• National Aquatic Invasive Species Law Needed
  
• Florida Expedites Permits for Hurricane Recovery
  
• Humans Cause More Soil Erosion Than Rivers, Glaciers
  
• Riverside Food Company Guilty of Dumping Acid Wastewater
  
• New York Foundry Town to Get Lead Cleanup
  
• Formosa Plastics Fined $150,000 for Texas Air Violations
  
• North Carolina Funds Five Alternative Transport Projects
  
• Olive Oil Wins Approval for Health Claim Labeling
  

National Aquatic Invasive Species Law Needed

In an Open Letter to the People of the Great Lakes Basin issued on Friday, the chairs of the U.S. and Canadian sections of the Commission said they are worried because another new invasive "intruder" is identified every eight months.

Dennis Schornack, chair of the U.S. Section, and Herb Gray, chair of the Canadian Section urged the U.S. Congress to pass the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA). They say the legislation would provide "a comprehensive approach to prevent invasions, screen out possible invaders and rapidly respond to outbreaks."

The measure has been introduced in both the House and the Senate and has been the subject of Committee hearings, but it has not been brought up for a vote in either chamber.

Hundreds of scientists and policy makers who gathered in Toronto earlier this month concluded that invasive species are the only indicator of Great Lakes health rated as "poor and deteriorating."

In mid-October, scientists and officials became alarmed when a Chicago fisherman pulled a Northern snakehead fish from Lake Michigan's Burnham Harbor.

Native to Russia, China and Korea, snakeheads can survive for several days out of water. Snakeheads are a threat because they feed on native fish and could wipe out some species. In the Great Lakes they would compete with bass and walleye. To date, a second snakehead has not been found.

The snakehead discovery lent urgency to the IJC push for new legislation. "The recent discovery of a northern snakehead in Chicago's Burnham Harbor emphasizes the urgent need for action because NAISA sets up a 'rapid response' system so that all the appropriate agencies and resources can immediately focus on eradicating this predatory invader before it can spread," Schornack and Gray wrote.

"Similarly, Canada is urged to implement its National Invasive Species Plan and to look for opportunities to harmonize and coordinate programs and policies with the U.S."

Schnornack and Gray said they were pleased that their "warnings were heeded" and actions are being taken to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, protecting a $4.5 billion sport and commercial fishery. Full funding of $9.1 million was approved in October to construct an electric fish dispersal barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the last line of defense for the Great Lakes.

Since the 1800s, over 136 species of exotic algae, fish, invertebrates, and plants have become established in the Great Lakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The most problematic invasive species include alewife, common carp, Eurasian ruffe, Eurasian water milfoil, purple loosestrife, quagga mussel, rainbow smelt, round goby, rusty crayfish, sea lamprey, spiny waterflea, and the zebra mussel.

These species have contributed to massive extinctions of native animals, and severe alterations in local food webs, the USGS says. The zebra mussel invasion has resulted in millions of dollars of damage to local water users such as municipalities and industries as the tiny, fast breeding, mussels clog intake pipes.

Florida Expedites Permits for Hurricane Recovery

“This partnership with the Corps allows us to further accelerate recovery for the victims of Hurricane Ivan,” said DEP Secretary Colleen Castille Tuesday. “Using a joint state-federal permit, we are reducing process and ensuring continued environmental protection as communities in northwest Florida rebuild.”

To submit a Joint Emergency Permit request, contact the DEP Northwest District office at: 850-595-8300.

On September 16, Hurricane Ivan struck northwest Florida with 135 mile per hour winds and storm surges over eight feet. The hurricane caused widespread damage in Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Washington counties, and it is property owners in these counties who are eligible for the expedited permits.

Underground storage tank owners, water and wastewater treatment plants and solid waste management plants are authorized to make all necessary repairs without waiting for a permit, but they must notify the DEP in writing outlining the nature of the work done.

Owners of underground injection wells that are classed as storm water drainage wells and lake level control wells are authorized to lower the intake structure to allow a greater level of lake water to flow down the wells to avoid flooding without waiting for a permit. Within 72 hours the DEP Districut office must be notified in writing.

Open burning of hurricane debris is being permitted in air curtain incinerators as long as "a reasonable effort" is made to limit the material burned to untreated wood, as treated wood emits dioxins and furans when burned.

Emergency cleanup or demolition of asbestos containing material is permitted but the DEP must be notified in writing within one business day. Burning of asbestos materials is prohibited.

Landfill operators may accept hurricane debris without first modifying their permits as long as impacts to not last past the expiry date of the DEP's order authorizing the emergency permitting - the order expires on November 15.

The Department and the Corps are conducting joint site inspections and issuing on-site permits for dredge and fill activities covered by DEP’s Emergency Final Order.

Since October 12, the Joint Emergency Permitting teams conducted more than 40 site inspections. Permitting teams conduct advance site research before the actual visit, further streamlining the inspection and field permitting.

“We have worked closely with the Corps to develop a flexible process that meets both state and federal requirements,” said DEP Northwest District Director Mary Jean Yon. “We are pleased to offer this service to the public, which is designed to assist in the timely recovery from storm damage.”

To view the Emergency Final Order, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/mainpage/em/files/ivan/Ivan_EFO.pdf

Humans Cause More Soil Erosion Than Rivers, Glaciers

Riverside Food Company Guilty of Dumping Acid Wastewater

The company, Triple H Food Precessors, Inc. of Wilderness Avenue, will be fined $750,000 and placed on three years of probation.

The executive, Richard Joseph Harris, 48, of Riverside, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act for negligently discharging a pollutant. Harris will be placed on probation for three years, which will include three months of home detention and the payment of a $50,000 fine.

Both the company and Harris have agreed to pay $11,480 of restitution to the City of Riverside for damages incurred as the wastewater moved through city sewers to the Santa Ana River, which flows through Orange County into the ocean.

The company will also plead guilty to knowingly violating a pretreatment program by failing to manually monitor the pH of the wastewater discharged into the sewer system.

Triple H is a food and beverage processing company that generates acidic wastewater with low pH numbers as part of its business. The company was not allowed to discharge any wastewater with a pH lower than 5.0 into the city sewer. Despite this, employees of Triple H knowingly discharged wastewater with a pH lower than 5.0 on more than one occasion.

Harris admitted that he negligently operated Triple H allowing employees to discharge this low pH wastewater. In the court documents, the company also admitted to knowingly failing to manually sample and record pH readings when the automatic meters were inoperative.

During the period of probation, the defendants will have to upgrade the pretreatment system and hire an environmental consultant and a new employee to oversee the system.

The case was investigated jointly by special agents from the Pasadena office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division and inspectors from the Water Quality Control Plant of the City of Riverside Public Works Department.

New York Foundry Town to Get Lead Cleanup

On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed an agreement with NL Industries, Inc. to remove the lead contamination surrounding the NL Industries/Depew Superfund site.

The company will remove and dispose of lead contaminated soil from residential properties according to a consent order under the Superfund law.

"EPA will work with NL Industries to ensure that contaminated soil is removed in a safe and efficient manner," said EPA Regional Administrator Jane Kenny. "Our primary concern is the health of the residents, and we are directing our efforts toward getting the work started as soon as possible."

From 1892 until 1972, NL Industries owned and operated a 7.5 acre brass foundry on Walden Avenue in Depew. In 1974, NL industries sold the foundry to Anglo-Recycling Corporation. The facility's current owner is Norampac Industries, Inc.

Operations at the foundry resulted in contamination of soil located on the foundry property and on nearby residential properties. Contamination at the foundry is being addressed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through agreements with Norampac Industries.

When NL Industries sampled soil on the nearby residential properties, tests showed lead at levels as high as 5,300 parts per million, more than four times what is allowed by federal law.

Under EPA standards, lead is considered a hazard if there are greater than 400 parts per million of lead in bare soil in children's play areas or 1,200 parts per million average for bare soil in the rest of the yard.

Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born, the EPA says. Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies. Children take up lead by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil containing lead.

NL Industries employees will meet with residents to obtain access to their properties, and to discuss the details of the cleanup which will begin in the spring.

Under the consent order, NL Industries must provide EPA with a detailed cleanup plan and schedule for agency review and approval prior to start of the work.

Following completion of the soil cleanup, the EPA will offer residents of the affected area an opportunity to have the interior living spaces of their homes sampled for lead to determine if indoor cleanups are necessary.

The EPA will oversee the work and NL Industries will reimburse the agency for its oversight costs. NL Industries, Inc., a publicly traded international chemical company, conducts its operations through its majority owned subsidiary, Kronos Worldwide, Inc.

Formosa Plastics Fined $150,000 for Texas Air Violations

The plant is located on Matagorda Bay, about 100 miles southwest of Houston. With 1600 full time and 400 contractor employees on the 1,800 acre industrial complex, the company manufactures caustic soda, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), suspension resin, ethylene, polyethylene, and polypropylene.

It has been the subject of eight investigations and 11 record reviews conducted between July 2000 and November 2002, the TCEQ said, resulting in the issuance of 27 violations, the Commission said.

The violations included failure to prevent unauthorized emissions of volatile organic compounds, including vinyl chloride and heptane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrogen chloride.

The company failed to prevent visible emissions and failed to meet the reporting requirements regarding emissions events, the Commission said.

The TCEQ documented failure to demonstrate compliance during emissions testing, and failure to comply with emissions limits for particulate matter during emissions testing.

The fine includes funds for a supplemental environmental project to install an ambient fence line air monitoring project.

North Carolina Funds Five Alternative Transport Projects

The first round of funds through the NC Alternative Fuel Incentive program has awarded over $50,000 for five projects that increase the use of alternative transportation fuels throughout North Carolina. The awards were announced last month, and the application period for the second round of funding closed on Monday.

Two of the projects utilize biodiesel, a renewable fuel often made from soy oil, which emits less harmful pollutants than conventional petroleum diesel. Two projects feature electric vehicles, and one project employs compressed natural gas.

Forsyth County Automotive Services Department, in coordination with the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department, will introduce biodiesel into the county’s motor fleet. An estimated 30,000 gallons of B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel 80 percent conventional diesel, will be used in the county’s fleet.

Superior Oil Company is switching a diesel pump to B20 biodiesel at the Penn Mart station in Salisbury and will offer the biodiesel blend for the same price as petroleum diesel. The City of Salisbury diesel vehicles will be the primary fleet for the service station. The Penn Mart is the fourth station to begin offering the environmentally preferable fuel in North Carolina.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in coordination with the Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition, will replace two of the gasoline powered campus maintenance vehicles with electric vehicles.

Wilson Technical Community College will install a solar charging station to fuel a low speed electric vehicle for mail delivery. This zero emissions project will serve as an instructional tool for educating students about the environment and alternative fuels.

The Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency in Asheville will purchase and convert a new van to use compressed natural gas, a much cleaner burning fuel than gasoline. The van will be used for servicing their ambient air quality monitor network throughout Buncombe County.

Anne Tazewell, alternative fuels program manager for the Solar Center, said, “These projects will add to the body of practical experience with these fuels and increase awareness about the need to diversify our energy supply.”

The North Carolina Solar Center is sponsored by the Department of Administration's State Energy Office, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the North Carolina Solar Center Foundation. The Solar Center is operated by North Carolina State University's Industrial Extension Service.

Presently the 97 percent of U.S. cars and trucks rely on petroleum gasoline and diesel fuel, with much of this fuel imported from other countries. Increasing the use of alternative fuels supports U.S. energy security and economic development while reducing harmful emissions, the Solar Center says.

Olive Oil Wins Approval for Health Claim Labeling

The approval means that the claim can be stated on the labels of olive oil and foods that contain olive oil.

In a statement Monday, the agency said there is "limited but not conclusive evidence" suggesting that consumers may reduce their risk of heart disease if they consume monounsaturated fat from olive oil and olive oil-containing foods "in place of foods high in saturated fat, while at the same time not increasing the total number of calories consumed daily."

A qualified health claim on a conventional food must be supported by credible scientific evidence

"With this claim, consumers can make more informed decisions about maintaining healthy dietary practices," said Dr. Lester Crawford, acting FDA commissioner.

"Since coronary heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the U.S., he said, it is a public health priority to make sure that consumers have accurate and useful information on reducing their risk."

Although this research is not conclusive, the FDA is allowing this qualified health claim: "Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day. One serving of this product [Name of food] contains [x] grams of olive oil."

This claim is the third qualified health claim FDA has announced for conventional food since the process for establishing such claims took effect last year.

In September, the FDA announced the availability of a qualified health claim for reduced risk of coronary heart disease on conventional foods that contain eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acids.

Typically, EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids are contained in oily fish, such as salmon, lake trout, tuna and herring. These fatty acids are not essential to the diet; but scientific evidence shows that these fatty acids may be beneficial in reducing heart disease.

In March, the agency allowed a qualified health claim for walnuts and the reduced risk of coronary heart disease.