EPAWATCH NO2 standard remains as is despite regional concerns EPA will retain its current national ambient air quality standard for nitrogen dioxide, despite the concerns of two groups that say the standard does not adequately protect the Adirondack Mountain and Chesapeake Bay ecosystems. After the required five-year review, the agency found that the standard does protect children and other sensitive populations, as well as most ecosystems, said Chebryll Edwards of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. In addition no areas have been found to violate the standard during the past three years The standard is set at 0.053 parts per million, both as a primary standard, designed to protect public health, and as a secondary standard, aimed at protecting the environment {Federal Register, 1996, 61 (196), 52852-856). The chief emitters of nitrogen dioxide include utility plants, auto manufacturers, and mining and mineral-processing operations, EPA said. Although the proposed determination, published in October 1995, received only eight comments, two groups said the level does not adequately protect the Adirondack Mountains, which are plagued by acidification, and the Chesapeake Bay, where eutrophication is destroying oyster habitat. EPA officials replied that there are significant scientific uncertainties with regard to NO levels and water acidity and eutrophication and noted that regional controls on NO emissions would better address these problems than would a national standard In addition NO emissions are being controlled through other EPA programs i n c h i d i n g t h e Clean Air Act's acid rain
program Mike Hirshfield of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation argued that none of EPA's N 0 2 programs is protecting the bay. The foundation is seeking to strengthen this standard and others through a lawsuit filed
One-stop reporting inches forward EPA is seeking public input on a new plan to streamline reporting of environmental data by regulated facilities. The project is the first step in a long journey to consolidate EPA's collection of data from an estimated 400,000 to 700,000 regulated facilities (Federal Register, 1996, 67(195), 52588-600). Under numerous laws, companies are required to report environmental data to state and federal programs, leading to repeated reporting of a facility's identification information, often in different forms. Errors created by slightly different facility name spellings and other identification data inconsistencies make it impossible to compare data from one facility. To resolve these problems, the initiative would create a national standard for reporting a facility's identification, such as name, address, and parent company name, that can be used by EPA and the states. Once in place, EPA hopes to link the many state and federal databases containing reported information. This would allow better access for reporting data to companies, the public, and regulators, and provide easier access for data users who want to compile or analyze environmental information across media-related collections. It should also lead to the development of a single facility reporting record, which combines in one file the information provided to states and EPA under environmental programs. The notice includes a detailed outline of five implementation alternatives, ranging from upgrading existing facility identification databases to building connections between EPA and individualized state systems.
jointly this year with the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation under the Clean Air Act's Great Waters program (ES&T, Sept. 1996, 387A).
Massive Superfund cleanup settled at New Jersey site One of the largest settlements ever reached in the Superfund program— $221.5 million—was announced in October. More than 90 companies, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have agreed to help cover cleanup costs for the Bridgeport Rental and Oil Service Superfund site near Logan Township, N.J. The settlement will allow completion of remaining remediation work at one of the Superfund program's "messiest" and most technically challenging sites said Department of Justice officials The site had been an oil and chemical waste storage facility for 30 years
The private companies will pay $46 million, leaving $175.5 million to be paid by the U.S. Treasury on behalf of DOD and DOT, each of which
0013-936X/96/0930-521A$12.00/0 © 1996 American Chemical Society
allegedly sent wastes to the site, officials said. EPA said the settlement figure is expected to cover only 70% of past government expenditures and the costs of anticipated cleanup actions at the site. When the facility closed in the late 1970s, millions of gallons of waste oil and other contaminants remained, much of it in a 13-acre lagoon that became a "toxic soup" of waste material, EPA said. Much of the cleanup has been completed: From 1992 to 1996, more than 172,000 tons of hazardous wastes from the lagoon were incinerated. More than 190 million gallons of contaminated water were treated and 10 000 tons of contaminated debris were disposed of off site. The settling parties will immediately pay $115.5 million to EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as reimbursement for past cleanup. The remaining funds will be provided by the companies and the federal government, set by a formula in the agreement, for the companies to complete a study of the groundwater and wetlands contamination and design
VOL. 30, NO. 12, 1996 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS • 5 2 1 A
