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-----Original Message----- From: "BNA Highlights" <bhighlig@bna.com<@ENRON Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2001 11:34 PM To: BNA Highlights Subject: Dec. 31 -- BNA, Inc. Daily Environment Report ______________________________ DAILY ENVIRONMENT REPORT Highlights & Table of Contents December 31, 2001 ______________________________ ISSN 1521-9402 __________ HIGHLIGHTS __________ NUCLEAR WASTE REVIEW BOARD TO ISSUE YUCCA MOUNTAIN ASSESSMENT The independent Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board plans to release an assessment of the Energy Department's site characterization process for Yucca Mountain before Energy Secretary Abraham recommends whether to proceed with that site as a nuclear waste repository. The assessment will come in the form of a letter to Abraham commenting on the technical and scientific validity of the department's site characterization process, according to the board's executive director. Abraham is widely expected in January to complete the site recommendation process on the Yucca Mountain project, a proposed permanent repository for high-level nuclear waste. . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4b6r4_ EPA PROPOSES TO RELAX REGULATIONS FOR TWO LANDFILL PROJECTS IN VIRGINIA As part of a pilot project, EPA proposes to relax regulatory requirements for two municipal solid waste landfills in Virginia to demonstrate alternative landfill liners are sufficiently protective and to assess the effects of applying different amounts of liquids to landfills to degrade solid waste. The landfills, owned by subsidiaries of Waste Management Inc., are part of EPA's Project XL, a national program that allows state and local governments, businesses, and federal facilities to develop strategies for achieving superior environmental performance in exchange for regulatory flexibility. . . . Page A-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3p7x6_ EPA TARGETS REMAINING ANTHRAX IN FUMIGATION OPERATION ON CAPITOL HILL EPA again fumigates with chlorine dioxide gas the heating and ventilation system of the anthrax-contaminated Hart Senate Office Building. The third fumigation effort is needed to rid the site of trace amounts of anthrax. . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4d2r9_ BRIEFING SET ON EPA RISK ASSESSMENT FOR ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDES A final briefing on the methods EPA uses to develop its preliminary assessment of the cumulative risks of organophosphate pesticides is scheduled for Jan. 15. EPA says it will hold the briefing to discuss how it estimated exposure to the organophosphates. EPA also seeks public comments on its preliminary assessment, which found organophosphates may pose dietary risks to young children and could present risks from residential exposures. . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3z7e4_ COURT AFFIRMS NO COST ALLOCATION FOR MINIMAL RELEASE OF CONTAMINANTS Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a court may decline to allocate response costs to a polluter whose release of hazardous materials is "inconsequential" in comparison to that of other polluters, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Although the court finds Rockwell International Corp. liable for the release of contaminants into Michigan's Kalamazoo River, it says Rockwell's release is miniscule when compared with those of three paper manufacturers. . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3p3x8_ EPA CONSIDERS WHETHER TO GROUP TOGETHER TWO CLASSES OF PESTICIDES Public comments on whether certain members of two classes of pesticides should be grouped together because they affect the body in similar ways are being sought by EPA. The agency's announcement refers to thiocarbamates, which are used as herbicides, and dithiocarbamates, which are primarily fungicides. Under a consent decree with the Natural Resources Defense Council, EPA was to decide by today whether the thiocarbamates and, separately, the dithiocarbamates should be grouped into two distinct classes of pesticides that cause effects through a common mechanism of toxicity. . . . Page A-6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3z2d3_ VIRGINIA POWER COMPANY TO PAY $600,000 TO OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND Dominion Virginia Power Co. agrees to pay a $600,000 penalty to settle alleged environmental violations at the company's Possum Point Power Station, in Dumfries, Va., according to EPA. The company, based in Richmond, Va., agrees to the penalty to settle alleged past violations of oil-spill prevention and emergency preparedness regulations at the power plant. EPA says the $600,000 penalty to be paid to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is one of the largest civil penalties on record for such violations at a single facility. . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4e3r3_ ______________ EUROPEAN UNION ______________ AIR POLLUTION: The EU Council of Environment Ministers agrees on a proposal calling for the introduction of "sulfur-free" gasoline and diesel fuel starting in 2005 and mandating its use by 2009. The council approves the proposal, despite heavy lobbying by the European oil refining industry against the 2009 deadline, which is one year later than the deadline approved by the European Parliament in November. . . . Page A-6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4b2y6_ CLIMATE CHANGE: A minority of EU member states favors a voluntary emissions trading scheme and those countries are blocking a proposal to establish a mandatory plan. . . . Page A-5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3n5a7_ SOLID WASTE: The European Commission proposes new packaging waste recovery and recycling targets. The new targets would require 60 percent to 75 percent of all waste in the EU to be recovered, of which 55 percent to 70 percent is to be recycled by 2006. . . . Page A-7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3m4e7_ TOXIC SUBSTANCES: The European Commission proposes to tighten its law aimed at preventing or limiting the environmental damage from major industrial accidents. . . . Page A-4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3v1b5_ _________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS _________________ NEWS AIR POLLUTION EU Council of Ministers approves plan for sulfur-free gasoline, diesel by 2009 . . . Page A-6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4b2y6_ BIOTERRORISM EPA targets remaining traces of anthrax in latest operation on Capitol Hill . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4d2r9_ CLIMATE CHANGE Minority of states continues to stymie mandatory EU emissions trading scheme . . . Page A-5 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3n5a7_ PESTICIDES Briefing scheduled on exposures in organophosphate risk assessment . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3z7e4_ EPA seeks to group chemicals in thiocarbamate, dithiocarbamate classes . . . Page A-6 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3z2d3_ RADIOACTIVE WASTE Nuclear waste technical review board to issue Yucca Mountain assessment soon . . . Page A-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4b6r4_ SOLID WASTE EPA proposes to relax regulations for two bioreactor projects in Virginia . . . Page A-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3p7x6_ European Commission advances recovery, recycling targets, prevention . . . Page A-7 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3m4e7_ SUPERFUND Sixth Circuit affirms no cost allocation where party's waste contribution minimal . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3p3x8_ TOXIC SUBSTANCES European Commission proposes changes to Seveso directive on industrial accidents . . . Page A-4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3v1b5_ WATER POLLUTION Dominion Virginia Power agrees to pay EPA $600,000 in penalties . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4e3r3_ ________ CALENDAR ________ CONGRESS Legislative calendar . . . Page C-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4h3r6_ PRESIDENT President's calendar . . . Page C-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4h3y5_ _________________ REGULATORY AGENDA _________________ COMMENT DEADLINES Due dates for comments on pending rules . . . Page D-4 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3x2z5_ DEC. 31 FEDERAL REGISTER Entries from today's table of contents . . . Page D-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4b9v7_ DEC. 28 FEDERAL REGISTER Previous day's entries with page citations . . . Page D-2 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3x3b7_ _______ JOURNAL _______ MEETINGS Calendar of meetings, courses, and seminars . . . Page G-1 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4c2p5_ ______________ TABLE OF CASES ______________ Kalamazoo River Study Group v. Rockwell International Corp. (6th Cir.) . . . Page A-3 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b3p3x8_ U.S. v. Virginia Electric and Power Co. (E.D. Va.) . . . Page A-8 http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/den.nsf/id/a0a5b4e3r3_ ___________________________________________________________ Daily Environment Report (ISSN 1521-9402) Highlights are published daily by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1231 25th St., NW, Washington, DC 20037. Registered Web subscribers can access the full text of these articles by using the URL link supplied. To register for a FREE Web trial, go to http://web.bna.com. For subscription information and other inquiries, call BNA Customer Relations at 1-800-372-1033, Mon. - Fri. 8:30 am - 7:00 pm (ET), excluding most federal holidays. To request retransmission or to order a copy of the summarized article, contact 1-800-452-7773 or e-mail bnaplus@bna.com. For copyright guidelines, go to http://www.bna.com/corp/copyright. Copyright © 2001 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Washington, D.C. 20037. Use of this service is subject to the terms and conditions of the license agreement with BNA. Unauthorized access or distribution is prohibited.
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