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.
January 13, 2009
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.