Transcript 25 Years of Environmental Progress Indiana Section American Water Works Association February 23, 2012 Thomas W.

25 Years of Environmental Progress
Indiana Section
American Water Works Association
February 23, 2012
Thomas W. Easterly, P.E., BCEE, QEP Commissioner
IN Department of Environmental Management
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IDEM’s Mission
We Protect Hoosiers and Our Environment
IDEM’s mission is to implement federal and state
regulations to protect human health and the
environment while allowing the environmentally
sound operations of industrial, agricultural,
commercial and government activities vital to a
prosperous economy.
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How Does IDEM Protect
Hoosiers and Our Environment?
•
•
Develop regulations and issue permits to
restrict discharges to the environment to safe
levels.
Inspect and monitor permitted facilities to
ensure compliance with the permits.
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How Does IDEM Protect
Hoosiers and Our Environment?
•
•
Use compliance assistance and/or enforcement
when people exceed their permit levels or
violate regulations.
Educate people on their environmental
responsibilities.
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25 Years of Progress
http://www.in.gov/idem/files/state_of_environment_2011.pdf
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25 Years of Progress
• Air Quality:
– At the end of 2009, for the first time since ambient
air quality standards were developed, all of Indiana
met all of the health based ambient air quality
standards (including the 0.075 ozone standard).
– During 2010, the new 0.15 microgram per cubic
meter lead standard became effective and almost
700 people may be breathing air above that new
standard. IDEM is working to make sure that those
Hoosiers have clean air to breathe.
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Percent Difference Between Highest Historical Monitored Concentration (Left Bar) and Highest
Most Current Monitored Concentration (Right Bar) - Statewide
250%
200%
Percent of Original Standard
-38%
150%
-80%
-83%
-20%
-27%
100%
-89%
-46%
-27%
-88%
-69%
50%
0%
1-Hour CO
8-Hour CO 24-Hour PM10 Annual PM2.5 Daily PM2.5 24-Hour SO2 Annual SO2
8-Hour O3
Annual NO2
Lead
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1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Concentration (ug/m3)
Lead Maximum Values
Marion County 1977-2010
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Year
Lead Values
1978 Lead Standard
2008 Lead Standard
Trendline
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25 Years of Progress
• Cleanup of Contaminated Sites:
– Indiana has a fully funded Excess Liability Trust
Fund to pay for petroleum clean ups from
currently operated tanks.
– Indiana will issue an updated RISC Closure
Guidance Document this year.
– Exposure to hazardous constituents is under
control at 58 of Indiana’s 66 RCRA Corrective
Action sites, while Groundwater contamination is
under control at 55 of those 66 sites.
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25 Years of Progress
• Cleanup of Contaminated Sites:
– Since 2005, Indiana has cleaned up more than
2,500,000 illegally dumped waste tires.
– All 1,269 tons of VX Agent stored at the Newport
Chemical Agent Facility since 1969 has been safely
destroyed. VX destruction started in May of 2005
and was completed in August 2008.
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25 Years of Progress
• Water Quality Improvements:
– IDEM has assessed the water quality in 83% of
Indiana’s waters to identify areas in need of
improvement and has updated our Water Quality
Monitoring Strategy to increase targeted monitoring.
– IDEM has used the 319 grant process to fund
watershed improvement projects over the past five
years that have prevented annual discharges of:
• 500,508,000 pounds of sediment
• 546,871 pounds of nitrogen
• 332,270 pounds of phosphorus
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25 Years of Progress
• Water Quality Improvements:
IDEM has documented the water quality
improvements from these program efforts and
removed the watersheds listed on the next page
from the list of impaired waters.
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25 Years of Progress
• Water Quality Improvements:
• Big Walnut Creek
http://www.in.gov/idem/nps/files/watershed_success_epa_bigwalnut.pdf
• Clifty Creek
http://www.in.gov/idem/nps/files/watershed_success_epa_clifty.pdf
• Pigeon Creek
http://www.in.gov/idem/nps/files/watershed_success_epa_pigeon.pdf
• Bull Run/West Creek
http://www.in.gov/idem/nps/files/watershed_success_epa_bullrun.pdf
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25 Years of Progress
• Administratively extended NPDES permits.
– In 2005, there were 263 administratively
extended NPDES permits
– The last backlogged permits were issued in
2011—all permits are current
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Comparison of Region 5 States
Permitting Program Status
compiled by U.S. EPA Region 5 for
March 10, 2011 State
Environmental Directors Meeting
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(573)
(295)
(650)
(597)
(Total Number of Title V Permits)
(385)
(467)
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Great Lakes Legacy Act Funding
• Indiana Uses Great Lakes Legacy Act
funds (managed by U.S. EPA’s Great
Lakes National Program Office or GLNPO)
matched primarily by Natural Resource
Damage settlements to fund dredging
projects to address historical pollution,
primarily on the Grand Calumet River.
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Why Dredge the Grand Calumet?
• The Grand Calumet River is the only “Area of
Concern” on the Great Lakes identified through
the International Joint Commission (IJC) process
found to have all 14 “Beneficial Use
Impairments.”
• With the renewal of all waste water discharge
permits, most remaining pollution is from
contaminated sediments.
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Great Lakes Legacy Dredging Costs
Project Name
Construction
State Share
Est. O&M
West Branch Grand
Calumet I
$33,000,000
$11,550,000
$1,000,000
West Branch Grand
Calumet II
$45,000,000
$15,750,000
$1,000,000
NIPSCO to Stateline
$12,000,000
$2,640,000
$500,000
DuPont Reach
$88,779,110
$31,072,689
$1,000,000
$179,279,110
$48,468,598
$3,500,000
Totals
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BEACH Act Funding
• Indiana Uses Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH)
Act Funding to help pay for the sampling
of water at beaches and to inform people
of whether the beach is safe for swimming
that day.
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Beach Water is OK for Swimming?
YEAR
2010
2011
AVERAGE
82.5%
84.8%
BEST
99%
98.9%
WORST
26.4%
51.4%
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25 Years of Progress
• Water Quality: Combined Sewer Overflows
– All 98 State lead CSO Communities and 7 of the 10
Federal lead Communities have entered legal
agreements to address their CSO issues.
– We are working with USEPA to speed the progress on
the remaining 3 Federal lead CSO communities.
– At least 27 of the CSO communities have completed
their projects to address the release of untreated
sewage during rain events.
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Fish Tissue Mercury
• Mercury emissions in Indiana have
decreased by approximately 20% over the
past 14 years.
• Measured mercury deposition has decreased
by 7% during this time.
• In spite of these reductions, there is no
apparent change in mercury fish
concentrations in Indiana.
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Protection of Human Health
• U.S. EPA’s “acceptable” fish mercury levels
are 0.3 mg/kg which is 300 ppb.
• While the average fish tissue mercury levels
in Indiana have not changed, they are less
than one half of this level.
• Indiana has historically called a stream
impaired for mercury if a single analytical
result (average of 3 fish) exceeded 300 ppb.
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Protection of Human Health
• At the end of 2010, U.S.EPA issued new
guidance on the proper interpretation of the
fish tissue data.
• U.S.EPA’s guidance indicates that a
properly calculated average mercury value
is the appropriate interpretation of the limit.
• IDEM plans to reevaluate its mercury data
using the U.S.EPA guidance.
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Mercury Air Toxics Rule (MATS)
Proposal Published: May 3, 2011
Final Rule Signed: December 16, 2011
• Annual rule cost $9.6 billion.
• Annual rule HAP benefit $500,000 to $6,000,000
(0.00209 IQ points per exposed person or 510.8 IQ
points per year in US out of 31 billion IQ points)
• Rule cost is between $1,600 and $19,200 per $1 of
HAP benefit.
• Estimated annual co-benefits $37 to $90 billion.
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Me rcury Conce ntra tion in India na Fish 1983 - 2006
1000
100
ppb=parts per billion
Oct-2007
Dec-2003
Feb-2000
Mar-1996
May-1992
Jul-1988
0
Aug-1984
10
Oct-1980
Mercury Concentration (ppb)
10000
Sa mple Da te
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IDEM 2011-2012 GOALS AND
CHALLENGES
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2011-2012 IDEM Major Goals
• Complete Antidegradation Rulemaking Process.
• WPCB Preliminary Adoption September 19, 2011.
• Third Notice Comment Period December 7 to
December 30, 2011.
• Final Adoption consideration by WPCB March 2012.
• Obtain U.S. EPA approval of attainment
designations for PM2.5 for all of Indiana:
• Evansville and Cincinnati and Northwest Indiana are
Final and effective.
• U.S. EPA projects that Indianapolis and Louisville will
be Final in 30 to 60 days.
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2011-2012 IDEM Major Goals
• Complete CAFO/CFO Rulemaking Process.
• Done Final Adoption November 9, 2011.
• Adopt RISC Closure Guidance as an NPD.
• Released for public comment May 6, 2011.
• Revised NPD released for public comment on
January 6, 2012.
• Presented to SWMB February 21, 2012.
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2011--2012 IDEM Challenges
• Reissue NPDES General Permits
Administratively and address
antidegradation requirements.
• Develop and implement plan for seamless
implementation of water program
responsibilities currently assigned to: IDEM,
ISDH, IDNR, IDHS, and ISDA.
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Questions?
Tom Easterly
Commissioner
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
317-232-8611
[email protected]
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