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.

February 23, 2009

• Notice: EPA's Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference (Apr 27-30) - EPA is hosting the 2009 Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference in West Chester, OH, April 27 - 30, 2009 with the theme "Toxicology and Risk Assessment from the Trenches." Registration (for the conference and hotel), directions and a draft agenda are now available (National Center for Environmental Assessment).

February 12, 2009

• EPA Can Improve Its Implementation of the Risk Management Program for Airborne Chemical Releases (PDF) - The purpose of the Risk Management Program under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act is to reduce the likelihood of airborne chemical releases that could harm the public, and mitigate the consequences of releases that do occur. We conducted this review to assess U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implementation and oversight of this program. A 50 pp, 594K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

• New from the Office of Transportation and Air Quality:

  • EPA releases updated guidance on substituting and adding transportation control measures to approved state air quality plans - This document provides updated guidance to state and local air quality and transportation agencies on implementing the Clean Air Act provision that establishes a streamlined process for substituting or adding transportation control measures to an approved state air quality plan.

  • Guidance for Developing Transportation Conformity State Implementation Plans (SIPs) - This document provides guidance on the statutory and regulatory requirements for states to develop conformity state implementation plans. This document supersedes the November 2004 Conformity SIP Guidance and Section 7 of the Interim Guidance for Implementing the Transportation Conformity Provisions in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (February 2006).

February 10, 2009

• Green Roofs Webcast registration now open for Webcast on Wed, Feb. 18, 2009 - Many communities across the country are struggling to address impacts from stormwater runoff on their water resources due to increased development. Innovative low impact development practices such as green roofs can help manage stormwater runoff very effectively and provide communities with beautiful amenities. In addition to capturing runoff, they help slow it down, thereby reducing the overall volume of runoff that can lead to flash flooding and streambank erosion. Aside from water quality benefits, green roofs add beauty and habitat in urban areas. They also help conserve energy, mitigate urban heat islands, and reduce a community’s carbon footprint. Join us for this exciting Webcast to learn more about these natural solutions to water pollution. Our three expert speakers will discuss the benefits of green roofs and share their experiences as leaders/pioneers in the green roof movement in the United States and North America (EPA Watershed Academy).

February 4, 2009

• EPA Needs a Comprehensive Research Plan and Policies to Fulfill its Emerging Climate Change Role (PDF) - We sought to answer the question: how well do the policies, procedures, and plans of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) help ensure that its climate change research fulfills its role in climate change? A 36 pp, 419K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

• EPA and NatGeo: Putting a Price on Paradise - Singer Joni Mitchell crooned, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Today the presence of thousands of parking lots in the United States illustrates just one example of how human-induced change can negatively affect the benefits — or ecosystem services — provided by the environment that we have come to rely upon to live (National Exposure Research Laboratory).

• New from the Office of Pesticide Programs:

  • Registration Kit - new edition of PR Notice 91-2 to registration kit page for registrants.

  • Index of Cleared Science Reviews for Pyriproxyfen dibromide (Pc Code 129032) - Science reviews previously released under FOIA have been posted.

  • Threatened and Endangered Species Data Protocol (PDF) - Protocol submitted by the Generic Endangered Species Task Force for the Development of data sets to meet threatened and endangered species data requirements. A 18 pp, 864K Adobe Acrobat PDF document.

  • Clarification of Net Contents Declarations for Antimicrobial Wipe Products - Document for the Antimicrobial Wipe Products has been added to the Antimicrobial Policy & Guidance Documents.

January 29, 2009

• Measuring and Reporting Performance Results for the Pollution Prevention Program Need Improvement (PDF) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Pollution Prevention (P2) Program was rated moderatelyeffective by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in Fiscal Year 2006,receiving the third highestrating awarded to EPAprograms using the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). We sought to verify the accuracy of P2 Program data provided for the PART assessment and determine what actions have been taken to address the recommendations in the PART program improvement plan. A 39 pp, 340K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

• New from the Office of Pesticide Programs:

  • Pesticide Program Reports - Descriptions of and links to various reports produced by the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP).

  • Performance Management & Accountability - Achieving Pesticide Program Goals - Highlights some of the progress OPP has made toward our goals, including some objectives accomplished with the help of our state, local, and tribal partners.

January 27, 2009

• EPA Should Strengthen Internal Controls over Interagency Agreement Unliquidated Obligations (PDF) - The purpose of this audit was to evaluate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) process for reviewing unliquidated interagency agreement (IA) obligations, deobligating funds, and closing IAs. The objectives of our review were to determine: (1) whether EPA has adequate controls in place to identify and deobligate unneeded IA funds, and (2) the amount of obligations under IAs that could potentially be deobligated. A 32 pp, 400K Adobe Acrobat PDF document from the Office of Inspector General.

January 26, 2009

• Draft GWR Triggered and Representative Source Water Monitoring Public Review posted - The objective of this gudiance manual is to provide states, tribes, and other primacy agencies and ground water systems guidance in meeting the triggered and representative monitoring requirements under the Ground Water Rule (GWR).  A significant requirement of the GWR is that ground water systems (GWSs) that do not demonstrably provide adequate treatment to control viral pathogens (99.99% inactivation and/or removal) must test their source water for the presence of a fecal indicator when they encounter a total coliform-positive sample in the distribution system under the Total Coliform Rule.  The triggered monitoring requirement is designed to allow systems and states to identify and to correct public health risks from fecal contamination found at the source.  In addition, under GWR, states also have the option of requiring source water assessment monitoring which would require systems to regularly sample their sources for fecal indicators (Office of Ground Water & Drinking Water).

• Frequently Asked Questions about the Emission Control Area Application Process - Information about the process for applying to designate the coastal areas of the U.S. as an Emission Control Area under Annex VI (Office of Transportation and Air Quality).

• Planning Guidance Response Nuclear Detonation - The White House developed this guidance specifically for application for nuclear detonations. This guidance is the first Federal guidance focusing on areas of severe damage and high radiation. It provides the basis to help state and local planners develop state and local plans by tailoring this guidance to their specific circumstances or to compare differing inputs and assumptions. It serves to facilitate coordination between state and local planners and the Federal government (Radiation Protection Division).

• EPA Makes Grants Available to States to Implement Water Quality Monitoring and Public Notification Programs at the Nation's Beaches - EPA is making almost $10 million in grants available in 2009 to eligible coastal and Great Lakes states, territories and tribes to help them implement programs to monitor water quality at the beach and to notify the public when water quality problems exist (Office of Science & Technology, Office of Water).

January 16, 2009

• New from the Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water:

  • Determination that New or Revised Nutrient Water Quality Standards are Necessary for Florida - EPA has determined that new or revised numeric water quality standards for nutrients are necessary to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for the State of Florida. This determination will support Florida in building upon its already strong record of water quality protection, result in standards protective of applicable designated uses, and further expand and strengthen the numerous partnerships and collaborative projects Florida has led and supported to date.

  • Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey Report - EPA is releasing the results of the Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey (TNSSS). The survey measured concentrations for a target list of chemicals (analytes) in sewage sludge from a statistically derived sample of publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) in the contiguous United States with flow rates of at least one million gallons per day and which use secondary treatment or better.

  • Guidance for Implementing the January 2001 Methylmercury Fish Tissue Criterion - EPA is publishing its final Guidance for Implementing the January 2001 Methylmercury Water Quality Criteria. This document will help protect waters and human health by giving guidance to states, territories, and authorized tribes (states and tribes) for adopting a fish tissue-based methylmercury water quality criterion into their water quality standards and implementing the criterion through other water quality programs.

  • Provisional Health Advisories for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) - Drinking water and health advisory summary tables are prepared periodically. They contain drinking water standards in the form of non-enforceable concentrations of drinking water contaminants, Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs), or enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Maximum Contaminant Levels are the maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water delivered to users of a public water system. Health Advisories (HA's) provide information on contaminants that can cause human health effects and are known or anticipated to occur in drinking water. Health Advisories are guidance values based on non-cancer health effects for different durations of exposure (e.g., one-day, ten-day, and lifetime). They provide technical guidance to our Regional Offices, State governments, and other public health officials on health effects, analytical methodologies, and treatment technologies associated with drinking water contamination.

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).