EPA Rebuilds Endocrine Disrupter Screening Program to Better Assess Human Endocrine Effects of Pesticides
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a strategic plan to ensure that its assessments of pesticides more closely, quickly, and effectively evaluate the potential for endocrine effects in humans. These strategies will also improve EPA’s ability to protect against those effects as part of its pesticide decisions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and to implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) under section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
“This plan is a major milestone in our efforts to ensure that pesticide decisions continue to protect human health,” said Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Jake Li. “Starting with our highest priority chemicals, EPA will communicate more transparently our endocrine findings for humans, pulling from existing data when possible, and requesting new data when necessary to evaluate potential estrogen, androgen, and thyroid effects.”
Endocrine systems, also referred to as hormone systems, are found in all mammals, birds, fish, and many other living organisms. The systems regulate many biological processes in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the reproductive system, and metabolism and blood sugar levels.
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic, block, or disrupt the normal function of hormones. Following the 1996 amendment of FFDCA, EPA established EDSP to evaluate how pesticides and other chemicals may affect estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Since then, EPA has encountered several challenges with implementing EDSP. For example, the Agency has historically lacked scientific methods to rapidly and cost-effectively test thousands of chemicals for endocrine-disrupting effects. Further, EPA's FIFRA decisions rarely explained whether or how they fully obtained all needed endocrine data or complied with FFDCA by protecting humans from potential endocrine effects. EPA staff also received minimal support and direction from leadership in the last Administration to implement EDSP. Because of these and other issues, the Office of Inspector General issued a report in 2021 concluding that the Agency had made limited progress in implementing EDSP and recommending, among other things, that the Agency develop an EDSP strategic plan.
The strategic plan and supporting documents released today advance EDSP in several unprecedented ways.
EPA will use its FIFRA process to obtain endocrine data and make endocrine decisions for human health. Going forward, EPA will use its existing FIFRA data collection authorities to obtain the data it needs to make both FIFRA and EDSP decisions on whether the pesticide impacts the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems, and will require any needed protections. Given the large number of pesticides awaiting these decisions, EPA is prioritizing the approximately 400 conventional pesticide active ingredients that are being registered for the first time or undergoing registration review.
EPA will make endocrine decisions related to human health more expeditiously by using existing data when possible. EPA routinely obtains data under FIFRA that are identical or comparable to data that EPA would have obtained through EDSP. Additionally, other existing studies may also inform EDSP findings. Where these data are sufficient to support EDSP findings under FFDCA, EPA will make those findings without seeking additional data. This minimizes duplicative and expensive animal testing and expedites EPA’s ability to make those findings without waiting for new studies. To support the strategic plan, EPA is releasing a science paper that addresses longstanding questions about which types of existing data can inform endocrine findings under FIFRA and FFDCA.
After evaluating available data for 403 conventional pesticides, EPA has determined it has adequate estrogen and androgen data for 86 of these chemicals. Thus, as part of registration review, after assessing for potential thyroid effects, EPA can make final EDSP decisions on the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Similarly, EPA has determined it has sufficient data for 52 pesticide chemicals (50 conventional active ingredients and two inert ingredients) it prioritized in 2009 to assess the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Now, as a supplement to the strategic plan, the Agency is communicating its final EDSP decisions relating to impacts on the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid pathways for these 52 chemicals.
Because the science on the human endocrine system evolves constantly, especially for thyroid, EPA anticipates seeking in 2025 scientific peer review on scientific advancements and on its current approach to thyroid assessments. The Agency will then determine whether to update its approach.
In the near-term, EPA will require additional endocrine data for human health for 30 pesticides. EPA has identified 30 high-priority pesticides that require additional data on potential human estrogen and/or androgen effects. These pesticides are considered high priority because preliminary data indicate the chemicals may cause activity in the endocrine system. EPA is seeking available data or information on these chemicals for 60 days as part of a public comment period. Additionally, to fill any remaining data gaps, the Agency intends to issue FIFRA human health data requests for these chemicals in the spring of 2024. EPA is also seeking available data or other information to evaluate endocrine data needs for a second group of 126 conventional pesticides for which the Agency’s initial analysis has found limited endocrine data. For 161 additional conventional pesticides, the Agency will determine which ones it needs to obtain updated endocrine data for in the coming years as part of registration review.
The comment period for this action will open Friday, October 27. Once available, interested parties can submit data or a comment in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0474 at www.regulations.gov.
“This plan is a major milestone in our efforts to ensure that pesticide decisions continue to protect human health,” said Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Jake Li. “Starting with our highest priority chemicals, EPA will communicate more transparently our endocrine findings for humans, pulling from existing data when possible, and requesting new data when necessary to evaluate potential estrogen, androgen, and thyroid effects.”
Endocrine systems, also referred to as hormone systems, are found in all mammals, birds, fish, and many other living organisms. The systems regulate many biological processes in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the reproductive system, and metabolism and blood sugar levels.
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic, block, or disrupt the normal function of hormones. Following the 1996 amendment of FFDCA, EPA established EDSP to evaluate how pesticides and other chemicals may affect estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Since then, EPA has encountered several challenges with implementing EDSP. For example, the Agency has historically lacked scientific methods to rapidly and cost-effectively test thousands of chemicals for endocrine-disrupting effects. Further, EPA's FIFRA decisions rarely explained whether or how they fully obtained all needed endocrine data or complied with FFDCA by protecting humans from potential endocrine effects. EPA staff also received minimal support and direction from leadership in the last Administration to implement EDSP. Because of these and other issues, the Office of Inspector General issued a report in 2021 concluding that the Agency had made limited progress in implementing EDSP and recommending, among other things, that the Agency develop an EDSP strategic plan.
The strategic plan and supporting documents released today advance EDSP in several unprecedented ways.
EPA will use its FIFRA process to obtain endocrine data and make endocrine decisions for human health. Going forward, EPA will use its existing FIFRA data collection authorities to obtain the data it needs to make both FIFRA and EDSP decisions on whether the pesticide impacts the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems, and will require any needed protections. Given the large number of pesticides awaiting these decisions, EPA is prioritizing the approximately 400 conventional pesticide active ingredients that are being registered for the first time or undergoing registration review.
EPA will make endocrine decisions related to human health more expeditiously by using existing data when possible. EPA routinely obtains data under FIFRA that are identical or comparable to data that EPA would have obtained through EDSP. Additionally, other existing studies may also inform EDSP findings. Where these data are sufficient to support EDSP findings under FFDCA, EPA will make those findings without seeking additional data. This minimizes duplicative and expensive animal testing and expedites EPA’s ability to make those findings without waiting for new studies. To support the strategic plan, EPA is releasing a science paper that addresses longstanding questions about which types of existing data can inform endocrine findings under FIFRA and FFDCA.
After evaluating available data for 403 conventional pesticides, EPA has determined it has adequate estrogen and androgen data for 86 of these chemicals. Thus, as part of registration review, after assessing for potential thyroid effects, EPA can make final EDSP decisions on the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Similarly, EPA has determined it has sufficient data for 52 pesticide chemicals (50 conventional active ingredients and two inert ingredients) it prioritized in 2009 to assess the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Now, as a supplement to the strategic plan, the Agency is communicating its final EDSP decisions relating to impacts on the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid pathways for these 52 chemicals.
Because the science on the human endocrine system evolves constantly, especially for thyroid, EPA anticipates seeking in 2025 scientific peer review on scientific advancements and on its current approach to thyroid assessments. The Agency will then determine whether to update its approach.
In the near-term, EPA will require additional endocrine data for human health for 30 pesticides. EPA has identified 30 high-priority pesticides that require additional data on potential human estrogen and/or androgen effects. These pesticides are considered high priority because preliminary data indicate the chemicals may cause activity in the endocrine system. EPA is seeking available data or information on these chemicals for 60 days as part of a public comment period. Additionally, to fill any remaining data gaps, the Agency intends to issue FIFRA human health data requests for these chemicals in the spring of 2024. EPA is also seeking available data or other information to evaluate endocrine data needs for a second group of 126 conventional pesticides for which the Agency’s initial analysis has found limited endocrine data. For 161 additional conventional pesticides, the Agency will determine which ones it needs to obtain updated endocrine data for in the coming years as part of registration review.
The comment period for this action will open Friday, October 27. Once available, interested parties can submit data or a comment in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0474 at www.regulations.gov.
EPA to host ETO public meeting for Temple Tarrace residents
TEMPLE TARRACE, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2023) - On Thursday, November 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a public meeting to provide an update concerning measures taken to limit the release of the chemical ethylene oxide (EtO) from American Contract Systems, Inc. located at 7802 East Telecon Pkwy in Temple Terrace, FL 33637.
The American Contract Systems facility is a commercial sterilizer that EPA identified as having contributed to an elevated level of risk due to its emissions of EtO into the air.
Earlier this year, using data from operations prior to July of 2023, the EPA determined that Temple Terrace neighborhoods in the vicinity of the American Contract Systems facility may have an elevated lifetime cancer risk. The risk decreases significantly as you move away from the American Contract Systems facility.
WHAT: Temple Terrace Public Meeting on EtO
WHEN: Thursday, November 2, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: Hillsborough Community College
Dale Mabry Campus
Learning Resource Center, Room 106
4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33614
EPA is sharing this information because communities have a right to know about emissions that could affect their health and well-being. Please go to www.epa.gov/fl/temple-terrace-fl-american-contract-systems for more information about the meeting. A recording of the meeting will be available on this website after the meeting.
###
The American Contract Systems facility is a commercial sterilizer that EPA identified as having contributed to an elevated level of risk due to its emissions of EtO into the air.
Earlier this year, using data from operations prior to July of 2023, the EPA determined that Temple Terrace neighborhoods in the vicinity of the American Contract Systems facility may have an elevated lifetime cancer risk. The risk decreases significantly as you move away from the American Contract Systems facility.
WHAT: Temple Terrace Public Meeting on EtO
WHEN: Thursday, November 2, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: Hillsborough Community College
Dale Mabry Campus
Learning Resource Center, Room 106
4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33614
EPA is sharing this information because communities have a right to know about emissions that could affect their health and well-being. Please go to www.epa.gov/fl/temple-terrace-fl-american-contract-systems for more information about the meeting. A recording of the meeting will be available on this website after the meeting.
###
MEDIA ADVISORY: EPA to Recognize Charleston, South Carolina Superfund Site for Excellence in Reuse
CHARLESTON, S.C. (October 26, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host an award ceremony to recognize Koppers, Co. Inc., for receipt of the Region 4 Excellence in Site Reuse Award for its role in returning the creosote wood preserving facility, located in Charleston, South Carolina US into a productive reuse site.
Koppers, Co. Inc., is part of the “Magnolia” development, a mixed-use development that will consist of 140 acres of upland along the Ashley River and is comprised of three former Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanups and several South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) Brownfields parcels. Turning the site back into a productive reuse site has been a collaborative effort between EPA, SCDHEC, Highland Resources, and the City of Charleston. The first phase, projected to cost between $500 and $700 Million, will include a hotel, residences, offices, retail shops and restaurants.
WHAT: Excellence in Superfund Site Reuse Award Ceremony
WHO: EPA Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Carol Kemker
EPA Region 4 Superfund Division Director Caroline Freeman
Mayor of the City of Charleston, John Tecklenburg
Myra Reece, SCDHEC Director of Environmental Affairs
Clark Davis, Highland Resources CEO
WHEN: Monday, October 30, 2023
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Highland Resources Sales Office
2198 Milford Street, Charleston, SC 29405
*** Interested media must RSVP via email to region4press@epa.gov to confirm your participation by Friday, October 27, 2023.
Koppers, Co. Inc., is part of the “Magnolia” development, a mixed-use development that will consist of 140 acres of upland along the Ashley River and is comprised of three former Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanups and several South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) Brownfields parcels. Turning the site back into a productive reuse site has been a collaborative effort between EPA, SCDHEC, Highland Resources, and the City of Charleston. The first phase, projected to cost between $500 and $700 Million, will include a hotel, residences, offices, retail shops and restaurants.
WHAT: Excellence in Superfund Site Reuse Award Ceremony
WHO: EPA Acting Deputy Regional Administrator Carol Kemker
EPA Region 4 Superfund Division Director Caroline Freeman
Mayor of the City of Charleston, John Tecklenburg
Myra Reece, SCDHEC Director of Environmental Affairs
Clark Davis, Highland Resources CEO
WHEN: Monday, October 30, 2023
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Highland Resources Sales Office
2198 Milford Street, Charleston, SC 29405
*** Interested media must RSVP via email to region4press@epa.gov to confirm your participation by Friday, October 27, 2023.
EPA Rebuilds Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program to Better Assess Human Endocrine Effects of Pesticides
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a strategic plan to ensure that its assessments of pesticides more closely, quickly, and effectively evaluate the potential for endocrine effects in humans. These strategies will also improve EPA’s ability to protect against those effects as part of its pesticide decisions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and to implement the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) under section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
“This plan is a major milestone in our efforts to ensure that pesticide decisions continue to protect human health,” said Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Jake Li. “Starting with our highest priority chemicals, EPA will communicate more transparently our endocrine findings for humans, pulling from existing data when possible, and requesting new data when necessary to evaluate potential estrogen, androgen, and thyroid effects.”
Endocrine systems, also referred to as hormone systems, are found in all mammals, birds, fish, and many other living organisms. The systems regulate many biological processes in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the reproductive system, and metabolism and blood sugar levels.
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic, block, or disrupt the normal function of hormones. Following the 1996 amendment of FFDCA, EPA established EDSP to evaluate how pesticides and other chemicals may affect estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Since then, EPA has encountered several challenges with implementing EDSP. For example, the Agency has historically lacked scientific methods to rapidly and cost-effectively test thousands of chemicals for endocrine-disrupting effects. Further, EPA's FIFRA decisions rarely explained whether or how they fully obtained all needed endocrine data or complied with FFDCA by protecting humans from potential endocrine effects. EPA staff also received minimal support and direction from leadership in the last Administration to implement EDSP. Because of these and other issues, the Office of Inspector General issued a report in 2021 concluding that the Agency had made limited progress in implementing EDSP and recommending, among other things, that the Agency develop an EDSP strategic plan.
The strategic plan and supporting documents released today advance EDSP in several unprecedented ways.
EPA will use its FIFRA process to obtain endocrine data and make endocrine decisions for human health. Going forward, EPA will use its existing FIFRA data collection authorities to obtain the data it needs to make both FIFRA and EDSP decisions on whether the pesticide impacts the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems, and will require any needed protections. Given the large number of pesticides awaiting these decisions, EPA is prioritizing the approximately 400 conventional pesticide active ingredients that are being registered for the first time or undergoing registration review.
EPA will make endocrine decisions related to human health more expeditiously by using existing data when possible. EPA routinely obtains data under FIFRA that are identical or comparable to data that EPA would have obtained through EDSP. Additionally, other existing studies may also inform EDSP findings. Where these data are sufficient to support EDSP findings under FFDCA, EPA will make those findings without seeking additional data. This minimizes duplicative and expensive animal testing and expedites EPA’s ability to make those findings without waiting for new studies. To support the strategic plan, EPA is releasing a science paper that addresses longstanding questions about which types of existing data can inform endocrine findings under FIFRA and FFDCA.
After evaluating available data for 403 conventional pesticides, EPA has determined it has adequate estrogen and androgen data for 86 of these chemicals. Thus, as part of registration review, after assessing for potential thyroid effects, EPA can make final EDSP decisions on the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Similarly, EPA has determined it has sufficient data for 52 pesticide chemicals (50 conventional active ingredients and two inert ingredients) it prioritized in 2009 to assess the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Now, as a supplement to the strategic plan, the Agency is communicating its final EDSP decisions relating to impacts on the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid pathways for these 52 chemicals.
Because the science on the human endocrine system evolves constantly, especially for thyroid, EPA anticipates seeking in 2025 scientific peer review on scientific advancements and on its current approach to thyroid assessments. The Agency will then determine whether to update its approach.
In the near-term, EPA will require additional endocrine data for human health for 30 pesticides. EPA has identified 30 high-priority pesticides that require additional data on potential human estrogen and/or androgen effects. These pesticides are considered high priority because preliminary data indicate the chemicals may cause activity in the endocrine system. EPA is seeking available data or information on these chemicals for 60 days as part of a public comment period. Additionally, to fill any remaining data gaps, the Agency intends to issue FIFRA human health data requests for these chemicals in the spring of 2024. EPA is also seeking available data or other information to evaluate endocrine data needs for a second group of 126 conventional pesticides for which the Agency’s initial analysis has found limited endocrine data. For 161 additional conventional pesticides, the Agency will determine which ones it needs to obtain updated endocrine data for in the coming years as part of registration review.
The comment period for this action will open Friday, October 27. Once available, interested parties can submit data or a comment in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0474 at www.regulations.gov.
“This plan is a major milestone in our efforts to ensure that pesticide decisions continue to protect human health,” said Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Jake Li. “Starting with our highest priority chemicals, EPA will communicate more transparently our endocrine findings for humans, pulling from existing data when possible, and requesting new data when necessary to evaluate potential estrogen, androgen, and thyroid effects.”
Endocrine systems, also referred to as hormone systems, are found in all mammals, birds, fish, and many other living organisms. The systems regulate many biological processes in the body from conception through adulthood and into old age, including the development of the brain and nervous system, the growth and function of the reproductive system, and metabolism and blood sugar levels.
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic, block, or disrupt the normal function of hormones. Following the 1996 amendment of FFDCA, EPA established EDSP to evaluate how pesticides and other chemicals may affect estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Since then, EPA has encountered several challenges with implementing EDSP. For example, the Agency has historically lacked scientific methods to rapidly and cost-effectively test thousands of chemicals for endocrine-disrupting effects. Further, EPA's FIFRA decisions rarely explained whether or how they fully obtained all needed endocrine data or complied with FFDCA by protecting humans from potential endocrine effects. EPA staff also received minimal support and direction from leadership in the last Administration to implement EDSP. Because of these and other issues, the Office of Inspector General issued a report in 2021 concluding that the Agency had made limited progress in implementing EDSP and recommending, among other things, that the Agency develop an EDSP strategic plan.
The strategic plan and supporting documents released today advance EDSP in several unprecedented ways.
EPA will use its FIFRA process to obtain endocrine data and make endocrine decisions for human health. Going forward, EPA will use its existing FIFRA data collection authorities to obtain the data it needs to make both FIFRA and EDSP decisions on whether the pesticide impacts the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems, and will require any needed protections. Given the large number of pesticides awaiting these decisions, EPA is prioritizing the approximately 400 conventional pesticide active ingredients that are being registered for the first time or undergoing registration review.
EPA will make endocrine decisions related to human health more expeditiously by using existing data when possible. EPA routinely obtains data under FIFRA that are identical or comparable to data that EPA would have obtained through EDSP. Additionally, other existing studies may also inform EDSP findings. Where these data are sufficient to support EDSP findings under FFDCA, EPA will make those findings without seeking additional data. This minimizes duplicative and expensive animal testing and expedites EPA’s ability to make those findings without waiting for new studies. To support the strategic plan, EPA is releasing a science paper that addresses longstanding questions about which types of existing data can inform endocrine findings under FIFRA and FFDCA.
After evaluating available data for 403 conventional pesticides, EPA has determined it has adequate estrogen and androgen data for 86 of these chemicals. Thus, as part of registration review, after assessing for potential thyroid effects, EPA can make final EDSP decisions on the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Similarly, EPA has determined it has sufficient data for 52 pesticide chemicals (50 conventional active ingredients and two inert ingredients) it prioritized in 2009 to assess the potential for these chemicals to impact the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid systems. Now, as a supplement to the strategic plan, the Agency is communicating its final EDSP decisions relating to impacts on the human estrogen, androgen, and thyroid pathways for these 52 chemicals.
Because the science on the human endocrine system evolves constantly, especially for thyroid, EPA anticipates seeking in 2025 scientific peer review on scientific advancements and on its current approach to thyroid assessments. The Agency will then determine whether to update its approach.
In the near-term, EPA will require additional endocrine data for human health for 30 pesticides. EPA has identified 30 high-priority pesticides that require additional data on potential human estrogen and/or androgen effects. These pesticides are considered high priority because preliminary data indicate the chemicals may cause activity in the endocrine system. EPA is seeking available data or information on these chemicals for 60 days as part of a public comment period. Additionally, to fill any remaining data gaps, the Agency intends to issue FIFRA human health data requests for these chemicals in the spring of 2024. EPA is also seeking available data or other information to evaluate endocrine data needs for a second group of 126 conventional pesticides for which the Agency’s initial analysis has found limited endocrine data. For 161 additional conventional pesticides, the Agency will determine which ones it needs to obtain updated endocrine data for in the coming years as part of registration review.
The comment period for this action will open Friday, October 27. Once available, interested parties can submit data or a comment in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0474 at www.regulations.gov.
EPA to host ETO public meeting for Temple Tarrace residents
TEMPLE TARRACE, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2023) - On Thursday, November 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a public meeting to provide an update concerning measures taken to limit the release of the chemical ethylene oxide (EtO) from American Contract Systems, Inc. located at 7802 East Telecon Pkwy in Temple Terrace, FL 33637.
The American Contract Systems facility is a commercial sterilizer that EPA identified as having contributed to an elevated level of risk due to its emissions of EtO into the air.
Earlier this year, using data from operations prior to July of 2023, the EPA determined that Temple Terrace neighborhoods in the vicinity of the American Contract Systems facility may have an elevated lifetime cancer risk. The risk decreases significantly as you move away from the American Contract Systems facility.
WHAT: Temple Terrace Public Meeting on EtO
WHEN: Thursday, November 2, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: Hillsborough Community College
Dale Mabry Campus
Learning Resource Center, Room 106
4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33614
EPA is sharing this information because communities have a right to know about emissions that could affect their health and well-being. Please go to www.epa.gov/fl/temple-terrace-fl-american-contract-systems for more information about the meeting. A recording of the meeting will be available on this website after the meeting.
###
The American Contract Systems facility is a commercial sterilizer that EPA identified as having contributed to an elevated level of risk due to its emissions of EtO into the air.
Earlier this year, using data from operations prior to July of 2023, the EPA determined that Temple Terrace neighborhoods in the vicinity of the American Contract Systems facility may have an elevated lifetime cancer risk. The risk decreases significantly as you move away from the American Contract Systems facility.
WHAT: Temple Terrace Public Meeting on EtO
WHEN: Thursday, November 2, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: Hillsborough Community College
Dale Mabry Campus
Learning Resource Center, Room 106
4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33614
EPA is sharing this information because communities have a right to know about emissions that could affect their health and well-being. Please go to www.epa.gov/fl/temple-terrace-fl-american-contract-systems for more information about the meeting. A recording of the meeting will be available on this website after the meeting.
###
EPA Hazardous Materials Removal Work is Now 85% Complete on Maui
LĀHAINĀ, MAUI, Hawai'i – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has now removed hazardous materials from over 85 percent of the burned properties in Lāhainā, Maui – the first phase of the overall federal cleanup response to the Maui Wildfires.
EPA personnel continue to remove hazardous materials from properties and apply a soil stabilizer to the ash and debris footprint of burned buildings and vehicles. The stabilizer prevents toxic ash and debris from entering the air, nearby properties, waterways, and the ocean.
EPA’s Community Involvement Coordinators and Community Relations Specialists have received several inquiries regarding re-entry into zones with apartment buildings. Due to the amount of debris and the difficulty of entering these properties EPA personnel have yet to complete hazardous material reconnaissance or assessment of multi-family buildings.
EPA works closely with the County of Maui to coordinate EPA’s operations ahead of the County’s plans for re-entry. EPA encourages residents with questions about re-entry to contact the County of Maui.
EPA and the County of Maui are also working to identify, transport, and safely dispose of lithium-ion batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles. Fire-damaged electric and hybrid vehicle batteries need to be handled with specific care to ensure the protection of response personnel and the community.
Learn more about EPA’s work in Maui.
View EPA’s Story Map for the 2023 Maui Wildfire Response.
Visit the official County of Maui website for recovery efforts.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on X.
EPA-supervised personnel conduct household hazardous material removal.
The debris associated with apartment complexes makes it very difficult for EPA to perform hazardous materials assessment and removal.
EPA personnel continue to remove hazardous materials from properties and apply a soil stabilizer to the ash and debris footprint of burned buildings and vehicles. The stabilizer prevents toxic ash and debris from entering the air, nearby properties, waterways, and the ocean.
EPA’s Community Involvement Coordinators and Community Relations Specialists have received several inquiries regarding re-entry into zones with apartment buildings. Due to the amount of debris and the difficulty of entering these properties EPA personnel have yet to complete hazardous material reconnaissance or assessment of multi-family buildings.
EPA works closely with the County of Maui to coordinate EPA’s operations ahead of the County’s plans for re-entry. EPA encourages residents with questions about re-entry to contact the County of Maui.
EPA and the County of Maui are also working to identify, transport, and safely dispose of lithium-ion batteries from electric and hybrid vehicles. Fire-damaged electric and hybrid vehicle batteries need to be handled with specific care to ensure the protection of response personnel and the community.
Learn more about EPA’s work in Maui.
View EPA’s Story Map for the 2023 Maui Wildfire Response.
Visit the official County of Maui website for recovery efforts.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on X.
EPA-supervised personnel conduct household hazardous material removal.
The debris associated with apartment complexes makes it very difficult for EPA to perform hazardous materials assessment and removal.
Biden-Harris Administration announces $980,979 for Environmental Justice Projects in communities across Mississippi as part of investing in America agenda
JACKSON, Miss. (Oct. 26, 2023) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $980,979 to fund 2 projects in Mississippi that advance environmental justice as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The organizations, which EPA has selected through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement and Environmental Justice Government-to-Government programs, will use the funds to ensure disadvantaged communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions in alignment with the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative.
Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in U.S. history—this funding is a part the largest investment ever announced under these two longstanding EPA programs. This is the first in a series of environmental justice grant announcements the agency will announce before the end of the year.
“No President has invested more in environmental justice than President Biden, and under his leadership we’re removing longstanding barriers and meaningfully collaborating with communities to build a healthier future for all,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Together, these community-driven projects will improve the health, equity, and resilience of communities while setting a blueprint for local solutions that can be applied across the nation.”
“Building collaborative partnerships with our stakeholders is vital to addressing local environmental and public health issues,” said Acting EPA Region 4 Administrator Jeanneane Gettle. “Environmental justice communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment will benefit greatly from these projects that promote clean air, water and climate resilience solutions, leading to healthy communities.”
“Mississippi has been marginalized for a while. The Justice40 initiative led by the Biden Administration has allowed Mississippi to build our suffering communities and promote good public health,” said U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson (MS-02). “This initiative has given Mississippi the boost it needs to make a step in the right direction.”
The grants announced today deliver on President Biden’s commitment to advance equity and justice throughout the United States. The two grant programs directly advance the President’s transformational Justice40 initiative to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving (EJCPS) Program
EPA’s EJCPS program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues in their communities. The program builds upon President Biden’s Executive Orders 13985 and 14008, creating a designation of funds exclusively for small nonprofit organizations, which are defined as having 5 or fewer full-time employees, thus ensuring that grant resources reach organizations of lower capacity that historically struggle to receive federal funding. Eleven of the organizations selected for EJCPS this year are small nonprofit organizations, receiving over $1.6 million in total.
EPA EJCPS grant selection in Mississippi include the following:
2CMississippi: Towards Sustainable, Educated and Empowered M - $482,780 - Equitable access to microparks for climate resilience through flood mitigation, education and community revitalization.
This project is a partnership effort to address climate change-induced increased risk of flooding in the absence of municipal and state investments.
Steps Coalition - $498,199 - Advancing community-led, climate resilient redevelopment in East Biloxi, Mississippi
The purpose of this project is to build capacity and technical support for sustainable, climate-smart, community-led redevelopment in East Biloxi.
Environmental Justice Government to Government (EJG2G)
EPA’s EJG2G provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and Tribal level to support government activities in partnership with community-based organizations that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.
Additional Background:
From day one of his administration, President Biden has made achieving environmental justice a top priority. And in August 2022, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in appropriations to provide grants and technical assistance for activities advancing environmental and climate justice.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has launched and expanded innovative programs to provide more support than ever before to communities that unjustly bear the burdens of environmental harm and pollution. This includes the $177 million for the creation of 16 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to remove barriers to federal resources and help communities pursue funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. EPA has also launched and will award funds through the $550 million Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program before the end of 2023.
To learn more about environmental justice at EPA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice
Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in U.S. history—this funding is a part the largest investment ever announced under these two longstanding EPA programs. This is the first in a series of environmental justice grant announcements the agency will announce before the end of the year.
“No President has invested more in environmental justice than President Biden, and under his leadership we’re removing longstanding barriers and meaningfully collaborating with communities to build a healthier future for all,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Together, these community-driven projects will improve the health, equity, and resilience of communities while setting a blueprint for local solutions that can be applied across the nation.”
“Building collaborative partnerships with our stakeholders is vital to addressing local environmental and public health issues,” said Acting EPA Region 4 Administrator Jeanneane Gettle. “Environmental justice communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment will benefit greatly from these projects that promote clean air, water and climate resilience solutions, leading to healthy communities.”
“Mississippi has been marginalized for a while. The Justice40 initiative led by the Biden Administration has allowed Mississippi to build our suffering communities and promote good public health,” said U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson (MS-02). “This initiative has given Mississippi the boost it needs to make a step in the right direction.”
The grants announced today deliver on President Biden’s commitment to advance equity and justice throughout the United States. The two grant programs directly advance the President’s transformational Justice40 initiative to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving (EJCPS) Program
EPA’s EJCPS program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues in their communities. The program builds upon President Biden’s Executive Orders 13985 and 14008, creating a designation of funds exclusively for small nonprofit organizations, which are defined as having 5 or fewer full-time employees, thus ensuring that grant resources reach organizations of lower capacity that historically struggle to receive federal funding. Eleven of the organizations selected for EJCPS this year are small nonprofit organizations, receiving over $1.6 million in total.
EPA EJCPS grant selection in Mississippi include the following:
2CMississippi: Towards Sustainable, Educated and Empowered M - $482,780 - Equitable access to microparks for climate resilience through flood mitigation, education and community revitalization.
This project is a partnership effort to address climate change-induced increased risk of flooding in the absence of municipal and state investments.
Steps Coalition - $498,199 - Advancing community-led, climate resilient redevelopment in East Biloxi, Mississippi
The purpose of this project is to build capacity and technical support for sustainable, climate-smart, community-led redevelopment in East Biloxi.
Environmental Justice Government to Government (EJG2G)
EPA’s EJG2G provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and Tribal level to support government activities in partnership with community-based organizations that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.
Additional Background:
From day one of his administration, President Biden has made achieving environmental justice a top priority. And in August 2022, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in appropriations to provide grants and technical assistance for activities advancing environmental and climate justice.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has launched and expanded innovative programs to provide more support than ever before to communities that unjustly bear the burdens of environmental harm and pollution. This includes the $177 million for the creation of 16 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to remove barriers to federal resources and help communities pursue funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. EPA has also launched and will award funds through the $550 million Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program before the end of 2023.
To learn more about environmental justice at EPA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice
EPA penalizes Town of Coulee Dam over $70,000 for Clean Water Act violations
SEATTLE – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the Town of Coulee Dam, Washington will pay $70,881 for violations of Section 402 of the Clean Water Act at the town’s wastewater treatment plant.
The wastewater treatment plant failed to meet the following requirements of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit:
Submit monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports to EPA and the Colville Tribes
Notify EPA and the Colville Tribes that their Operations and Maintenance Plan was developed and implemented
Inform EPA and the Colville Tribes that their new plant had begun operations and their old plant had closed
Apply for a new permit on time
Provide the correct location of the discharge point
“The cultural, economic and environmental significance of the Columbia River to the western U.S. cannot be overstated,” said EPA Region 10 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Ed Kowalski. “All facilities operating on the river must comply with the law to safeguard this critical watershed and be good neighbors to the Colville Tribes and the many other communities that depend on it.”
EPA investigations began in 2019 when the treatment plant did not submit required Discharge Monitoring Reports. DMRs help track the amount of pollution discharged from permitted facilities into waterways like the Columbia River. A facility’s permit assigns values for the type and amount of pollutants it is allowed to discharge. Without the timely submittal of DMRs, EPA cannot monitor if wastewater treatment plants are complying with permits, effectively treating wastewater, and preventing excess pollution from entering the river. Follow-up investigations found that the wastewater treatment plant failed additional conditions of the NPDES permit.
EPA’s technical assistance webinars on improving NPDES compliance are available to plant operators, municipal leaders, technical assistance providers, and compliance inspection staff from federal, state, tribal and local governments.
Additional details can be found in the Consent Agreement and Final Order.
The wastewater treatment plant failed to meet the following requirements of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit:
Submit monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports to EPA and the Colville Tribes
Notify EPA and the Colville Tribes that their Operations and Maintenance Plan was developed and implemented
Inform EPA and the Colville Tribes that their new plant had begun operations and their old plant had closed
Apply for a new permit on time
Provide the correct location of the discharge point
“The cultural, economic and environmental significance of the Columbia River to the western U.S. cannot be overstated,” said EPA Region 10 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Ed Kowalski. “All facilities operating on the river must comply with the law to safeguard this critical watershed and be good neighbors to the Colville Tribes and the many other communities that depend on it.”
EPA investigations began in 2019 when the treatment plant did not submit required Discharge Monitoring Reports. DMRs help track the amount of pollution discharged from permitted facilities into waterways like the Columbia River. A facility’s permit assigns values for the type and amount of pollutants it is allowed to discharge. Without the timely submittal of DMRs, EPA cannot monitor if wastewater treatment plants are complying with permits, effectively treating wastewater, and preventing excess pollution from entering the river. Follow-up investigations found that the wastewater treatment plant failed additional conditions of the NPDES permit.
EPA’s technical assistance webinars on improving NPDES compliance are available to plant operators, municipal leaders, technical assistance providers, and compliance inspection staff from federal, state, tribal and local governments.
Additional details can be found in the Consent Agreement and Final Order.