Browsing environmental news sources so you don't have to. Contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu) with questions, comments, and suggestions.
Follow ENB on TwitterU.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5’s Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative today announced that it expects to award some $5 million in grants for diesel-emission reduction projects in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Project proposals will be accepted until June 12.
Read the full story in Water & Wastewater News.
To reduce the environmental impacts of moving goods through ports, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a new plan for working with public port authorities and other interested groups.
Read the full story in Water & Wastewater News.
Eco-minded drivers in drought-prone states take note: A new study concludes that producing electricity for hybrid and fully electric vehicles could sharply increase water consumption in the United States. It is scheduled for the June 1 issue of Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal.
Read the full story in the London Free Press.
It’s imperative that Canada study the potential health impacts of pollution and poor water quality in light of a controversial American report that suggests some Great Lakes cities have abnormally high rates of cancer mortality and other health problems, water advocates said yesterday.
Through March the Roselle (IL) Public Library is featuring a cooperative display developed by the library and the Wastewater Treatment Division of the Village of Roselle Public Works Department. The Toilet Tales display points out how we need to be aware of what we put into our water systems. What gets flushed or poured down our drains affects the rivers, lakes and coastal waters in our community.
The Roselle Wastewater Division’s two treatment plants collect wastewater, treat it, and discharge the treated water into receiving streams safely. A collection of children’s toys are also part of the display. These toys were recovered from the local wastewater treatment plants. The toys probably were flushed down a toilet by children too little to realize what they were doing. These toys actually have a permanent home at the onsite laboratory of the Devlin Waterwaste Treatment Plant. For further information about this display, contact the library at (630) 529-1641. The Roselle Library is located at 40 S. Park Street.
New tough emissions standards will slash pollution from locomotive and marine diesel engines by up to 90 percent, helping Americans to breathe cleaner air as soon as this year.
The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:
Read the full post in the Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog.
The green business tsunami keeps rolling along. Today, swarms of corporate heavyweights are descending on a swanky resort in Santa Barbara, Calif., an old Spanish mission town, for “ECO:nomics,” a big conference on how business grapples with the challenges of going green.
Read the full post in the Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog.
Just like the U.S., the European Union has for years thrown tax breaks and subsidies at its transport biofuels sector. Unlike the U.S., though, EU leaders are rethinking that approach.
Read the full story in Technology Review.
A California startup is cutting by half the amount of costly silicon used in solar panels.
Read the Federal Register Notice.
SUMMARY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, announces it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements for agriculture producers and rural small businesses in eligible rural areas. Funding will be available in the form of grants and loan guarantees. In addition to stand-alone grants and loan guarantees, applicants may apply for combination loan guarantee and grant funding (combination package).
For renewable energy systems, the minimum grant is $2,500 and the maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency improvements, the minimum grant is $1,500 and the maximum is $250,000. Funding for grant and loan combination packages will be funded from the same allocation as loan guarantees. Fifty percent of the appropriated grant funding will be reserved for the first grant-only competition. Any unused grant only funds from the first competition will be made available for the second grant-only competition.
The maximum amount of a guarantee to be provided to a borrower will be $10 million. Fo FY 2008, the guarantee fee amount is 1 percent of the guaranteed portion of the loan and the annual renewal fee is 0.250 percent (one quarter of one percent) of the guaranteed portion of the loan.
For FY 2008, the following are the funds provided by Congress for the Section 9006 program: For grants, $15,888,000, and for loans, $204,953,560.
DATES: For the first competitive window, complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111) grant only applications, must be submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no later than April 15, 2008. For the second competitive window, complete (see 7 CFR 4280.111) grant-only applications must be submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no earlier than April 16, 2008, and no later than June 16, 2008.
Complete guaranteed loan applications will be accepted and processed, until June 16, 2008, in a rolling application manner. Applications for loan guarantees must be completed and submitted to the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no later than June 16, 2008. No application received in the State Office after June 16, 2008, will be considered.
Complete combination packages will be accepted and processed, until June 16, 2008. Once funds become available, combination packages will be evaluated on a bi-weekly basis. Combination applications must be completed and submitted to the appropriate USDA
Rural Development State Office no later than June 16, 2008. No application received after June 16, 2008, will be considered.
For more information on Farm Bill Section 9006: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program, visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/farmbill/index.html.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
Auto-body shops and restoration specialists can breathe a sigh of relief now that the final EPA rule on emission standards for paint stripping and surface coating operations is out. At the same time, however, they should take a deep breath and prepare for some changes to come.
Read the full story in Environmental Protection.
Benjamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer, Israel’s minister of national infrastructure, represented Israel recently in the 2008 Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, where he highlighted his country’s recent contributions to finding sustainable energy solutions. These solutions are in the areas of battery-powered cars, solar power generation in the United States and Israel, and wind and geothermal energy.
Environmental Protection: EPA Needs to Ensure That Best Practices and Procedures Are Followed When Making Further Changes to Its Library Network. GAO-08-304, February 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-304
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08304high.pdf
Since 2006, EPA has implemented its reorganization plan to close physical access to 4 libraries. In the same period, 6 other libraries in the network decided to change their operations, while 16 have not changed. Some of these libraries have also digitized, dispersed, or disposed of their materials. Since the reorganization, EPA has begun drafting a common set of agencywide library procedures and has hired a program manager for the network. While these procedures are under development, however, EPA has imposed a moratorium on further changes to the network in response to congressional and other expressions of concern.
EPA’s primary rationale for the library network reorganization was to generate cost savings by creating a more coordinated library network and increasing the electronic delivery of services. However, EPA did not fully follow procedures recommended in a 2004 EPA study of steps that should be taken to prepare for a reorganization. In particular, EPA did not fully evaluate alternative models, and associated costs and benefits, of library services. EPA officials stated that they needed to act quickly to reorganize the library network in response to a proposed fiscal year 2007 funding reduction.
EPA did not develop procedures to inform staff and the public on the final configuration of the library network, and EPA libraries varied considerably and were limited in the extent to which they communicated with and solicited views from stakeholders before and during the reorganization effort. In particular, EPA’s plan did not include information that the Chemical Library was to close, and EPA did not inform staff or the public until after the fact.
EPA’s communication procedures were limited or inconsistent because EPA acted quickly to make changes in response to a proposed fiscal year 2007 funding reduction, and because of the decentralized nature of the library network. EPA is currently increasing its communication efforts.
EPA does not have a post-reorganization strategy to ensure the continuity of library services and has not yet determined the full effect of the reorganization on library services. Moreover, EPA has recently made several changes that could have impaired user access to library materials and services. For example, EPA did not determine whether federal property management regulations applied to the dispersal and disposal of library materials before it closed the libraries. Furthermore, EPA lacked oversight of the reorganization
process and does not have procedures that would allow the agency to measure performance and monitor user needs.Several different EPA offices are responsible for the libraries in the network. Each office generally decides how much funding to allocate to the libraries for which it is responsible and how to fund their reorganization. However, when faced with a proposed budget reduction of $2 million in fiscal year 2007, EPA specifically directed that these offices reduce funding for their libraries and did not specify how to achieve the reduction. Additional funds were not allocated to assist offices in closing their libraries.
GAO recommends that EPA continue its moratorium until it takes
corrective actions to (1) justify its decision to reorganize the network,
(2) improve its outreach efforts, (3) ensure sufficient oversight and
monitoring of the reorganization, and (4) implement procedures for
the proper dispersal and disposal of library materials. EPA agreed
with GAO’s recommendations.
See also: Environmental Protection: EPA Needs to Follow Best Practices and Procedures When Reorganizing Its Library Network, by John B. Stephenson, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, House Committee on Science and Technology. GAO-08-579T, March 13.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-579T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08579thigh.pdf
