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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing new, more rigorous guidelines for new homes that earn the Energy Star label. Compared to the current Energy Star guidelines, the new requirements will make qualified new homes at least 20 percent more efficient than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) – slashing utility bills for qualified homes by 15 percent compared to IECC code-built homes.

The updated requirements will ensure that the government’s Energy Star label continues to deliver a significant increase in energy efficiency over homes that are built to code and standard builder business practices. These guidelines will go into effect in January 2011, although some builders may choose to adopt the new requirements earlier.

Key elements of the new guidelines for Energy Star qualified homes include:

· A Complete Thermal Enclosure System: Comprehensive air sealing, properly insulated assemblies and high-performance windows enhance comfort, improve durability and reduce utility bills.

· Quality Installed Complete Heating and Cooling Systems: High-efficiency heating and cooling systems engineered to deliver more comfort, moisture control and quiet operation, and equipped with fresh-air ventilation to improve air quality.

· A Complete Water Management System: Because Energy Star homes offer a tightly-sealed and insulated building envelope, a comprehensive package of flashing, moisture barriers, and heavy-duty membrane details is critical to help keep water from roofs, walls, and foundations for improved durability and indoor air quality.

· Efficient Lighting and Appliances: Look for Energy Star qualified lighting, appliances and fans helping to further reduce monthly utility bills and provide high-quality performance.

· Third-Party Verification: Energy Star qualified homes require verification by independent Home Energy Raters who conduct a comprehensive series of detailed inspections and use specialized diagnostic equipment to test system performance.

For more details see: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=bldrs_lenders_raters.nh_2011_comments

Source: EPA

Through a grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the University of Maine’s Center on Aging has completed the first statewide mail-back pilot program for managing pharmaceutical waste from consumers.  Studies show that pharmaceuticals are present in our nation’s water bodies and that certain drugs may cause ecological harm.  EPA is currently evaluating the potential risks associated with pharmaceuticals and personal care products on public health and aquatic life.

”This pilot is important because it has filled research gaps about the volumes and types of medications that can end up in our waters, and affect our ecosystems,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water.  “The pilot also gave residents a way to serve as environmental stewards to reduce water pollution.”
Continue reading Report Released on Pharmaceutical Mail-back Pilot Program Funded by EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making it easier to find chemical information online. EPA is releasing a database, called ToxRefDB, which allows scientists and the interested public to search and download thousands of toxicity testing results on hundreds of chemicals. ToxRefDB captures 30 years and $2 billion of testing results.

ToxRefDB provides detailed chemical toxicity data in an accessible format. It is a part of ACToR (Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource), an online data warehouse that collects data from about 500 public sources on tens of thousands of environmentally relevant chemicals, including several hundred in ToxRefDB. Those interested in chemical toxicity can query a specific chemical and find all available public hazard, exposure, and risk-assessment data, as well as previously unpublished studies related to cancer, reproductive, and developmental toxicity.

The first step is to determine which products going into the trash are recyclable and which ones you want to include in the recycling initiative. Paper products and beverage containers are typically good places to start.

Step two is to encourage employee participation, which can be increased by strategically placing your recycling bins in areas where most of the trash is generated such as copy rooms, break rooms and cafeterias. Other ways to increase participation include consistent communications.

Step three is training janitorial staff about your recycling initiative by reaching out to building management or the building’s landlord to notify them about your recycling initiative.

Step four details how to collect and dispose of the recyclables, which may include hiring an outside service and donating to charities particularly for electronics products.

Step five is taking more steps to recycle, reduce and reuse by expanding your company’s efforts to reduce office waste and reuse existing products.
Click here to start an office recycling program

The State Environmental Commission (SEC) will hold a regulatory hearing on Thursday, June 17th 2010 at 10:00 am.  The hearing location is the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s Conference Room A, 1100 Valley Road,Reno, Nevada.  The purpose of the hearing is to receive comments from all interested persons regarding the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the following regulatory petitions and related SEC business.  The petitions will be discussed and acted upon but may be taken in different order to accommodate the interest and time of the persons attending.  The meeting notice below contains information about three regulatory petitions. Information in support of the above referenced hearing, including the text of the proposed regulatory petitions, support documents, previous public workshop notices, and non-regulatory SEC business items, if any, are posted on the SEC website at: http://www.sec.nv.gov/main/hearing_0610.htm.   An agenda will be posted on the SEC website at least five days before the meeting; the agenda will also be sent to individuals on the SEC electronic mailing lists.  Click here to go to
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Latest report shows 202 million pounds of toxics released into environment, a decrease of nearly 22 million pounds SAN FRANCISCO–Toxic releases into the environment from facilities operating in Nevada decreased 10 percent in 2008 when compared to 2007, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 22 million pound decline is primarily due to a decrease in land releases from mining facilities. The data comes from the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, commonly referred to as TRI. It’s one of the EPA’s largest publicly available databases, arming communities with valuable information on more than 650 toxic chemicals released by various industries. The chemical information in the inventory is calculated by industrial facilities and reported to the EPA, as required by law. “We encourage people to use data from the Toxics Release Inventory in order to gain a better understanding of what is being released into their neighborhoods,” said Laura Yoshii, acting EPA administrator for the Pacific Southwest region. “Industry and communities informed with accurate information can use the inventory as a starting point to find opportunities to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we enjoy.” Total releases include toxic chemicals discharged by facilities to air, water, land, and underground, and the amount transferred off-site for disposal. Regulatory controls apply to many of the reported releases. Reporting facilities must comply with environmental standards set by local, state and federal agencies. Here’s a look at toxic releases in Nevada from 2006 — 2008, reported in pounds: Reporting Year Type of Release 2006 2007 2008 Air 1,561,788 1,524,176 1,299,441 Land (On-site) 214,170,699 219,527,708 199,173,533 Underground Injection 4 0 0 Water 191,653 144 158 Off-site disposal 1,476,577 2,946,989 1,872,249 Total On- & Off-site releases 217,400,721 223,999,017 202,345,381 Data from 2008 in Nevada show: ” Overall toxic releases decreased 10% mostly due to a decrease in gold mining releases to land ” 136 facilities in Nevada reported 202 million pounds of toxic chemical releases–ranking the state 6th nationwide in total reported on-site and off-site releases ” Air releases decreased 15%, 225 thousand pounds ” The top five released chemicals are lead, arsenic compounds, zinc compounds, manganese, and mercury ” Approximately 91 million pounds of total releases of lead were reported in Nevada. 99% of these were land releases from the metal mining industry ” In Nevada, 96 million pounds of total releases of PBT chemicals were reported, an increase of 57% or 35 million pounds since 2007 ” Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) releases decreased 40% from 584 to 350 pounds ” All of the PCB releases in 2008 were disposed on-site in a permitted hazardous waste landfill, US Ecology Nevada Inc., in Beatty ” Nevada ranks #1 in the United States for reported mercury releases ” 151 facilities in Region 9 reported 5.4 million pounds of mercury releases, down 794 thousand pounds from 2007– Nevada mining facilities account for 99% of mercury releases in the region Annual Toxics Release Inventory reporting began in 1987 after the enactment of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (1996). The inventory provides information to the public on annual toxic chemical releases reported by certain industrial and federal facilities. The TRI does not include data on toxic emissions from cars and trucks, nor from the majority of non-industrial sources, such as agriculture. In 2000, TRI expanded to include persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, or PBTs, at ranges from 0.1 grams to 100 pounds. PBT pollutants are toxic chemicals that remain in the environment and food chain, posing risks to human health and ecosystems. The top facilities in Nevada for chemicals releases (reported in pounds) are: Facility Name City 2007 Releases 1 Newmont Mining Corp. Copper Canyon Facility Battle Mountain 52,921,128 2 Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc. Elko 48,864,451 3 Newmont Mining Corp. Twin Creeks Mine Golconda 32,274,695 4 Newmont Mining Corp. Carlin South Area Carlin 26,833,697 5 Robinson Nevada Mining Co. Ruth 14,113,597 6 Cortez Gold Mines Crescent Valley 11,096,986 7 US Ecology Nevada Inc. Beatty 3,197,462 8 Smoky Valley Common Operation Round Mountain 1,783,621 9 Newmont Mining Corp. Carlin North Area Carlin 1,402,094 10 Newmont Midas Operations Midas 1,246,648 TRI Explorer TRI Explorer is a tool that you can use to see the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data. It allows you to look at data by state, county, or zip code; by chemical; or by industry. It provides maps that you can click on to find TRI facilities, chemicals and industries in a particular area. National TRI Findings: ” There was a 6% decrease in total reported releases into the environment nationwide from 2007 to 2008 ” The number of facilities reporting chemical releases decreased 5% nationally ” Total PBT chemical releases decreased by 2% nation-wide For more on the TRI program including additional city, county and facility information

ENERGY STAR is marking a decade of reducing energy costs in schools, homes and corporate buildings across the nation. This year represents the 10th anniversary of the first award of an ENERGY STAR plaque to a commercial building by EPA. That award went to the Ridgehaven Green Building in San Diego in 1999. Since then, over 8,500 buildings have won the ENERGY STAR award nationally by optimizing their energy use. There are now over 90,000 buildings participating in the ENERGY STAR program nation wide, representing over 12 billion square feet of commercial and industrial space. In the Pacific Northwest, Idaho and Alaska, approximately 380 buildings have received the ENERGY STAR award, and approximately 4,700 buildings are actively involved in energy programs. In 2008, the Gresham-Barlow School District, near Portland, Ore., received the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence award for continuous improvement. This school district has been awarded the Energy Star plaque on 18 of their 19 schools, and the district has reduced its total use of energy by 30 percent across the entire school district. Additional local participants in the ENERGY STAR program include; Amazon.com, JC Penney, Marriot Hotels, school districts throughout the Northwest, Kohl’s Department Stores, and Albertson’s grocery stores. The ENERGY STAR program promotes energy efficiency throughout American society, including commercial and industrial facilities. Participating facilities are supported by this program in their efforts to reduce their energy consumption through implementation of energy efficient methods and technologies. Facilities that are in the top 25 percent of energy efficiency can win the ENERGY STAR award. Businesses interested in starting an energy efficiency program, should visit the following web site or call the U.S. EPA Region 10 office for assistance. To obtain the publication click on the link:

A new program gives hotels an option for recycling their aging television sets and computer monitors. LG Electronics USA Inc. and Waste Management Inc. are partnering to offer the service. The program, which launches in 2010, will have LG working with Waste Management subsidiary WM Recycle America LLC, according to a press release. The two will offer recycling of old equipment, as well as packaging from new LG flat-panel TVs and computer monitors that are installed on site. The new service comes as more and more states are adding laws that require electronics manufactures to pay for e-waste recycling. Click on the link to read the complete article: