Monthly Archives: May 2017

President Trump’s Budget: Zero-Funding Energy and Environment Programs

May 31, 2017. President Trump’s proposed budget would completely eliminate a number of environmental programs. Some of those programs fund state activities to protect against environmental harm, increase energy efficiency, build water/sewer infrastructure and respond to natural disasters. Below, some of the programs zero-funded under the President’s budget*:

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

♦ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood zone mapping/flood risk analysis. As part of the federal flood insurance program, FEMA maps flood zones along rivers, streams and ocean shorelines.  Flood zone maps have to be updated as shorelines respond to subsidence or sea level rise and upland development increases runoff.  The federal flood insurance program uses the maps to set flood insurance rates; the maps also affect state and local construction standards in flood hazard areas. The President’s budget assumes flood zone mapping should be funded by the residents of flood hazard areas and by state governments.

♦ Emergency food and housing grants. FEMA provides grants to states for  emergency food and housing needs following natural disasters. The grant funds would be eliminated as duplicative of other programs; federal budget documents also indicate these needs should largely be a  state responsibility.

ENERGY

♦ Energy Star Program.  The  Energy Star program (developed by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency) rates household appliances for energy and water efficiency.  Energy Star ratings on high efficiency washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and other appliances allow consumers to compare energy/water usage and potential cost savings over the life of the appliance. The President’s budget assumes that this kind of consumer rating program can and should be provided by the private sector.

♦ Weatherization Assistance Program. This Department of Energy  program provides grants to the states to weather-proof housing for low-income residents. The weatherization program’s goals are to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy bills for low income homeowners.

♦ State Energy Program funds. These Department of Energy grants support state energy initiatives, including programs to increase the energy efficiency of state buildings and infrastructure.

COASTAL PROGRAMS

♦ Coastal Zone Management Act Grants. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grants support state coastal management programs. A NOAA grant provides about 50% of the funding for North Carolina’s coastal program, which regulates development affecting significant coastal resources such as coastal wetlands, public trust waters, and ocean/inlet shorelines.

♦ National Estuarine Research Reserves. NOAA also provides significant funding for coastal natural areas set aside for conservation, research and education. North Carolina  has four Estuarine Research Reserves: Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson, Zeke’s Island and Masonboro Island. NOAA  grants provide about 75% of the funding for management of the N.C. Estuarine Research Reserve sites.

♦ Sea Grant.   The federal Sea Grant program supports university-based coastal research and extension services in 33 states and territories on the coasts and Great Lakes. North Carolina’s Sea Grant program, based at North Carolina State University,  provides scientific, engineering and legal expertise on coastal issues including wetlands protection, aquaculture, and shoreline stabilization. You can find a description of N.C. Sea Grant programs and activities here.

WATER/WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE

♦ Rural Water/Wastewater Disposal Program. This Department of Commerce program provides  water and sewer grants to rural communities.  The President’s budget would eliminate the program as duplicative of infrastructure loans provided through the larger Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF)  programs.  Unlike the SRF programs, however, the Rural Water and Wastewater Disposal Program provides grants that can  be used to support rural economic development.  SRF loans must be used to upgrade existing water and sewer systems to meet Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act  standards; the loans cannot be used to extend a water or sewer system just to serve new economic development.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

♦ Geographic environmental restoration programs.  The President’s budget eliminates funding for a number of regional water quality restoration programs. Most of the programs involve coordination among states and the federal government to solve pollution problems in multi-state water bodies like Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes.

♦ Chemical Safety Board.   The Chemical Safety Board — made up of independent experts —  investigates chemical accidents and releases. In North Carolina,  the Chemical Safety Board has investigated and identified the cause of several incidents, including the 2006 explosion and fire at a hazardous waste facility in Apex that forced the evacuation of 16,000 people.

♦ BEACH program. This EPA program provides  grants to support state monitoring of beach water quality during the swimming season. In North Carolina, the Division of Marine Fisheries receives  BEACH funding to support the state’s Recreational Water Quality Program. The state program  tests the water quality at  240 swimming areas weekly between April 1 and October 31. The water quality monitoring allows the agency  to warn the public — and if necessary close a beach for swimming — if  bacteria reaches unsafe levels.

* Based on budget documents released by the Office of Management and Budget and informed by additional analysis provided by the Environmental Council of States (an organization of state environmental officials.)

“Aerosolizing” Landfill Leachate

May 19, 2017.   A bill under consideration by the N.C. General Assembly,   House Bill 576 , requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to allow “aerosolization of leachate and wastewater as an acceptable method of site management” at a lined municipal solid waste landfill and gives DEQ discretion to allow the practice at unlined landfills.  The bill passed the N.C. House and has been sent to the Senate.

A definition of terms.

“Leachate” is the liquid produced by water (including rainfall) percolating through landfilled waste. State rules require landfills to contain leachate onsite or treat the leachate before discharging it.   Treatment may occur onsite; offsite through a municipal wastewater treatment system; or by land-application of leachate to vegetation.  Since leachate would be considered to be wastewater, discharge often requires a Clean Water Act permit.

“Municipal solid waste landfill”  means a landfill — whether operated by a city, a county or a private waste management company — that receives household trash and  other commercial and industrial waste collected for disposal. MSW landfills do not dispose of hazardous waste or medical waste generated by diagnosis, treatment and  research facilities.

“Aerosolization”  involves spraying untreated landfill leachate into the air, allowing solids to resettle and  liquids to evaporate. Land-application systems direct leachate toward the ground for absorption by vegetation;  aerosolization systems direct the leachate high into the air to facilitate evaporation.   In 2016,  Republic Services (a major commercial landfill operator in the state)  made a presentation to the legislature’s Environmental Review Commission describing aerosolization and promoting the systems as a less expensive alternative to both conventional wastewater treatment and land application of leachate.

Scope of the bill. House Bill 576 requires DEQ to allow aerosolization of leachate at lined municipal solid waste landfills and allows DEQ to approve  aerosolization of leachate at unlined landfills.  The bill sets no standards for aerosolization of landfill leachate and does not expressly give either DEQ or the Environmental Management Commission authority to set standards for the practice. The bill also waives water and air quality permitting requirements for the aerosolization system if evaporation  of leachate “results in a zero-liquid discharge and is not a significant air contamination source”.

Questions:

1. Does aerosolization  of untreated landfill leachate from municipal solid waste landfills present a risk of exposure to  viruses and bacteria?    Unlike limited purpose landfills (such as those receiving only construction and demolition debris),  municipal solid waste (“MSW”) landfills receive food waste, diapers, and other personal care products that may carry viruses and bacteria. There does not seem to be readily available  information on  the potential for increased human or wildlife  exposure to viruses and bacteria as leachate becomes aerosolized and potentially wind-borne.

Without more information on the persistence of viruses and bacteria under different conditions, it is difficult to assess the risk of aerosolizing MSW leachate and develop management measures to limit the risk.  An EPA study found that viruses can survive in landfill leachate for weeks or months in moderate temperatures. A Nebraska study found that avian influenza viruses may survive in landfill leachate for up to two years.

North Carolina’s Division of Waste Management has approved four demonstration  projects for aerosolization of  landfill leachate; one involved a small-scale project at a Republic Services landfill.  The process has not been used to scale at a MSW landfill in North Carolina and  I have not found an instance of any other state permitting an evaporation system at a MSW landfill. As a result, data on the potential health risk of  aerosolizing MSW leachate either doesn’t exist or is not readily accessible.

2. Are existing  state rules sufficient to manage risk associated with aerosolization of MSW leachate?  North Carolina’s landfill rules require  a 50-foot buffer between each waste disposal area and the landfill property boundary. Rules that apply to landfills permitted before 2007 require a 50-foot buffer between waste disposal areas and a river or stream.  Landfills permitted since 2007 must maintain a  200-foot buffer between the waste disposal area and a perennial stream or wetland, although DEQ  can approve a narrower buffer (no less than 100 feet) based on local circumstances. See Session Law 2007-550.  A  500-foot buffer must be maintained between the waste disposal area and a home or water supply well.

A 2016  presentation  on leachate management by SCS Engineering noted some considerations in use of evaporation systems including:

♦ Risk of overspray and wind gusts

♦ Worker exposure to aerosolized leachate

North Carolina’s  waste management rules do not address these concerns and the potential risk to landfill workers or to people and wildlife beyond the landfill boundary.  Existing landfill buffer requirements were developed to manage the impact of buried waste and active landfill operations on waters, wetlands and adjoining property owners — not as a safety factor for aerosolization of landfill leachate and possible drift.

State  waste management rules require landfills to comply with air quality standards,  but the cross-referenced standards focus on air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act rather than bacteria and viruses. House Bill 576 exempts aerosolization systems from air quality permitting requirements as long as the system would not be a “significant air contamination source”. The bill does not define what would constitute a “significant” air contamination source.

The  knowledge gaps, lack of risk management guidance, and absence of standards for use of evaporation systems at municipal solid waste landfills suggests a need for  more study.

NC Senate: Proposed 2017 Budget

May 10, 2017.  Some highlights of the state budget proposed by Senate leadership as it affects environmental programs:

Money. The Senate budget continues  a nearly 10-year trend of cuts in environmental programs. An earlier post described some of the impacts of previous  budget cuts that began with the  2008 recession (including a 9% reversion of already-budgeted funds in 2009) and continued after the economy began to recover.

The Senate’s proposed budget for 2017 would reduce state appropriations to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) by nearly $7 million.  That represents a 10% reduction in state appropriations and a 3% reduction in the department’s overall budget (which also includes federal grant funds and permit fees).

The reductions include:

♦ A $3.5 million discretionary cut,  which means DEQ will have to identify  reductions within the department’s operating budget.

♦  A $1 million transfer of funds  to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) to challenge an EPA rule defining federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. Under the McCrory administration, DEQ had joined  a number of other states in suing over the federal rule.  The Cooper administration dropped out of the litigation and the Senate provision would fund DACS  to continue the state’s participation in that litigation.

♦ The budget eliminates  56.5 positions from existing DEQ programs:

      32.5 positions in the Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service. Those cuts affect non-regulatory waste reduction, recycling,  water/energy efficiency and  permit assistance programs. The cuts would effectively eliminate DEQ programs that work with business/industry to voluntarily reduce waste generation which allows those businesses and industries  to reduce their regulatory burden and save money.

      14 regional office support positions. DEQ’s seven regional offices house frontline permitting and enforcement staff for multiple environmental programs. The legislature has targeted DEQ  regional offices for staff cuts in the past. This provision requires a reduction of an additional 2 positions in each  regional office. It is not clear which DEQ programs would be affected.

      5  administrative positions. The Senate bill  identifies specific jobs for elimination, including  DEQ’s Chief Deputy Secretary,  the Legislative Affairs Program Manager; a communications position; and the last two environment education positions remaining in the department.

      3 positions in the N.C. Geodetic Survey

      1 position in the Land Quality Section of the Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources

      1 position in the Division of Marine Fisheries

Policy provisions in the budget bill. The budget bill includes a number of changes in state law or policy related to environmental programs:

♦  Conditions on use of funds the state may receive as a result of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s settlement with Volkswagen for violations of the Clean Air Act (Sec. 13.2 )  The Senate provision sets criteria for use of the funds and requires legislative approval of a DEQ plan for the funds.

♦  A provision  that allows the owners of old landfill sites to avoid environmental cleanup requirements by: 1. Accepting liability for onsite and offsite contamination; and 2. Providing financial assurance for any environmental harm.  There is an exception for property owners who did not receive compensation to accept local government waste for disposal. The provision affects a state program to assess and cleanup contamination associated with landfills and trash dumps that never met standards for solid waste landfills adopted in 1983. (iSec. 13.4).

♦  Changes to laws governing the Marine Fisheries Commission (Sec. 13.17) . The provision reduces the MFC from nine members to seven members and requires a super-majority of five  members to take any action — including adoption of rules. As with most state commissions, current law only requires a simple majority of the MFC to take most actions although a super-majority is required for adoption of fisheries management plans.

♦  A moratorium on wind energy projects (Sec. 24.2). The bill would prevent DEQ from issuing permits for new wind energy projects until December 31. 2020. During the moratorium, the bill would require a study of the impact of wind energy facilities on military operations in the state. Note; the process for approval of wind energy facilities already requires Federal Aviation Administration review and  input from military  installations.