Region 7

Serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and 9 Tribal Nations

Liberty, Mo., Company Receives SmartWay Excellence Award for Reducing Fuel Use and Carbon Emissions

(Kansas City, Kan., Oct. 7, 2008) - American Central Transport, Inc. (ACT) of Liberty, Mo., is one of 27 businesses receiving the SmartWay Excellence Award today for its efforts to reduce fuel use and lower carbon emissions from the transport of freight. EPA presents the award to those companies that significantly reduce their environmental footprint. News Release

---

Students Learn About Stream Health at Outdoor Classroom

The Stream Doctor, alias EPA Scientist Gary Welker (in lab coat), led a Region 7 team who recently taught students from Corinth Elementary School in Prairie Village, Kan., about stream health and helped them test the water quality and examine the aquatic life in Brush Creek. The EPA outdoor classroom was held in observance of Water Monitoring Month, which runs from Sept. 18 to Oct. 18. Students learned about the water chemistry of the stream and its biology, looking for certain animal species such as fish and insects, as well as the stream's physical environment and habitats and the affects of land uses and urban runoff on a watershed. News Release

EPA to Continue Screenings of Homes in Pittsburg, Kan., in Response to Mercury Spill at Local Skate Park

(Kansas City, Kan., Oct. 1, 2008) - EPA Region 7 emergency response teams and Crawford County Health Department staff are expecting to complete the screenings of at least a dozen more homes in Pittsburg, Kan., today for mercury exposure, as a joint agency response to a spill of the toxic metal at a local skate park enters its second day. News Release

EPA Region 7 Urges Parents to Contact Health Department Following Mercury Spill at Skate Park in Pittsburg, Kan.

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 30, 2008) - Parents of children who may have been exposed to toxic elemental mercury that was recently spilled on a Pittsburg, Kan., skate park are being strongly urged to immediately contact the Crawford County Health Department so that their children can receive health screenings. News Release

University of Kansas to Pay $39,431 Civil Penalty and Launch Project to Resolve Hazardous Waste Violations

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 29, 2008) - The University of Kansas (KU) will pay a $39,431 civil penalty and spend at least $41,585 in additional funds on training and documentation improvements to settle allegations related to improper handling of hazardous wastes on its Lawrence campus, under a legal agreement made final today with EPA Region 7. News Release

EPA Awards $382,000 for Ottumwa's Water Infrastructure

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 26, 2008) - EPA has awarded $382,000 to the City of Ottumwa, Iowa, for ongoing construction of a multi-phased combined sewer separation project. News Release

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Changes to List of Impaired Waters for Missouri

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 24, 2008) - EPA has released its proposed decision on the remaining portions of Missouri's 2004/2006 list of impaired waters. EPA is approving Missouri's listing of 61 waters as impaired, and the delisting of 52 water bodies. The Agency is requesting public comment on its proposed decision to add or restore a total of 135 water bodies and corresponding pollutants (water body/pollutant pairs) to Missouri's 2004/2006 impaired waters list. News Release

EPA Awards $286,000 for Ellsworth's Wastewater Infrastructure

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 24, 2008) - EPA has awarded $286,000 to the City of Ellsworth, Kansas, to partially fund construction of an upgrade to an existing wastewater pump station and four-cell wastewater treatment lagoon. News Release

EPA Region 7 Welcomes Three New Midwest Members to the National Environmental Performance Track Program

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 19, 2008) - Two business organizations and a federal agency in Region 7 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are being recognized as new members of EPA's National Environmental Performance Track Program. News Release

EPA Region 7 Reaches Agreement with Cement Manufacturer; Plant Improvements to Reduce Air Pollution in St. Louis Area

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 18, 2008) - EPA Region 7 has negotiated a legal agreement with a St. Louis area portland cement manufacturer to upgrade its facilities in a way that should cut the plant's annual particulate matter air emissions in the surrounding metro area by nearly 43 tons. News Release

EPA Encourages Students in Grades K-12 to Enter President's Environmental Youth Awards Competition

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 17, 2008) - Entries are now being sought for the 2008 President's Environmental Youth Awards, which recognize individuals, school classes (kindergarten through high school) and youth organizations for protecting our nation's air, water and land. News Release

EPA Now Using the Internet to Announce Revisions to States' Lists of Impaired Waters

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 12, 2008) - EPA is announcing a change to its procedures for seeking public comment when Region 7 revises a state impaired waters list after disapproving the state's submittal. News Release

More Press Releases and Fact Sheets