Continued Innovation Brings High Fuel Economy in U.S.

The EPA issued two annual reports that provide information on fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light duty vehicles in the United States. The reports show auto manufacturers continue to innovate and make progress increasing fuel economy and reducing pollution.

The EPA issued two annual reports that provide information on fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from light duty vehicles in the United States. The reports show auto manufacturers continue to innovate and make progress increasing fuel economy and reducing pollution.

The Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975-2017 report is the authoritative reference for real world fuel economy, technology trends and tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions, for new personal vehicles sold in the U.S. every year since 1975. The report shows fuel economy for the U.S. fleet continues to improve. Model year (MY) 2016 vehicle fuel economy was 24.7 mpg, slightly higher than MY 2015, and a record high overall. Since MY 2004, fuel economy and CO2 emissions have improved in ten out of twelve years.

The Manufacturer Performance Report assesses compliance performance for individual automakers and for the U.S. fleet as a whole with the GHG emissions standards for light duty vehicles. This year’s report shows all manufacturers are in compliance with the standards.

EPA, DOT, and CARB implement coordinated regulations for passenger cars and light trucks on fuel economy and GHG emissions.

Atlanta Hazardous Waste and DOT Training

Register for Hazardous Waste Management: The Complete Course and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in Atlanta, on January 23-25 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800-537-2372.

Indianapolis Hazardous Waste and DOT Training

Register for Hazardous Waste Management: The Complete Course and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in Indianapolis on January 30-February 1 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800-537-2372.

Tampa Hazardous Waste and DOT Training

Register for Hazardous Waste Management: The Complete Course and DOT Hazardous Materials Training: The Complete Course in Tampa, FL, on February 5-8 and save $100 or receive an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with electronic versions of both handbooks. To take advantage of this offer, click here or call 800-537-2372.

USDOT Announces Initiative to Modernize Data Analysis and Drive Down Fatalities

The DOT is launching a multi-model initiative, including two pilot programs to modernize its data analysis and integrate its traditional datasets with new "big data" sources to gain insights into transportation safety.

"Advances in data science have the potential to transform the Department’s approach to safety research and provide insights that can help improve highway safety," said DOT Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Derek Kan announced the initiative at the Transportation Research Board Conference on January 8th.

One pilot project will integrate established data on known crashes and highway design with anonymous data from GPS-enabled devices that provides prevailing speeds at 5-minute intervals across the entire National Highway System. For the first time, the Department will be able to look directly at prevailing operating speeds at a large scale to see how speed and speed differentials interact with roadway characteristics to influence the likelihood of crashes. Every year speeding is a contributing factor in traffic fatalities, and in 2016 10,111 roadway deaths involved speed. The pilot will also look at the role of speed in rural incidents.

The second pilot project will integrate traffic crash data with data from the crowd-sourced app Waze on traffic hazards and conditions. This initiative will examine the feasibility of using this new crowd-sourcing application to provide a reliable, timely indicator of reportable traffic crashes, and estimate crash risk based on Waze-reported hazards.

Together, these pilot projects represent a new approach to data analysis that will seek to augment traditional data sources with new data that can be collected and analyzed much more quickly. This approach will create new multi-dimensional models of the transportation system. The initial focus of the effort is on gaining insights that will help drive down highway fatalities.

Michigan Tackles PFAS Contamination, Strengthens Environmental Criteria

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced it has developed a drinking water criterion for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The residential and nonresidential drinking water criterion is 0.07 �g/L (70 parts per trillion) for the combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS, which sets an official state standard for acceptable concentrations of these contaminants in ground water used for drinking water purposes.

The combined criterion took effect January 10, 2018. Previously there has been no level set in state criteria.

"This new standard allows us to take regulatory enforcement actions, something we have not been able to do absent a state criterion." said Heidi Grether, DEQ director. "This means we will now have tools to mandate a responsible party conduct activities to address PFOA and PFOS contamination, thereby reducing risk to human health and the environment."

With the new criterion, the department can now issue violation notices and take legal action against any responsible party who doesn’t comply with the state’s clean up rules.

"Our philosophy is that we expect responsible parties to voluntarily comply with state clean up criteria, which is why we work in close collaboration with them to help bring them into compliance," said Grether. "This rule update allows us the proper enforcement tools to ensure state law is met on the occasion that we need them, should compliance become a challenge."

The legal basis for development of the generic cleanup criteria is Part 201, Environmental Remediation, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended, and the Part 201 administrative rules. Rule provisions [R 299.6(9) et al] allow the department to determine that a substance not listed in the generic cleanup criteria tables is a hazardous substance using best available information about toxicological and physical-chemical properties of the substance, and to use that information to develop a generic criterion. The new criterion developed pursuant to these rules take effect when published and announced by the MDEQ.

The PFOA and PFOS drinking water criterion is set at the lifetime health advisory value presented in the United States Environmental Protection Agency Drinking Water Health Advisories for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), EPA 822-R-16-005, May 2016 and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), EPA 822-R-16-004, May 2016. Compliance with the drinking water criterion requires comparing the sum of the PFOA and PFOS groundwater concentrations to the drinking water criterion of 0.07 �g/L. The drinking water criterion for PFOA and PFOS protect for both short-term developmental and chronic exposures.

Last fall Governor Snyder issued Executive Directive 2017-4 creating the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team MPART) to address the need for cooperation and coordination among agencies at all levels of government charged with identifying PFAS contamination, informing and empowering the public, and mitigating the potential effects. Particularly in view of the current lack of nationwide best practices, the directive serves to set a strategic and proactive approach for the state with this emerging contaminant. The MDEQ has been a key agency in the discovery and investigation of PFAS sites around the state with the goal of mitigating potential risk to public health and identifying immediate and long-term solutions to this issue.

"While PFAS is a national issue, we are determined to continue studying this emerging science until we are assured that Michigan’s communities are safe from this contaminant," said Grether.

Listening Sessions Announced on Proposed Repeal of Clean Power Plan

The EPA announced the dates for three public listening sessions on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan:

February 21, 2018 - Kansas City, MO

February 28, 2018 - San Francisco, CA

March 27, 2018 - Gillette, WY

"In response to significant interest surrounding the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan and the success of the West Virginia hearing, we will now hold listening sessions across the country to ensure all stakeholders have an opportunity to provide input," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Contact: Registration information and more details will be posted at: https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/electric-utility-generating-units-repealing-clean-power-plan. Pre-registration to provide an oral presentation will begin when the notice is published in the Federal Register and close one week prior to each session.

With the publication of an upcoming Federal Register notice, EPA will re-open the public comment period for the proposed repeal through April 26, 2018 and provide further details on the listening sessions. Written statements and supporting information submitted while the public comment period is open will be considered with the same weight as any oral comments and supporting information presented at the listening sessions. Comments should be identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355 and may be submitted by one of the methods listed on the Clean Power Plan Proposed Repeal: How to Comment web page.

The post Continued Innovation Brings High Fuel Economy in U.S. appeared first on Environmental Resource Center.