Month: May 2019

Funding, Great Lakes, Water

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative 2019 Request for Applications

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This RFA solicits applications from entities for grant projects to be awarded pursuant to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative action plan. This RFA is EPA’s major competitive grant funding opportunity under GLRI Focus Area 3: Nonpoint Source Impacts to Nearshore Health for FY 2019 and FY 2020.

Under this RFA, EPA expects to award a total of approximately $14 million for about 30 nonpoint source projects in 5 categories addressing agricultural nutrients and stormwater runoff.

Applications are requested for projects within the five categories listed below, each of which has a separate Funding Opportunity Number (FON) and is separately posted on www.grants.gov. Applicants must apply for the specific funding opportunity they are interested in. Visit EPA’s web site for more details on each area.

Climate change

Students around the world skip school to protest and demand action on climate change

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Read the full story in the Washington Post.

Students in scores of countries around the world skipped school on Friday to stage protests against governmental inaction on climate change and to demand that world leaders address the issue immediately.

The coordinated action follows one in March, in which an estimated 1.6 million students from 125 countries protested instead of going to school. It was the latest event in a movement called Fridays for Future, in which young people periodically take action on climate change.

Plastics, Product stewardship

Washington State to Conduct Plastic Packaging Management Study

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Read the full story in the National Law Review.

Washington State’s Governor Jay Inslee has signed legislation that requires the Department of Ecology to submit a report to the legislature with recommendations on the management and disposal of plastic packaging.

Renewable energy

Ohio House passes bill to bail out nuclear plants, gut green-energy mandates

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Read the full story at Cleveland.com.

Legislation to gut Ohio’s green-energy mandates and set up customer-funded subsidies to nuclear and coal power plants passed the Ohio House on Wednesday, thanks to key support from several House Democrats.

Open access

Ambitious open-access Plan S delayed to let research community adapt

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Read the full story in Nature.

A major push by some science agencies to make the research they fund open-access on publication — Plan S — has been delayed by a year. Funders now don’t have to start implementing the initiative until 2021, the agencies announced today, to give researchers and publishers more time to adapt to the changes the bold plan requires.

Regulation

Planned Changes to EPA Pollution Analyses Align with Industry Requests

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Read the full story in Scientific American.

Industry groups see another wish about to come true under President Trump.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler released a memo last week urging the agency’s top officials to revise the way EPA weighs the costs of regulating pollutants against the benefits of limiting their release for public health and the environment.

Instead of drafting an agencywide rulemaking as initially projected last year, the offices of Air and Radiation, Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Land and Emergency Management, and Water are being asked to make their approach to cost-benefit analysis more consistent.

The planned changes follow years of industry requests. Industry wants EPA to draft rules by first assessing whether benefits outweigh the costs, and it wants regulations that are least burdensome while still providing environmental protection, groups say.

Emerging contaminants, Events, Green business, PFAS, Wastewater

2019-2020 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Information Webinar

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Thursday, June 6, 2019, noon-1 pm CDT
Register at https://2019_sbir_solicitation_webinar.eventbrite.com/

Join us for an informational webinar on EPA’s 2019-2020 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I solicitation.  Learn about EPA’s SBIR program, this year’s solicitation topics, and how to apply for an SBIR contract. EPA SBIR program experts will be available to answer questions during a question & answer (Q&A) session following the presentation.

EPA’s 2019-2020 SBIR Phase I solicitation is anticipated to open June 13, 2019. The solicitation purpose is to support eligible small businesses in the development and commercialization of innovative environmental technologies. EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR Program as a result of the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. EPA is calling for small businesses to apply for Phase I awards for up to $100,000 to demonstrate proof of concept in one of the SBIR solicitation topic areas. Successful Phase I awardees are eligible to receive Phase II funding, up to $400,000 for two years, through an additional application process.

Objectives

  • Review topics anticipated in the upcoming 2019-2020 SBIR Phase I solicitation
  • Learn about the federal SBIR Program and EPA’s SBIR Program
  • Learn how to apply via FedConnect
  • Review administrative, submission, eligibility and peer review concerns
  • Share frequently asked questions

Proposed Research Areas & Topics

Novel technologies are wanted in the following topic areas:

CLEAN AND SAFE WATER

  • Sampling devices for microplastics
  • Technologies for the rehabilitation of water infrastructure
  • Technologies for the destruction of PFAS in water and wastewater
  • POU treatment for opportunistic pathogens
  • Technologies for detection and treatment of antibiotic resistant bacteria in wastewater
  • Treatment for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in drinking water
  • Resource Recovery for Decentralized Wastewater Systems

AIR QUALITY

  • Air monitoring technology for Ethylene Oxide
  • Air monitoring technology for Sulfur Dioxide

LAND REVITALIZATION

  • Mining site characterization and remediation

HOMELAND SECURITY

  • 3-D Gamma Camera to Map Radiological Contamination
  • Water distribution and stormwater system sensors

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

  • New Applications for Industrial Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials
  • Preventing Food Waste

SAFER CHEMICALS

  • Safer paint and coating removal products

For more information on EPA’s SBIR program and funding opportunities: https://www.epa.gov/sbir

Learn more about SBIR program: www.SBIR.gov

Events, Regulation

Webinar: The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change: Update on EPA’s Changes to Air Emission Regulations

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Wednesday, June 19, 2019, 1 pm CDT
Register here

Over the last two years, we have seen the EPA propose significant changes and rollbacks to a variety of air emissions regulations that will have far-reaching impacts. Managing compliance with air emissions regulations and reporting requirements can be challenging enough, but with the proposed rule changes, things can be even more confusing for companies. Join subject matter experts from Cority Software and Trinity Consultants as they share details about EPA’s proposed regulatory changes, including MATS, NSR, OIAI, Regional Haze Rule, as well as learn how your company can stay on top of the changing regulatory landscape to ensure that your air emission compliance programs are meeting the requirements under state and federal regulations

In this webinar, you will learn:

  • Recent changes air emission regulations that have gone into effect
  • Proposed changes to EPA air emission regulations
  • Management best practices
  • How to leverage technology to improve the flow of data between operations to environmental departments

 

E-waste, Regulation

NC: Proposed bill would give local lawmakers power to dump toxic electronics in landfills

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Read the full story from WECT.

A provision in the proposed Regulatory Reform bill would give cities in North Carolina the ability to bypass the state-wide ban on electronic products in landfills.

These electronics include older “tube TVs,” a product becoming widely unused in America and are frequently discarded. CRT television sets contain cathode ray tubes and a wide variety of dangerous toxins, while the main problem with disposing newer flat screen TVs is the lithium contained inside.

Stormwater management, Sustainable communities

PaverGuide looks to reduce stormwater runoff, pollution after the water hits the road

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Read the full story at Technical.ly Baltimore.

An Eastern Shore company that makes a system for permeable paving raised $650,000 from investors, including a pair of funds affiliated with the state’s public universities.

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