GreenEnvironmentNews.com | California Environment News

U.S. E.P.A. Declares $1 Million Accessible in Border Environmental Backing

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

Last day to submit proposals July 31; grant workshops in the border region LOS ANGELES - The E.P.A. is pleased to declare $1 Million in Border Environmental backing for the California/Baja California and Arizona/Sonora regions. The funds will be awarded under the Border 2020: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program, in coordination with the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). Selected awards will average $50,000 each. All proposals must be submitte...

U.S. E.P.A. and Federal Partners Celebrate Four-Years of Partnership - $539 Million to Support ...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

SAN FRANCISCO - The E.P.A., in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), today released a summary of accomplishments under the Pacific Southwest Region's Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities program, an initiative managed by the 3 agencies to efficiently use multi-agency resources to meet economic, environmental, and community needs. Since the program's formation, over $539 million has been a...

6 California Companies Included in

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

(06/13/13) WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. (EPA) today announced more $2 million to 25 small businesses nationwide to develop new environmental technologies that will help protect people's health and the environment. California leads the nation with 6 companies selected for the award; 4 are located in Southern California, and 2 are in Northern California. EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) plan funds innovative research resulting in new commercial products, processes an...

E.P.A. Declares In excess of $3 Million in Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training ...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

WASHINGTON -Today the E.P.A. (EPA) is announcing the selection of 16 grantees for a total award of $3.2 million through the agency's Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Program. The grants support local work to recruit, train, and place unemployed individuals in jobs that address environmental challenges in their communities. By providing Americans in economically disadvantaged communities with environmental job training, EWDJT grants promote environmental ju...

E.P.A. Declares In excess of $3 Million in Grants for Environmental Workforce Development and ...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

(06/13/13) SAN FRANCISCO - Today the E.P.A. (EPA) is announcing the selection of 16 grantees for a total award of $3.2 million through the agency's Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program. The grants support local work to recruit, train, and place unemployed individuals in jobs that address environmental challenges in their communities. By providing Americans in economically disadvantaged communities with job training in environmental health and safety, E...

Senator Boxer Reacts to Announcement that the Troubled San Onofre Nuclear Plant Will Close ...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today issued the statement below following the announcement by Southern California Edison of the permanent closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Senator Boxer said: "I am greatly relieved that the San Onofre nuclear plant will be closed permanently. This nuclear plant had a defective redesign and could no longer operate as intended. Modification...

Vote on NRC Nominee Delayed While Democrats Await Documents

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), today made the following statement on the ongoing delay of a vote on the nomination of Allison MacFarlane to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has said she is still awaiting information she requested about a nuclear facility in California. "It's my understanding that Chairman Boxer is delaying the nomination mark-up of Allison MacFarlane until...

E.P.A. Awards In excess of $4.3 Million in Partnership with NSF and N.O.A.A. ...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:00:00 +0100

WASHINGTON - Today the E.P.A. (EPA) announced in excess of $4.3 million in grants to 13 institutions to study and enhance our understanding of how certain organic compounds form in the atmosphere. Research performed by grantees will help the federal government enhance its air quality management systems and climate change models with respect to organic aerosol formation and help E.P.A. continue its work of protecting people's health and the environment. "This partnership prov...

Chairman Hastings Delivers Outline Legislation to Expand Safe, Responsible Production of U.S. ...

Thu, 30 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

WASHINGTON, D.C. , May 30, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released outline legislation to expand U.S. offshore energy production in order to create new American jobs, lower energy prices, grow our economy, and strengthen national security. The Offshore Energy and Jobs Act would remove government barriers that block production of our own domestic energy resources. It...

E.P.A. Suggests Rules to Protect Americans from Exposure to Formaldehyde

Wed, 29 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. (EPA) today suggested 2 rules to help protect Americans from exposure to the harmful chemical formaldehyde, consistent with a Federal law unanimously passed by Congress in 2010. These rules ensure that composite wood products produced domestically or imported into the U.S. meet the formaldehyde emission requirements established by Congress. Formaldehyde is used in adhesives to make a wide range of building materials and products. Exposure to formaldeh...

Senator Barbara Boxer Reveals New Evidence that Southern California Edison Misled Safety ...

Tue, 28 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

Washington, DC - Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today revealed that correspondence between Southern California Edison (Edison) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries presents major new evidence of misrepresentation and safety lapses by Edison. The Senator projects to provide this correspondence to federal and state officials, including the U.S. Department of Justice, so they can determine whether Edison engaged i...

U.S. E.P.A. to Hold Public Interagency Meeting on Reactive Nitrogen Research in Fresno, California

Tue, 28 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

LOS ANGELES -- The E.P.A. (EPA), in collaboration with the California Water Institute at Cal State University Fresno, will hold a two-day public workshop and interagency meeting to discuss the status of research on the management of reactive nitrogen in the San Joaquin Valley and other areas of California. The workshop will be held on June fourth and fiveth at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Fresno, California Reactive nitrogen research is crit...

Wal-Mart Pleads Guilty To Federal Environmental Crimes And Civil Violations And Will Pay In ...

Tue, 28 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

WASHINGTON - Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated pleaded guilty today in cases filed by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and San Francisco to 6 counts of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally handling and disposing of hazardous materials at its retail stores across the United States. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company also pleaded guilty today in Kansas City, Mo., to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by failing to properly handle pesticides tha...

Olive-oil Milling Leftovers Scrutinized in New ARS Studies

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

For every gallon of olive oil that's pressed from the ripe fruit, about 38 pounds of olive skins, pulp and pits are left behind. Known as pomace, these leftovers typically have low-value uses. But U.S.D.A. (USDA) agricultural engineer Rebecca R. Milczarek and her colleagues are working with olive growers and olive-oil processors in California-where most of...

Going green: Nation equipped to grow serious amounts of pond scum for fuel

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

May 21, 2013

E.P.A. Transfers Operations of Whittier Narrows Treatment Plant to State of California

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

Billions of Gallons of Groundwater Treated To Date LOS ANGELES-- Today, responsibility for operation and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system at the Whittier Narrows Operable Unit (OU) was transferred from the E.P.A. (EPA) to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). The Whittier Narrows OU encompasses approximately 4 square miles in the southern portion of the San Gabriel Valley Area one Superfund Location in South El Monte,...

San Diego Co. Meets National Air Quality Standard for Smog

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

LOS ANGELES - The E.P.A. announced that San Diego Co. has met the 1997 national health-based air quality standard for smog, also known as ground-level ozone. In addition, E.P.A. has approved the state's project to maintain clean air requirements for the in excess of 3 million residents of the San Diego area. "This is a victory for San Diego Co. residents, who are now breathing the cleanest air in in excess of 6 decades," said Jared Blumenfeld EPA's Regional Administrator for th...

$16 Million Set for Small Businesses Focused on Energy Technologies

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

The Energy Department on May nine announced that it will award 88 grants to small businesses in 28 states to develop clean energy technologies with a strong potential for commercialization and job creation. These awards, totaling in excess of $16 million in investments, will help small businesses with promising ideas that could enhance manufacturing processes, boost the efficiency of buildings, reduce reliance on foreign oil, and generate electricity from renewable sources. Biomass, geothe...

D.O.E. Launches Public-Private Partnership to Deploy Hydrogen Infrastructure

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

The U.S. Energy of Department (DOE) on May 13 launched H2USA, a new public-private partnership focused on advancing hydrogen infrastructure to support more transportation energy options for U.S. consumers, including fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The new partnership brings together automakers, government agencies, gas suppliers, and the hydrogen and fuel cell industries to coordinate research and identify cost-effective solutions to deploy infrastructure that can deliver hydrogen fue...

Vitter, Alexander Say Administration's Policy on Endangered Species Has Ridiculous Inconsistencies

Tue, 14 May 2013 07:00:00 +0100

Senator David Vitter (R-La.), the top Republican of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the Obama Administration has been biased in choosing who has violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act. The Administration has pursued cases involving oil and gas producers, and not wind energy producers. According to a Los A...