In this issue
- Deadline: Air emission inventories due
- Sign up now: Industrial Paint trainings available
- Industrial stormwater permit updates
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New ozone standard may mean tougher regulations
- Training: Ten steps to hazardous waste compliance
- MN leads the nation in pollution prevention
- Better maintenance of paved surfaces
All
facilities with an air quality permit from the MPCA
need to report their annual air emissions from calendar year 2014 by April 1,
2015. You should have received reminders and instructions on
how to report these emissions.
Facilities
covered by Option B Registration Permits and General Nonmetallic Air Permits
should have received this information via the US mail. These facilities
will need to make sure they complete the paper reporting forms and mail
them back to the MPCA.
Facilities
covered by all other air permits including Option C and D Registration Permits
and other General Permits should have received this information via
email. These facilities will need to report electronically via the
MPCA e-Services Website.
If
you have not received notification regarding your emission inventory, contact
Jennifer Ojiaku at 651-757-2745. Call our Business
Assistance helpline at 651-282-6143 if you need help calculating your 2014
emissions.
The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) has several upcoming paint-related events and trainings:
Industrial paint webinar series: The webinars offer short presentations on
changes you can make to improve your painting processes, by
industry practitioners and suppliers with first-hand experience to share. Remaining sessions:
Wednesday, February 18, 2015, 1:00 - 1:45 p.m. – Powder
Coating Considerations - Will it work for you? Can you make the system more
efficient?
Minnesota Paint and Powder
Coating Expo: The Expo will include a vendor show and hands-on
demonstrations and technical seminars related to new technologies and
processes, powder and liquid coating, cleaning pretreatment, cost savings,
waste reduction, energy conservation, coating optimization, and case
studies.
Wednesday and Thursday, March 18-19, 2015, Century College, White Bear Lake.
In conjunction with the Expo, the Iowa
Waste Reduction Center will provide industrial painter training on March 18 at
the Expo location. Trainers will work with attendees to improve finishing
techniques on virtual reality spray equipment. Two half-day sessions are
planned, so sign up for a morning or afternoon class. The training will
cover the fundamentals of spray application and focus on best practices to
optimize spray technique to improve productivity, reduce rework and defects,
and decrease air emissions. Registration and updates for both the expo and painter training can be found on the expo’s website.
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It’s
time for the annual industrial stormwater permit Annual Report
requirement. The 2014 Annual Report is now available, which is due March
31, 2015 for general permit holders.
Individual wastewater permittees:
read your permit language for your due date as they vary by facility. This
requirement is for permittees only; it is not required of no exposure certifiers.
The Industrial
Stormwater Permit requires employee training. As a courtesy, the
Minnesota Erosion Control Association is offering training for industrial stormwater permittees, consultants, local government/watershed districts and
interested others. This opportunity is open for registration:
MECA
Conference, pre-conference training-
Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Duluth
Convention Center, Duluth MN. View and download the registration
form.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today
its proposal for a revised National Ambient Air Quality Standard for
ground-level ozone. EPA proposes to strengthen the standard to within a
range of 65 to 70 parts per billion (ppb), while taking comments on a level as
low as 60 ppb. A 90-day public comment period on the proposal will open
once the proposal is published in the Federal Register, probably in the next
few weeks. EPA plans to finalize the standard in the fall of 2015. More
information is available on the EPA’s website.
Minnesota is in danger of violating these new standards
depending on where the final standard is set. The MPCA has taken steps to
voluntarily lower VOC emissions in an effort to stay in compliance and avoid
costly regulations. More than $400,000 was awarded in grant funding for small
businesses. Trainings and webinars are being held to help businesses lower
their VOC emissions and save money. Visit the MPCA’s
small business VOC reduction webpage for more information on what
businesses can do.
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This
workshop is beginning-level training designed for operators of businesses that
generate a hazardous waste, permitted facilities, consultants, local units of
government, and anyone else who may need to understand how to comply with the Minnesota hazardous waste rules. During the training session, MPCA staff will explain the 10 steps to compliance.
Fee: $80
April 14,
2015, MPCA Brainerd regional office,7678 College Road, Ste. 105, Baxter,
MN
September
17, 2015, MPCA Mankato regional office, 12 Civic Center Plaza, Ste. 2165,
Mankato, MN
Registration
contact: Diane Belanger at 651-757-2072
High-level
overview training is also offered online to make it more accessible. Note: it is a high-level overview and may not include all
regulations that are specific to your facility. Online Training Directions - 10 Steps to Hazardous Waste Compliance
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Minnesota businesses are the best in the United States at
reducing or eliminating some dangerous pollutants, according to a recent U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report. The report is based on information
reported by manufacturing and other industrial facilities across the country
through the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory program.
Read the full MPCA press release describing how Minnesota
businesses implemented measures that resulted in a reduction of nearly 1
million pounds of toxic pollutant releases from 2012 to 2013!
What you or a contractor put on paved parking lots, driveways,
and sidewalks around your facility can have a big impact on water quality. Whether its seal coat applied to asphalt, or salt spread to prevent ice, storm and melt water carry the resulting
contaminants to surrounding soil and water.
Coal tar-based pavement seal coats contain very high levels of
cancer-causing chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which
evaporate, run off, and then build up in ponds or lakes. These
products have been applied to asphalt driveways, parking lots, and some
recreational trails to protect the underlying asphalt. The chloride in winter salt
contaminates ponds, lakes, and streams, and affects
aquatic life.
Cleaning up these pollutants is costly for your
community and its taxpaying businesses and residents. MPCA is promoting voluntary use of better salt-spreading practices and has enacted a
recent ban on seal coat use.
The Minnesota Legislature
banned the sale and use of coal tar-based sealants on January 1, 2014. For more information, go to the MPCA sealant
webpage
For Property Managers: Salt
application
Properly-trained and certified
contractors can reduce excessive application of salt around your facility in
the winter. For more information please refer to the MPCA road
salt webpage, click on the “education/resources”
tab and scroll down to watch the “Winter Maintenance Training for Small Sites”
video. If you hire out
snow removal on your property, choose a contractor who is certified by the
state in snow and ice control best practices or encourage them to become
certified. Certified practitioners may found at Road Salt Applicators Training Certificate
Holders (PDF Version) (January 2015).
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