DEP Fines Berks County Company for Air Quality Violations; Orders Exide to Implement Odor Prevention Measures

HARRISBURG (Dec. 21) — Along with imposing a $69,000 penalty for air quality violations, the Department of Environmental Protection has ordered Exide Technologies to research and take corrective action on chronic odor problems at its Laureldale Borough facility in Berks County.

“Although Exide has made recent attempts to diagnose and fix the odor problem, more aggressive action is needed,” said DEP Southcentral Regional Director Rachel Diamond. “This order sets forth clear milestones to ensure progress in solving this difficult problem.”

The order requires Exide to investigate specific operations and issues at the facility that may contribute to the odor problem. These tasks are to culminate in a detailed odor control plan with an implementation schedule to be submitted by May 31.

In addition to odor issues, the penalty also addresses past violations relating to the smelter afterburners. Federal and state regulations require lead smelters to maintain certain minimum temperatures in the afterburners.

“Exide failed to meet the afterburner temperature standard,” said Diamond. “Exide appears to have corrected its problems managing these temperatures, but the civil penalty is appropriate for the past violations.”

The afterburner temperature violations addressed in the order occurred between late 2005 and mid-2006. Exide corrected the temperature problems by performing necessary maintenance and by improving its internal monitoring procedures.

For more information, visit www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Air Quality.

 (from DEP)

2008 National Air Quality Conferences

From AirNow.gov:

SAVE THE DATE!

April 6-9, 2008

2008 NATIONAL AIR QUALITY CONFERENCES

Air Quality Forecasting and Mapping

Communicating Air Quality and Communities in Motion

Ambient Air Monitoring

Celebrating 10 Years of AIRNow!

Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront
Portland, Oregon

SAVE THE DATE!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its co-sponsor, the National Association of Clean Air Agencies

(NACAA), invite you to attend this year’s National Air Quality Conferences, which will be held Sunday – Wednesday, April 6-9, 2008, in Portland, Oregon. Air quality professionals from federal, state, local and tribal air pollution organizations, metropolitan and regional planning organizations, environmental and research organizations, and industry representatives are encouraged to participate to learn the latest information on air quality forecasting, mapping, and monitoring, air quality and your health, and innovative outreach programs.

Returning this year will be a track of sessions dedicated to ambient air monitoring topics, including the monitoring implications of potential new air quality standards for ozone and lead, strategies for use of approved PM2.5 continuous methods, NCore technologies, updates about the PM2.5 chemical speciation program, and information on special studies and international topics.

The conferences will feature optional sessions on Sunday, including air quality forecasting training, a session on sharpening your communications skills, and a workshop on continuous PM2.5 monitoring methods and recommended operational practices. The general program will begin on Monday with an opening plenary session, followed by two days of focused breakout sessions; exhibits; and a poster session. The conference will adjourn early afternoon Wednesday with a closing plenary session. Come share your experiences and knowledge, network with colleagues, and learn about new and innovative projects at our exhibits and poster area.

MEETING SITE AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

The conferences are being held at the Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront, which is located 15 minutes from the airport, on the scenic Willamette River in downtown Portland. The hotel conference rate is $106 a night for a single or double room, plus 12.5% tax. All reservations must be made by Monday, March 10, 2008. After this date, reservations are subject to space and rate availability. To make your reservation, please call 1-800-546-9513. Ask for in-house reservations, and then reference the EPA Air Quality Conference to receive the group rate.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS AND
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION

If you are interested in participating in the National Air Quality Conferences as a speaker or poster presenter, please complete the “Speaker and Poster Proposal Submittal Form”(doc) (2 pp., 32KB, DOC) and e-mail it to NAQCabstracts@epa.gov by January 23, 2008. The online conference registration page will also be available at www.airnow.gov in early January.
Call for Speakers and Posters (3 pp., 51KB, PDF)

EXHIBIT AND SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES

We welcome inquiries from potential exhibitors and conference sponsors. This is a perfect opportunity to network with your colleagues, clients, and others interested and involved in air quality. In addition to onsite recognition during the conference, logos of exhibitors and sponsors who commit early will be included online and in conference materials. For more information on exhibit and sponsorship opportunities, contact Erin Pittorino at ERG at erin.pittorino@erg.com.

PASS THE WORD!

Help us spread the news about the conference by forwarding this e-mail to colleagues who may be interested in attending. Thank you.

Code Yellow Air Quality Forecast for Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Lehigh Valley/Berks Area Air Quality Forecast for:
Thursday, December 27, 2007:
Fine Particulates (PM 2.5) – Code YELLOW

Regional Maximum PM 2.5 Concentrations:
Monday, December 24, 2007:
PM 2.5 – GREEN (23 AQI or 29.7 µg/m3)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007:
PM 2.5 – GREEN (48 AQI or 14.7 µg/m3)

Short-Term Discussion: Some light rain is falling now in Baltimore and DC associated with low-pressure system that’s making its way up the Atlantic coast. Some cold rain should spread over the region by this evening. Temperatures look warm enough so that any precipitation should fall as rain, though some areas may get a brief period of freezing drizzle. Precipitation should end later this evening once this system lifts out of the area. Air-quality readings have moved into the moderate range.

Rain ending across the region overnight then becoming partly cloudy with temperatures expected to bottom out near 30 degrees. Some fog or haze in the morning then increasing clouds on Thursday as a weak storm system moves out of the lower Mississippi Valley and into the Northeast. We may see a light shower or mixed precipitation with this system as afternoon temperatures are expected to push into the upper 30s. Thursday’s fine-particulate concentrations should remain in the code YELLOW (moderate) range.

Extended: Unfortunately we don’t see much of a break in the clouds and rain we’ve recently been saddled with. On the bright side temperatures have conspired to keep most of the precipitation from falling as snow. There may be some clearing Thursday night into Friday morning before the next storm system comes out of the lower Mississippi Valley and into the Northeast. Temperatures should be warm enough to keep most of the precipitation as rain in our area. We expect air-quality readings to remain in the moderate range over the next several days.

December 28 is Try Transit Day!

From CAT:

Friday, December 28, 2007, is Try Transit Day, sponsored by CAT-Coalition for Appropriate Transportation. The purpose of Try Transit Day is to encourage people who have never tried public transportation to ride the LANTA bus. LANTA provided more than 5.25 million safe, economical, environmentally friendly trips over the last year. Public transportation provides great benefits to everyone.

Show support for public transportation by trying the LANTA bus on Try Transit Day, the last Friday of every month. Some of our leaders who have pledged to try public transportation on Friday, December 28, 2007, include Dr. Percy Dougherty, Chairman of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, and Paul Marin, member of the Board of Directors of LANTA and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.

ADVANTAGES TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Safer and healthier than driving a car: Riding the bus increases your chances of arriving at your destination safely. The National Safety Council reports that riding the bus is 170 times safer than driving or riding in a car. Using public transportation reduces stress. Read a book, listen to music, or talk with a neighbor and leave the driving to LANTA! Less stress means less chance of heart disease and strokes. The short walks to and from the bus can make a real difference to your body, too. Studies show that our increased dependence on automobiles—particularly for trips to places near our homes—is a significant factor in obesity and global warming.

Much better for our environment: Public transit produces less pollution. Buses produce 95% less carbon monoxide per passenger mile than private vehicles.
Riding the bus increases energy efficiency. Public transit is twice as efficient as private automobiles. Right now, using public transportation saves 45 million barrels of oil each year. Increased bus ridership means less space needed for parking spaces. Space for landscaping, retail, residential development, and other more desirable land uses could replace the hot pavement, painted lines, and long walks. These facts and figures are from the American Public Transportation Associations “Facts on Public Transportation” available at http://www.apta.com.

Easier and cheaper than driving your car. You’ll experience less traffic congestion on LANTA, and you won’t have to search for parking. With a little planning, you can replace many of the trips you make right now by car with public transportation. With today’s high gas prices, you can save a lot of money by riding LANTA. Individual savings will vary, of course, depending on the length of the trip, but do the math based on what you’re spending for gas. You’ll discover that riding the bus could save you significant money over time. For even more savings - buy a Fare Saver Ticket! See http://www.lantabus.org for details on discount fares.

FACTS ABOUT LANTA

LANTA operates a network of 30 fixed bus routes throughout the Lehigh Valley providing daily, late evening, Saturday, and Sunday services. Chances are good you live within walking distance of a LANTA Metro fixed route. LANTA provides 4.2 million fixed route trips per year. Currently more than half of all bus riders are on their way to or from work.

LANTA’s Metro Plus division arranges special door-to-door service for people with disabilities and the elderly who cannot ride the regular Metro fixed route system. Metro Plus dispatches more than 100 accessible vans and mini-buses daily. Metro Plus arranged more than 400,000 trips last year.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

To participate in Try Transit Day, just ride any LANTA Metro bus or Metro Plus vehicle on Friday, December 28, 2007. You can write about your experience on our Try Transit Day blog. See car-free.org/TTDblog.htm for details.

For information about specific buses or routes call LANTA 610 776-RIDE. For information about Metro Plus call 610 432-3200. For personal assistance with other questions about riding the bus or to arrange a “Bus Buddy” for your first trip call the CAT office at 610 954-5744 or email cat@car-free.org.

Experienced bus riders who would like to become a “Bus Buddy” should call or email the CAT office today.

Become an advocate for public transportation just by riding the bus. Make the smart choice and use LANTA this Friday, December 28, 2007, on Try Transit Day.

Air Quality Forecast

The Lehigh Valley/Berks Area Air Quality Forecast for:

Thursday, December 21, 2007:Fine Particulates (PM 2.5) – Code YELLOW

Regional Maximum PM 2.5 Concentrations:

Tuesday, December 19, 2007:PM 2.5 – YELLOW (84 AQI or 32.4 µg/m3)

Short-Term Discussion: Mostly sunny skies dominate the region this afternoon pushing temperatures into the 40s. A ridge of high pressure is building in over New England and down along the Mid-Atlantic. This high should remain in place for a couple of days keeping a storm system currently bringing some much needed precipitation to the parched southeast from running up the coast.Mainly clear tonight with temperatures expected to fall into the mid 20s in most places. Easterly winds will pick up on Friday. We may see an increase in clouds and some drizzle in places as on-shore flow sets up over the region. Afternoon temperatures are expected to climb to near the 40 degree mark. Friday’s fine-particulate levels should fall a bit but still remain in the code YELLOW (moderate) range over portions of the forecast area.Extended: High pressure will gradually give way to a storm system that will develop over the plains. This system will slowly work its way across the county bringing the chance of rain by Saturday before pushing through late on Sunday. Southerly winds out in front of this system should put milder air over the region before this storm’s arrival ensuring most of the precipitation will fall as rain, though a brief period of snow or ice is possible as the storm pulls out of the region later on Sunday. We expect fine-particulate concentrations to remain in the moderate range for the next several days.

Greenhouse Emissions

Washington, D.C. – December 19, 2007) The Bush Administration is moving forward with a national solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from American vehicles. The new energy legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Bush this week provides a federal fuel economy standard that offers environmental benefits, energy security and economic certainty for the nation.

“The Bush Administration is moving forward with a clear national solution – not a confusing patchwork of state rules – to reduce America’s climate footprint from vehicles,” said U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “President Bush and Congress have set the bar high, and, when fully implemented, our federal fuel economy standard will achieve significant benefits by applying to all 50 states.”

EPA has determined that a unified federal standard of 35 miles per gallon will deliver significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks in all 50 states, which would be more effective than a partial state-by-state approach of 33.8 miles per gallon.

California’s current waiver request is distinct from all prior requests. Previous waiver petitions covered pollutants that predominantly impacted local and regional air quality. Greenhouse gases are fundamentally global in nature, which is unlike the other air pollutants covered by prior California waivers requests. These gases contribute to the challenge of global climate change affecting every state in the union. Therefore, according to the criteria in section 209 of the Clean Air Act, EPA did not find that separate California standards are needed to “meet compelling and extraordinary conditions.”

The Clean Air Act requires EPA to follow a process when determining waiver requests. EPA must provide a public comment and hearing opportunity. The statue also provides three very specific criteria that EPA should evaluate for any California waiver petition.

EPA held two hearings on the waiver request and the comment period began April 30 and closed June 15. The administrator and EPA staff reviewed the more than 100,000 written comments and thousands of pages of technical and scientific documentation received during the public comment period. The comments represented a wide scope of interests including those of states and localities, public health and environmental groups, academia, industry and private citizens.

The two primary approaches for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles are increasing the fuel economy of vehicles and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their fuel. The recently signed energy bill addresses both approaches by increasing the fuel economy from vehicles to 35 miles per gallon, an increase of forty percent, as well as increasing the amount of renewable fuel used to 36 billion gallons, nearly a five fold increase.

Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355

The Lehigh Valley/Berks Area Air Quality Forecast

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007:
Fine Particulates (PM 2.5) – Code YELLOW
Regional Maximum PM 2.5 Concentrations:

Monday, December 17, 2007:

PM 2.5 – GREEN (19 AQI or 5.8 µg/m³)

 

Short-Term Discussion: Mostly sunny skies dominate the region as temperatures begin to push past the freezing mark. The high pressure system that is responsible for this will slide to our east tonight allowing a weak storm system to approach the region Wednesday afternoon. Fine-particulate levels have increased into the moderate range and should remain there through at least tomorrow.

Mainly clear and cold overnight with temperatures expected to fall into the mid 20s in most places but a bit colder in some of the outlying areas. Clouds will thicken early Wednesday morning as a weak low-pressure system approaches the region. Southerly winds will help boost temperatures into the 40s so any precipitation we do get associated with this next system should fall as rain. Wednesday’s fine-particulate levels should remain in the code YELLOW (moderate) range.

Extended: High pressure will build in behind this next storm system bringing sunny skies and seasonal temperatures for the remainder of the work week. A storm system will develop over the western plains and head east bringing more rain and possibly a brief period of snow for this weekend. We expect air-quality readings to remain mainly in the moderate range for the next several days.

DEP Air Quality News Round-up

Pennsylvania’s Proposed Fine Particulate Nonattainment Designation Recommendations. DEP is seeking public comment on its proposed recommendations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the designation of areas not meeting the revised 24-hour health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulates (PM2.5). Follow these links for more information on the meetings and the proposed recommendations.

2008 Dry Cleaner Compliance Calendar Now Available

 

Pennsylvania testifies on EPA’s proposal for new ground-level ozone standard. Deputy Secretary Thomas K. Fidler testified on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pa. on the proposed change to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. Read his testimony…

 

Proposed Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan
Pennsylvania’s updated Ambient Air Monitoring Network Plan, designed to improve public health protection and better inform the public about air quality in their communities, is now available for public comment.
Daily Update Article
View Proposed Plan (PDF)(5/15/07)
Pa. Bulletin Notice

Clean Air Interstate Rule

The Environmental Quality Board is considering a final CAIR rule for the Commonwealth. Documents are available on the December 18, 2007,

 

EQB meeting site.

Expedited Review Timeframes for Air Quality Plan Approvals added to the Money-Back Guarantee Program

HARRISBURG (Dec. 5) — DEP is announcing a change to the Air Quality portion of the Money-Back Guarantee Program. The purpose of the program is to demonstrate DEP’s commitment to providing timely permit decisions. Applicants who comply with all elements of the program but fail to get authorization from DEP by the applicable deadline will automatically have their permit application processing fee returned.

This program demonstrates DEP’s commitment to timely decisions without sacrificing public review. It also recognizes the responsibility of the applicant to provide DEP with a complete application that meets agency requirements and to promptly provide supplemental information upon request.

 

To ensure that Plan Approvals are promptly processed, DEP has added an Expedited Review Timeframes (ERT) component to the existing Money-Back Guarantee Program. This ERT option is being implemented as a permanent part of the Air Quality portion of the program because of the interest generated during the “pilot” Permit Streamlining Project that began on July 1, 2005. This initiative enhances the existing Money-Back Guarantee Program by providing an opportunity for the owners and operators of air contamination sources to partner with DEP in its continuing efforts to streamline the plan approval process. An applicant may opt for ERT processing of air quality plan approval applications under the following conditions:

 

• A pre-plan approval application meeting must be held with the appropriate regional office air quality permitting staff to determine what is needed for an administratively and technically complete application.
• An application that is administratively incomplete may be removed from the ERT portion of the Money-Back Guarantee Program.
• An applicant must also correct and respond to any technical deficiency notices within 21 calendar days of the receipt of notification.
• Failure to correct a technical deficiency within 21 calendar days may result in removal of the application from the Money-Back Guarantee Program.
• Loss of eligibility for processing of plan approval applications under the ERT will cause the application to be removed from the Money-Back Guarantee Program and the application fee will not be refunded by DEP. DEP will continue to process the application expeditiously upon receipt of the requested information to address the deficiencies.

Participation in the optional ERT portion of the Money-Back Guarantee Program should reduce the timeframes for Major Source New Source Review and Prevention of Significant Deterioration Plan Approvals from 365 to 252 calendar days; the timeframes for plan approvals issued for Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants and New Source Performance Standards Plan Approvals is expected to be reduced from 180 to 162 calendar days, and the timeframes for state only plan approvals should be reduced from 180 days to 140 calendar days.

Plan approval applicants interested in participating in the ERT portion of the Money-Back Guarantee Program should contact the appropriate DEP regional office. The form needed for processing applications under the ERT portion of program is available at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/aq/permits/plan.htm.

 

The revision of the Money-Back Guarantee Program continues the DEP’s initiative to streamline air quality permitting activities. DEP has proposed revisions to the air quality permitting regulations, has deployed the on-line electronic Request for Determination (eRFD) system, and developed more than 15 general plan approvals/permits. Within the past year, DEP has authorized 320 general plan approvals/permits.

 

For more information, contact Joe White in the Bureau of Air Quality’s Permits Division by telephone at 717-787-4325 or visit the Web site at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword: “Permits.”