Construction Site SWPPP, Erosion Control Plan, Spill Plans for North Dakota

Contractors, project developers and land owners that are subject to the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDH) General Storm water Discharge Permit for Construction Activities ( Permit NDR10-0000) are required to prepare certain pollution prevention plans, including:

• Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan,

• Erosion and Sediment Control Plan,

• Spill prevention and control procedures or SPCC Plan

Construction sites subject to the NDDH general permit  must meet certain minimum best management practices, including site inspections, waste control, employee training and others.

Add Caltha to your team - Caltha LLP provides technical support to general contractors, project developers and land owners in North Dakota to prepare project pollution prevention plans and the Notice of Intent (NOI) required for permit coverage. To request a quote, click here

Caltha will need you to provide basic project descriptions (e.g. size, scope) along with your contact information. We will then issue a quote by email, usually within 24-hrs.

You can find out more about Caltha’s stormwater services at:

http://www.calthacompany.com/?page_id=16

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.
For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website

Flame Retardant Atlernatives Report Released

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft report on alternatives to the toxic flame retardant chemical known as decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE). Developed with public participation under the Agency's Design for the Environment (DfE) program, the comprehensive assessment profiles the environmental and human health hazards of 30 alternatives to decaBDE. DecaBDE is a common flame retardant used in electronics, vehicles, and building materials. Because it can cause adverse developmental effects, persist in the environment, and bioaccumulate in people and animals, it will be phased out of production by December 2013.

EPA's new report was intended to help manufacturers identify alternatives to decaBDE. EPA will work directly with manufacturers to investigate chemical and non-chemical alternatives to flame retardants. EPA said the draft report is the latest in a series of actions it is taking to address flame retardants made with bromine. On June 1, 2012, EPA released a TSCA work plan of 18 chemicals which the agency intends to review and use to develop risk assessments in 2013 and 2014, including three flame retardant chemicals. EPA is currently developing a strategy, scheduled for completion by the end of this year that will address these three and a broader set of flame retardant chemicals. This effort will aid the agency in focusing risk assessments on those flame retardant chemicals that pose the greatest potential concerns. EPA anticipates initiating the risk assessments on this category of chemicals in 2013.

According to EPA, alternatives to decaBDE characterized in the report are already on the market and will be used increasingly as decaBDE is phased out, but they also have differing hazard characteristics and are associated with trade-offs. For example, some alternatives that appear to have a relatively positive human health profile may be more persistent in the environment. Some alternatives appear to be less toxic than decaBDE. Preliminary data suggests that these flame retardants may have a lower potential for bioaccumulation in people and the environment. However, the Agency points out that these health and environmental profiles are largely based on computer-model generated estimates, and that the models are limited in their ability to predict concern. Laboratory testing and ongoing environmental monitoring is necessary to fully understand the potential for concern associated with these chemicals.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.
For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website

EPA Brownfields Grant To ND Tribe

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa will receive a $200,000 Brownfields grant to clean up an abandoned Tribal Administration Building on Highway 5 West near Belcourt, North Dakota. The award is part of $69.3 million in EPA Brownfields grants provided to 245 communities across the nation to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, protect public health and create jobs.

The 30,000 square-foot administration building was constructed in 1989 and was recently abandoned because of repeated flooding. The building is contaminated with mold, unknown chemicals and electronic waste products. EPA’s grant will facilitate the cleanup and renovation of the building to provide the tribe with usable office space.

The 245 grantees include tribes and communities in 39 states across the country, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants, and Revolving Loan Fund Supplemental grants. The grants awarded will assess and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial properties. According to EPA, nearly half of the grantees this year are new awardees who demonstrate a high level of commitment for undertaking specific projects and leveraging the funding to move those projects forward.

Approximately 29 % of the grants are being awarded to non-urban areas with populations of 100,000 or less, 16 % are being awarded to “micro” communities with populations of 10,000 or less, and the remaining grants are being awarded to urban areas with populations exceeding 100,000.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.
For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website

EPA Brownfields Grant To Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will receive a $200,000 Brownfields grant to clean up the Smee School Teacher’s quarters located at 101 Main Street in the Wakapala community, North Dakota. The site is contaminated with heavy metals and inorganic materials. The award is part of $69.3 million in EPA Brownfields grants provided to 245 communities across the nation to clean and redevelop contaminated properties, protect public health and create jobs.

The 245 grantees include tribes and communities in 39 states across the country, funded by EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (ARC) grants, and Revolving Loan Fund Supplemental grants. The grants awarded will assess and clean up abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Nearly half of the grantees this year are new awardees who demonstrate a high level of commitment for undertaking specific projects and leveraging the funding to move those projects forward.

According to EPA, there are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites in America. In 2011, EPA’s brownfields program leveraged 6,447 jobs and $2.14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funds. Since its inception EPA’s brownfields investments have leveraged more than $18.3 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from a variety of public and private sources and have resulted in approximately 75,500 jobs. More than 18,000 properties have been assessed, and over 700 properties have been cleaned up. Brownfields grants also target under-served and low income neighborhoods.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.
For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website

Dickinson, ND Business Receives EPA Grant

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded based SolarBee, Inc, Dickinson, ND an $80,000 grant to conduct research on a solar-powered aeration technology to remove trihalomethanes from water distribution systems. SolarBee’s research will help develop more efficient ways for water utilities to remove these contaminants and meet EPA drinking water standards. Trihalomethanes are a group of chemicals formed as byproducts when chlorine or other disinfectants used to control microbes in drinking water react with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in water. Trihalomethanes include chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform.

SolarBee is among 25 companies receiving a total of $2 million for technology development toward sustainable solutions for the environment under EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The SBIR program is part of EPA’s Technology Innovation for Environmental and Economic Progress: An EPA Roadmap, which focuses on linking research and development, policy and finance. The 25 companies awarded contracts make up Phase I of this year’s annual competition. The winners will compete for Phase II funding to commercialize their technologies, helping to protect health and the environment. To be eligible to participate in the SBIR program, a company must be an organized, for-profit U.S. business and have fewer than 500 employees. Phase I awards may be up to $80,000, and Phase II awards may be up to $300,000.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.
For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website

Alternatives To NPE Report Finalized

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the final report on alternatives to nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) through the Design for the Environment (DfE) Alternatives Assessment Program. NPEs are widely used surfactants with a range of industrial applications and are commonly found in consumer products, such as laundry detergents. When released into the environment, they can be persistent and highly toxic to aquatic organisms. The report identifies eight safer alternatives to NPEs that meet EPA’s criteria for safer surfactants.

The report provides information on the availability of safer alternatives, DfE’s hazard evaluation method for surfactants, and the progress being made in adopting safer surfactants. Using rigorous hazard-based criteria, EPA evaluated hundreds of chemicals for their biodegradability and their potential effects to aquatic organisms.

DfE’s Alternatives Assessment Program helps industries choose safer chemicals and offers a basis for informed decision-making by providing a detailed comparison of the potential human health and environmental effects of chemical alternatives. To date, the DfE program has labeled more than 2,700 safer products, including detergents that contain only safer surfactants and other chemicals. All companies participating in the DfE Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative have eliminated NPEs from their product lines to meet DfE criteria.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.
For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website

New Rules Proposed Affecting North Dakota Oil & Gas Operations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed standards to reduce regulated air emissions from oil and gas drilling operations. These proposed updated standards, issued in response to a court order, would rely on existing technologies to reduce emissions. The proposal would cut volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from several types of processes and equipment used in the oil and gas industry, including a 95% reduction in VOCs emitted during the completion of new and modified hydraulically fractured wells.

EPA’s analysis of the proposed changes, which also include requirements for storage tanks and other equipment, estimates a net savings to the industry of $10s of millions annually from the value of natural gas that would no longer escape to the air. The proposal includes reviews of four air regulations for the oil and natural gas industry as required by the Clean Air Act: a new source performance standard for VOCs from equipment leaks at gas processing plants; a new source performance standard for sulfur dioxide emissions from gas processing plants; an air toxics standard for oil and natural gas production; and an air toxics standard for natural gas transmission and storage.

EPA is under a consent decree requiring the agency to sign a proposal by July 28, 2011 and take final action by Feb. 28, 2012. As part of the public comment period, EPA will hold three public hearings, in the Dallas, Denver and Pittsburgh areas.

Caltha LLP provides expert environmental consultant services in North Dakota to obtain environmental permits, evaluate regulatory requirements, and to develop cost effective compliance programs.

For further information contact Caltha LLP at info@calthacompany.com or Caltha LLP Website