Tag: US EPA

Shell has launched its new range of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs), including Shell Naturelle S4 Stern Tube Fluid 100. The Shell Naturelle range of products enables ships entering US waters to comply with the revised 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP).   Shell Naturelle S4 Stern Tube Fluid 100 is made with fully saturated ester base oil, which offers the best resistance to hydrolysis (breakdown by water) and oxidation (oil ageing). It is also a non-emulsifying fluid, which allows ship operators to easily drain any water from the stern tube system, preventing hydrolysis and biodegradation of the oil within the equipment. What sets Shell Naturelle S4 Stern Tube Fluid 100 apart from the competition is the wide range of approvals it has received from stern tube original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), like Aegir-Marine, Blohm & Voss (SKF), Kemel and Wärtsillä Propulsion. In addition, Shell has also launched its VGP-compliant range of gear oils, hydraulic oils, wire rope lubricant and greases, almost all of which has received EU Eco Label certification and a host of approvals from top original equipment OEMs. “We are delighted to introduce our new Shell Naturelle range of EALs and give our customers the peace of mind that they ...

Shell has launched its new range of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs), including Shell Naturelle Stern Tube Fluid 100. The Shell Naturelle range of products enables ships entering US waters to comply with the revised 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP). Shell Naturelle S4 Stern Tube Fluid 100 is made with fully saturated ester base oil, which offers the best resistance to hydrolysis (breakdown by water) and oxidation (oil ageing). It is also a non-emulsifying fluid, which allows ship operators to easily drain any water from the stern tube system, preventing hydrolysis and biodegradation of the oil within the equipment. What sets Shell Naturelle S4 Stern Tube Fluid 100 apart from the competition is the wide range of approvals it has received from stern tube original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), like Aegir -Marine, Blohm & Voss (SKF), Kemel and Wärtsillä Propulsion. In addition, Shell has also launched its VGP-compliant range of gear oils, hydraulic oils, wire rope lubricant and greases, almost all of which has received EU Eco Label certification and a host of approvals from top original equipment OEMs. “We are delighted to introduce our new Shell Naturelle range of EALs and give our customers the peace of mind that they can ...

Superior Crude Gathering Inc. (Superior Crude) has agreed to pay a civil penalty for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act stemming from a 2010 crude oil spill from tanks at Superior’s oil storage facility in Ingleside, Texas, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. Under the consent decree lodged today in federal court, Superior will pay $1.61 million to resolve the government’s claims. The United States’ complaint, which was also filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges that Superior discharged at least 2,200 barrels (or 92,400 gallons) of crude oil in violation of Section 311 of the Clean Water Act. The oil discharged from two tanks at the facility on Feb. 9 and 10, 2010, and crude oil flowed into an unnamed lake and wetlands near the Intracoastal Waterway and Redfish Bay. The complaint also includes related violations of the Clean Water Act’s spill prevention, control, and countermeasure regulations and spill response plan regulations. The $1.61 million penalty is in addition to the costs incurred by Superior Crude to respond to the oil spill and to repair the tanks and containment areas. Superior Crude has ceased operations at ...

How severely will climate change affect different regions the United States? It depends on climate policy, says new research by the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. The US National Climate Assessment, released this spring by the White House, describes a troubling array of climate woes, from intense droughts and heat waves to more extreme precipitation and floods, all caused by climate change. The report also describes how climate change is expected to impact regions across the United States in the future, yet it notes that exact regional forecasts are difficult to pin down. At the larger scale, it is clear that climate is changing, but local predictions can disagree on the extent to which temperatures will increase, and what regions will be hit the hardest by precipitation changes. Researchers at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change examined four major factors that contribute to wide-ranging estimates of future regional climate change in the United States, with an eye toward understanding which factors introduced the most uncertainty into simulations of future climate. They find that the biggest source of uncertainty in climate modelling is also the only one that humans ...

Offshore Oil Platform Owner to Improve Safety and Operations in Gulf of Mexico Following Unauthorized Oil Discharges / EPA and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement secure settlement in first joint judicial enforcement action under Clean Water Act and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Under a settlement agreement with the United States, ATP Infrastructure Partners, LP (ATP-IP) will pay a $1 million civil penalty and perform corrective measures to resolve claims by the U.S. under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) of unauthorized discharges of oil and chemicals from an oil platform into the Gulf of Mexico, announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). This is the first joint judicial enforcement action involving EPA and BSEE claims in response to alleged violations of both the Clean Water Act and OCSLA. The United States’ complaint, which was filed in February 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, alleges that oil and an unauthorized chemical dispersant were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico from ATP-IP’s oil and gas production platform known as the ATP ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its fourth year of Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data, detailing greenhouse gas pollution trends and emissions broken down by industrial sector, geographic region and individual facilities. In 2013, reported emissions from large industrial facilities were 20 million metric tons higher than the prior year, or 0.6 percent, driven largely by an increase in coal use for power generation. “Climate change, fueled by greenhouse gas pollution, is threatening our health, our economy, and our way of life—increasing our risks from intense extreme weather, air pollution, drought and disease,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “EPA is supporting the President’s Climate Action Plan by providing high-quality greenhouse gas data to inform effective climate action.” The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is the only program that collects facility-level greenhouse gas data from major industrial sources across the United States, including power plants, oil and gas production and refining, iron and steel mills and landfills. The program also collects data on the increasing production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) predominantly used in refrigeration and air conditioning. Over 8,000 large-emitters reported direct greenhouse gas emissions to the program in 2013, representing approximately 50 percent of total U.S. emissions. The data ...

Last month, experts on marine emissions gathered for an ABB-led discussion at the SMM shipbuilding, machinery and marine technology fair in Hamburg agreed regulations will play a role in helping ports improve their air quality. But financial incentives being provided by the EPA to ports across the United States are also helping move things along. This year, the agency is chipping in $4.2 million toward six projects that will benefit from its Diesel Emissions Reduction Program, to help harbors clean up their air by eliminating harmful fumes from diesel engines. Case in point: Central California's Port of Hueneme is getting $500,000 to expand its shore-to-ship power project. With it, additional vessels will be able to shut off their auxiliary engines when they dock at this important West Coast deepwater gateway for trade. In what Port of Hueneme officials are calling a "giant leap forward," they estimate the system will prevent more than 4,200 tons of particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide from being released annually by refrigerated vessels calling here. Since ABB installed the first shore-to-ship power supply system at the port in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2000, the power and automation company has provided similar equipment ...

President Obama has taken action to build the foundation for a clean energy economy, tackle the issue of climate change and protect our environment. The maritime industry understands and embraces this thinking not only because it makes sense, but also as it will be essential to future viability of marine transportation. The industry continues to take a leading role in environmental responsibility and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) is helping them chart the course. With two recently released reports examining storage and bunkering options for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and providing vital data on natural gas emissions, US MARAD's Office of Environment and Safety is providing information the industry needs to transition to cleaner burning fuels. And by identifying potential challenges and recommending best practices and new standards, US MARAD is working to streamline the development of a transportation network that supports the integration of natural gas as a marine fuel. Another step forward was taken with approval of a $324.6 million Title XI loan guarantee to TOTE Shipholdings, Inc., a 2014 White House Transportation Champion of Change, to finance construction of two container ships that will use LNG as propulsion fuel. The US MARAD Title XI Loan Guarantee program ...

NOAA scientists and partners are launching a number of new unmanned aircraft and water vehicles to collect weather information as part of a coordinated effort to improve hurricane forecasts. Several of these research projects and other NOAA led efforts to improve hurricane forecasting were made possible, in part, because of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013. The act was passed by Congress and signed by the President in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. It provides $60 billion in funding to multiple agencies for disaster relief. NOAA received $309.7 million to provide technical assistance to those states with coastal and fishery impacts from Sandy, and to improve weather forecasting and weather research and predictive capability to help future preparation, response and recovery from similar events. Unmanned Planes Gather Storm Details As hard as meteorologists work to forecast storms - even flying planes straight into hurricanes to measure wind speed, direction, water vapor and other data - prediction remains an imprecise science. This is particularly true when forecasting hurricane wind speed, known as hurricane intensity. To improve this predictive aspect of our environmental intelligence, NOAA scientists and partners are sending unmanned aircraft into places where it would be unsafe, impossible or ...

The UK P&I Club issued a Knowledge bulletin regarding the stepped up enforcement in the North American ECA. In a new enforcement initiative, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the United States Coast Guard (USCG), has boarded vessels to collect bunker samples to determine whether the vessels’ fuel sources meet the 1.0% fuel oil sulphur limit applicable within the North American Emissions Control Area (ECA). The EPA also disclosed that it has been “experimenting” with vessel flyovers to assess vessel smokestack plumes for the same purpose. The EPA’s unprecedented action, coming on the heels of its issuance of administrative subpoenas to several large companies operating ships within the North American ECA, announced stepped up efforts to enforce low sulphur fuel requirements within the North American ECA. Until this recent initiative, EPA and USCG officials seemed content to simply monitor compliance efforts by reviewing ECA-related records and documents such as Bunker Delivery Receipts during Port State Control inspections. These joint EPA/USCG initiatives to enforce fuel standards should serve as a warning to Club’s Members operating within the North American ECA. The commercial and legal consequences of a failure to comply with the ECA’s fuel oil sulphur limits ...