EPA released action plans developed by 15 electric utility facilities with coal ash impoundments, describing the measures the facilities are taking to make their impoundments safer. The action plans are a response to EPA’s final assessment reports on the structural integrity of these impoundments that the agency made public last May.

Since May 2009, EPA has been conducting on-site assessments of coal ash impoundments and ponds at electric utilities. EPA provides copies of the structural integrity assessment reports to each facility, and requests the facilities implement the reports’ recommendations and provide their plans for taking action. The action plans released today address recommendations from assessments of 37 impoundments at 15 facilities. Many of these facilities have already begun implementing EPA’s recommendations.

In addition to the action plans, EPA is also releasing assessment reports on the structural integrity of an additional 69 coal ash impoundments at 20 facilities across the country. Of these units, 35 were given a “poor” rating and none of the units received an “unsatisfactory” rating, which is the lowest possible EPA rating. The poor ratings were given because these units lacked some of the necessary engineering documentation required in the assessments, and not because the units are unsafe.  Based on analysis from the engineers who conducted the assessments, the ratings for these units are likely to improve once the proper documentation is submitted.

The assessment reports have been completed by firms, under contract to EPA, who are experts in the field of dam integrity, and reflect the best professional judgment of those engineering firms. A draft of these reports has been reviewed by the facilities and the states for factual accuracy. The comments on the draft reports are also posted on EPA’s website. EPA is continuing to review the reports and technical recommendations, and is working with the facilities to ensure that the recommendations are implemented in a timely manner. Should facilities fail to take sufficient measures, EPA will take additional action, if the circumstances warrant. EPA will continue to provide additional information to the public on the impoundments and facilities as it becomes available.

Last year, EPA completed comprehensive assessments for 60 impoundments that were considered to have a high risk of causing harm if the impoundment were to fail. The agency is now in the process of evaluating the remaining impoundments and will continue to make its assessments and the facility action plans available to the public.

EPA is also in the process of developing the first-ever national rules to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. The proposed regulations will ensure stronger oversight of the structural integrity of impoundments, and protection of human health and the environment. The agency is evaluating more than 400,000 public comments on the proposed rule, which was released in May 2010.  Read More.

Today, the EPA announced it’s decision to move forward with the development of a regulation for perchlorate, while also continuing to take steps to ensure the quality of the water they drink. The decision to undertake a first-ever national standard for perchlorate reverses a decision made by the previous administration and comes after Administrator Jackson ordered EPA scientists to undertake a thorough review of the emerging science of perchlorate.  Read More.

In a separate action, the agency is also moving towards establishing a drinking water standard to address a group of up to 16 toxic chemicals that may pose risks to human health. As part of the Drinking Water Strategy laid out by Administrator Jackson in 2010, EPA committed to addressing contaminants as a group rather than one at a time.  Read More.

Results of a third round of air monitoring in and around a child care facility and an adjacent building at the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City, Mo., do not reveal health concerns with indoor air at the facilities related to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), EPA Region 7 officials announced today.
 
EPA Region 7 and its contractors performed a series of sampling activities Aug. 6-8, 2010, at the two buildings, which are part of the General Services Administration’s managed portion of the complex. Building 50 houses GSA’s Kansas City South Field Office, and Building 52 houses the Bannister Complex Child Development Center, a child care facility.
 
This third round of tests was taken in the same areas of the buildings as previous tests in February and March 2010. The sampling included indoor air tests, as well as supplemental tests of outdoor air and air samples taken from beneath the concrete floor slabs of both buildings. This sampling round included additional volatile organic compounds. Indoor air samples showed no indication of health concerns related to volatile organic compounds. Results of the related sampling do not indicate migration of any vapors from beneath the building that would pose health risks.
 
EPA also conducted groundwater sampling, soil gas sampling, and soil sampling around the two buildings in December as part of an agreement between EPA and GSA. Additionally, the last of four rounds of air testing was conducted Nov. 19-21, 2010, as part of the comprehensive testing plan at these buildings.  Read More.

The EPA is proposing to keep the current national air quality standards for carbon monoxide (CO), while taking steps to gather additional data through more focused monitoring. 

The current health standards are 9 parts per million (ppm) measured over 8 hours, and 35 ppm measured over 1 hour. To ensure people are protected from high concentrations of CO and to develop better information about CO and its health impacts, EPA is proposing to revise the air monitoring requirements.  The proposed changes would require a more focused monitoring network with CO monitors placed near highly trafficked roads in urban areas with populations of 1 million or more. The data from these sites would be available for scientific studies that could help inform future reviews of the standard. 

EPA estimates that the proposal would require approximately 77 CO monitors in 53 urban areas.  EPA expects that states would not need to purchase new monitoring equipment. They could relocate some of their existing CO monitors to the near-road monitoring stations already required in connection with the revised nitrogen dioxide standards issued in January 2010. CO monitors at the new locations would be required to be operational by January 1, 2013.

The proposed rule only addresses the primary CO standards and is consistent with the advice and recommendations from the agency’s independent science advisors, the Clean Air Act Scientific Advisory Committee. 

EPA will accept comments for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. If requested, the agency will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule on Feb. 18, 2011. EPA will take final action by Aug. 12, 2011.  Read More.

EPA announced today that it will accept public input on whether to include vapor intrusion threats as a component for including hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.

Vapor intrusion describes the migration of volatile chemicals from contaminated groundwater or soil into the atmosphere, and is a particular concern if vapors enter an overlying building.
 
EPA is accepting public feedback on seven specific topics related to the potential revisions to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), which is used to evaluate sites for the Superfund list, for 75 days. The agency will consider information gathered during the comment period, as well as input from three public listening sessions before making a decision on whether to issue a proposed rulemaking to add a vapor intrusion component to the HRS.  Read More.