Environment Management

Notice: OMA Environment Committee Meets Feb. 10

One of the OMA’s top environmental advocacy goals is to work for science-based, technologically achievable, and economically reasonable regulations. To keep members updated in this important area of public policy, the OMA Environment Committee will hold its first meeting of 2021 at 10 a.m. Feb. 10. Due to COVID-19, the meeting will be held via Zoom. Register now. 1/26/2021

Upcoming Hearing on Ohio EPA Water Quality Permits

Last September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed an early renewal of the 2017 Nationwide Permits (NWPs). The Corps also published a public notice regarding the proposed regional conditions for the Ohio NWPs. In December, Ohio EPA released a public notice of the Draft Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) for the proposed NWPs.

Information on the draft 401 WQC and the proposed nationwide and regional conditions is available here. The Corps published the final version of the NWPs on Jan. 13; the revised NWPs will take effect March 15.

A virtual public hearing on the draft 401 WQC is scheduled for Feb. 4 at 3:30 p.m. (Read Ohio EPA’s press release.) Interested parties must register for the hearing. Comments on the draft should be submitted by email no later than 5 p.m. Feb. 11. Contact Rob Brundrett at the OMA with questions. 1/28/2021

Court Gives U.S. EPA More Authority on Carbon Emissions

According to Politico, the U.S. EPA, under the Biden administration, “could have significant legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide from power plants.” That’s because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week “rejected the Trump EPA’s argument that the Clean Air Act constrains EPA to only those improvements that can be made on-site at coal-fired power plants.” Instead, the court ruled that the agency can consider options “envisioned under the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.”

Meanwhile, the National Association of Manufacturers has compiled its recommendations for climate-related policies that promote U.S. manufacturing jobs. 1/20/2021

U.S. EPA Announces More Actions to Address PFAS

This week, the U.S. EPA — under the outgoing Trump administration — announced new steps to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The agency released a final regulatory determination finding that the two best-studied chemicals in the family, PFOA and PFOS, should be regulated in drinking water, launching the years-long process of developing a Safe Drinking Water Act limit.

The EPA also proposed requiring drinking water utilities to test for 29 types of PFAS as part of the next round of mandatory, nationwide sampling that will occur between 2023 and 2025. 1/20/2021

EPA’s Report on Toxics Release Shows Significant Improvement for Great Lakes Region

The U.S. EPA this week released its 2019 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, which shows continued progress in reducing pollution. Between 2018 and 2019, releases of TRI chemicals fell by 9%, the report found.

According to the agency, chemical releases in Region 5, which includes Ohio, have decreased by nearly 400 million pounds (46%) since 2007. Since 2018, releases of TRI chemicals decreased by 49.2 million pounds (10%). 1/13/2021

Ohio EPA Completes PFAS Testing

Last week, Ohio EPA announced it had received the final test results for the presence of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water from public water systems, bringing to a close the agency’s statewide sampling initiative under Ohio’s PFAS Action Plan.

Ohio EPA Director Laurie Stevenson noted that roughly 94% of the nearly 1,550 public drinking water systems tested “revealed no detection of PFAS compounds,” while “low levels of PFAS compounds, well below the health advisory level, were detected in 6% of systems.” The testing found only two public water systems exceeding the state’s action level; those systems are being remedied by Ohio EPA. 1/4/2021

Ohio EPA Looks to Make Changes to Nitrogen Oxide Emission Rules

Ohio EPA has issued an “Early Stakeholder Outreach” regarding emissions of nitrogen oxides. The agency is considering changes that may be required under the Clean Air Act in the event the Cleveland and Cincinnati ozone non-attainment areas are reclassified from marginal to moderate non-attainment.

The Cleveland and Cincinnati areas are currently classified as marginal non-attainment areas under the 2015 ozone standard. The areas are required to meet the ozone standard by Aug. 3, 2021 based on monitoring data collected during the 2018-2020 ozone monitoring seasons, which extend from March 1 to Oct. 31 each year. Based on ozone monitoring data through Oct. 31, 2020, Ohio EPA anticipates that the Cleveland and Cincinnati areas will fail to meet the ozone standard by Aug. 3, 2021, as required.

Comments are due Jan. 11. The OMA and its Environment Committee are following this development and are engaged with Ohio EPA. If you have questions, please contact the OMA’s Rob Brundrett. 1/7/2021

Finding New Uses for Surplus Glass Supplies

Do you have recurring supplies of glass available? Ohio EPA will host a virtual roundtable on Jan. 12 at 10:30 a.m. to facilitate opportunities to solve specific materials challenges from regional businesses. Speakers will discuss existing and emerging end-markets for glass, and highlight Materials Marketplace listings for materials that could be redirected to processors and new applications. 1/7/2021