This page provides access to a listing of some of the recent additions and new materials made available on the EPA Web site within the past six weeks.

Janary 14, 2009

• Congressionally Requested Report on EPA Staffing Levels and Total Costs for EPA Facilities (PDF) - Includes information on the staffing levels, rental/lease fees, and utility and security costs for all of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA's) facilities and/or locations where EPA incurs costs associated with its employees. A 33 pp, 916K Adobe Acrobat PDF document frm the Office of Inspector General.

• Interim Report on Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (NMSP) Available – EPA received a significant amount of data which has strengthened its understanding of the issues and commercial status of nanoscale materials. However, a number of environmental health and safety data gaps the Agency had hoped to fill through the NMSP still exist. EPA will continue the NMSP and is also considering how to best use its regulatory authorities to help address those data gaps (Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics).

• New from the Stratospheric Protection Division:

  • Clarifying information on the HCFC Allocation and Pre-Charged Appliances proposed rules is available - On December 23, 2008, EPA published two proposed rules that, working together, will restrict the availability and use of HCFCs (including R-22) starting in 2010. One proposal would allocate allowances to continue the Montreal Protocol phasedown of production and import of HCFCs. The other proposal would ban the sale or distribution (including import) of pre-charged air-conditioning and refrigeration products and components containing HCFC-22 or HCFC-142b.

  • Transcripts from the January 7th public hearings on the Pre-Charged Appliances (PDF, 78 pp, 168K, About PDF) and the 2010 Allocation (PDF, 48 pp, 108K, About PDF) proposed rules are available.

January 13, 2009

• Costs Claimed under EPA Grant XP98011401 Awarded to the City of Rupert, Idaho (PDF) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General is reviewing Special Appropriation Act Project grants to identify issues warranting further analysis. We selected the City of Rupert (grantee) for one of these reviews. An 11 pp, 207K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

January 12, 2009

• Notice: IRIS Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): External Peer Review Meeting - The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will be hosting an external review meeting to discuss the IRIS Toxicological Review of Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene) (External Review Draft) report to be held Jan 29-30, 2009 in Washington DC (National Center for Environmental Assessment).

• Denatonium Saccharide Final Work Plan - Denatonium Saccharide Final Work Plan is available (Office of Pesticide Programs).

January 7, 2009

• Publication: Predicting Future Introductions of Nonindigenous Species to the Great Lakes (Final Report) - EPA has released a final report entitled, "Predicting Future Introductions of Nonindigenous Species to the Great Lakes." This report predicts the spread of aquatic nonindigenous species into the Great Lakes to help resource managers focus monitoring activities on particular species at the most vulnerable U.S. Great Lakes ports. The report also demonstrates the use of a habitat suitability model and ballast water discharge data to predict invasion potential (National Center for Environmental Assessment).

• EPA Releases Notice 23 Approving Substitutes for the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Fire Suppression, and Foam Blowing Sectors - These notices expand the list of acceptable or pending substitutes for ozone depleting substances (ODSs) under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.

December 30, 2008

• EPA Will Hold Public Hearings on January 7 for the HCFC Allocation and Pre-Charged Appliances Proposed Rules - This proposal adjusts existing provisions effective January 1, 2010, by reducing the allowance allocations for HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b and for the first time allocating allowances for production and consumption of other HCFCs (Stratospheric Protection Division).

• Funding Guidance for State and Tribal Response Programs Fiscal Year 2009 (PDF) - This document provides guidance that will enable states and tribes to apply for and use Fiscal Year 2009 CERCLA §128(a) funds. These response programs address the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of brownfields sites and other sites with actual or perceived contamination. A 19 pp, 118K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Superfund Program.

December 29, 2008

• 5th National Conference for Nonpoint Source and Stormwater Outreach, May 11-14, 2009, Portland, OR - The 5th National Conference for Nonpoint Source and Stormwater Outreach will provide practitioners from around the country the opportunity to learn and share ideas on developing and implementing nonpoint source and stormwater outreach strategies that produce positive, measurable outcomes, comply with NPDES requirements, and can be successfully implemented with modest budgets. The conference will explore practical, current examples of successful outreach programs and projects through facilitated training sessions, workshops, presentations with interactive discussion, group exercises and networking events. The conference will serve local, regional, state and federal professionals tasked with educating various audiences on nonpoint source pollution, stormwater pollution, watershed protection and promoting sustainable behavior changes in challenging economic times (Nonpoint Source Control Branch).

• EPA and DOT Release Updated Joint Guidance for the Use of Latest Planning Assumptions in Transportation Conformity Determinations - This December 2008 guidance document supersedes the January 18, 2001 guidance memorandum to address the July 1, 2004 transportation conformity final rule revisions on the use of latest planning assumptions in transportation conformity determinations (Office of Transportation and Air Quality).

• Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Program Request for Proposals - Due March 16, 2009 - CARE is a unique community-based, community-driven, multimedia demonstration program designed to help communities understand and reduce risks due to toxic pollutants and environmental concerns from all sources. The CARE grant program works with the eligible entities to help their communities form collaborative partnerships, develop an understanding of the many local sources of risk from toxic pollutants and environmental concerns, set priorities, and identify and carry out projects to reduce risks through collaborative action at the local level. CARE’s long-term goal is to help communities build self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to improve human health and local environments into the future (Office of Air and Radiation).

December 23, 2008

• Request for Applications (RFA) for Research Funding Opportunity - Geographic, Statistical, and Indicator Research to Support the National Condition Surveys and the Environmental Research Program (National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory).

• Identification of Non-Hazardous Materials That Are Solid Waste - EPA is preparing to establish new standards for sections 112 and 129 of the Clean Air Act. (CAA).  To do so, EPA must determine what non-hazardous secondary materials are considered “solid waste” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). If a non-hazardous secondary material is not a “solid waste” under RCRA, and is burned in a combustion unit, then the unit that burns that material would be subject to applicable CAA section 112 requirements. On the other hand, if the material is considered a “solid waste,” then the unit that burns the material would be subject to CAA 129 requirements (Office of Solid Waste).

December 22, 2008

• Publication: Phthalates and Cumulative Risk Assessment (NAS Final Report) - On December 18, 2008, the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council released a final report, requested and sponsored by the EPA, entitled Phthalates and Cumulative Risk Assessment: The Task Ahead (National Center for Environmental Assessment).

• Draft Handbook for Developing Watershed TMDLs (PDF) - The purpose of this document is to promote the development of watershed TMDLs and to provide TMDL practitioners the information to move from concept to practice, making watershed TMDLs a standard approach in their programs. While the goal of this document is to support states in integrating a watershed approach to TMDL development into their overall programs, it focuses on the technical and programmatic information and considerations for developing and implementing watershed TMDLs primarily at the project level. A number of reference documents already exist to help states establish a program that uses the watershed as an operating framework for all of their statewide water programs. A 168 pp, 4.2MB Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds.

December 19, 2008

• 2008 Annual Public Water System Statistics have been posted - the summary tables include inventory data on water systems, violations reported by violation type and by contaminant/rule, and official Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) data (Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water).

• EPA Fugitives Web Site - EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division announced a new web tool to help enlist the public and other law enforcement agencies in tracking down fugitives accused of violating environmental laws and evading arrest (Criminal Investigations Division).

• Nearly $3 million in environmental community grants to be awarded – CARE grants are for projects to reduce pollution at the local level. Apply for a grant; deadline, March 16, 2009. Eighteen U.S. communities received $2.5 million in cooperative agreement CARE grants in 2008 (Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics).

• Pesticide reregistration chemical Web page for carbofuran and carbofuran NOIC updated - Carbofuran Proposed Tolerance Revocation & NOIC Web Page has been updated to reflect 12/19/08 publication of the 6(f) FR notice (Office of Pesticide Programs).

December 18, 2008

• Report: Improvements Needed to Validate Reported ENERGY STAR Benefits (PDF) - We initiated this review to examine the validity and accuracy of the reported energy savings for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGYSTAR program. This was part of our agenda to assess new approaches to environmental protection. We specificallysought to determine whether the savings reported werevalid and fully supportable. A 49 pp, 446K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

• Publication: Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur - Ecological Criteria (Final Report) - EPA is releasing the final report of the Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur - Ecological Criteria. This final ISA document represents a concise synthesis and evaluation of the most policy-relevant science and will ultimately provide the scientific bases for EPA’s decision on retaining or revising the current secondary standards for NOx and SOx (National Center for Environmental Assessment).

December 15, 2008

• Report: EPA’s California Waiver Decision on Greenhouse Gas Automobile Emissions Met Statutory Procedural Requirements (PDF) - "In this case, Administrator Johnson conducted a notice and hearing phase and based his decision to deny the waiver on one of the three criteria set out in Section 209(b); therefore, he satisfied the procedural statutory requirements." A 5 pp, 79K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

• New from the National Exposure Research Laboratory:

  • Post-Doctoral Research Program - NERL is accepting applications from December 10, 2008 through January 30, 2009 for approximately 8 federal, three-year post-doctoral research positions in one or more of the following locations: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Cincinnati, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; Athens, Georgia; or Washington DC metropolitan area.

  • Updated Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCP) literature references - Listing of literature references to Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the environment.

December 4, 2008

• EPA Is Now Accepting Applications for Essential Use Allowances for 2010 and 2011 - Essential use allowances provide exemptions from the phaseout on production and import of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs). Essential use allowances must be authorized by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Protocol). The U.S. Government will use the applications received in response to this notice as the basis for its nomination of essential uses at the 21st Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, to be held in 2009 (Stratospheric Protection Division).

• New from the Office of Pesticide Programs:

  • FDA, EPA and USDA Conclude That Accidental Release of Genetically Engineered Cotton Poses No Safety Risk to Humans or Animals - Link to FDA, EPA and USDA Joint Statement.

  • New Biopesticide Active Ingredients - 2008 - List of the new biopesticide active ingredients first approved in 2008.