Category: News

EPA awards $15 million to Nevada for water quality, public health

Posted: November 8, 2013
Contact: Margot Perez-Sullivan, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection a $6.5 million grant for its Clean Water State Revolving Fund and an $8.5 million grant for its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for water pollution control and drinking water infrastructure projects.

“In the last 24 years, EPA has provided over $320 million in funding for Nevada water projects alone” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Without this investment and creative financing at the federal level, many communities would not be able to provide for Nevadans’ basic needs for clean, safe drinking water and proper wastewater treatment.”
NDEP will use the funds to provide low-cost loans for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades. NDEP’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) provides financing for municipal wastewater treatment projects, while its Drinking Water SRF provides financial assistance for supporting drinking water infrastructure systems.
Continue reading EPA awards $15 million to Nevada for water quality, public health

Composting for Businesses and Organizations

Posted: November 7, 2013
Source: Environmental Leader, Environment & Energy Management News

While the recycling of paper, plastic and glass is common across the country, composting remains the final frontier of recycling, especially in dense East Coast cities. But recent citywide composting efforts launched in Boston and New York are showing that it can be done, even in the most challenging urban environments with tight space constraints. Since 30% of waste generated in the US is made up of organic and food waste, many organizations are starting to realize that composting might be one of the few ways left to improve corporate sustainability goals or to achieve zero-waste ambitions.

But how do you know if you are ready to conquer the final frontier of recycling?  Here is a quick guide to help you decide:

1) Is your organization a good candidate for composting?
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Nevada mine pollution deal brings residents $19.5 million

Posted: November 6,2013
Source: Fuel Fix.com

RENO, Nev. — Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the contamination.

Atlantic Richfield Co. and its parent, BP America, acknowledged no wrongdoing under the agreement, which also calls for them to pay $2.6 million in attorney fees to the legal team that represented about 700 past and present neighbors of the old Anaconda mine built in 1941 on the edge of Yerington about 65 miles southeast of Reno.
Continue reading Nevada mine pollution deal brings residents $19.5 million

All About Pellet Stoves

Posted: November 6, 2013
Source: This Old House
By: John Morell and Katelin Hill, This Old House magazine

These high-efficiency heaters let you turn down the household thermostat while warming your rooms, providing ambience, and reducing your energy bills

Please visit “This Old House” online magazine to read all about pellet stoves.

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Get More Heat from Your Fireplace and Wood Stove

Posted: November 6, 2013
Source: This Old House

Wood pellets pack a lot of punch in a small package. Made of compressed sawdust, they burn cleaner than traditional firewood. That’s because they contain less moisture—typically between 3 and 8 percent compared with 20 to 50 percent for firewood. What’s more, they come in 20- and 40-lb. packages that are easier to store and transport than big stacks of cord wood. Burning pellets used to require a pellet stove, but New Hampshire-based Energex has created an add-on product, called Prometheus, that allows homeowners to convert any fireplace or wood-burning stove to pellets. The Prometheus is a steel basket with its sides and bottom covered by thousands of honeycomb-shaped airholes. This setup allows homeowners to use the clean-burning pellets. Four front-to-back channels on the unit divide the basket into sections, which allows combustion air to reach the middle of the fuel source; this ensures that all of the pellets burn. Baskets range in size from 10 to 26 inches and hold from 10 to 30 lbs. of pellet fuel. A fully loaded basket can burn unattended for 2 to 12 hours.

Las Vegas School District Saves $12,500 per Day from Lighting Retrofit

Posted: October 30, 2013
Source: Energy Manager Today

The Clark County School District (CCSD) in Las Vegas – the fifth largest school district in the nation – retrofitted lighting at 152 of the older schools in its 357-school district and is reaping savings of $12,500 per day, based on the 180-day school year.

Nevada’s primary utility NV Energy partnered with the school district for the upgrade, which replaced existing fluorescent lights and ballasts with new T-8 fluorescents and ballasts at 152 of the older schools that had the least efficient lighting. The project was completed in December 2011, and the school district has seen savings of 21.4 million kWh annually since the retrofit, which equates to $2.25 million per year, according to Dick Cuppett, energy manager with the Clark County School District.
Continue reading Las Vegas School District Saves $12,500 per Day from Lighting Retrofit

EPA Proposes Updated General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Industrial Activities

September 27, 2013
Announcement:
EPA is proposing an updated draft permit to regulate stormwater discharges from industrial activities to replace the current 2008 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) when it expires later this year. The proposed permit will help protect our nation’s waterways from industrial sector pollutants, which can contribute to aquatic ecosystem degradation, increase drinking water treatment costs, and impair the recreational use and aesthetic value of waterways. The permit covers 29 different sectors of industrial activity and, once finalized, will be in effect in the four states and other territories and areas where the EPA is the permitting authority. The draft 2013 MSGP will be available for public comment for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
More information: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/msgp.cfm.