Tag: US EPA

Weather conditions improved enabling cleanup operations and assessment activities to progress near the BP Whiting Refinery in Whiting, Ind. High winds and heavy surf created unsafe conditions for contractors and assessment team personnel both Friday and Saturday, suspending activities. A Coast Guard helicopter returning from a separate mission conducted an overflight assessment of the area and did not observe any oil sheen on the water. The assessment team, comprised of representatives from the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, and contractors from BP, resumed assessing the southeast rocky wall of the cove near the refinery to ensure remaining small areas of oiled pebbles were removed by cleanup crews. The assessment team also reinspected the beach area of the cove to ensure that no oil remnants had washed ashore as a result of heavy surf during the past two days. The walkthrough found no visible oil. With the improved surf conditions, members of the assessment team were able to get underway on a BP Fire Department boat to conduct a comprehensive survey of the path of discharge in search of potentially submerged oil. Other members waded into the water closer to shore also conducting the submerged oil survey. After taking more ...

DNV GL has responded to regulations mandating the use in US waters of environmentally friendly and quickly degradable lubricants in any interfaces where oil can be discharged into the water with a new service designed to smooth adherence to the new requirements. The EAL Report Service helps ship operators to meet with the new rules without the need for extensive outlays, and provides valuable feedback on areas of concern. The "Vessel General Permit" (VGP) framework, which came into effect in December 2013 stipulates that biologically degradable oils, or "Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants" (EAL), must be used at all oil to sea interfaces, where technically feasible. All ships with a total length of 24 meters or more that enter US waters must observe the new environmental standard. Numerous components in the underwater area of a ship are impacted by the new rules. This includes the stern tube seal, as well as mechanical components in the propeller, bow thrusters, the rudder shaft, as well as other underwater equipment. "A number of questions arise here for ship operators," says Dr Jörg Lampe, Risk & Safety, Systems Engineering at DNV GL. "Which lubricants are allowed to be used and are there technical challenges involved in ...

Congressional leaders heard Tuesday from shipping industry representatives Rod Jones, President and CEO of the CSL Group and Bill Terry, President and CEO of Eagle Rock Aggregates, about a well-intentioned new shipping fuel requirement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), set to take effect in 2015, whose flawed design is likely to spur increased onshore air pollution and higher shipping costs, as well as increased shipping prices for companies reliant on the short sea shipping industry. Mr. Jones and Mr. Terry testified in person and via written statement as part of the "Maritime Transportation Regulations: Impacts on Safety, Security, Jobs and the Environment," hearing convened by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Mr. Jones also presented an alternative proposal to the Committee that achieves the same environmental goals as the new regulation without the same prohibitive costs. The new rule in question seeks to limit sulfur emissions from shipping vessels traveling within the 200 nautical mile (nm) boundary of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) by requiring the use of a highly expensive, low-sulfur fuel. But according to the two executives, the EPA didn't consider the short sea shipping industry, whose ...

A new well-intentioned maritime fuel regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to crowd roads and increase onshore air pollution, maintain shipping industry leaders Rod Jones and Bill Terry, President and CEO of the CSL Group and of Eagle Rock Aggregates, respectively. They explain that the rule requires the use of high-cost, ultra-low sulfur fuels in ships operating within the 200 nautical mile (nm) boundary of the North American Emission Control Area (ECA). Jones and Terry will offer testimony at the Congressional hearing on EPA's new fuel standard for ships operating inside of the ECA: "Maritime Transportation Regulations: Impacts on Safety, Security, Jobs and the Environment" on Tuesday, March 4, at 10:00 am before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation. Mr. Jones' CSL Group operates throughout the Americas and globally, specializing in short sea shipping, which transports cargo along coastal routes, usually within a few dozen miles of shore. Eagle Rock Aggregates, based in Richmond, California, relies on short sea shipping to transport the essential building materials it produces, used for the construction of roadways and buildings. His testimony highlights concerns that the EPA failed to consider all sectors of ...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has issued Marine Safety Advisory No 7-14 with guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This guidance addresses how the US government will implement fuel oil availability provisions for ship owners. For the operators unable to obtain fuel oil that meets the fuel oil sulfur standards applicable to ships operating in waters off of the coast of North America, Transport Canada has issued Ship Safety Bulletin 04/2013 which provides information on reporting when compliant fuel is unavailable. Interim Guidance on the Non-Availability of Compliant Fuel Oil for the North American  Emission Control Area Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) has been in effect in the United States since January 8, 2009. MARPOL Annex VI is implemented in the United States through the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS). Under the authority of APPS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), in consultation with the United States Coast Guard, has promulgated regulations which incorporate by reference the full text of MARPOL Annex VI. See 40 C.F.R. § 1043.100(a)(1). Compliance with the MARPOL Annex VI air emission standards, including the fuel oil sulfur standards, will significantly reduce emissions from foreign and domestic vessels that affect US air ...

EPA has announced that registration is now open for two upcoming webinars on 2013 VGP related topics. The target audience for these webinars is owners and operators of vessels covered by the 2013 VGP. EPA wants the vessel community to be informed about the new permit and encourages participation in the Q&A portions of each webinar. The webinars will cover: Introduction to Sampling and Self-Monitoring February 6, 2014 2:00pm- 3:30pm EST Registration Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/706994202 Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) February 14, 2014 10:00am- 11:30 am EST Registration Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/879044146    In the beginning, I was outspoken with you propecia before and after has changed my existence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is improbable to sit.