EPA expanding drinking water contaminant list

[The following notice received today from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has potential impacts for all private and public parties operating drinking water systems]

EPA is releasing its third list of drinking water contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and may require regulation. EPA will continue to evaluate and collect data on the contaminants, and determine by 2013 for some of them whether or not to propose drinking water regulations.

The contaminant candidate list (CCL 3) includes 104 chemical contaminants or groups and 12 microbes. Among them are contaminants, pesticides, disinfection byproducts, pharmaceuticals, chemicals used in commerce, waterborne pathogens and algal toxins. The agency’s selection of the contaminants builds upon evaluations used for previous lists and is based on substantial expert input and recommendations from different groups including stakeholders, the National Research Council and the National Drinking Water Advisory Council.

EPA will make regulatory determinations for at least five contaminants in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. For those CCL 3 contaminants that lack sufficient information for a regulatory determination by 2013, EPA will encourage research to provide the information needed.

The agency evaluated approximately 7,500 chemicals and microbes and selected 116 candidates for the final list based on their potential to pose health risks through drinking water exposure.

The agency considered the best available health effects and occurrence data and information to evaluate unregulated contaminants.

A draft CCL 3 was published for review and comment on February 21, 2008. EPA reviewed and analyzed the information provided in the comments in developing the final CCL 3.

More information on the contaminant candidate list: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl

Our most recent posts:
PSE&G's latest New Jersey power line concessions
A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers
New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time
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PSE&G's latest New Jersey power line concessions

How much does Public Service Electric and Gas's proposed new high-power line in northwest New Jersey mean to the company?

Apparently, a lot more than it's $750 million cost.

Consider the following:

In order to reverse initial opposition to the project from the staff of the Highland's Council, which is northwest New Jersey's environmental guardian, the energy company:

* Developed a mitigation plan designed to lessen potential impacts on wetlands, critical habitats and forests.

* Agreed to move a switching station to a different location, and

* Offered a $18.6 million Highlands Protection fund for the purchase and protection of priority acquisition lands in the area.

PSE&G moves fast

After clearing that hurdle, the company encountered a potentially disastrous public relations threat when school officials in the small Sussex County town of Fredon told the media that PSE&G's existing 230-kilovolt line, which runs over a school's playground, was the source of levels of electromagnetic fields (EMF's) that are six times higher than recommended levels.

The company plans to add its new 500-kilovolt line from Susquehanna, Pa., to Roseland in Essex County, NJ to the current 230-kilovolt line, which now crosses the Fredon School playground.

PSE&G's representatives swooped into town and negotiated a quick settlement before the story could get any negative traction.

Under the agreement, the company will pay the school board up to $950,000 to reconfigure the school grounds so that students would not be playing under the lines. In exchange, the school board and Fredon Parents Against the Lines (PALS) agreed to drop their formal opposition to PSE&G's new power line.

What's next?

School officials in Montville, which also is in the power line's right-of-way, are hiring a consultant to test EMF levels at a middle school which is near the line but not as close as the Fredon School, according to PSE&G.

But, unless other towns or school boards start testing their EMF's, the project's final hurdle will be a vote by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) which is expected in January.

Power line opponents aren't conceding that decision as yet, but there is a grudging recognition that the utility company holds the home court advantage in any dealings with the agency.

We welcome your opinion

Use the comment box below to share your views. If one isn't visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny 'comment' line.

Related:

Sussex County school moving playground away from power lines
Fredon board OKs PSE&G agreement
Agreement could avert Fredon school closing linked to power lines
Fredon closes lone school over power line concerns
PSE&G files to block enviros opposing power line comments

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A big environmental issue awaits PA lawmakers

For three months, state lawmakers in Pennsylvania have been twiddling their thumbs as Governor Rendell and Legislative leaders played hard ball over the state's 2010 budget.

The weekend's news that a budget resolution may be at hand means that lawmakers may finally get back to work on a major environmental bill, HB 80, that would boost Pennsylvania's energy portfolio standards and increase credits for solar-energy installations.

The legislation also provides benefits to traditional energy generators in Pennsylvania by modifying the legal definition of "alternative energy sources" (usually reserved for wind, solar and thermal) to include "advanced coal combustion" and "incremental nuclear energy" facilities.

It also contains provisions that encourage the development of carbon capture and sequestration -- another biggie for the coal industry.

Today's Philadelphia Inquirer story Pa. solar-power legislation in cooling-off phase focuses on how the legislation would help solar-energy installers, and on how a dispute between a state electrical contractors union and non-union solar companies may be headed for a resolution.

A similar dispute was debated in the New Jersey Legislature several months ago over a bill that reserved for union installers all solar projects using state funds, including solar credits.

Solar installers and several New Jersey business organizations opposed the measure, while environmental organizations were unusually quiet. The legislation ultimately passed but was amended to exempt residential installations.

Related:
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New Jersey leaps ahead in solar payback time

The news agency Reuters reports that, while California may be the Golden State, it’s New Jersey where U.S. residents get the best deal on their solar power systems.

A new survey by Global Solar Center , which endeavored to provide an “apples to apples” comparison for the cost of solar power in all 50 states, found that New Jersey had the fastest payback — 1.5 years — for residential solar systems, followed by New York and Delaware with paybacks of three and six years, respectively.

California tied for fourth place with Maryland, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, all with payback hitting seven years.

“That takes into account the cost of the system, the sun at that spot, the incentives of that region, utility rates. It blends in everything all together,” said Jack Hidary, Global's chairman.

“To put this all in context, five years ago you couldn’t find a state with less than a 10 or 15 year payback,” said Hidary, who also is a board member of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He said the steep fall in solar panel prices and more government incentives have helped speed up the return on investing in a solar power system.

Going from a 15 year payback to 1.5 years is amazing progress. So amazing that it brings out the native skeptic in me (and I'll bet in others, too).

So, let's put it to the experts--the folks in New Jersey who are doing or financing residential solar installations.

What do you folks say? Are these numbers real? Click on the tiny 'comment' line below (or in the comment box if one appears)
and give us your professional opinion. If you disagree, tell us why.

While you're at it, provide your best estimate of whether and when New Jersey consumers might expect to see such a quick payoff.

Related:
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Up for debate: Do brands matter in solar power?
California to more than double solar power in '09
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We should all be in the solar and wind business

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EPA salutes private Pennsylvania recycling efforts

The Computer Recycle Center at Temple University "could serve well as a model for other universities and large businesses," according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which selected the program for one of its 2009 Environmental Achievement Awards.

Originally a safe disposal collection facility for computer equipment, the Temple recycle center in Philadelphia has grown into what the EPA describes as "a dynamic assembly line operation in which equipment is picked up from departments, cataloged, evaluated, salvaged and when possible, refurbished, according to the EPA." During 2008, the center processed more than 2,000 computers and 1,800 monitors, and donated more than 300 refurbished computers to non-profit organizations and schools.

At an award ceremony today at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the EPA saluted six private organizations in Pennsylvania (and two each in Delaware and Maryland) for pollution prevention programs that have achieved sustained and measurable environmental results.

Three of the other Pennsylvania award winners were:

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was recognized for significant increases in the recycling, including: cardboard, paper, confidential paper, glass, plastics, metals, pallets, kitchen grease, oil, light bulbs, e-waste, linens, batteries, excess supplies donation, carpet and toner cartridges.

The Lehigh Valley Health Network of Allentown was recognized for decreasing its waste disposal, implementing new and innovative recycling programs, establishing environmental awareness training programs for employees and initiating a composting pilot program.

The Earth Conservancy from Ashely, Pa. was recognized for its work in reclaiming abandoned mine property in Luzerne County. After obtaining a $14 million federal grant in 1993 and raising $2 million from the private sector, Earth Conservancy purchased some 16,300 acres of land from a bankrupt coal company and created several comprehensive land use plans to guide its reclamation and restoration.

Read about all of the EPA award winners here.

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Uh oh...Global warming's messing with my beer

Global warming danger signs:

• Rising sea levels? Yawn.
  
• Stranded polar bears? So yesterday.
  
• Affecting the taste of your beer?

Hey, wait now. What the hell is Congress doing about THIS?

Yes. Global warming's Paul Reveres may finally have found the message to galvanize support for climate change legislation: Global warming is messing with your beer.

Here's the disturbing news from the Discovery Channel's Space Disco:

In a paper recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology,
a team led by climatologist Martin Mozny of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has found that the quality of Saaz hops -- a delicate variety of hop used to make pilsner lager -- has been decreasing in recent years. Why? It would appear the continuing rise of air temperature in the Czech Republic (where the crops are located) is the culprit.

The team used high-resolution weather pattern, crop yield and hop quality data to gauge the impact of climate change on the Saaz crops between 1954 to 2006. Mozny's team found that the acidity of the hops had dropped 0.06% every year in this time period. Ideally, to get that characteristic delicate bitter pilsner taste, the hops must contain around 5% alpha acid. Unfortunately, this quantity is dropping and showing little sign of stabilizing. In fact, the team predict that it is only going to get worse.

But this isn't an isolated case, the hop growing regions of eastern Germany and central Slovakia have noticed similar changes in their crops.

OK. Enough with the facts. Time to spring into action. So, get on the phone, fax, email, facebook and Twitter and tell Congress to stash this health care nonsense and get down to serious work on climate change.

As in, measures that will SAVE OUR BEER.

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Wind energy out to hook fishing industry support

With up to 30 square miles of fishing territory at stake, plans by three developers to build wind-energy farms off New Jersey's coast could have been in very troubled waters had the developers tried to put the area off limits to the state's commercial and recreational fishing industries.

Any such concerns were allayed last Thursday when Lance Miller, chief of policy and planning at the state Board of Public Utilities, announced at a meeting of the Marine Fisheries Council that none of the companies plan to impose any such restrictions.

" There have been no collisions with wind farms in Europe and I'm sure our (fishing boat)captains are just as good," Miller said.

As Richard Degener reports in the Press of Atlantic City,

"...this means that commercial fishermen will be able to harvest their bounty between the turbines while anglers, pot fishermen and even scuba divers could fish right next to the structures."

Degener writes that there even is some discussion of "installing buoys near the turbines so fishermen can tie up and not have to anchor in deep water."

The three companies exploring the potential for generating electricity from offshore wind turbines are Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy and Garden State Offshore Energy. They already have leased areas from the U.S. Department of Interior to install meteorological towers to gather data to see whether wind farms are feasible.

For an interesting article on why this is necessary, see today's EnergBiz Insider's Forecasting Wind

One of the three companies, Bluewater Wind, has been in rocky financial shape since its primary Australian financier, Babcock and Brown, was waylaid by the international economic tailspin triggered by the U.S. banking industry implosion.

But Bluewater Wind's president Peter Mandelstam says he's confident a new investor is coming to the company's rescue.

In a September 6 story in The News Journal, (Bluewater works on new financing) Mandelstam said a deal should be completed within 60 days with a new ownership partner and that Babcock and Brown will be out of the project by the end of the year.

In addition to the New Jersey project, Bluewater plans to erect at least 79 turbines off the coast of Delaware.

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PA-DEP Sediment/Erosion & Stormwater rules

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has proposed changes to its erosion and sediment control and stormwater management regulations.

The proposed changes include requirements for establishing and protecting existing streamside and riverside forest buffers and increasing protection for exceptional value waterways, incorporate existing post-construction stormwater management requirements into state regulation to bring Pennsylvania into line with federal requirements, and enhance agricultural stormwater management provisions beyond plowing and tilling to include animal heavy -use areas.

What's won't likely to come as a surprise to the regulated community is that the new regulations will include an updated permit fee structure.

They also include a new permit-by-rule option that the DEP says will offer "a simplified permitting process for eligible low-risk construction projects that will reduce permitting delays while improving oversight of projects by the department."

Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger says the changes will shift the focus of water protection "from reviewing paperwork to holding permittees more accountable, conducting more on-the-ground inspections to verify that best management practices are being implemented and maintained, and increasing protections for our waterways.”

The Environmental Quality Board will hold public hearings on the proposed changes:

• Sept. 29 at the Cranberry Township Municipal Building, 2525 Rochester Road, Butler County. The public meeting is at 4 p.m. and the public hearing is at 5 p.m.

• Oct. 1 at the Department of Environmental Protection, Southcentral Regional Office, Susquehanna Room B, 909 Elmerton Ave., Harrisburg. The public meeting is at 4 p.m. and the public hearing is at 5 p.m.

• Oct. 5 at the Salisbury Township Municipal Building, 2900 South Pike Avenue, Allentown. The public meeting is at 4 p.m. and the public hearing is at 5 p.m.

The Department notes that:

Individuals wishing to present testimony at a hearing are requested to contact the Environmental Quality Board, P.O. Box 8477, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8477, (717) 787-4526, at least one week in advance of the hearing to reserve a time to present testimony. Oral testimony is limited to 10 minutes for each witness. Witnesses are asked to submit three written copies of their oral testimony to the chairperson at the hearing. Organizations are limited to designating one witness to present testimony on behalf of the group at each hearing.

We should all be in the solar and wind business

"The Obama administration split a half-billion "recovery" dollars among nine U.S. windmill operators and a couple of solar-power projects yesterday, and said it has lots more where that came from."

So reports Philadelphia Inquirer business writer Joseph N. DiStefano, one
of a group of reporters on
a conference call with Matt Rogers of the U.S. Energy Department who said:
"We're moving the money out the door."

"There is no cap to this program. As long as they're making applications, we'll be making awards" for the next two years, added Dan Tangherlini of the U.S. Treasury Department.

When DiStefano asked if there were limits on what windmill operators and solar farmers could do with the money. Tangherlini said no. As long as the project qualifies as renewable energy, windmill owners can use tax dollars to pay back lenders, pay themselves a bonus, or even build more windmills, if they want.

The government says this is necessary to stiffen the usual tax credits that windmills enjoy, which aren't worth so much these days, since business is slow and tax payments are falling, DiStefano wrote.

His entire piece (it's not long) can be viewed here.

Related:

Iberdrola Wins Big on Clean-Energy Grants
Commerce chief: U.S. must lead in alternative energy technology

Green Government Grants Grease the Wheels
PA Wind Farms Receive Recovery Act Investments

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