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SERVING CALIFORNIA'S SAN
JOAQUIN VALLEY!
(This site was last updated on June 1, 2010) |
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2010 Technical Conference
Presentations
Mike Barr, Esq. - Pillsbury - Air Quality Legal Issues Update
Dave Warner,
SJVAPCD Permitting Issues
Aaron Tarango -
SJVAPCD Funding Programs
Emisshield Presentation (Slow Download)
Kern County Waste
Management Presentations (Slow Download)
Brian Taylor - Chevron - Long Term Energy Challenges
Additional information from the conference will be
posted when available.
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2010 Summer Activities

The Golden Empire
Chapter does not hold regular meetings during June, July and August.
We will have at least one summer activity for members, friends and
families. . .
The Summer of 2010 Ice Cream Social!

(Check back for
details and watch your email for the announcement.) |
| Date: |
To be announced |
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Where: |
Dewar's Ice
Cream Parlor
9530 Hageman Road, Bakersfield,
CA |
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Schedule: |
6:30 PM -
Social Quarter
6:45 PM - Ordering Begins
7:00 PM - Enjoy!
8:00 PM - Adjourn |
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To Register: |
No Registration
Required! |
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Looking for a Job? Check this out...
Waste Management
Specialist I/II/III -$4270-$6363/Mo – County of Kern - Bachelors Degree
in a Laboratory Science from an accredited college or university; OR,
Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university and one (1)
year experience equivalent to a Waste Management Technician II in the
Kern County classification system. Additional Requirements:
Possession of a valid California Driver’s License; 40 Hour Hazwoper
Certificate must be obtained within 6 months of hire at the Level I or
be terminated; required upon appointment at levels II and III. To see
Essential Functions and/or to apply on line
http://www.co.kern.ca.us/jobs/ |
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Golden Empire Chapter News
Environmental News
Impacting the Golden Empire
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EPA ANNOUNCES NEW SMOG HEALTH STANDARD
The Environmental Protection
Agency proposed a stricter
new standard for smog-causing pollutants on Thursday that, if adopted,
will impose large costs on industry and local governments but will also
bring substantial health benefits to millions of Americans. The
proposed standard would replace one set by the Bush administration in
March 2008, which has been challenged in court by environmental
advocates as too weak to adequately protect human health and the
environment.
The Obama administration’s proposal sets a primary standard for
ground-level ozone of no more than 0.06 to 0.07 parts per million, to be
phased in over two decades. The new rule would replace the standard of
0.075 parts per million imposed by the Bush administration. The agency
is also proposing a secondary standard that will vary with the seasons
to protect plants and trees from repeated exposure.
The agency estimated that complying with the new standard will cost $19
billion to $90 billion a year by 2020, to be largely be borne by
manufacturers, oil refiners
and utilities. But the agency said that those costs would be offset by
the benefits to human health, which it valued at $13 billion to $100
billion a year in the same period. For more information check out
the article in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/07/us/AP-US-EPA-Smog.html
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Bay Area AQMD to Vote on GHG Reduction Standards The Bay Area's air quality agency
will vote in April on groundbreaking standards that would halve the
emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants generated associated
with new development projects. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's guidelines are
intended to help local agencies evaluate, measure and mitigate the
effect of land development, construction and operation activities on air
quality. They cover criteria air pollutants such as nitrous oxide and
particulate matter, toxic air contaminants and greenhouse gases.
For greenhouse gases, the proposed threshold above which projects would
have to mitigate their emissions would be 10,000 metric tons per year
for stationary sources, and 1,100 tons of CO2 equivalent for
non-stationary sources, such as housing and mixed-use developments.
There is also a per-person threshold for developments of 4.6 tons per
resident or employee. For more information on this development go
to http://www.baaqmd.gov/.
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EPA Construction Stormwater Rule Effective
February 1, 2010 EPA has issued a
long-awaited final stormwater rule, impacting nearly every
construction and development project in the United States.
The rule, published in the Federal Register on December 1,
2009, for the first time imposes an enforceable numeric
limit on stormwater discharges from large construction
sites, requires monitoring to ensure compliance with the
numeric limit, and requires nearly all construction sites to
implement a range of erosion and sediment controls and
pollution prevention measures. While the non-numeric
effluent limitations will apply to every construction site
over one acre when the rule takes effect on February 1,
2010, the numeric limit and associated monitoring
requirements applicable to large sites will be phased in
over four years. For more information, visit the
Marten Law Group's website at
http://www.martenlaw.com/news/.
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COURT ORDERS CLOSER LOOK AT HUMAN COST OF PROTECTING
ENDANGERED FISH U.S.
District Court Judge Oliver Wanger has ordered the Bureau of Reclamation
(“Reclamation”) to analyze the impacts on the human environment of water
diversions meant to protect the delta smelt, a tiny fish found only in
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary that is listed as threatened under
the Endangered Species Act (the “ESA”).[1]
Combined with a three-year drought in California, plaintiffs allege that
the water restrictions have had adverse economic and environmental
consequences throughout the state. Addressing claims related to the
Central Valley Project and State Water Project (the “Projects”) under
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the court ruled in favor
of plaintiff water districts and against defendant-intervenor
environmental groups. In re Delta Smelt Consolidated Cases.
(Excerpted from the Marten Law Group News Letter - to view the whole
article, please go to
Marten Law or go to:
http://www.martenlaw.com/news/?20100106-protecting-endangered-fish
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DTSC's REA E-Newsletter Available Here
The California DTSC has just published its
December/January REA
E-Newsletter. Even if you're not an REA there's lots of
great information available. The newsletter provides information
on currently available courses, DTSC job postings, future Webcasts, air,
waste, water and pesticide issues. If you haven't looked at this
copy yet just click on the above link to view it! |
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GHG Emissions Reporting Confusion
Federal
Register on October 20, 2009. Over 10,000 facilities in the United
States and its territories will be required to report their GHG
emissions to EPA by March 31, 2011 for reporting year 2010. Currently,
the EPA rule covers 31 emission source categories that emit over 25,000
metric tonnes (MT) of CO2e/year. (EPA is still considering another 11
source categories.) Facilities need to have their measurement systems in
place and begin collecting data by January 1, 2010 unless they request
and obtain a written extension from EPA. This new program is
substantially different from other GHG mandatory reporting programs such
as California's
AB 32
and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (http://www.rggi.org/home).
Some of the differences between mandatory GHG reporting
under AB 32 and EPA's new rule are summarized in the table
below.
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Requirement |
EPA
Mandatory GHG Reporting Rule
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GHG
Mandatory Reporting under California's AB 32
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Number
of Affected Facilities |
>10,000
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600 -
800 |
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First
Reporting Year |
2010
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2008
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Annual
Deadline for Previous Reporting Year |
March
31st |
April
1st or June 1st (depends on sector) |
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Number
of Emission Source Categories |
31
(current) 11 (additional under consideration)
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4
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Verification |
EPA
staff |
3rd
party verifiers accredited by ARB |
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Verification Deadline |
None
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October
1st or December 1st depending on sector |
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Here's an interesting perspective ....does it make a
difference? Judge for yourself ...

For the latest news on what's happening regarding climate
change, visit A&WMA's Climate Change Resource Center! Click on
the link below...

EPA Adopts Final GHG Mandatory Reporting Rule
The USEPA has adopted its final rule on the reporting of Greenhouse
Gasses from "large" sources. In
response to the FY2008 Consolidated
Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764; Public Law 110–161), EPA has
issued the Final Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. The rule
requires reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large sources
and suppliers in the United States, and is intended to collect accurate
and timely emissions data to inform future policy decisions. Under
the rule, suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases,
manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000
metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions are required to submit
annual reports to EPA. The gases covered by the proposed rule are carbon
dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFC, perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6),
and other fluorinated gases including nitrogen trifluoride (NF3)
and hydrofluorinated ethers (HFE). The final rule was signed by the
Administrator on September 22, 2009. For more information take a
look at
EPA's News Release.
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NEW A&WMA Fact Sheet (Dispersion
Modeling)
From
time to time, A&WMA (National) publishes Fact Sheets that provide useful
information in "layman's" terms that discuss various aspects of
environmental issues. The sheet we are posting here is about
DISPERSION MODELING and provides lots of information about how
dispersion modeling is done, what the results tell us and how the
information can be beneficial to project designers, regulators and the
public. If you're interested in a "nuts and bolts" approach in
"layman's" terms - this might answer some of your questions! Check it out at this link....AIR
DISPERSION MODELING or go to:
http://www.awma.org/files/education/air_dispersion.pdf |
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of SJVAPCD on Rule 9510 Case
An appeals court has validated the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution
Control District's pioneering regulation requiring that new developments
in the Valley air basin contain air-mitigation measures. The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Fresno affirmed a landmark 2008
decision by the Fresno County Superior Court which ruled in favor of the
District in a challenge by developers to District Rule 9510. Also
called Indirect Source Review, the rule was adopted in December 2005 and
establishes development fees for air-pollution mitigation.
The lawsuit claimed that the
District had no authority to regulate development and impose fees, and
amounted to a tax under Proposition 13. It was filed in June 2006 by the
California Building Industry Association. To read more about the
judgment go to the District's web page.
Employment
Opportunities
If you're
looking for a job in the environmental field, look no further.
A&WMA's
Career Center is a new online resource for job seekers in the
environmental professions. And if you're looking for qualified
environmental professionals to fill a job vacancy, we can help there,
too. The A&WMA
Career Center provides job seekers with free and confidential resume
posting and many other benefits. Employers get access to one of
the largest audiences of qualified environmental professionals. Be
one of the first to take advantage of this new service! Visit the A&WMA
Career Center today to post your resume or job listings.
Is A&WMA Membership in Your Future?
A membership in A&WMA can prove to be a real enhancement to you
personally and to your career. If you aren't a member of A&WMA at
either the Chapter or the National level - why not consider joining
today?!! Membership comes with many benefits - and there are even
more being planned for YOU right now! To learn more about what
A&WMA membership has to offer you, take a few minutes to view our
PowerPoint slide show titled
A Partner In Your
Success! Then simply click on the
MEMBERSHIP
tab to join us!
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TAKE
A LOOK AT THIS MONTH'S EM MAGAZINE!
EM Celebrates over 10 years of
helping environmental professionals - preview a copy
today. Just click on the cover to the left!
A free subscription to EM or to A&WMA's Journal (a
$49/year value) is available to all Chapter members who
are National members as well. To learn more about
membership and its benefits, just go to the
MEMBERSHIP tab. |
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The A&WMA Journal is available to all Chapter members who
are National members as well.
To learn more about membership and its benefits, just go to
the
MEMBERSHIP tab. |
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Address questions about this site to
info@awma-goldenempire.org with the Subject: "Webmaster"
or by U.S. Mail to A&WMA-Golden Empire Chapter, P.O. Box 12184, Bakersfield,
CA 93389
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