, and abatement activities in pre-1978 housing and certain schools, child care facilities and hospitals across the country.

Lead-contaminated dust from chipped or peeling lead-based paint is one of the most common causes of elevated blood lead levels in children. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to lead paint exposure because they their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults do, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. They can be exposed from multiple sources and may experience irreversible and life-long health effects. Lead dust can be generated when lead-based paint deteriorates or is disturbed.

The rule will become effective on 180 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.

A link to this final rule and to learn more: https://www.epa.gov/lead/hazard-standards-lead-paint-dust-and-soil-tsca-section-403

Reducing childhood lead exposure and addressing associated health impacts is a top priority for EPA. In December 2018 EPA Administrator Wheeler and other Federal Officials produced the Lead Action Plan, a blueprint for reducing lead exposure and associated harms by working with a range of stakeholders, including states, tribes and local communities, along with businesses, property owners and parents.

EPA continues to work with its federal partners to improve coordinated activities and implement objectives of the Lead Action Plan.

You can find out more about identifying and addressing housing health and safety hazards on HUD’s Healthy Homes website: hud.gov/healthyhomes

More about the HUD-funded program in Denver to assist 130 households through January of 2021: https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/environmental-health/public-health-inspections/lead-poisoning-prevention-program.html  

The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program works to protect children from exposure to lead-based paint covers 100-percent of costs to identify and remove lead-based paint from homes. To apply for a grant, visit http://renewdenver.org/housing-rehabilitation/lead-based-paint-hazard-control-program/

Learn more about EPA’s lead-based paint program: https://www.epa.gov/lead

US EPA Receives New NOI

RE: New Notice of Intent to Sue EPA                

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently received a notice of intent to sue (NOI) that may be of interest to you. The NOI concerns a State Implementation Plan for the South Coast nonattainment area addressing the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) and an update for the 1997 ozone NAAQS. This information is provided for your information only, and this notice does not require you to take any action.

 A copy of the NOI can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-06/documents/ccaej_noi_061419.pdf

 # # #

 To view other NOIs, complaints, and filings, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ogc

You are receiving this notice because this email address is subscribed to this topic. Manage your subscription at https://www.epa.gov/ogc/email-subscriptions-new-litigation-notifications.

Disclaimer: Posting does not mean that the notice was properly filed and/or served upon EPA or the United States, and EPA does not waive any defenses related to improper filing or service as it relates to the notices posted.