Category: News

The Summit NPPR is co-sponsoring the 2012 National Training Conference on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Environmental Conditions in Communities with the Environmental Council of States (ECOS) and the U.S. EPA.  Co-sponsoring the 2012 TRI conference is a great opportunity for NPPR members to engage with a broader network of professionals on issues of pollution prevention and sustainability.  The TRI conference will focus on pollution prevention and using Toxics Release inventory data to promote sustainability.

The conference will be held in Washington, DC at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, April 11 – 13, 2012.

The theme for the conference is “Understanding the Past and Promoting a Sustainable Future”.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Industry achievements and economic benefits of P2 initiatives
• External influences on industry behavior (e.g. TRI reporting consumer behavior, Global Reporting Initiative)
• Measuring and assessing corporate sustainability using TRI data alone or with other data
• TRI influences on corporate research and development
• Challenges to achieving sustainability
• Providing information to data users through effective partnerships, innovative tools, and outreach (e.g. E3 Program, CARE grants)
• How Federal programs are promoting sustainability (e.g.  Green Chemistry; Office of Sustainable Communities; Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics; Dept. of Defense; Dept. of Energy)
• TRI, P2, and toxics reduction programs in localities, states, and Tribes
• Current research on toxics reduction and sustainability
• Improving public awareness and use of TRI
• Improving understanding of environmental and health conditions in communities through use of TRI data

The deadline for abstracts is November 19.  To submit an abstract go to http://www.chemicalright2know.org/tri-conference/2012-tri-national-conference/2012-abstract-submission-form/.

Improving the energy efficiency of America’s hospitals by 10 percent would save $740 million annually in energy bills

WASHINGTON – Healthcare organizations spend $7.4 billion in energy costs each year. To improve energy efficiency, thousands of hospitals rely on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star tools to help track consumption and prioritize facilities for energy upgrades. Today, EPA released an important update to Energy Star’s national energy performance scale methodology for hospitals. The updated performance scale will help hospitals better assess their energy performance and make more informed financial and investment decisions in order to cut costs and improve their energy efficiency.

Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager, an online energy measurement and tracking tool, will now include the updated hospital methodology. Over 85 percent of the acute care hospital market has already benchmarked their energy use with Portfolio Manager, making it the most widely used tool of its kind in the healthcare market. The update to Portfolio Manager reflects new survey data provided by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering and the significant changes in how hospitals use energy in recent years.

Improving the energy efficiency of America’s hospitals by 10 percent would save 7.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, 243 million therms of natural gas each year, and about $740 million annually in energy bills. It would also prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to that from the annual electricity use of over 712,000 homes.

The updated Energy Star national energy performance scale methodology for hospitals now includes data inputs for the number of MRI machines and personnel and adjustments to weather normalization to reflect the amount of energy used to cool the building. Additionally, the methodology’s 5 million square foot size cap was removed, allowing larger hospitals to take advantage of the online tool.

Energy Star was started by EPA in 1992 as a market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the Energy Star label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by EPA. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved about $18 billion on their energy bills while preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of 33 million vehicles.

More information on Energy Star and the healthcare industry: http://www.energystar.gov/healthcare

Proposed Regulation for Implementing SB417 Concerning Municipal Recycling at Apartments & Condominiums: NAC 444A.120 and NAC 444A.130

AGENDA

Items on the Agenda may be taken out of order.

1. Introduction and brief explanation of revision process by NDEP staff.
2. Presentation of proposed regulation R049-11. Inclusion to NAC 444.120 and NAC 444.130: Adding provisions for recycling services at apartment complexes and condominiums.
3. Public questions and comments regarding proposed regulation R049-11.
4. Closing comments by NDEP staff.

The proposed regulation and related materials are available on the NDEP website at:

http://ndep.nv.gov/admin/public.htm.  A copy of materials relating to the proposed regulations may also be obtained at the workshop or from Jasmine Vittori at NDEP, 901 S. Stewart Street, Suite 4001, Carson City, NV 89701-5249; or by calling (775) 687-9466; or email to jvittori@ndep.nv.gov.

Fact Sheet for the Proposed Recycling Regulations

Recycling Regulations Public Notice and Agenda

Thirteen years after the last major revision of federal requirements to prevent accidental releases from underground storage tanks (UST), EPA is proposing to bring the UST program up to date with new release prevention and detection technologies. Also, while stating that it is “sensitive to future costs for UST owners and operators” and, as a result, has minimized required retrofits, the proposed changes will impose additional management requirements on the regulated community. As EPA characterizes it, the changes would “focus on ensuring equipment is working, rather than requiring UST owners and operators to replace or upgrade equipment already in place.”

Read the complete article at Enviro.BLR.com

Take a look at EPA’s proposed amendments to the 1988 UST program.

EPA is sending signals that it is willing to work with cities and other local governments by taking a different path to ensuring compliance with municipal stormwater and wastewater regulations. Primarily, the Agency announced in memorandum to EPA regional offices that it is willing to embark on a new “integrated” approach to meeting obligations under these programs so that the most pressing water needs can be addressed first. While the memo does not explicitly state that certain deadlines will be made soft so that local funds can be used to address more serious water issues, that appears to be the implication.

Read the complete article at Enviro.BLR.com

EPA’s memo, Achieving Water Quality Through Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Plans, is at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/memointegratedmunicipalplans.pdf.

Weather-based irrigation controllers can help save 110 billion gallons of water and $410 million per year on utility bills
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense program announced today that irrigation controllers will soon be the first outdoor product eligible to earn the WaterSense label. The most efficient irrigation controllers, which operate like a thermostat for your sprinkler system by telling it when to turn on and off, may provide home and building owners the ability to save 110 billion gallons of water and roughly $410 million per year on utility bills.

“As much as half of the water we use on our landscapes goes to waste due to evaporation, wind, and improperly scheduled irrigation systems,” said Sheila Frace, Director of EPA’s Office of Water’s Municipal Support Division. “WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers are designed to do the thinking for you and apply water only when needed, to ensure a healthy landscape that doesn’t waste water.”

Residential outdoor watering in the United States accounts for more than 7 billion gallons of water each day, mainly for landscape irrigation. For many homeowners, the practice is “set it and forget it.” When watering schedules for irrigation system are set during the hottest and driest months and not adjusted when the weather changes, the result is overwatering for much of the year. WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers, which monitor watering needs based on local weather data, can use significantly less water by applying water only when plants need it – reducing annual water bills and offering convenience and peace-of-mind while keeping landscapes healthy.

Controllers with the WaterSense label could be available in spring 2012. Like all WaterSense labeled products, WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers must be independently certified to meet EPA’s criteria for water efficiency and performance.

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, new homes, and services. Since the program’s inception in 2006, WaterSense has helped consumers save 125 billion gallons of water and more than $2 billion in water and energy bills.

More information on WaterSense: http://www.epa.gov/watersense