Daniel Salzler No. 1162 EnviroInsight.org Seven Items August 12, 2022
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1. Protecting YourHome From Wildfire. There are things you can do to protect your hoe from wildfires in Arizona.
1. THIN OUT TREES: The number one thing you can do is to thin dense stands of trees within a buffer of one-third of a mile around your home. If you’re worried about how that will affect your property values, don’t be: Studies in Flagstaff show a properly thinned buffer increases the market value of your home.
2. FORTIFY YOUR ROOF: Install noncombustible coverings on your roof and use metal flashing where wood decking meets the siding.
3. KEEP EMBERS OUT of your home by covering exterior vents with metal wire mesh.
4.CLEAN AND REMOVE DEBRIS from the roof and gutters.
5. REPLACE DAMAGED SEALS around garage doors, pet doors, sky lights or windows
6. CREATE 30 FEET OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE by removing flammable vegetation, moving your wood pile, and replacing bark mulch with rock, brick or concrete.
7. PLAN FOR ACCESS TO WATER: Install external sprinkler systems or a water tank. Connect garden hoses long enough to reach any area of the home and fill large containers with water.
Sources: Flagstaff Fire Department, U.S. FEMA, Fire-Adapted Communities and https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/AZ_Field_Notes_2022_Spring.pdf
2. Surrounded By Pigs? The Solid Waste Association of North America and Oceans Caucus Foundation issued a report to Congress earlier this year concerning recycling. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has proposed that recycling hit the 50% mark by 2030. We’re far from that value. Here are the top 10 items found in the ocean, discarded by us humans:
1. Cigarette butts 6. Other plastic bags
2. Food wrappers 7. Grocery bags
3. Beverage bottles 8. Glass bottles
4. Bottle caps 9. Beverage cans
5. Straws, stirrers 10. Cups and plates
Source:www.mswmanageent.com July/August 2022 edition. Note: The editor and others in his neighborhood walk daily and two to three times week, pick up litter. Recently, in the space of one block, we removed nearly 30 lbs of litter.
3. When You Were A Kid, Did You Ever Observe, Chase Or Catch Fire Flies (Lightning Bugs) At Night? Fireflies, also known as lightning bugs, are not actually flies, but a family of winged beetles that use the light in their abdomen (bioluminescence) to attract mates. They can be found all over the world, including many places in the United States. There are roughly 2,000 species of fireflies.
Fireflies tend to live in close proximity to water. While Arizona is known for its deserts, there are some areas surrounding streams and ponds. Areas such as these that are also wooded are optimal places for lightning bug sightings. Lightning bugs can also be found in areas that are drier, but typically only during the rainy seasons.
The fact that nearly two dozen species of fireflies can be found in Arizona is unique, notes the website Firefly Forest. In general, lightning bugs are not found further west than Kansas within the United States. Scientists are unsure of the reason for this. However, most are found in the Tucson area, and more specifically, in the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (Permanently Closed).
Lightning bugs will not be found in the more populated areas of Arizona. According to Firefly, a site explaining how fireflies are becoming endangered, urbanization is leading to the decline of the insect. Scientists attribute this to light pollution. The more ambient light — light from the signs and street lights of populated areas — the harder it is for fireflies to see the signals of potential mates. Source: “Nature Conservancy” magzaine. and Firefly Forest (also a good source to learn more about Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and Plants).
4. From Plastic Bottles To Protecting Your Hands At Work And At Play While Protecting The Environment. Watson Gloves can provide you with specialized gloves for welding, automotive work, winter work, motorcycle riding, farm and ranch work, working in oil and gas production, sports/recreation, gardening/landscaping, and construction. They make gloves that are cut resistant, puncture resistant, water resistant, provide heat protection and oil resistant.
Specific Gloves
Be a Hero — Sustainable work gloves made with WasteNot™ yarn comprised of recycled
376 Rosé
15gg polyester seamless knit shell made with WasteNot™ yarn is comprised of 30% (+/- 2%) recycled post consumer PET bottles
Eco-conscious biodegradable sandy latex coating engineered with Reclaim™ technology accelerates biodegradation in landfill conditions.
Treated to bead water off which lasts up to 5 washes
Snug-fitting seamless knit wrist keeps out dirt and debris
Made for a woman’s hand
OEKO-TEX STANDARD® 100 certified
Reduces 23.10g CO2 emissions per pair
Will show up to 16.8% biodegradation in 274 days (ASTM D5511). Once biodegradation begins, the gloves are converted into biogas and create energy to fuel our homes, businesses, and communities.
Learn how our biodegradable gloves can convert into energy here
5. Food And Drug Administration (FDA) To Hair Dye Manufacturers: Stop Spreading Lead On Heads. During the period of time leading up to elections, there is plenty of evidence of the effects of lead in hair dye – men, women, republican, democrat, liberal, conservative.
Facing a threatened lawsuit from the Environmental Defense Fund, the FDA announced it is reinstating the 2018 ban on lead acetate in hair dyes. Lead acetate can lead to a serious decline in mental aptitude in adults and death in children.
If you have hair dyes applied to your hair, ask your hair dresser for exact details – there are some without lead acetate.. Remember, there still is lead in cosmetics, metal cans and brass faucets, to name a few. Source: Environmental Defense Fund Winter 2021.
6. EPA opens $11M to establish Technical Assistance Centers. Aug. 8, 2022
The opportunity to help underserved communities with technical assistance will be available to schools, nonprofit organizations, and collaborating tribal governments. Applications are due on October 4, 2022.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made available $11 million in initial grant funding to establish its Environmental Justice (EJ) Thriving Community Technical Assistance Centers across the nation.
The EPA funding is available under the first year of a partnership with the Department of Energy,
with future phases of up to 10 multi-year awards for a maximum potential program value of $50 million. The Centers will provide support to help ensure that federal resources are equitably distributed and meet the on-the-ground environmental justice challenges that communities have faced for generations.
“This grant funding will fill a critical gap to support underserved communities disproportionately harmed by pollution and break down barriers to federal resources,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
The Centers will provide technical assistance, training, and capacity-building support to communities with environmental justice concerns and their partners. They will also assist with navigating federal systems such as Grants.gov and SAM.gov, effectively managing and leveraging grant funding, and translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants. The initial $11 million in grant funding is being provided by EPA.
The support provided will focus on building community-centered collaborations through engagement, guidance on accessing other forms of support and technical assistance across the federal government, and assistance with writing grant proposals. This program will coordinate with and complement the Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Initiative that provides technical assistance and capacity building resources to improve and foster thriving communities through transportation improvements.
This opportunity is available to public and private universities and colleges; public and private nonprofit institutions/organizations; and collaborating tribal governments. Applications are due on October 4, 2022. Awards will be issued as cooperative agreements and EPA will be substantially involved in the operation of the centers.
More information on the opportunity is here. More information for other grant funding and technical assistance opportunities can be found here. Source: https://www.waterworld.com/drinking-water/infrastructure-funding/press-release/14280919/epa-opens-11m-to-establish-technical-assistance-centers utm_source=WW+Water+and+Wastewater+Report&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CPS220808034&o_eid=3982G9337467F4W&rdx.ident[pull]=omeda|3982G9337467F4W&oly_enc_id=3982G9337467F4W
7. ADEQ Sure Water Protection V.2 Comments. HURRY! Thank you to those who submitted comments on the first version of the informal draft rule. ADEQ has made changes to Article 2 of the initial draft in response to input received | Click Here to View/Download Article 2 Version 2 >
ADEQ is accepting comments on this second version of Article 2 of the informal draft rule through Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. Please submit comments to [email protected].
Please note, Version 2 does not include changes to the Protected Surface Waters List (PSWL) nor does it address comments relating to the specific waters listed. ADEQ staff continues to evaluate water bodies and anticipates releasing a Version 3 of the informal draft rule by August 17, which will include any changes to water bodies. For those that submitted nominations to remove or add water bodies to the PSWL, if we have not already, we will be reaching out to clarify our decisions and discuss a path forward for nominations that may not be implemented in Version 3. ADEQ has maintained the original numbering in the rules between informal drafts, but we expect to change the layout of Article 2 in the final version.
Pursuant to stakeholder feedback, ADEQ has made the following changes to Article 2 in Version 2:
- R18-11-201: Aligned definitions to more accurately reflect statutory directives. ADEQ received a number of comments on the definitions, and we’re working to include as many as we can for clarity. There may be additional changes between this informal draft release and the final as we sort through comments.
- R18-11-202: Added additional types of impoundments that are excluded from regulation under the SWPP in the exclusions rule currently listed.
- R18-11-203: Modified the designated uses rule to remove language applicable to the federal program.
- R18-11-207: Made slight changes to the natural background to ensure that ADEQ adequately considers the level of anthropogenic impact when determining whether a naturally occurring condition has led to a violation of water quality standards.
- R18-11-215: Made significant changes to the best management practices rule and added proposed notification requirements.
- R18-11-216 and R18-11-217: Added new rules to establish regulatory guardrails for granting variances in AZPDES permits for non-WOTUS waters or site-specific standards for those waters.
ADEQ has not made any modification but is seeking further comment on the suspended sediment concentration standards in R18-11-213(D) and our non-permitted discharge rule in R18-11-209.
Input on informal draft Version 2 will inform the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to be filed with the Secretary of State before the end of August.
After filing the NPRM, ADEQ will continue engaging stakeholders to inform the Notice of Final Rule Making (NFRM) later this year. ADEQ will hold public hearings to solicit formal comment in preparation for filing. For more information, please visit our Arizona Surface Water Protection Program Website.
If you have questions, please contact:
David Lelsz, Ph.D., Program Manager, Water Quality Division
602-771-4651 [email protected]
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