Daniel Salzler No. 1272
EnviroInsight.org Six Items September 20 2024
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- ADEQ Information Sessions | Draft Proposed Boundary Recommendations For The Revised PM2.5 NAAQS. ADEQ invites interested parties to attend an informational session on the draft proposed boundary recommendations for the 2024 PM2.5 Primary Annual National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Arizona. During the meetings, we will present updated information and technical analysis on the boundary recommendations for three areas within Arizona (portions of Maricopa County, Pinal County, and Santa Cruz County).
Draft Proposed PM2.5 Boundary Recommendation Report >
- Appendix A: PM2.5 2024 NAAQS Boundary Recommendation Technical Support Document>
- Appendix B: PCAQCD’s Appendix F to the 2024 Annual Monitoring Network Plan >
- Appendix C: Responses to Informal Comments Received During Consultation on Draft Boundaries >
In addition, we have updated the online interactive map to visualize the boundaries and data related to the five-factor analysis | View Map >
Session 1 – Virtual
Date: Sept. 19, 2024
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Online via GoToWebinar | Register >
Session 2 – Virtual
Date: Sept. 20, 2024
Time: 8 a.m.
Location: Online via GoToWebinar | Register >
Questions and comments received during the informational sessions will not be considered as part of the formal public comment period and will not be included in the response to comments.
We will open a 30-day formal public comment period on Sept. 23, 2024, for our proposed 2024 PM2.5 NAAQS Boundary Recommendations draft report and technical support document. A public hearing to receive verbal comments and answer questions concerning the draft proposal will be held on Oct. 24, 2024. Details on the public comment period and hearing will be provided in a subsequent notice.
Background
On Feb. 7, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard for fine particulates (PM2.5) from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to 9.0 µg/m3. As a result, ADEQ had developed the draft proposed boundary recommendations describing the geographic extent of attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable areas of the state with respect to the revised annual PM2.5 standard | Learn More >
Questions?
Contact AirPlanning@azdeq.gov
2. EPA’s 12th Annual SepticSmart Week: Do Your Part, Be SepticSmart!
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is joining states, Tribes and local partners in celebrating SepticSmart Week from Sept. 16-20 and to provide homeowners and renters with information about protecting public health and properly maintaining septic systems. This weeklong, nationwide public education campaign is helpful for the one-fifth of U.S. households that use onsite septic systems or small community cluster septic systems to treat their wastewater.
“In small towns and rural communities across the country, septic systems are essential to safely managing wastewater. Being ‘SepticSmart’ helps keep these systems maintained to safeguard our families and neighbors from the health risks associated with exposure to untreated wastewater,” said EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Water Bruno Pigott. “SepticSmart Week reminds us that proactively maintaining these systems saves money and plays a vital role in protecting the health of our communities and the environment.”
EPA and its partners are making educational resources available to homeowners, local organizations, and government leaders to explain how septic systems work and how to properly maintain them. Maintaining septic systems is critical to protecting public health and ecosystems in small and rural towns across the country. By being SepticSmart, homeowners can also avoid thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs, while protecting local water quality.
To promote SepticSmart Week 2024, EPA encourages organizations and individuals to create public awareness about the event and share helpful tips, such as:
- Think at the Sink! What goes down the drain has a big impact on your septic system. Fats, grease, and solids can clog a system’s pipes and drain field.
- Don’t Overload the Commode! A toilet is not a trash can. Disposable diapers and wipes, feminine hygiene products, coffee grounds, cigarette butts, and cat litter can damage a septic system.
- Don’t Strain Your Drain! Use water efficiently and stagger use of water-based appliances. Too much water use at once can overload a system that hasn’t been pumped recently.
- Shield Your Field! Tree and shrub roots, cars, and livestock can damage your septic drain field.
- Keep It Clean! Contamination can occur when a septic system leaks from improper maintenance. Be sure your drinking water is safe to drink by testing it regularly.
- Protect It and Inspect It! Regular septic system maintenance can save homeowners thousands of dollars in repairs, and it protects public health.
- Pump Your Tank! Ensure your septic tank is pumped at regular intervals as recommended by a professional and/or local permitting authority.
SepticSmart week also provides a valuable platform to highlight career opportunities in the water workforce. Decentralized systems need maintenance, and a skilled workforce is crucial to keeping residents safe and healthy. According to recent estimates, nearly one-third of the water sector workforce is eligible to retire in the next 10 years. EPA will spotlight the variety of positions and people that keep water infrastructure functioning properly, in addition to providing an infographic that highlights the benefits of working in this sector. Learn more about SepticSmart Week.
Background
More than one-fifth of U.S. households use an individual onsite (septic) system or small community cluster septic system to treat their wastewater. These systems treat and dispose of relatively small volumes of wastewater and include a wide range of individual and cluster treatment options to process household and commercial sewage. These systems go by such names as septic, decentralized wastewater treatment, cluster, package plants, on-lot, individual sewage disposal, and private sewage. Onsite systems provide a cost-effective, long-term option for treating wastewater, particularly in sparsely populated areas. When properly installed, operated, and maintained, these systems help protect public health, preserve valuable water resources, and maintain a community’s economic vitality.
For further information: Contact: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
3 Biden-Harris Administration Announces $117 Million in Grants Available To Advance Recycling Infrastructure And Prevent Wasted Food.
WASHINGTON – Today, Sept. 16, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $117 million for three separate funding opportunities to advance recycling infrastructure and boost food waste prevention education across the country. Two of the notices are for Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grants – one funding opportunity for Tribes and intertribal consortia and another for communities (such as cities, counties, and parishes) across the country. The third notice is for EPA’s Recycling Education and Outreach grant program and is focused on food waste prevention and composting.
Some communities that lack waste management infrastructure do not have curbside waste
collection services, recycling, or composting programs, which increases the strain on local waste management systems and increases greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, mismanaged waste contributes to health and economic issues in historically underserved and overburdened communities. Increasing recycling reduces climate, environmental, and social impacts of materials use and keeps valuable resources in use instead of in landfills. Preventing wasted food from ending up in landfills plays an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The projects that EPA will fund under the Recycling Education and Outreach grant selection—including a national education and outreach campaign—will lead to more recycling through composting, less wasted food from households, better markets for selling compost, and less contamination in the compost stream. Projects funded through the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grants will improve post-consumer materials management and infrastructure. In addition, the grants support EPA’s “National Recycling Strategy” goal of building an economy devoted to keeping materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible – what’s known as a circular economy. EPA anticipates releasing its final “National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution” in the coming months. All are part of EPA’s series on creating a circular economy for all.
Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grant Program
The recycling funding for Tribes and intertribal consortia will provide approximately $20 million total in awards ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million each. The recycling funding for communities will provide approximately $58 million total in awards ranging from $500,000 to $5 million each. This includes projects that will improve collection, transport, systems, and processes related to post-use materials that can be recovered, reused, recycled, repaired, refurbished, or composted. Read more about eligible applicants and activities for these funding opportunities for Tribes and intertribal consortia and those available to communities. EPA anticipates announcing a SWIFR funding opportunity for states and territories next year.
Recycling Education and Outreach (REO) Grant Program
The funding for the REO grant program will provide approximately $39 million for one award. EPA seeks coalition applications that include the following elements: (1) a project to develop and implement a national consumer wasted food reduction campaign; (2) a project that will increase the market for and sales of compost; and (3) a project that will increase education and outreach to households on composting. Applicants must demonstrate they will subaward a portion of the total award to implement education and outreach activities locally, which will benefit local communities. Read more about eligible applicants and activities for this funding opportunity for recycling education and outreach.
For more information on preventing wasted food, visit theSustainable Management of Food webpage.
4. In The U.S., Every 24 Hours, 27,000 Trees Are Cut Down. Why?
a. To make high grade lumber for dining room tables
b. To make different sized wood carvings
c. To make toilet paper
d. To make a commercial brand specific bed frame and head board
Answer found below. Source: National Geographic
5. HHW/SHREDDING EVENT THIS WEEKEND – The City of Tucson’s Environmental and General Services Department (EGSD) is hosting its monthly Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Event this Saturday, Sept. 14, from 8 a.m.-noon, at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), 750 S. Tucson Blvd. City residents can drop off HHW, batteries, electronic waste, fluorescent lamps and bulbs, paper documents for shredding (limit three boxes), recyclables, cleaning products, pool chemicals, and glass bottles and jars at no charge. Unknown chemicals will not be accepted. The event is free for City of Tucson residents with proof of address. Residents from Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, and unincorporated Pima County will be charged a $10 fee to drop off materials. EGSD hosts HHW collection events on the second Saturday of each month in different areas across Tucson. Follow the links below for more information. Source: Tucson NewsNet Daily Digest Sept 12, 2024
HHW accepted materials list
6. High-Tech Trash Can Cuts Food Waste And makes Your Plants Grow. The Mill Food Recycler has processed 74 pounds of organic waste coming from my kitchen into a 14-lb. bag of dust. The cost is $1,000, but there’s a $30-a-month rental plan with a buyout option, and Mill Industries co-founder Harry Tannenbaum says the price should eventually go down. Gadgets like the Mill offer one way to get a better handle on food waste, which is still a real problem. It’s the single largest component in landfills, making up about a quarter of all municipal waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In practice, the Mill operates somewhat like a trash can. You open the lid with a foot stomp, and throw in whatever slimy thing is in your hand. Pretty much any food or byproduct can go in, even avocado pits. No-gos include big bones, hard clam or oyster shells, or an overload of sugary stuff like cake and cookies. Its app (because of course it’s got an app) has a useful index of every possible thing you might want to toss, so you’ll learn quickly.
When the Mill collects enough of your food waste in its removable bucket, it runs the first cycle. The bucket heats up while motor-driven paddles turn around and around. The process runs three or four hours for a handful of scraps without much water
content; once, when I put in a bunch of melon rinds, it churned for at least nine.
It basically runs nightly, at a low hum you only really hear when you’re next to it. (You can set the start time in the app.) And there’s never any smell, even when the lid is open.
After a month or so, my Mill told me the bucket was full. Source: Wall Street Journal, Sept 4, 2024.
Answer to No 4 above: Did you know that an estimated 27,000 trees are felled each day just to produce toilet paper, according to National Geographic?¹ That staggering statistic translates to a jaw-dropping 9.8 million trees lost annually for our basic bathroom needs.The average person uses 36 rolls of toilet paper a year. As we continue to deplete our planet’s precious forestry resources, it’s time to ask ourselves – is there a more sustainable way? ( The answer is bamboo, which grows 100X faster than a tree).
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