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P2 News Items
NYS: Albany-Area Pharmaceutical Collection Event (03/03/2010)
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will be at the Empire State Plaza in Albany on March 3, 2010 to collect unused and unwanted pharmaceuticals from area residents for proper disposal. The collection will run from 9 AM until 1 PM at the bus station on the concourse level of the Plaza and is part of DEC's ongoing "Don't Flush Your Drugs" campaign to raise awareness about the impacts of household drugs on water quality.
Recent reports have shown that an array of medicines are showing up in the rivers, streams and drinking water supplies of a number of American cities. Although the concentrations of the pharmaceuticals are small, studies have found negative impacts on aquatic life, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged the issue is a serious concern. New York State has been a leading voice in efforts to encourage people to keep pharmaceuticals out of public waterways.
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EPA announces new support for sustainable communities (02/17/2010)
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced three steps to support communities' efforts to provide their citizens' with economic opportunity while reducing impacts on the environment. The actions will encourage state and local government to make their communities more sustainable by strategically aligning their environmental, transportation and housing investments.
The steps EPA announced today are:
The creation of a new Office of Sustainable Communities to encourage communities to take an integrated approach in making environmental, housing and transportation decisions; A new pilot grant program designed to help three states -- New York, Maryland and California -- use their clean water funding programs to support efforts to make communities more sustainable; A pilot program to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites, known as brownfield sites, in coordination with communities' efforts to develop public transportation and affordable housing.
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Senators seek sulfur dioxide pollution cuts (02/09/2010)
WASHINGTON Feb.4 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of United States senators on Thursday introduced legislation aimed at slashing emissions of sulfur dioxide, mercury and nitrogen oxide from smokestacks including coal-fired power plants.
The measure, which has stalled in Congress in years past, also would set up nationwide trading systems for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollution permits, its sponsors said.
But it does not tackle the much larger and controversial question of how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for climate change. Separate negotiations are underway on a greenhouse gas emissions bill.
Democratic Senator Thomas Carper, a main sponsor of the legislation unveiled on Thursday, complained that legal challenges have held up Environmental Protection Agency regulations to reduce emissions of these gases.
He now wants Congress to expand the Clean Air Act to allow Washington to mandate emissions reductions of these gases.
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ME: Additional Maine Communities Protect Coastal Waters - "No Discharge Area" will end boat sewage (02/09/2010)
(Boston, Mass. -- Feb. 5, 2010) -- The Maine coastal communities of Camden, Rockport, Rockland, and portions of Owls Head have joined several other Maine coastal towns by protecting their coastal water quality with a "No Discharge Area" designation.
This status prohibits the discharge of treated and untreated boat sewage in these areas. Boat sewage can lead to health problems for swimmers, closed shellfish beds, and the overall degradation of marine habitats. The additional Maine areas designated as "no discharge" increases the significant portions of New England waters that prohibit boat sewage in coastal waters.
EPA approved a request by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (ME DEP) to make the designation with a publication today in the Federal Register. EPA's decision is based on the availability of sufficient pumpout facilities to the boating public in this area. There are six pumpout facilities in this area, and an estimated 1151 boats, approximately 813 of which are large enough to have a "head" or toilet on board. EPA worked closely with state and local officials, and conducted site visits to the area to determine that the six facilities were sufficient to meet the needs of the local boating public.
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