Federal Independent Agencies
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from federal independent agencies.
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National Gallery of Art: Acquisition - Ellsworth Kelly
WASHINGTON, June 1 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
Associated with Color Field painting and minimalism, Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) had a lifelong interest in the interplay between painting, sculpture, and architecture. The National Gallery of Art has acquired three working drawings and one collage offered through the Ellsworth Kelly estate and specifically chosen by Jack Shear (Kelly's partner of 32 years) to complement other works by the artist in the collection. Representing a special gift in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly centennial in 2023, these works provide
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WASHINGTON, June 1 -- The National Gallery of Art issued the following news release:
Associated with Color Field painting and minimalism, Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) had a lifelong interest in the interplay between painting, sculpture, and architecture. The National Gallery of Art has acquired three working drawings and one collage offered through the Ellsworth Kelly estate and specifically chosen by Jack Shear (Kelly's partner of 32 years) to complement other works by the artist in the collection. Representing a special gift in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly centennial in 2023, these works provideunique insights into the artist's practice. With rich holdings of over 300 works on paper, multiples, paintings, and sculptures by Kelly, the National Gallery welcomes its first (and only) working drawings by the artist to its collection.
Fourteen Projects (1955) explores figure-ground color relationships and reflects a new interest in curvilinear forms. The collage study Preliminary Design for "Eastmore Mural" (2) (1956) was made in preparation for the mural commission for the lobby of the Eastmore House apartment building in New York. The syncopation of form that Kelly explored in the succession of cut paper shapes stretched out along this horizontal composition relates to other key works he made at the time, including his monumental Sculpture for a Large Wall (1956-1957)-created for the new Philadelphia Transportation Building in 1957 and now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Study for Stele II (Sculpture EK 509) and Study for Stele II (both 1973) relate to the National Gallery's Stele II sculpture, currently on view in the sculpture garden.
Born in Newburgh, New York, Kelly grew up in New Jersey and studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn before being drafted into the US Army during World War II and serving in Europe. Returning to the United States after the war, Kelly studied at the Boston Museum School and taught at Norfolk House Center, Roxbury, Massachusetts, before traveling to Paris on the GI Bill in 1948 and remaining in France until 1954. While abroad, Kelly responded to multiple eclectic influences, from Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, and Jean Arp to Romanesque architecture and Byzantine mosaics, developing a distinctive abstract style in clear contrast to the abstract expressionism then prevailing in New York. Upon his return from Europe, Kelly settled quietly in a relatively remote section of Lower Manhattan. He was discovered by New York dealer Betty Parsons, who offered him his first one-person exhibition in the United States in 1956.
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Ellsworth Kelly
Fourteen Projects, 1955
Transparent and opaque watercolor, ink, and graphite with cut-and-pasted colored paper on wove paper
Framed: 50.48 x 44.13 x 3.81 cm (19 7/8 x 17 3/8 x 1 1/2 in.)
Sheet: 29.21 x 21.59 cm (11 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Copyright (c) 2023 Ellsworth Kelly Foundation
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Original text here: https://www.nga.gov/press/acquisitions/2023/ellsworth-kelly.html
NAM Welcomes New Councilors for 2023-2026
WASHINGTON, June 1 (TNSper) -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
The National Academy of Medicine is pleased to welcome two new members of the NAM Council, the Academy's governing and oversight body, for 3-year terms effective July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026:
Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor, Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology, Director, ALS Center of Excellence, University of Michigan
Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD, University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery;
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WASHINGTON, June 1 (TNSper) -- The National Academy of Medicine issued the following news:
The National Academy of Medicine is pleased to welcome two new members of the NAM Council, the Academy's governing and oversight body, for 3-year terms effective July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026:
Eva L. Feldman, MD, PhD, James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor, Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology, Director, ALS Center of Excellence, University of Michigan
Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD, University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery;Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Chief Executive Officer, The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, The University of Connecticut
Three current members of the Council will continue their service:
Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, Chief Health Officer, Google
Mae Jemison, MD, President, The Jemison Group, Inc.
Kelsey Martin, MD, PhD, Director, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and Simons Foundation Neuroscience Collaborations, Simons Foundation
The NAM would also like to recognize the service of two members of the Council who will complete their terms on June 30, 2023:
Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH, Richard Parrillo Family Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Ethics, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago
Linda Fried, MD, MPH, Dean and DeLamar Professor of Public Health, Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health; Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine, Columbia University; Senior Vice President, Columbia University Medical Center
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Original text here: https://nam.edu/nam-welcomes-new-councilors-for-2023-2026/
Inter-American Foundation: 'I Haven't Migrated to the U.S. Because I Have Work Here'
WASHINGTON, June 1 -- The Inter-American Foundation issued the following story:
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By Rebecca Nelson
People make the decision to leave home to try to make a life elsewhere based on a variety of broad challenges that impact them at the local level. The IAF funds community organizations that understand their local context and work to create a viable way of life at home for people vulnerable to migration.
As the following example shows, IAF grants help community members become more rooted and committed to making positive change in their communities. They also strengthen resilience to manage
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WASHINGTON, June 1 -- The Inter-American Foundation issued the following story:
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By Rebecca Nelson
People make the decision to leave home to try to make a life elsewhere based on a variety of broad challenges that impact them at the local level. The IAF funds community organizations that understand their local context and work to create a viable way of life at home for people vulnerable to migration.
As the following example shows, IAF grants help community members become more rooted and committed to making positive change in their communities. They also strengthen resilience to managethe shocks that drive migration.
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A Promising Case in Solola
Guatemala's Lake Atitlan is one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Its volcanic peaks and picturesque villages attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
This natural beauty hides the struggles of residents. Nearly half of children under five years old in this area have had their growth stunted by malnutrition. Indigenous Mayan Guatemalans face particular difficulties, with 80% lacking full access to food, education, and health services. Hunger and being unable to meet other basic needs has proven to be major factors in people's decisions to migrate.
Many parents have reached the breaking point and headed to the United States to find ways to survive. The economic woes caused by the pandemic only accelerated out-migration. But in Solola, Guatemala, a community organization has found a way to hold on to its young residents by helping them improve their food security, increase their earnings with satisfying and secure work, and deepen their long-term commitment to serving as leaders in their communities.
Indigenous community leaders in Solola, Guatemala, came together in 2000 to form Asociacion de Dirigentes Comunitarios (ASDIC), a farmers' association dedicated to building economic opportunities for their communities.
With IAF funding, ASDIC has found success growing and selling unique crops for the area, including sweet peas and oyster mushrooms, which has improved local and diversified local diets. By adopting organic fertilizers, farmers with ASDIC now sell 344% more pounds of vegetables than before the grant. The organic fertilizers they create are also an additional product to sell.
ASDIC's farmers also more than tripled their sales income (a 240% increase) since their IAF grant started by strengthening their organization. Finally, ASDIC has helped farmers increase their incomes by pickling and canning otherwise unsellable vegetables. This has created value from what used to be waste. Farmers, some of whom are returned migrants, can now better support their families and supply food to their communities. Prior to the IAF grant, houses were made of mud constructions and multiple generations lived under the same roof. Now families can afford their own houses made of block construction, and some now have vehicles.
To address rising migration and build a future for their children, the leaders of ASDIC began focusing on education to prepare young people to make a living in new ways. ASDIC also invested in youth leadership to prepare for communities' long-term development. ASDIC runs a community high school recognized by the Guatemalan Ministry of Education that is one of the only options for young people from the surrounding seven communities to continue education past primary school. The association also provides formal training to prepare people for dignified, skilled jobs in the local tourism sector.
Prior to its IAF grant, 15% of the students in ASDIC's local high school emigrated. In the five years since first receiving its IAF grant, ASDIC has lowered that number dramatically-of the 407 young people who have participated in grant activities, only five have migrated (1%). The rest have continued their studies in Guatemala. Young ASDIC participants are a counterexample to recent out-migration trends. They are becoming more strongly rooted in their communities, with hope and opportunities for the future.
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Why Are ASDIC Participants Deciding Not to Migrate?
Erica Martin, 25 years old, is a community tourism student earning income from ASDIC's mushroom-growing project. She also forms part of the association's board of directors. "I haven't migrated to the U.S. because I've had the opportunity to work here in ASDIC and it's helped me to grow," says Erica. "I express myself more in my community, at work, and at church... I haven't had the opportunity to study [formally] but I'm working, I'm taking care of myself. Here we can find work we wouldn't find elsewhere."
Elmer Garcia immigrated to the U.S. and was deported after two and a half years: "It's a hard life [as a migrant in the U.S.]. It's not like being here. I'm happier here because I'm with my family, and now I don't work for anyone. I'm giving people the opportunity to come here and work for me." Before working with ASDIC, Elmer's family grew only corn and beans. ASDIC taught him how to cultivate yellow, white, and purple carrots. Now, three years later, Elmer says he is earning an average of 5,000-6,000 quetzales (US $640-$770) every two weeks per quintal of carrots he harvests and sells. Elmer states, "I'm not thinking about going back, with everything I'm doing here every day. I prefer to be in my country and with my family."
Elvin Alvarado also earns a living from specialty carrots. "I've been planting carrots for eight years now. It's not just work for me-I'm employing other people. I've never thought about going to the U.S. to work there. I'd rather live here because with my carrots, I'm living well and moving forward. I'm here working in my country, on my land, and I feel good about it."
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Addressing Root Causes of Migration
ASDIC is only one of the nearly 150 grassroots organizations in the IAF's portfolio addressing root causes of migration out of Central America. Like ASDIC, most address several of the many drivers of out-migration at once:
* 80% of IAF grants in this topic area create local economic opportunities;
* 60% improve civic engagement to hold governments accountable to providing needed services;
* Nearly half address food insecurity, and
* A quarter work to improve safety.
IAF grantees also understand which local populations are most likely to leave, and focus on youth, Indigenous people, and other groups that are consistently deprived of opportunities: 60% of IAF grantees shared in the Grantee Perception Report from 2020 that the communities they serve are currently considering migration and 64% of those consider the U.S. a destination country. When asked to what extent the IAF has empowered them to address drivers of migration, grantees rated our support highly at a 5.22 on a scale of 1 to 7. Their impact on migration trends, while hyper-local, is noticeable: IAF grantees are effectively enabling people to live a good life in their home communities, one community at a time.
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Original text here: https://www.iaf.gov/content/story/i-havent-migrated-to-the-u-s-because-i-have-work-here/
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas: Post-LIBOR Cessation Collateral Eligibility
DALLAS, Texas, June 1 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following member bulletin (No. 2023-12):
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On June 30, 2023, LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) will cease to be published for all remaining U.S. dollar (USD) tenors.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (Bank) has previously published bulletins alerting members to the cessation of LIBOR and encouraging them to prepare for an orderly transition away from LIBOR by modifying, or working with issuers to modify, loans and/or securities that are pledged to the Bank
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DALLAS, Texas, June 1 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following member bulletin (No. 2023-12):
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On June 30, 2023, LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) will cease to be published for all remaining U.S. dollar (USD) tenors.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (Bank) has previously published bulletins alerting members to the cessation of LIBOR and encouraging them to prepare for an orderly transition away from LIBOR by modifying, or working with issuers to modify, loans and/or securities that are pledged to the Bankas collateral to reference an Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC)-recommended index other than LIBOR in advance of the cessation date.
This bulletin serves as a reminder that any floating-rate loans and securities that remain indexed to LIBOR will be considered ineligible collateral after the first rate reset date that occurs after the June 30, 2023 LIBOR cessation date.
Please contact your Member Sales Officer if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Michael Zheng
Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer
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Original text here: https://www.fhlb.com/library/bulletins/2023/post-libor-cessation-collateral-eligibility
EPA: St. Louis Chemical Company Agrees to Pay Penalty for Failure to Report Toxic Chemical Releases
LENEXA, Kansas, June 1 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will collect a $49,953 penalty from TransChemical Inc., which owns and operates a chemical distribution facility in St. Louis, Missouri, to resolve alleged violations of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). According to EPA, the company failed to submit required annual reports listing toxic chemicals at the facility.
"Communities, particularly those that are already overburdened by pollution, have a right to know about
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LENEXA, Kansas, June 1 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will collect a $49,953 penalty from TransChemical Inc., which owns and operates a chemical distribution facility in St. Louis, Missouri, to resolve alleged violations of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). According to EPA, the company failed to submit required annual reports listing toxic chemicals at the facility.
"Communities, particularly those that are already overburdened by pollution, have a right to know abouttoxic chemicals in their area," said David Cozad, director of EPA Region 7's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. "Failure to report such data also prevents governments and industry from using this important information in the development of regulations, guidelines, and air quality standards."
As part of the settlement with EPA, the company also agreed to install controls around the facility designed to contain releases of chemicals to bordering neighborhood properties. EPA says that TransChemical will spend approximately $151,000 to complete the containment project.
EPA's review of TransChemical Inc.'s records showed that the company manufactured, processed, or otherwise used quantities of toxic chemicals above thresholds that require the company to submit annual reports to EPA. Specifically, the company failed to timely submit reports for methanol, xylene, toluene, tert-butyl alcohol, n-hexane, n-butyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, and nonylphenol ethoxylates in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
TransChemical's facility is located in an industrial area EPA identified as potentially having high pollution and socioeconomic burdens. EPA is strengthening enforcement in such communities to address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of industrial operations on vulnerable populations.
EPCRA requires facilities to report on the storage, use, and releases of toxic chemicals. The information submitted is compiled in the Toxics Release Inventory, which supports informed decision-making by companies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public.
* Learn more (https://www.epa.gov/epcra) about EPCRA
* Learn more (https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program) about EPA's Toxics Release Inventory
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/st-louis-chemical-company-agrees-pay-penalty-failure-report-toxic-chemical-releases
EPA: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $500K Cleanup Grant for Polluted Brownfields Site in Rhode Island
BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 1 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on May 31 2023:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $500,000 from President Biden's Investing in America Agenda to expedite the cleanup of a brownfields site in Rhode Island while advancing environmental justice.
EPA selected one community in Rhode Island to receive one grant totaling $500,000 in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the Bipartisan
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 1 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on May 31 2023:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $500,000 from President Biden's Investing in America Agenda to expedite the cleanup of a brownfields site in Rhode Island while advancing environmental justice.
EPA selected one community in Rhode Island to receive one grant totaling $500,000 in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs. Thanks to the historic boost from the BipartisanInfrastructure Law, this is the largest ever funding awarded in the history of the EPA's Brownfields MARC Grant programs.
This investment is part of President Biden's Investing in America Agenda to grow the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out - from rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, to driving over $470 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good paying jobs that don't require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
"We're working across the country to revitalize what were once dangerous and polluted sites in overburdened communities into more sustainable and environmentally just places that serve as community assets. Thanks to President Biden's historic investments in America, we're moving further and faster than ever before to clean up contaminated sites, spur economic redevelopment, and deliver relief that so many communities have been waiting for," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "This critical wave of investments is the largest in Brownfields history and will accelerate our work to protect the people and the planet by transforming what was once blight into might."
"Congratulations to the What Cheer Flower Farm for earning a $500,000 Brownfields cleanup grant this year," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. "Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this grant will be used to cleanup the site of an abandoned factory, which will help the flower farm expand operations and services in an underserved part of the City of Providence, providing flowers, greenspace and training to those who need it most."
"One of Rhode Island's original environmental justice programs, brownfields remediation and clean-up grants have a tremendous track record of success in transforming overburdened communities -- these clean-ups create healthier communities, spur economic growth, and give neighborhoods new hope," said Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee. "Rhode Island is grateful for the Biden Administration's EPA for the sizable clean-up grant to the What Cheer Flower Farm, which builds off state investments in this amazing project. Seeing condemned, hazardous buildings coming down and colorful flowers blooming in the spring could not be a more tangible sign that something good is happening in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence."
"The landscape in Olneyville is changing and improving. This federal brownfields funding will accelerate budding progress at What Cheer Flower Farm. The farm and its volunteers have breathed new life into the derelict Colonial Knife site in Olneyville and transformed it into a thriving, inviting flower farm and community asset," said U.S. Senator Jack Reed. "Rhode Island has had a great deal of brownfields successes and partnerships. This is another great example of federal funding supporting community-driven revitalization In a way that helps deliver economic and environmental benefits."
"The EPA's Brownfields program continues to make important investments in communities across the Ocean State. With this federal funding for environmental remediation, What Cheer Flower Farm in Olneyville will grow its mission of delivering free flowers to Rhode Islanders in need of a smile, and help stimulate the local economy," said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
"What Cheer Flower Farm brings so much joy to our community by growing flowers to give to hospitals, senior centers and more," said U.S. Congressman Seth Magaziner. "I am proud to announce this federal funding that will help What Cheer Flower Farm to continue cleaning up this land and growing its beautiful flowers in a safe environment."
Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfields cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfields sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization, and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places.
Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA's Brownfields Program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities.
EPA's Brownfields Program also advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative to direct 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields Program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of its work. Approximately 84 percent of the MARC program applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include historically underserved communities.
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State Funding Breakdown:
Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Program Selection
The following organization in Rhode Island has been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant Programs.
* What Cheer Flower Farm, of Providence, R.I., has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant that will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The grant funds will be used to clean up the 2.7-acre site located at 63 Magnolia Street in the City of Providence's Olneyville, which is currently contaminated with metals, chlorinated volatile organic compounds, petroleum, and inorganic contaminants from previous manufacturing operations. The What Cheer Flower farm will also use their funds to support community outreach activities.
You can read more about this year's MARC selectees (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy-2023-brownfields-multipurpose-assessment-revolving-loan-fund).
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Brownfields Technical Assistance Provider for New England
EPA is also announcing funding selection for two Brownfields technical assistance opportunities. The Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) selectees provide specialized technical knowledge, research, and training to help stakeholders understand brownfields-related subject matter, and guide them through the brownfields assessment, clean-up, and revitalization process. This assistance is a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities. This technical assistance is available to all stakeholders and comes at no cost to communities. The two funding opportunities announced today include the following:
* EPA selected the University of Connecticut (UConn) to receive $5,000,000 to provide training and technical assistance to communities across the state under the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program. This funding comes entirely from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read more about this year's TAB selectees.
* EPA is also expanding the scope of its technical assistance offerings under the Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program to include three new subject-specific grants totaling $2 million in three areas, including providing technical assistance to nonprofits seeking to reuse brownfields; provide research, outreach, and guidance on minimizing displacement resulting from brownfields redevelopment; and providing outreach and guidance on land banking tactics for brownfields revitalization. Read more on the Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research cooperative agreement recipients.
More information about Brownfields Technical Assistance and Research (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-technical-assistance-and-research).
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Additional Background:
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfields sites. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
EPA's Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.37 billion in Brownfields Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. EPA's investments in addressing brownfields sites have leveraged more than $36 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding has leveraged, from both public and private sources, nearly 260,000 jobs. Communities that previously received Brownfields Grants used these resources to fund assessments and cleanups of brownfields, and successfully leverage an average of 10.6 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfields Grant funds spent and $19.78 for every dollar.
The next National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on August 8-11, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing former commercial and industrial properties. EPA co-sponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).
* More on Brownfields Grants (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding).
* More on EPA's Brownfields Program (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-500k-cleanup-grant-polluted-brownfields-site
EPA Announces Stronger Standards to Improve Oil Spill Responses
WASHINGTON, June 1 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized stronger standards to improve response efforts to oil spills and hazardous substance releases into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines under the federal government's National Contingency Plan (NCP). The new standards encourage the development of safer and more effective oil spill mitigating products like chemical and biological agents, provide emergency responders more information to better target the use of these agents, and require more
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, June 1 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized stronger standards to improve response efforts to oil spills and hazardous substance releases into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines under the federal government's National Contingency Plan (NCP). The new standards encourage the development of safer and more effective oil spill mitigating products like chemical and biological agents, provide emergency responders more information to better target the use of these agents, and require moretransparency when these products are used.
"When hazardous substance releases or oil spills occur that can harm our environment, it is crucial that we ensure response efforts are guided by the safest, most effective, most protective practices," said Clifford Villa, Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management. "This rule will increase transparency and reporting requirements and support the emergency responders working to protect our communities."
The rule amends Subpart J of the National Contingency Plan, which governs the listing and use of dispersants and other chemical and biological agents when responding to oil discharges into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines. The final rule amends the Subpart J criteria for listing agent products on the NCP Product Schedule, updates the product testing protocols and revises the authorization of use provisions for listed agent products. On-Scene Coordinators may authorize the use of products listed on the NCP Product Schedule as part of an oil spill response.
The amended and new provisions in the final rule are intended to improve the safety and effectiveness of spill mitigating products, better tailor the use of these products to reduce risks, and ensure emergency responders have sufficient information to make better decisions about how and when to use chemical or biological agents.
Highlights of the rule include:
* Strengthening requirements for listing products on the NCP Product Schedule. These amendments ensure that only products that perform effectively in laboratory testing will be listed on the NCP Product Schedule for use in mitigating the effects of oil discharges.
* Requiring product manufacturers to provide more detailed product information, including health and safety information, to aid responders in evaluating whether to use specific products when responding to oil spills.
* Increasing access to information on product components.
* Establishing limitations and prohibitions on the use of certain agents.
* Establishing a publicly available Sorbent Product List that is separate from the NCP Product Schedule.
* Clarifying responsibilities and procedures for authorizing the use of these products.
* Notifying the public of when these chemical and biological agents are used in an emergency response.
For more information on the final rule: https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response/revisions-subpart-j-national-contingency-plan-product-listing-and-authorization
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Background:
In 1994, EPA revised the NCP in response to the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, addressing requirements under Subpart J for listing and authorizing the use chemical and biological agent products when responding to oil discharges into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines.
On July 27, 2021, EPA finalized monitoring requirements under Subpart J of the NCP for dispersant use in response to major oil discharges and certain other atypical dispersant use situations into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-stronger-standards-improve-oil-spill-responses
