NEWS

Since the Trump Administration took office in January of 2017, the Chicago EPA inspections have declined more than 60 percent. Meanwhile, the entire U.S. is down about 30 percent on the number of inspections, meaning the EPA’s Chicago Region 5 — which covers Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio — is doing far less inspections than the rest of the country now compared to three years ago. “The same pattern is true of enforcement actions aimed at getting polluters to change their actions through fines, cleanups and mitigation agreements,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Region 5 was once one of the more heavily regulated EPA regions in the country. From 2009 to 2015, the agency never conducted less than 3,200 inspections per year. In 2016, the last year of the Obama administration, the region conducted 2,157 inspections. However, that’s still far more than the 840 that have been conducted in 2019 as of Nov. 15. Eleven and a half months into the year, and the agency hasn’t even conducted half of the pollution inspections that was once the norm. Cathy Stepp, appointed to head the Chicago Region 5 office under the Trump Administration, said in a public statement in September that 50 environmental regulations have been rescinded. While this has allegedly saved the taxpayers $3.7 billion over that short time period, communities are worried about their health and safety. From small towns across Illinois all the way to Chicago, many are worried about the lack of inspections and federal mandates on pollution-creating companies. “In January, Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth called for a federal probe of allegations of political interference in EPA decisions they say allowed cancer-causing chemicals into the air at three medical-equipment sterilization plants in Chicago’s suburbs,” reported the Sun-Times. “In a letter to the EPA’s inspector general, they asked for an investigation into whether Stepp halted air inspections related to the cancer-causing chemical ethylene oxide. In their letter — prompted by complaints from an unnamed Chicago EPA staffer — the senators cited ‘politically motivated interference overriding recommendations of career staff.’” While it remains unclear for now, it’ll be interesting to see how Chicago EPA inspections regulations change in the next year or so, regardless of who ends up in the White House after next year’s election. Read more news from TKS Control Systems here.

The Merrimack Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics’ most recent air emissions permit proposal detailed a 90 percent reduction in PFOA pollution. The local residents of that community, however, aren’t happy with the proposal, saying it isn’t good enough. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has mandated that Saint-Gobain tests and plans a permit for air emission control. The plant has done that, but residents believe it’s not committing to enough destruction of the PFOAs. “Our community has endured a lot of harm. We are ground zero for PFAS,” said Laurene Allen of Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water. PFOA stands for perfluorooctanoic acid and is part of a group of pollutants called PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These substances are extremely toxic and have been linked to the following side effects: Increased cholesterol Harmful effects to a developing fetus or breastfeeding infant Low infant birth weights Effects on the immune system, liver, and thyroid  Three years ago, two faucets at Saint-Gobain had been found to have PFOA pollution contamination. This resulted in hundreds of homes needing bottled water and new public water extensions created. The surrounding neighborhoods of Merrimack, Litchfield and Bedford were all affected in some way. While the 90 percent destruction rate is a step in the right direction, the community believes it is too much “of a leap of trust,” according to Allen. Barbara Healey, a town councilor, has said that the destruction efficiency they desire is closer to 95 to 99 percent. Saint-Gobain has outlined that it’d be installing a three-can regenerative thermal oxidizer. While thermal oxidizers are commonly used to destroy these types of pollutants, sometimes you need another system working in tandem to increase the destruction rate. If the town is able to convince the plant, that may be exactly what happens. The results of this public hearing remain to be seen, but it’s clear that residents don’t want to worry about ingesting or coming into contact with these PFOAs again. ***This information was originally reported by Kimberly Houghton of UnionLeader.com.***

Tensions have continued to flare between the EPA and farmers and biofuel producers for 2020 regulations. The latter two were led to believe a certain amount of ethanol and biodiesel would be required by oil and gas companies by the Trump Administration recently. However, the EPA has reneged on that plan with their most recent proposal. The issue boils down to the estimates being used by the EPA to determine the requirements for the next couple of years. Initially, the EPA announced a plan on Oct. 4 detailing that it would take a three-year average of the actual exemptions made. However, less than two weeks later, the EPA rolled out a new plan that changed how they would come up with that three-year average. Rather than looking at the actual exemptions made from the previous few years, the EPA would look at Department of Energy recommended the EPA waive. Unfortunately for farmers and biofuel producers, that would cut the actual exemptions made in half. “It’s not based on any actual exemptions,” said Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. “They never followed the DOE recommendations.” Rural communities, farmers and renewable energy manufacturers depend upon accurate requirements for motor fuel refineries. The industry could take a hit if the larger oil refineries aren’t mandated to mix in as much ethanol and biodiesel. “We are not sure what’s going on in Washington, D.C., but there is a disconnect between the White House and the” EPA, Ted Mottaz, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, said in a statement. The plan is supposed to account for how 15 billion gallons of biofuel will be added to motor fuels next year. At this point, though, many of these affected businesses struggle to believe that’ll end up happening. The Illinois Corn Growers Association said it’s farmers were “frustrated … to say the least.”

“What is a regenerative thermal oxidizer?” If your company produces emissions, you may have asked that question at one point in time. This is especially true if you were required to get one. Whether or not you work for a company that has a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO), seeing one and understanding one are two different things. In the above picture, you can see the average two-can RTO. Typically, it’s made of stainless steel, has a poppet valve system for directing the air and a tall exhaust stack. But how exactly does this process clean emissions? This article will attempt to explain that in a clear and simple manner.