Data gathering for a PCBs in products testing database

Dear Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force participants, 

The SRRTTF-TSCA/iPCB Workgroup is interested in developing a database that contains measured PCB concentrations in consumer and commercial products. Although there are a few relevant datasets the TSCA/iPCB Workgroup is aware of (e.g., City of Spokane’s 2015 dataset, Hydroseed testing results,  Ecology’s Database) it is unclear if there is enough additional data that could be made available to the SRRTTF that would justify the creation of a database.  

The SRRTTF has hired Gonzaga University, led by Dr. Kyle Shimabuku, to determine the availability of relevant data. A Scope of Work is attached (GU Phase I SOW Final), which includes some of the organizations that will be contacted initially. If you know of any additional entities that might collect PCBs-in products data, please contact Kyle directly (email: shimabuku@gonzaga.edu, phone: (509) 313-3552). 

Thank you! 

Feb. SRRTTF meetings/biofilm news story/EPA grant

Upcoming SRRTTF meetings: (conf. call number 605-313-5141, 723394#)
PMF work group: Feb. 4 at 11 am (conf. call)
TSCA work group: Feb. 5 at 10 am (conf. call)
Education & Outreach work group: Feb. 11 at 10 am (Spokane Regional Health District)
The next SRRTTF meeting will be held Wednesday, Feb. 26 from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm at Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District – 22510 E Mission Ave., Spokane, WA
(For additional info. contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com)

Crosscut has written an article “10 of the Wildest Discoveries Washington Scientists Made in 2019” which includes Siana Wong and Brandee Era-Miller’s work on the PCB biofilm project.

Take a look at number 4! https://crosscut.com/2019/12/10-wildest-discoveries-washington-scientists-made-2019

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking grant applications from states and federally-recognized tribes to promote pollution prevention (P2) in businesses across the country. Through these grants, the agency hopes states and tribes, along with colleges, universities and intertribal consortia, will develop and provide information, training and tools to businesses to help them reduce costs and the use of water, energy and other natural resources.

EPA anticipates awarding approximately $9.38 million in total federal pollution prevention grant funding over a two-year funding cycle ($4.69 million in FY 2020 funds and $4.69 million in FY 2021 funds). Individual grant awards could be in the range of $40,000-$500,000 for the two-year funding period or between $20,000 – $250,000 funded per year.

Proposals are due by March 31, 2020

EPA Announces Grant Opportunity for Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance

San Francisco – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking grant applications from states and federally-recognized tribes to promote pollution prevention (P2) in businesses across the country. Through these grants, the agency hopes states and tribes, along with colleges, universities and intertribal consortia, will develop and provide information, training and tools to businesses to help them reduce costs and the use of water, energy and other natural resources.

“Pollution prevention grants are important tools that help support innovative solutions to reducing pollution,” said EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn. “The results of work done under these grants have created best practices that are helping to advance economic growth, increase sustainability and protect the environment.”

EPA anticipates awarding approximately $9.38 million in total federal pollution prevention grant funding over a two-year funding cycle ($4.69 million in FY 2020 funds and $4.69 million in FY 2021 funds). Individual grant awards could be in the range of $40,000-$500,000 for the two-year funding period or between $20,000 – $250,000 funded per year.

For these grants, EPA emphasizes the importance of grantees documenting and sharing P2 best practices that are identified and developed through these grants, so that others can replicate these practices and outcomes. Each grantee will be required to develop at least one case study during the grant period on P2 practices that are new or not widely known or adopted, or where detailed information on the P2 practices could benefit other businesses or P2 technical assistance providers.

Grant applications should focus on at least one of the following P2 priority areas, also referred to as National Emphasis Areas (NEAs) that support several of the Agency’s Smart Sectors:  

  1. NEA #1: Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Processing
  2. NEA #2:  Chemical Manufacturing, Processing and Formulation
  3. NEA #3:  Automotive Manufacturing and Maintenance
  4. NEA #4:  Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing and Maintenance
  5. NEA #5:  Metal Manufacturing and Fabrication

EPA’s national P2 Program will host two informational webinars for potential applicants and interested stakeholders. The first webinar will be held on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT. To register, please go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8522288642270023693.

This webinar will review information about the P2 Grant program and the application process to help potential applicants submit a high-quality application to EPA for consideration.  Time will be provided on the webinar for questions and answers. 

The second webinar will be held on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 from 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT to review and answer questions on the NEAs for this grant competition cycle. To register, please go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4696774328423521549.

The webinar registration links will work best when using the Google Chrome browser.  Please consult the solicitation for further details.

Proposals are due by March 31, 2020. Additional information is available on www.grants.gov, under Funding Opportunity Announcement EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-001.

Read more about P2 and the P2 Grant Program.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.


ACE board meeting/Upcoming SRTTF work group meetings

The next meeting of the ACE board will be Tuesday, November 5 at Inland Empire Paper (3320 N. Argonne Road, Spokane, WA) from 10 am to noon.

Agenda:

  1. Election of Officer positions with the retirement of Bud Leber as ACE President
  2. Distribution of duties/responsibilities amongst ACE Board members (Ecology Contract for legislative funding, interface/contract with suppliers/vendors, accounting/budgeting functions, etc.)
  3. Scope of work/budget for projects approved by the SRRTTF on October 23, 2019

Upcoming SRRTTF work group meetings: call in number (605-313-5141)

TSCA conf. call:  November 6 at 10 am
Education and Outreach: 
November 12 at 10 am – Spokane Regional Health District
Database Management conf. call: 
November 14 at 3 pm

For more information, contact lara@whitebluffsconsulting.com

February 28, 2018 Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force Meeting

The next meeting of the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force is:

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2017
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District Office
22510 E. Mission Avenue Liberty Lake, WA 99019

Click here
 for a map
To attend by phone:
Call In Number: (509) 335-2277
Participant Code: 6456706
Meeting Materials:
Agenda:
 SRRTTF 02-28-18 agenda_V2
January 24, 2018 Meeting Summary (Decision: accept summary?)
SRRTTF 01.24.17 DRAFT meeting notes
TTWG February 7, 2018 DRAFT meeting Notes
SRRTTF TTWG 02.7.18 mtg notes
ACE Commitment Report:
ACE Commitment Report
ACE-Ecology Contract documents (Decision: Authorize detailed scopes development & work to begin?)
Task 4: 2018-2019 Green Chemistry workgroup proposals (1) ; NGC and L Heine bio_2018_02_14
Task 5: Spokane Waste Directory 2018 spring campaign scope of work
Task 5: LID community proposal (1) ;  Riverkeeper LID presentation
Task 5: Proposal_TF_Outreach_Website
Annual IRS – Addendum (Decision: accept addendum for the record?)
Impl.Review.Summary_Addenda-summaries-from-technical-advisor-facilitator-workgroups
Information -Funding: EPA Env Education Grant:
FW_ [King Co EcoNet] FW_ EPA Environmental Education grants RFP
Water Quality Assessment and Policy 1-11 Revisions: web link (should the SRRTTF submit in-river PCB Data for WQA?

Other information of interest: TSCA Work Group (informational only at this time)
EPA TSCA Response to SRRTTF_022415
2018 Plan of Activities
TSCA Solutions

May 10, 2017 Task Force Meeting Conference Call – special meeting

The Task Force will hold a special meeting by conference call in order to review and approve a letter to EPA drafted by Doug Krapas and reviewed by the Technical Track Work group at the May 3rd Tech Track Work Group meeting. The letter was drafted to address President Trump’s signed Executive Order 13777 and EPA’s Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190. The letter specifies the Task Force request for the evaluation and correction of discrepancies that exist between the Toxics Substance Control Act (TSCA) and Water Quality Standard regulations for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).

Voting members are highly encouraged to call in in order to achieve a quorum for the decision.

Time:Wednesday May 10th, 2017 from 10:00 am to 10:30 am
Where: Conference  Call
Call in information: 509-335-2277
Conference ID: 849827

Please review the letter prior to the call. The letter needs to be submitted before May 15th, so there is not a lot time for redrafting and incorporating many edits/changes; therefore Task Force members are asked to determine if they can live with the letter as is, and only provide edits if absolutely necessary in order to be able to approve the letter.

Agenda:SRRTTF May 10 2017 Agenda_draft

FINAL VERSION: Approved by Task Force on the Conference Call (Quorum reached)
SRRTTF-Comments-to-Docket-EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190-_Final Draft

– 5.10.17 SRRTTF conference call Final notes

Previous Draft Letter: REVISED DRAFT 5-9-2017
– 
SRRTTF-Comments-to-Docket-EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190-revised-at-TTWG-meeting -SpoCounty and Riverkeeper edits _ REVISED DRAFT

SRRTTF-Comments-to-Docket-EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190-revised-at-TTWG-meeting-SpoCounty-and-Riverkeeper-edits-Ecology comments_-REVISED-DRAFT

.

April 26, 2017 Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force Meeting

The next meeting of the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force is:
Date: Wednesday, April  26, 2017
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Liberty Lake Sewer & Water District Office
22510 E. Mission Avenue Liberty Lake, WA 99019
Click here for a map

To attend by phone:

Call In Number: (509) 335-2277
Participant Code: 5266916
——————————————————-
Webinar for Presentations:
To start the online meeting
——————————————————-
1. Go to https://wadis.webex.com/wadis/j.php?MTID=mf14b37c68c9458d65b13936724080477
2. Log in to your account.
3. Click “Start Now”.
4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
Meeting Password: RpckHSr6
——————————————————-
Audio conference information
——————————————————-
To attend by phone:
Call In Number: (509) 335-2277
Participant Code: 5266916
Meeting Documents:
–  SRRTTF 04.26.17 Final summary
Agenda:
–  SRRTTF_04-26-17_agenda_draft2 (revised on 4.20.17)

Previous Meeting Summaries:
 SRRTTF 03-22-17 meeting notes_draft
 TTWG summary Notes 04-05-17 DRAFT
Funding (ACE) and Technical Documents:
–  ACE commitment report_April 2017
–  Fish Feed Supplier PCB Reporting Requirements
  EPA SRRTTF TSCA Meeting 042617 – Questions Outcomes Final draft
 Agenda_EPA-SRRTTF_4-26_Final Draft
 2017-18 SRRTTF Proposal SOW draft (Ruckelshaus Center – file updated 4.26.17)
Presentations:
2015 Phase 3 Duwamish RU 
–  PRELIMINARY_HomologMassBalance_042617
–  Federal Cleanup Sites With PCBs In The Spokane-2
Outreach:
– BasisofCampaign
– Communications Continuum_PCBs (1)

Special Meeting with SRRTTF and EPA, April 26, 2017

A special meeting with the SRRTTF and EPA will be held April 26, 2017 immediately following the regular Task Force meeting.

The SRRTTF intends this meeting to be an initial discussion that leads to a robust stakeholder process. Our goal is to identify technically and legally defensible solutions that address the regulatory conflicts between the TSCA/water quality standards. Development of next steps to make this happen should be the primary outcome of this initial meeting.

Location: Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District  Click Here for a map.
Time: 12:30 – 2:15 pm

 

Meeting Summary:
April 26, 2017 Special Meeting EPA/TF Notes

Agenda:
Agenda_EPA-SRRTTF_4-26_Final Draft
EPA SRRTTF TSCA Meeting 042617 – Questions Outcomes Final draft

Presentations:
IEP-PCB-Presentation (pdf)
EPA-TSCA-presentation-042717 (pdf)

IEP PCB Presentation , 
Pollution Prevention Principles
PCB Chemical Action Plan

 

 

SRRTTF Sends Letter to Staff and Directors of the U.S. EPA and Other Parties Regarding TSCA

The Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force (SRRTTF) has sent a letter (via Ruckelshaus Center on December 9th, 2016)  to Staff and Directors at EPA as well as State legislators concerning the regulation of PCBs under the Toxic Substances Control Act and its link to Washington Water Quality Standards for PCBs recently submitted by EPA. The SRRTTF developed the letter(s), and agreed on the contents, by consensus.

Letter:
–  srrttf-letter-concerning-wa-wqs-and-tsca_12-9-16

Previous letter sent to EPA and their response:
–  SRRTTF Letter to EPA-Final-approved-10.23.13
–  EPA Response to SRRTTF Letter_pcbs_2.24.15

 

March 28, 2016 Task Force Meeting (Conference Call)

The Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force will hold a meeting by conference call on Monday March 28th, 2016  from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to consider the approval of Task Force response letter to the draft EPA Draft NPDES General Permit for Federal Aquaculture Facilities & Aquaculture Facilities Located in Indian Country Within the boundaries of the State of Washington.

Voting members of the Task Force are asked to call in, as we will need a quorum to make the formal approvalOther Task Force participants are welcome to call in with additional input or to listen and contribute to the call.

Please carefully read the attached response letter prior to the meeting. The letter is organized by a Background that explains the SRRTTF efforts, the request for a Toxics Management Plan, recommended BMPs, recommended reporting requirements, and  the encouragement for tribal participation in the SRRTTF.

Topics to be addressed at the meeting, in order, include:

  • Federal Hatchery Permit Comment LetterDecision: accept letter for submittal to EPA by full SRRTTF?
    –  SRRTTF-Comment-Letter_EPA-Draft-Permit-Hatcheries_03-29-16_Final
  • Federal TSCA “Monsanto Clause” Opportunity to Comment
  • Process for Reaching Agreement on “PCB Control Actions”: Does the Task Force anticipate additional meetings (either full SRRTTF or workgroup)?
Date: March 28, 2016
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Location: By Phone
Call In Number: (800)704-9804
Participant Code:
 34863442#
Meeting Documents:
–  SRRTTF 3.28.16 conference call FINAL DRAFT Summary
–  SRRTTF Comment Letter_EPA Draft Permit_Hatcheries_ 3.28.16 (Final Draft agreed upon during the meeting)