Region 6

Innovation

---

---

Gaylord Texan partners with EPA to reduce pollution

Resort will cut mercury as part of national environmental priorities program. More

---

Guapo Skateboards joins EPA pollution reduction program

---

EPA recognizes eight Texas companies as Energy Star Partners

Texas Energy Star partners receive EPA kudos for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. More

---

EPA Recognizes Continental Airlines for Environmental Stewardship

Airline recognized by EPA's Design for the Environment Program. More

---

Oklahoma small businesses making big environmental innovations

Two businesses in Oklahoma to receive $70,000 contracts from EPA and its Small Business Innovation Research program. More

---

Dallas Love Field pledges to cut more pollution

After cutting 4,000 pounds of harmful chemicals at its airport, Dallas Love Field is pledging to reduce 1,000 more as part of a national program run by EPA.

The airport plans to reduce 1,000 pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, as part of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP) program.  In addition, it is pledging to cut 50 pounds of mercury from light bulbs, thermometers, thermostats and other equipment under the NPEP “Mercury Challenge” campaign. 

“More and more top facilities are finding smart, simple ways to conduct business and care for the environment at the same time,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.  “It is even more inspiring when members of industry not only stick with their commitments to the environment, but expand on them, as Dallas Love Field has done.”

The airport will replace the ballasts and mercury-containing instrumentation with modern equipment that is free of priority chemicals.  It will also recycle light bulbs that contain mercury.

The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities promotes the voluntary reduction of 31 priority chemicals.  Through work with EPA, both public and private organizations identify activities that will reduce the use of these chemicals, preventing their ability to accumulate in the environment and cause harm to humans and the ecosystem.  The Mercury Challenge promotes the voluntary, systematic elimination of mercury-containing equipment.

Dallas Love Field is one of only four airports nationwide to join the NPEP program and is the first to add additional goals to its original commitment. 

More on the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities

---

DFW Airport partners with EPA to reduce pollution  

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is the newest partner to join a national effort led by EPA to reduce harmful chemicals.  As part of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities, the airport pledges to reduce 940 pounds of pendimethalin and trifluralin found in herbicides used to treat airport grounds.

“Reducing hazardous pollutants is good for the environment, good for business and good for our quality of life,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.  Read more…>

---

Frito-Lay plant earns spot in EPA top-performance program

Frito-Lay Inc.’s Jonesboro, Ark., plant will eliminate tons of waste and reduce water usage at the facility as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s top “green leadership” program.

“Frito-Lay is proof that a business can be a leader in its industry as well as in protecting the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. “ Read more…>

---

Early Reconnaissance with ASPECT

First responders to a disaster need information about chemical leaks. And they need it fast.

A partnership between EPA and the Department of Defense led to the development of equipment mounted in a small aircraft, allowing the collection of detailed chemical information from a safe distance.

The equipment - Airborne Spectral Photometric Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) - is an emergency response sensor package operated by EPA. The information ASPECT collects can immediately be sent to a ground unit giving emergency workers at the scene the data they need to safely respond to a disaster. The aircraft is housed in a hangar in Waxahachie, Texas.

ASPECT fact sheet

---

CMC Steel Texas to cut mercury at Seguin plant  

CMC Steel Texas has partnered with EPA to reduce mercury at its Seguin, Texas, plant.  The steel minimill has pledged to complete mercury reduction measures as part of EPA’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program.

“Taking mercury out of our business processes keeps mercury out of our environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.  Read more …>

---

Motiva Norco Refinery joins EPA pollution reduction partnership

EPA recently marked the entry of the Motiva Norco Refinery of Norco, Louisiana, into its national partnership for pollution reduction.  The petroleum refiner pledges to recycle more than 3 million pounds of hazardous chemicals as part of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program.

“Motiva joins a growing list of EPA partners who exemplify the best in voluntary efforts to recycle, reduce and eliminate pollution,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.  Read more …>

---

Dell Inc. joins EPA in getting the lead out

Dell Inc. has teamed up with EPA to help get the lead out of the environment.  The Austin-based computer maker has pledged to eliminate over 19 million pounds of lead from its manufacturing processes as part of EPA’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP).

“Dell is delivering more than cutting-edge computers,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.  Read more …>

---

University of Houston awarded nearly $300,000 from EPA science program

The University of Houston recently received a grant for $292,310 from EPA and its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program to study how changes in air quality from ozone and particulate matter affect exposure to ultraviolet radiation.  Read more …>

---

Environmental performance takes off at DFW International Airport 

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the latest major DFW business to join the Environmental Protection Agency initiative that challenges public and private institutions to meet and exceed government environmental requirements.  D/FW is the first Texas airport to be admitted into EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track program. 

“Performance Track members are raising the bar when it comes to environmental stewardship,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more ... >

---

Merisol USA partners with EPA to reduce hazardous chemicals

EPA welcomed Merisol USA LLC., as one of the newest partners in its National Partnership for Environmental Priorities.  Merisol joined the program by pledging to eliminate more than 2 million pounds of hazardous chemicals.

"Reducing hazardous materials is both a good environmental and smart business strategy,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.   Read more ... >

---

Buildings powering Energy Star savings

More than 400 top performing buildings in EPA Region 6 states—Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas—have earned the ENERGY STAR for powerful cuts to their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. 

“Our states are leading the way by building better buildings that provide a better environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more ... >

---

EPA marks entry of Schirm USA, Inc. into pollution reduction partnership

Schirm USA, Inc. has joined EPA's national partnership for pollution reduction. The company has pledged to complete mercury reduction measures at its Ennis, Texas, facility as part of the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities Program.

“With each new partner that joins the effort to reduce pollution, we are changing the landscape of our environmental future,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene. Read more ... >

---

Port of Houston Authority goes back to the ‘track’

EPA recognized the Port of Houston Authority for renewing its commitment to implement environmentally beneficial practices that go beyond regulatory requirements as part of the National Environmental Performance Track program. 

“The Port of Houston Authority charted a new path for others to follow when it became the first port in the nation to join Performance Track three years ago,” said Richard E. Greene, EPA Regional Administrator.  Read more …>

---

Fort Hood joins EPA Partnership, pledges mercury reduction

Fort Hood has joined the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program, pledging to eliminate mercury-containing light bulbs across the installation and reduce the use of mercury-containing batteries.

“Fort Hood and the U.S. Army are leading the nation in joining this voluntary program and partnering with EPA to increase public health protections and environmental improvements,” EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene said. Read more >

Learn more about NPEP.

---

Performance Track Gets Great Results
Companies Volunteer to Improve Performance

The National Environmental Performance Track program has just been nominated for an "Oscar" of government prizes. Performance Track was named as one of 50 top programs in the country by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The recognition was for uniqueness, effectiveness, significance and potential for replication. Read more >

---

EPA Lab in Ada receives energy award

EPA's Robert S. Kerr Research Center in Ada, Oklahoma won the U.S. Department of Energy's prestigious Federal Energy Saver Showcase Award after completing significant energy saving upgrades to the center's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. These upgrades resulted in an energy savings of greater than 50 percent. “We now have a system specifically designed to deliver reliable service and use much less energy,” said Steve Schmelling, the center's Ground Water and Ecosystems Restoration Division director. “It will save money and minimize impacts on the environment.”

The Ada facility is the first EPA “Zero Emissions Lab,” using wind power to help reduce the need for electricity from sources that may produce air pollution. The Kerr Center also is one of the first EPA facilities to meet the standards of the Laboratories of the 21 st Century Initiative, also called Labs21. This voluntary program established by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy focuses on improving the environmental performance of labs in America.

For more information:

The EPA News Release on the Ada Lab Award.

The EPA's use of green power

The 21st Century Initiative (Labs21).

The EPA Robert S. Kerr Research Center.

---

Houston to Receive EPA Grant for Clean Diesel Project

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene announced a $150,000 grant today to the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) to reduce air emissions from diesel equipment. The PHA will retrofit rubber tired gantry cranes and terminal tractors with diesel oxidation catalysts and diesel emulsion to reduce harmful components in their exhaust.

The project is one of 18 funded as part of EPA's new Clean Diesel Campaign, which seeks to retrofit diesel vehicles with advanced technologies and cleaner fuels to reduce emissions of particulate matter (soot) and other air toxics. Each demonstration project reduces the impacts of pollution on a population that is especially susceptible to the effects of diesel exhaust, including children, the elderly, and the chronically ill. Read more >

---

National Environmental Performance Track

Performance Track is a public/private partnership recognizing top environmental performance among participating U.S. facilities of all types, sizes, and complexity, public and private. Program partners are providing leadership in many areas, including preventing pollution at its source. Currently, the program has about 300 members and welcomes all qualifying facilities. Applications are accepted twice a year: Read more >

---

Energy Star

Energy efficiency is important for our country. Increasing energy efficiency can help preserve natural resources, reduce imports of foreign oil, save billions of dollars, make the air cleaner, and help protect our planet for future generations.

The Energy Star program is an excellent way for every American to make a difference in the world by making energy efficiency a part of their daily life. Millions already have. More than 630 million products with the Energy Star label have been purchased to date. Last year alone, Americans saved enough energy through Energy Star to power ten million homes and reduced pollution equivalent to that of ten million cars. Most important, they achieved these results without sacrificing comfort or quality and saved money at the same time. This is a great start, but there is considerable progress left to make. Read more>

Energy Star - The quality of our environment is everyone's responsibility

---

EPA Recognizes 3 Texas Businesses as ENERGY STAR Leaders

Granite Properties of Plano, HEB Grocery Company of San Antonio, and USAA Real Estate Company of San Antonio are three of the 18 organizations nationwide named as ENERGY STAR Leaders today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for demonstrating superior energy management and environmental leadership.

"These businesses prove that superior energy management is the cornerstone of strong energy, environmental, and financial performance," EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene said. "By managing their energy well, these organizations are showing their leadership, improving their financial performance and helping to protect the environment." Read more>

---

Waste-to-Energy

EPA's Waste-to-Energy program promotes flexible, innovative ways to recycle wastes while reducing fossil fuels use. It puts the President's energy policy to work developing alternative energy sources to meet the energy needs of the 21st century while protecting our environment.

A variety of processes have been developed to use different waste materials as energy sources. EPA is seeking more opportunities to partner with businesses and utilities in transforming waste into energy.

Each Waste-to-Energy project, whether involving animal waste, discarded tires, wastewater treatment plants or landfills, reduces the amount of waste that would otherwise have to be treated and disposed in waste lagoons or landfills. That reduces the amount of land that must be sacrificed each year to contain our nation's waste. Transforming waste into energy reduces the health risks associated with waste disposal, such as carbon dioxide emissions or water contamination. Each project also reduces the amount of fossil fuel our nation requires, making us less dependent upon foreign sources. Read more >

---

Partners for the Environment

EPA's voluntary partnership programs are often maintained through mutual agreements between the various programs and their members. The criteria and benefits for participating in each of the programs vary from program to program. To view a list of EPA's many voluntary programs, visit the links on our Web site. Read more >

---

EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program

The U.S. EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that promotes the use of landfill gas as a renewable, green energy source. Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of solid waste in landfills and is comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and methane.

By preventing emissions of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) through the development of landfill gas energy projects, LMOP helps businesses, states, energy providers, and communities protect the environment and build a sustainable future. Read more >