EPA delays rules for existing natural gas power plants until after the November election

Associated Press – February 29

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday that it is delaying planned rules to curb emissions from existing natural gas plants. The agency said it is still on track to finalize rules for coal-fired power plants and new gas plants that have not come online, a key step to slow planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. But in a turnaround from previous plans, the agency said it will review standards for existing gas plants and expand the rules to include more pollutants. The change came after complaints from environmental justice groups, who said the earlier plan allowed too much toxic air pollution that disproportionately harms low-income neighborhoods near power plants, refineries, and other industrial sites.

News

California’s environmental screening tool misses some polluted communities, researchers say

San Francisco Chronicle – February 26

A new study, by researchers who began the project at Stanford University, investigated a tool that the California EPA developed in 2013 as the nation’s “first comprehensive statewide environmental health screening tool” to identify communities disproportionately burdened by pollution. Communities that are designated “disadvantaged” by the screening tool, called CalEnviroScreen, can qualify for significant government and private funding. The researchers found that the small number of health problems considered in the screening tool could result in an under-designation of otherwise deserving communities as “disadvantaged.” About 16% of census tracts in the state could be ranked differently with alterations in the screening system’s model, according to the study.

Nationwide Superfund toxic waste cleanup effort gets another $1 billion installment

CBS News – February 27

Twenty-five toxic waste sites in 15 states, including three sites in California, will be cleaned up, and ongoing work at dozens of others will get a funding boost, as EPA on Tuesday announced a $1 billion infusion to the federal Superfund program. The money is the third and last installment in the $3.5 billion allocated under the 2021 infrastructure law signed by President Biden. It will help clear a backlog of contaminated sites, such as old landfills, mines, and manufacturing facilities targeted by the 44-year-old Superfund program.

EPA orders L.A. County landfill to curb hazardous waste leakage immediately

The Hill – February 23

Federal environment officials have ordered a Los Angeles County landfill to take urgent action to protect public health, citing noxious odors and hazardous waste issues in the surrounding community. EPA last Thursday instructed the Chiquita Canyon Landfill to mitigate such off-site impacts by containing liquid leachate and reducing smoldering activities. According to EPA, there have been more than 6,800 complaints from residents about odors and leachate from the 639-acre Castaic facility, situated about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The liquid hazardous waste is the result of rainwater and other fluids filtering through or draining from trash placed in the landfill, the agency explained.

Moulton Niguel Water District gets FEMA grants to reduce urban runoff to ocean

The Orange County Register – February 28

The Moulton Niguel Water District is getting $10.3 million to replace nearly two miles of sewer mains in Laguna Niguel Regional Park, hopefully preventing breaks and failures that would lead to even more runoff flowing into Aliso Creek. Another grant will help the district launch a pilot program that would turn some of the runoff into a local supply of drinking water. Both are funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A $1.7 million grant will help seed the OASIS Water Resources Center, a concept the district is looking to pilot that would use filtration and disinfectants to convert the wastewater to drinking water. If implemented, it could reduce the amount of runoff discharged into the ocean at Aliso Beach by as much as 5 million gallons daily, officials said.

Coast Guard concerned about California’s new exhaust rules for tugs

The Maritime Executive – February 28

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed a rule that would require commercial harbor vessels to install Tier 4 diesel engines and diesel particulate filters (DPFs) to control emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ultrafine particles. Fine particulate matter in diesel emissions is a known carcinogenic hazard. The first implementation deadline for existing California tugboats to install a Tier 4 plus DPF combination is Dec. 31, 2024. However, the U.S. Coast Guard has safety concerns about DPF use in a maritime application as DPF systems must occasionally operate at abnormally high temperature to burn off accumulated soot.