Healthier, safer summers – brought to you by EPA
Whether your plans include going to a beach, visiting a national park, or just letting your kids play outside in the sprinklers, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays an important role in making your summer healthier and safer – in ways you might not realize.
Here are four examples of how EPA improves summers for all Americans: Reducing deadly smog Smog comes from pollution emitted from cars, power plants, and other sources.
EPA has worked for decades to reduce smog, most recently when the agency issued new standards for smog in 2015.
Once they’re in effect, those standards will prevent 230,000 asthma attacks among children every year.
Additionally, President Trump’s proposed budget for 2018 cuts funding for the air monitoring that warns families about “Code Red” and “Code Orange” days – the days when air quality reaches unhealthy levels – by almost one third.
Here are a few examples of beach monitoring and cleanup grants distributed by EPA: Lakeview Beach Green Infrastructure Project in the Great Lakes.
President Trump’s proposed budget for EPA would eliminate the beach monitoring grants program, among many other things that could impact the health of our nation’s beaches.
According to the National Park Service, there were over 307 million visits to our national parks last year and those visitors spent $16.9 billion in surrounding communities.
EPA and other agencies monitor visibility at 155 national parks and wilderness areas across the country.
Reducing the pollution contributing to climate change Climate change affects virtually every facet of our lives and can exacerbate all of the problems listed above – more smoggy days, rising sea levels and more pathogens potentially spreading at beaches, and worse haze in our parks.
Banquet hall shut down, cited in Randolph
RANDOLPH – The township health department on Tuesday slapped the Skylands Event and Conference Center with an "unsatisfactory" rating, closing the popular banquet hall on the cusp of prom and wedding seasons to rectify a clogged kitchen grease trap that was improperly bypassed, causing a sewage spill on the grounds.
It’s illegal," said township Health Officer Mark Caputo.
The diversionary pipe, Caputo said, linked the trap to a sump pump that is intended for rain water, not for sewage.
We closed them down for that reason, based on the food code.
The food code states that restaurant must have plumbing that works."
"(DEP) has a hotline number and they received four complaints this week of odor and possible water pollution at Skylands," said county Health Management Officer Carlos Perez Jr. "Our office dispatched an investigator to look into the complaints and met with representatives of Skylands."
The investigator discovered the malfunctioning grease trap inside, but the sump pump was not in operation at the time, so there was no current discharge of grease sewage to observe.
"What we did observe was evidence of a previous discharge of grease onto the ground, adjacent to the storm drain," Perez said.
"The sewer-line company that was hired was doing the clean-out, unplugging the line making it free of grease so that sewage can flow again."
"I have every reason to believe the management of the Skylands is working diligently to get this matter rectified before this weekend," Caputo said.
Part One – Coal Dust: Lambert Point’s Invisible Menace
Each day, thousands of Norfolk Southern railcars, gorged with coal from Virginia and West Virginia mines, flow along on tracks to the Lambert’s Point Pier in Norfolk.
But for some, its impact on the region’s environment and on the health of residents living near coal piers or along the tracks where railcars traverse each day has long been a local concern.
“Our organization has so many issues related to crime and justice, reentry, economics and other issues facing poor and Black communities,” said Byrum.
Byrum said state and federal health surveys indicate that particles of coal dust have attributed to a number of chronic health issues: asthma, bronchitis, heart disease and other ills related to breathing.
In the early 1970s, when the Nixon Administration created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it began imposing more stringent air and water pollution standards.
“Every five years, the state issues them a permit to operate, from the State Department of Environmental Quality.
Brandt said the only instance when coal dust would be stirred into the air is when the cars are flipped to have the contents dumped to be stored.
Brandt said after a series of complaints against Norfolk Southern, the company paid for a study to determine the extent of coal dust pollution in the region, in coordination with DEQ.
The NOAAA site still operates to monitor coal and other air pollutants.
Byrum said, “Norfolk, specifically, is tied to industry and that is what makes the city so great.
Essay on water pollution in hindi pdf
Essay on water pollution in hindi pdf.
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UMBC faculty address water pollution: Blaney, Swan, Baker
UMBC faculty address water pollution: Blaney, Swan, Baker.
The Conversation, Lee Blaney, assistant professor of chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering, describes how personal care products can negatively affect the environment and the health of animals and humans, and how his research is working to limit those harmful impacts.
Unfortunately, “[t]hese plants are not designed to treat the thousands of specialty chemicals in pharmaceuticals and personal care products,” Blaney notes.
“They are not equipped to handle the many ingredients of concern that are present in personal care products.” To reduce the impact these products have, Blaney says that the improvement of wastewater treatment technologies is crucial, as the chemicals in personal care products may threaten the health of people and aquatic animals, even when found at low concentrations.
For example, Matt Baker, professor of geography and environmental systems (GES), conducts research to better understand how direct runoff from agriculture and urban areas affects waterways.
His work has demonstrated that thickly vegetated zones along the banks of rivers and streams, called “riparian buffers,” can significantly reduce the amount of pollution that enters these waterways and ends up in the Bay.
His research seeks to green vacant lots with native plants, whose roots will absorb some city pollutants.
Blaney, Baker, and Swan are just a few of the many UMBC faculty focused on challenges related to the intricate relationships people have with their environments.
True of other challenges as well, Blaney says a “multi-pronged approach” will help today’s scientists, policymakers, and innovators to “continue to improve our quality of life without harming the environment.” Header image: The UMBC Library Pond.
Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
Northside subdivision faces costly annexation choice
Northside subdivision faces costly annexation choice.
City staff, however, is recommending the annexation be delayed, and residents are feeling conflicted.
"And of course the financial situation," Schweiss said.
Despite the target date, the city is not obligated to pursue the annexation — which would require nearly $1 million in city contributions to the construction of sewer and water lines and streets.
And almost all of the lots are so large that there’s room to add a new septic system if the existing system is failing.
Because of the large lots, Hensonshire and Jo Ray are unlike other recently annexed rural subdivisions that had very limited options for failing sewer systems.
Property owners looking to sell or expand a home must be inspected with a plan in place to address failing sewer systems, which contribute to water pollution.
It’s also possible Blue Earth County may decide to inspect all noncompliant properties if the city officially decides to delay annexation, Hentges said.
If a majority want to get the process over with, they could petition the city to add the sewer project to its construction schedule with work probably occurring in 2019.
Council President Mike Laven suggested Hensonshire homeowners, if they opt for waiting, start socking away money each year for the inevitable bill.
Long Island Sound water pollution study
Long Island Sound water pollution study.
"We really are looking to get a sense of which of the bays and harbors have the most nitrogen in them and which ones are flushing better," said Tracy Brown, the director of Save the Sound, which is leading a privately funded unified water study.
The multiyear study will address a data gap by testing water quality in more than two dozen bays and harbors from Connecticut to Long Island.
One of the goals is quantifying the amount of pollution in the water coming from wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, stormwater runoff, and fertilizers.
"So if you have a lot of nitrogen pollution coming in, in some of these systems it really stays for a long time and that will get low oxygen, a lot of algal blooms growing."
Friends of the Bay is one of the nonprofit organizations involved.
They use a sonde to measure qualities, including dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and water temperature.
"We do sampling in 14 locations in Cold Spring Harbor and Oyster Bay," Friends of the Bay Executive Director Paul DeOrsay said.
Organizations will test the water every two weeks at 25 sites from May through October.
Save the Sound plans to publish the results in the 2019 Long Island Sound report card.
China’s Agricultural Dilemma
China’s Agricultural Dilemma.
“If they can’t find jobs in the cities, it would create social unrest.
The Chinese government defines a “proper sized” family farm as around 7 to 13 hectares.
That presents a challenge for a new breed of farming entrepreneurs, who are leasing land or finding small spaces in cities to capitalize on the rising demand for untainted and varied produce.
Li leased about 7 hectares of land a decade ago to produce birds for his family and friends.
They also want more exotic food and fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the year.
Chen, 49, and his wife leased half a hectare to grow strawberries in greenhouses.
Operated by Penglai Hesheng Agricultural Technology Development Co., it is huge by Chinese standards.
The company leased 70,000 hectares and employs 400 workers.
If entrepreneurs don’t move in to take over production, China may lose even more arable land as it becomes abandoned.
Durham to spend millions upgrading water infrastructure
Durham to spend millions upgrading water infrastructure.
DURHAM — It’s not sexy, but a $44-million investment in infrastructure will help regional municipalities.
Jennifer O’Connell, the MP for Pickering-Uxbridge, was at the Durham regional headquarters on Tuesday, May 23 to announce the federal government will contribute $22 million to fund water and wastewater management investments.
The province is chipping in $11 million, while the region will also contribute $11 million.
I hope it helps the region with sustainable growth and climate change adaptation,” O’Connell said.
Regional chair Roger Anderson said, “To build a strong Canada, and more importantly, to build a strong Ontario, we need to invest in infrastructure.” These investments will “shape the community for years.
The federal government is spending $180 billion over 12 years on infrastructure projects, she noted.
The $22 million will fund 15 projects and “help improve water infrastructure here in the municipalities of Durham,” she added.
“You’re always welcome back with $22 million in your pocket,” Anderson noted.
Ontario is committed to investing in infrastructure.
EPA workers protest budget cuts in march to Boston Common
EPA workers protest budget cuts in march to Boston Common.
The scientists and program managers, joined by local supporters, worried about how their jobs and mission would be affected by the president’s proposal to cut their budget by 31 percent – more than any other federal agency.
Sandra Fancieullo, an environmental protection specialist who has worked for the agency for 28 years, never imagined she would be marching in the streets on her lunch hour, chanting, “The EPA saves lives.” “This is unprecedented,” said Fancieullo, whose job is to curb water pollution.
The president’s proposed budget would scrap her $167 million program, and it could eliminate more than 3,000 of the agency’s roughly 15,000 jobs.
“I’m desperately worried about the impact on our country.” EPA officials declined to comment on the protest but they referred to a statement by Scott Pruitt, the agency’s administrator, who said the budget aims to reduce redundancies and inefficiencies.
They would also put the EPA’s lead reduction programs in jeopardy, cut grants to states that seek to reduce harm from pesticide exposure, and curtail efforts to improve air and water quality.
They would also axe much of the Superfund cleanup program that restores polluted sites.
Calder, also president of the union that represents the agency’s employees in New England, led the protests through the city.
“We want to continue those services.” The protestors waved signs with messages such as, “There Is No Planet B” and “Stop Global Climate Change.” On Boston Common, Reverend Fred Small, the minister of climate justice at the Arlington Street Church, addressed the group, telling them he loved them and that they saved lives.
“You’re not just the Environmental Protection Agency,” she said, “you’re the Creation Protection Agency.” As she and the others marched back to their offices in Post Office Square, Abigail Swaine said she worried about the future of her program.