EPA Progress Report 2005
Pacific Southwest Region
                                                         f/EPA
                                           U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                                                 Pacific Southwest/Region 9
                                                      EPA-909-R-05-001

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Dear Readers,
For those of us fortunate enough to live in the Pacific Southwest, our world often seems a study in
contradictions. We live, work and play in places that rightly boast great beauty and diverse natural
resources, along with the liveliest, fastest-growing urban centers in the country. We also have some
of the most complex environmental challenges in the nation, and their consequences are dramatic
-surging rates of asthma in our children, beach closures, loss of habitat, contamination of our
precious groundwater.
Our goals are clear — clean air, water, land and healthy communities. This, our sixth  annual progress
report shows  how much can be done by combining a clear focus on the bottom line with creative
partnerships with fellow regulators, advocacy groups, industry and elected officials. Strategic and
disciplined use of regulatory tools — including credible enforcement — have helped create the
platform for our innovative partnerships to speed the rate of environmental progress.
These partnerships have been the source of bold and productive approaches. To accelerate progress
in reducing the health risks of diesel emissions, EPA helped convene the West Coast Diesel Emissions
Reductions Collaborative, an ambitious partnership between federal, state, and  local government,
the private sector,  and environmental groups in California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Alaska, British
Columbia and Mexico. Innovative efforts to cut diesel pollution at West Coast ports and along the
busy 1-5 transportation corridor are already underway.
Along the U.S.-Mexico Border, we have continued our international collaboration with states, tribes
and the government of Mexico with fundamental public health gains. In the outer Pacific islands,
we  have secured resources to begin much-needed wastewater treatment facility construction.
With members of the agricultural communities, we have tested and proven innovative methods for
improving their environmental stewardship. Our tribal partners have made great strides in building
their own capacity, and together we have brought improved public health protections to Indian
country in such  basic areas as access to safe drinking water and closing open dumps.
Our partners and we have also used traditional tools to great effect. In 2004 the Los Angeles area
recorded its cleanest air since smog measurements began. These improvements are due to decades
of work to control  sources of air pollution, efforts that continue in the South Coast, metropolitan areas
such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, and in other high-growth areas like the San Joaquin Valley.
On  the California Coast, EPA and state and local partners began a long-awaited restoration project
for Southern California's largest remaining tidal wetland, the 1,247-acre Bolsa Chica. We settled
enforcement actions against Los Angeles and Orange County for thousands of sewage spills,
committing these urban areas to spend $2.6 billion on system improvements.
Our emergency response teams conducted 27 cleanups of oil spills, hazardous waste, mercury
contamination, naturally-occurring asbestos, and radiation across the region,  protecting and restoring
the land. In support of homeland security, we continued an aggressive  program of education and drills
to guarantee the strength of emergency preparedness systems.
I hope you draw from this report the same lessons I  do — together we can succeed  in protecting the
health of our families and the environment of this remarkable part of the world.
Wayne Nastri
Regional Administrator
EPA Pacific Southwest Region

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 Contents
   Clean Air
   Clean Water
   Clean Land
   Communities and Ecosystems
   Compliance and Stewardship
              8
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             20
             26
   Contact Information
Inside Back Cover
This report is also available on the Internet at www.epa.gov/region09/annualreport
Cover photos of Goat Rock and mouth of the Russian River, Sonoma County, California, by Dale Mead; Monument Valley, Arizona, by Michael Feeley.

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                      Collaborating to Reduce
                      Diesel Emissions

                      On June 15, 2004, EPA convened the first pub-
                      lic meeting  of the West  Coast  Diesel Emissions
                      Reductions Collaborative, a consortium of fed-
                      eral,  state and local  government, industry, and
                      non-government  organizations from  California,
                      Oregon, Washington,  British Columbia and Mex-
                      ico.  Its goals are to achieve cost-effective  diesel
                      emission  reductions in  the most  affected  com-
                      munities, and to put strategies in place that work
                      across transportation corridors,  such as the West
                      Coast's I-5, which stretches from  Southern Cali-
                      fornia to Seattle.  The collaborative now includes
                      representatives of over 300 organizations.
                      The West Coast has high levels of  particulate pol-
                      lution — microscopic airborne particles, sometimes
                      visible as  dust and soot. Diesel exhaust is  a ma-
                      jor contributor to this problem. Particulate matter
                      penetrates deep into people's lungs, contributing
                      to respiratory and heart  disease,  and premature
mortality. In addition, diesel exhaust contributes to
California's ground-level ozone (better known as
smog), which is the nation's worst. Reducing diesel
emissions can yield substantial health benefits.
On September 30,  EPA  and other participants
announced diesel emission reduction projects at
eight locations in California,  Oregon and Wash-
ington. (An event in Bakersfield, Calif., is pictured
above.)  Some  of the most  exciting projects fo-
cused on electrification at truck stops and  ports
— allowing truckers to plug  into electrical outlets
for power during overnight stops,  rather than run
their diesel engines, and  ships to do the same
while docked at  ports such as Los Angeles and
Long Beach.
The collaborative's grants  funded other innovative
projects as well. Locomotives used in  rail yards
spend most of their time idling, rather than moving
rail cars. This wastes fuel and pollutes the air; but
Dlean Air

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due to the nature of these engines, they cannot
simply be turned off like cars. New retrofit tech-
nology will automatically shut down the engines
most of the time the locomotives are idle. Mean-
while, in the San Francisco Bay, the collaborative
worked with the Blue and Gold ferry fleet to test
a fuel additive expected to reduce emissions that
contribute to smog.
EPA provides funding  to support the collabora-
tive,  also leveraging other federal,  private, state,
and  local government  funds. The  collaborative
builds on existing national strategies, like the  new
diesel engine standards set to take effect over
the next few years, and voluntary  programs like
the Smartway Transport Partnership and Clean
School Bus USA. It also builds on state initiatives
like California's Carl Moyer program, which funds
upgrades and replacement of diesel engines.

New Standards for Smog,
Particulates Help Protect Health

In 2004, EPA devoted significant effort nationwide
to the  new 8-hour ozone and PM25 (particulate
matter 2.5  microns in  diameter, or smaller) air
quality standards. Coupled with efforts to reduce
power plant and diesel emissions, the new stan-
dards are important steps toward achieving clean,
healthy air for millions of people.
In the Pacific  Southwest, EPA completed 8-hour
ozone  nonattainment area designations and  pro-
posed  PM25  nonattainment area  designations,
based  on monitoring data  and  state and tribal
recommendations (see maps).
Three areas in California —  the San Joaquin Val-
ley, South Coast and San  Diego —  fail to meet
the new PM25 health standard, while all other
areas of the Pacific Southwest Region  are in at-
tainment. These tiny particles — approximately
1/30th the thickness of a human hair (see graphic,
next page) have been scientifically  linked to seri-
ous human health problems, including premature
death from heart and lung disease, aggravation of
heart  and lung  diseases, chronic bronchitis  and
asthma,  increased hospital admissions and doc-
tor and emergency room visits, and health-related
absences from work and school.
Nationwide, meeting the new particulate standard
will prevent at  least  15,000 premature deaths,
75,000 cases of chronic bronchitis, 10,000 hospi-
tal admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular
disease,  hundreds  of thousands of occurrences
of aggravated asthma, and 3.1  million  missed
work  days  resulting from symptoms related to
particle pollution.
The term "particulate matter" (PM)  includes both
solid particles and liquid droplets. Many man-
                                            Areas that fail to attain the
                                            new national health standard
                                            for ground-level ozone (smog).
GUAM
                                            Areas that fail to attain the
                                            new national health standard
                                            for fine particulate pollution
                                            (PMJ.
GUAM
                                            Topography of California
                                            shows how San Joaquin Valley
                                            (in green) traps air pollution
                                            like a bowl.
                                                                                                                    3

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                           made and  natural sources emit PM directly or
                           emit other pollutants that react in the atmosphere
                           to form PM. Fine particles can be emitted directly,
                           as in smoke from a fire,  or they can form from
                           chemical reactions in the air. Sources include cars,
                           trucks, buses,  construction equipment, industrial
                           facilities and power plants. The major chemical
                           constituents of PM25 are sulfates,  nitrates,  and
                           carbon compounds.
                           For the 8-hour ozone,  or smog, standard,  EPA
                           worked closely with state and local partners in
                           California, Arizona and  Nevada to designate the
                           areas not meeting the standard. Complex  issues
                           involving regional boundaries or topography arose
                           in the Las Vegas and Phoenix areas and  in five
                           of California's  mountain counties. In each case
                           those partners were pleased with the successful
                           outcome — a boundary designation that protects
                           public health and the environment.
                           EPA developed the new national health standards
                           for PM25 and ozone  after exhaustive reviews of
                           health studies in the 1990s showed that exposure
                           to these fine particulates, and prolonged exposure
                           to ozone, are  hazardous to  human health.  The
                           national health standards existing prior to 2004
                           were based on PM10 (particulate matter between
                           2.5 and  10 microns in diameter),  and  one-hour
                           exposure to ozone.
                           For more information about air quality standards,
                           go to www.epa.gov/tin/naaqs
           Making mulch from old orchard trees,
           rather than burning them, reduces air
           pollution in the San Joaquin Valley.
Air Quality Advances
Across Region

San Joaquin Valley
California's San Joaquin Valley has some of the
nation's most polluted air. After a decade of  PM10
plans and litigation,  EPA  approved California's
PM10 plan for the valley on April 28, 2004. The
plan includes over 20 pollution control measures,
including an  agricultural measure that will reduce
PM10 emissions 5% annually, and ultimately  34
tons per day (over half the reductions needed).
The PM10 plan includes the  Conservation Man-
agement Practices  (CMP) Program,  a flexible,
menu-driven approach to reducing PM emissions
Size of fine particulates (PM25)
compared to particulates
regulated under earlier
standard (PM10), sand grains,
and a human hair.
                                                                                  <2.5 pm in diameter
                                                     Human Hair
                                                -70 pm average diameter
                                                                                            <10 \tm in diameter
                                             90 |jm in diameter
                                             Fine Beach Sand
                                                                            Image courtesy at EPA, Office of Wesearc/i and t
4

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The metropolitan Los Angeles area had its best
air quality ever in 2004.
from farms.  Reduction measures will be tailored
to each farming operation, to cut  pollution while
also making economic sense.
The valley's ground-level ozone,  or  smog, has
been  a problem for the past several decades.
The valley's air exceeded the 1 -hour ozone health
standard 68 times in 2002 and 2003. In May 2004,
EPA granted the state's request to reclassify the
valley from "severe" to "extreme" nonattainment,
which extends attainment deadlines but  requires
more stringent pollution control measures. In Oc-
tober, the valley's air  district  adopted a plan  to
meet the 1 -hour ozone standard by 2010, and the
state Air Resources  Board approved it.
Also helping clean up the valley's air is an enforce-
ment settlement which commits Silgan Contain-
ers Corp. to cut air emissions at six of its container
manufacturing plants by as much as 118 tons per
year, at an estimated cost of $1.57  million. The
company also paid  a fine of $659,900.  The six
facilities include one each in Stockton, Kingsburg,
and Riverbank, and three in Modesto.  The alleged
violations involved failing to incorporate emission-
EPA is reviewing energy
companies' proposals to build
liquefied natural gas (LNG)
terminals off the Southern
California Coast.
reducing changes when installing new or modified
equipment.

California's South Coast
The South Coast (Los Angeles area), notorious for
smog but much improved over the past 20 years,
recorded its cleanest year ever in 2004, due to ad-
ditional  pollution controls and favorable weather.
There were only 27 days with violations of EPA's
1-hour ozone standard, compared to  64 in 2003.
Eight-hour ozone violations also  dropped.
Both the state and air district made progress in re-
ducing people's exposure to toxic diesel exhaust.
In April EPA contributed over $500,000 to expand
the district's pioneering air toxics monitoring pro-
gram. In July, EPA awarded the district $495,000
for clean school bus projects. In September, EPA
awarded a $100,000  Smartway Transport Part-
nership grant to help truckers avoid idling at truck
stops along I-5.
Liquefied Natural Gas Terminals Proposed
Energy  companies are proposing to import liq-
uefied  natural gas (LNG) at  deepwater ports to
be developed off the  Southern  California coast.
The U.S. Maritime Administration and the Coast
Guard are the licensing authorities for deepwater
ports, but EPA is the air emissions and wastewa-
ter discharge permitting authority.
EPA  is reviewing the permit applications for  BMP
Billiton's proposed Cabrillo Port, which would be
a new deepwater port about 14 miles offshore of
Ventura County. Crystal Energy is expected to ap-
ply for permits for their proposed Clearwater Port
at the existing Grace Oil Well Platform about 12
miles offshore in the same vicinity.
The natural gas from both ports would be trans-
ported via undersea pipelines to on-shore distri-
bution  in the Oxnard area. Since Ventura County
is an ozone nonattainment area, the  LNG termi-
nals must offset certain air emissions by reducing
pollution from other sources in the  air  basin.
Natural  gas supplies from the southwestern U.S.
are projected to decline over the next 20 years.
But demand is expected to grow along with pop-
ulation,  since natural gas is a relatively clean fuel
for heating and generating electricity.

Other Areas
•  The  San  Francisco Bay Area attained the
   national one-hour health  standard for  ozone,
   based on three years without violations of the
   standard.  EPA reviewed air emission permits
   for five major Bay Area oil  refineries, leading to
   stricter pollution limits for  the Chevron, Cono-
   co-Phillips, Shell, Tesoro, and Valero facilities.
•  EPA published a final rule on Aug. 11, 2004, to
   reclassify the Imperial Valley  nonattainment
                                                                                                                      5

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                          area to serious nonattainment  for PM10.  In
                          2005, EPA is working with Imperial County to
                          develop a  clean air plan to attain the health
                          standard expeditiously.
                       •  EPA approved  Arizona's  Cleaner  Burning
                          Gasoline program, which is  a  major  part  of
                          the Phoenix area's plans to stay in attainment
                          with carbon monoxide (CO) and 1 -hour ozone
                          health standards. In early 2005,  EPA redesig-
                          nated the  Phoenix metropolitan area, which
                          has a population of three million, to attainment
                          of the CO health standard.
                       •  In the Tucson, Ariz,  area, EPA reviewed the
                          Pima County  Department  of  Environmen-
                          tal Quality's program  for issuing industrial air
                          emissions permits under Title V of the Clean
                          Air Act. The findings from the evaluation were
                          mostly positive. In 2005, EPA  is evaluating
                          the Title V program of the Maricopa  County
                          (Phoenix area) Environmental Services  District.
                          These  reviews are important to ensure that
                          large emitters follow regulations and install ap-
                          propriate air pollution controls.
                       •  In Green Valley, Ariz., EPA found that min-
                          ing  company Phelps  Dodge Sierrita Inc. had
                          operated ore roasters without required  sulfur
                          dioxide monitors and bypassed pollution con-
                          trol equipment  hundreds of times in the past
                          decade,  illegally  emitting more than  1,000
                          tons of sulfur dioxide into the air. In settling the
    case with EPA, the company agreed to install
    monitors immediately,  revamp its equipment
    to make such bypasses  impossible, and pay
    a $1.4 million penalty. Sulfur dioxide emissions
    can cause respiratory illnesses, acid rain, and
    decreased visibility —  a problem  at many
    national  parks,  including  Arizona's Grand
    Canyon.
 •  In  Nevada,  EPA approved  Clark  County's
    PM10  plan, which contains precedent-setting
    controls for fugitive dust sources.  EPA staff
    worked closely with local air district personnel
    in drafting an entirely new  plan for  the  area.
    The Las Vegas area's dust control  program
    is now the most progressive  in  the country.
    Meanwhile,  CO  levels have  not  exceeded
    the national  health standard since 1999. EPA
    also worked with the county to revise its New
    Source Review permitting rules, to reduce pol-
    lution  from new or expanded industries.

 U.S.-Mexico Border
 EPA's efforts to reduce air pollution impacts along
 the U.S.-Mexico border in  2004 included:
 •  The Baja California Road Paving Project, which
    is paving 2.3  million square meters  of roads
    in Ensenada,  Mexicali, Rosarito, Tecate  and
    Tijuana to reduce dust. The project is financed
    by 276 million pesos (about $25 million) from
                           EPA  Peopl
                         While most Air Division staff are focused on the
                         complexities of helping to improve air quality for
                         millions of residents in the large urban centers of
                         EPA's Pacific Southwest Region, there are also
                         many important air  quality issues affecting the
                         Region's  146  Indian tribes.  Those
                         are the issues Doug McDaniel, as
                         Arizona project officer and EPA staff
                         lead for tribal air  issues,  has been
                         working on for the  past eleven years.
                         Ensuring air quality protection in Indi-
                         an country is sometimes a challenge.
                         The Clean Air Act is designed so that
                         states will develop most air pollution
                         control regulations, and these state
                         regulations generally  do not apply on
                         Indian lands; consequently, there is
                         sometimes a gap  in air quality pro-
                         tection for tribes. Doug's primary ob-
                         jective while  at EPA  has been to fill this gap, by
                         working within EPA to develop policy and regula-
                         tory tools, and by working with tribal governments
                         to build  their capacity to develop their own air
                         quality programs.
 Currently, Doug is focused on helping the Navajo
 Nation and the Gila River Indian Community devel-
 op their new air programs. He also is representing
 EPA on the Joint Air Toxics Assessment Project,
 a groundbreaking effort to deploy an urban-scale
            air toxics monitoring  network  oper-
            ated by the state, the county and
	 the three Phoenix metropolitan area
£*P*'     I tribes. Relying on his  extensive con-
y*=S!4    I tacts with state  and  tribal environ-
          I mental agencies in Arizona,  Doug
          | was instrumental in initiating this co-
            operative project, one of the first  of
            its kind in the United States.
            Over the years, Doug  has developed
            and provided training for tribal envi-
            ronmental professionals,  has repre-
            sented EPA at  tribal  meetings and
            conferences, and has contributed  to
 many significant initiatives aimed at protecting trib-
 al air quality, including EPA's  Tribal Authority Rule
 and the Tribal Air Monitoring  Support Center. For
 many tribes he is the face of EPA's  air program.
Clean Air

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   the North American Development Bank (NAD-
   Bank).
•  The Diesel Emission Reductions for Children's
   Health  Project, which will retrofit  at least 19
   older diesel engines in Nogales, Ariz., school
   buses with particulate traps and/or diesel oxi-
   dation catalysts, and will make ultra-low sulfur
   diesel fuel more readily available.
•  A  project to  characterize  emissions from
   trucks crossing the San Diego-Tijuana border.
   This project will identify truck fleets to target
   for diesel emission reductions.
•  Binational Air Quality  Studies  in the Arizona
   border region, in which EPA has funded instal-
   lation of numerous air quality monitoring sites
   and performed emission  inventories, health
   risk assessments and analyses of  emission
   reduction techniques. The City of Agua Prieta,
   for example, was recently certified  for a 31  km
   road paving project, based on these  studies.
•  A Bilingual Air Quality and Health  Information
   Center, which will soon provide air quality and
   health information through an interactive Web
   site. The center will send  air quality alerts to
   schools, activity centers and others when air
   pollution exceeds safe levels.

Navajo Nation Becomes
First Tribe  to Receive Air
Permit Delegation

On October 15, 2004,  EPA delegated authority to
administer the federal Title V (industrial) air emis-
sion permits program to the Navajo Nation —  the
nation's first tribal  government to gain  such  au-
thority. Under an agreement  between U.S.  EPA
and the Navajo Nation EPA, the tribe will take
over Title V permitting responsibilities for twelve
existing major stationary air pollution  sources on
the reservation.  EPA determined that the Navajo
Nation meets the eligibility requirements for treat-
ment in the same manner as a state.
The permit fees collected by the tribe will help
support the staff and resources for its Title V  ac-
tivities, an important step toward establishing a
comprehensive air quality control program. This
delegation of authority from  EPA to  the  Navajo
Nation will improve responsiveness to the public
and regulated communities.

BioWatch Provides
Early Warning

EPA has been a key partner  in  the U.S. Depart-
ment of Homeland Security's BioWatch initiative.
BioWatch  is an early  warning  system  in major
urban centers to rapidly detect trace  amounts of
                                               Navajo Nation EPA officials
                                               and U.S. EPA staff after
                                               meeting at Window Rock,
                                               seat of the Navajo Nation
                                               government.
biological materials, either from natural sources or
as a result of terrorist acts. EPA leads the field
deployment of the network,  and serves  as the
primary liaison to state and local environmental
monitoring agencies. EPA's Emergency Response
Program coordinates emergency planning with
federal, state, and local agencies. In 2004, EPA
awarded over $2.1  million in grant funds to local
governments  to  deploy  45 BioWatch sampling
sites in nine cities in the Pacific Southwest.

Indoor Air Tools for Schools

EPA's Pacific Southwest  Indoor Air Team devel-
oped the Student-Led Tools for Schools Program,
which involves students in tracking down sourc-
es of indoor air  contaminants at their schools.
Two  students from  the  region won awards at
the  annual Tools  for  Schools conference in
Washington, D.C.
The  California Portable Classroom Study found
that  Tools for Schools is being used in  11 % of
the state's schools. Thanks to work by grantees
and  partners,  as well as EPA, the program was
introduced at 97  new schools in 2004. EPA's Pa-
cific Southwest Region received 23 proposals for
Tools for Schools and Asthma Management (in
schools and in homes) project grants, and  funded
12, for a total of $210,000.
In  California's Central Valley,  the Fresno  Unified
School District was forced  to put their Tools for
Schools program on hold due to substantial bud-
get cuts. Later,  however, the EPA team  helped
convince district  management of the program's
cost-effectiveness in maintaining healthful indoor
air. The school district is now moving ahead with
the program,  which  is especially  needed in a
county with the highest asthma rates  in the state.
One-third of the  district's 90 schools have Tools
for Schools programs.
                                                                                                                   7

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 Clean  Water
                         Upgrading Sewage Systems
                         to Protect Public Health
                         $2 Billion Los Angeles Sewer Settlement
                         Will Prevent Spills, Overflows
                         In one of the largest sewage enforcement cases
                         in U.S. history, EPA, the Department of Justice,
                         the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control
                         Board, Santa Monica Baykeeper and a coalition
                         of community groups reached a $2 billion settle-
                         ment with the City of Los Angeles over thousands
                         of sewage spills and overflows that violated the
                         federal Clean Water Act.
                         Under the terms  of the historic  agreement, the
                         City of Los Angeles will  rebuild at least 488 miles
                         of sewer lines, clean 2,800 miles of sewers an-
                         nually, enhance its program to control restaurant
                         grease discharges, increase the sewage system's
                         capacity, and plan for future expansion. With ap-
                         proximately 6,500 miles of sewer lines serving
                         almost 4 million residents, the city operates the
nation's largest sewage collection system. Since
1994, the city has had over 4,500 sewage spills.
Most of these spills or overflows caused raw sew-
age to flow down city streets, and in some cases
pollute waterways.
The federal government and the  regional  board
settled their civil  penalty claims against the city
for a total of $1.6 million, with the regional board
directing its proceeds to local environmental im-
provement projects  the city will perform. The
settlement is a comprehensive effort to address
all causes of sewage spills and odors in the City
of Los Angeles. The terms require new measures
to prevent blockages in the city's system, includ-
ing more aggressive  maintenance to identify and
repair or replace problem sewers.
"This settlement  recognizes  the  city's  commit-
ment to repair and replace its aging sewage in-
8   Clean Water

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frastructure, to serve the needs of generations to
come," said Wayne Nastri,  administrator of the
EPA's Pacific Southwest office in San Francisco.
"This investment will protect neighborhoods and
millions of beachgoers from the ill effects of  sew-
age spills."
The city will perform $8.5 million worth of environ-
mental projects in addition to the work required to
improve its sewer system. These projects include
stream and wetland restoration, and systems to
capture and treat polluted storm drain flows.
Santa Monica  Baykeeper filed its initial legal ac-
tion against Los Angeles in  1998.  EPA, the LA.
Regional  Board and the community groups filed
their action in 2001. The groups included Baldwin
Hills  Estates   Homeowner's Association,  Inc.;
Baldwin Hills Village Garden Homes Association;
United Homeowners  Association;  Village Green
Owners Association; and Concerned  Citizens of
South Central Los Angeles.

EPA, Santa Ana Regional Board Announce
$600 Million Sewage Treatment  Upgrade
It may not have  made headlines outside of Or-
ange County, but it's a  big  deal for the coastal
environment: EPA, the Santa Ana Regional Water
Quality Control Board,  and  the Orange County
Sanitation Districts finalized an agreement on Nov.
5, 2004, that commits the district to spend $600
million upgrading its two sewage treatment plants
to achieve full  secondary treatment by Dec. 31,
2012. The two sewage facilities discharge treated
wastewater from 2.5 million people into coastal
waters.
The upgrade will rid the district's discharges of ap-
proximately 8,500 metric tons of total suspended
solids annually and approximately  14,700 metric
tons of oxygen-depleting nutrients. In  addition to
the treatment  upgrade, the district's 10-year plan
includes spending  $450  million on  sewer  pipe
upgrades  to prevent future spills and overflows.
The 10-year plan also includes a joint effort with
the county water district to construct the nation's
largest water  reuse facility  —  costing roughly
$420  million - by July 2007.  Secondary  efflu-
ent currently being  discharged  to the ocean will
be treated to tertiary levels and pumped into the
ground to  create a barrier to salt water intrusion.

EPA Wetlands  Program
Protects Vital Habitat

Southern California's Biggest Wetland
Restoration Project Begins at Bolsa Chica
On October 6, 2004, officials from state and fed-
eral agencies and the City of Huntington Beach
joined with local environmental groups to break
                                               Preparing sections of new
                                               sewer pipe — part of Los
                                               Angeles' effort to curb sewage
                                               spills.
ground for the Bolsa Chica Wetland  Restoration
Project — at 1,247  acres, the largest  wetland
restoration in Southern California  history. Once
part  of an extensive wetland complex  spread-
ing from Huntington Beach to Seal Beach, Bolsa
Chica remained largely undeveloped, except for
oil rigs and access roads that criss-crossed the
site.  Much of the property remains wetland, and
supports waterfowl and shorebirds.  The project
is especially  needed because more than 90% of
Southern California's  original  coastal wetlands
have been lost to development, making the re-
maining wetlands critical for migratory birds along
the Pacific Flyway, wildlife and public  recreation.
Prior landowners had proposed extensive filling
for urban development in the 1970s,  but none of
the proposals received the needed permit under
Section 404  of the Clean Water Act.  The law al-
lows destruction  of wetlands only when there is
no practicable alternative.  EPA recommended al-
ternatives to limit development to the dry upland
areas of the property. Several local groups, includ-
ing the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, Bolsa Chica Con-
servancy, and Bolsa Chica Land Trust have also
consistently supported protecting the wetlands.
EPA's 24-Year Effort Pays Off
In  1980,  EPA began  a  three-year effort  to care-
fully map the extent of the wetlands under Clean
Water Act jurisdiction.  This study strengthened
the positions of federal agencies working to pro-
tect and restore the wetlands.  In the  mid-1990s,
EPA  helped  broker an interagency agreement to
use mitigation funds  from  the Ports  of  Los An-
geles and Long Beach to  purchase the  property
and  restore  it. EPA and its partners  in restoring
the wetlands negotiated agreements with the oil
rig operators to shut down any remaining  oil wells,
remove oil production infrastructure, and clean up
contamination from oil production.
The State Lands Commission, the Coastal Con-
servancy and the U.S.  Fish and Wildlife Service
developed a wetland restoration plan under the
guidance of  the Bolsa Chica Wetlands  Steering
Committee  —  eight state and federal agencies,
                                                                                                 Clean Water   9

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Aerial view of the Bolsa Chica
wetlands as they appeared
before the restoration project.
including EPA. The plan was subject to environ-
mental impact studies, hearings, and much scru-
tiny. The $65 million project is expected to be
completed in 2007.
Regulatory agencies such as the Army Corps of
Engineers, the  California Coastal Commission,
and the  Regional Water Quality Control  Board
played significant roles, as did resource agencies
such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Marine Fisheries Service, California Department of
Fish and Game, Coastal Conservancy, and State
Lands Commission. EPA officials recognized EPA
attorney Hugh Barroll and EPA wetlands expert
Tom Yocom, among others, for their outstanding
work on Bolsa Chica over the past 20 years.

How EPA Protects Wetlands
in the Pacific Southwest
Every year, EPA reviews hundreds of permit ap-
plications for projects that propose to fill wetlands
for other uses. EPA also investigates cases where
projects have already filled wetlands without the
required permits. When there is no practicable al-
ternative to filling wetlands, the Clean Water Act of
1972 requires a permit from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers,  which specifies mitigation—protec-
tion,  restoration,  or creation  of similar wetlands
elsewhere. Among the wetlands  issues EPA re-
solved in 2004 were:
•  The  proposed  North Village residential and
   commercial development  in Solano  County,
   Calif., where an agreement was reached that
   allows  the  development to go forward, but
   requires the purchase of 540 acres (including
   147  acres of wetlands) to expand the  exist-
   ing Jepson Prairie Vernal Pool Preserve  in the
   same county.
•  In Tulare County in the San Joaquin Valley,
   EPA  reached a settlement  in a case  involving
   the conversion of a 240-acre tract with scat-
   tered vernal pool wetlands, along  Cotton-
   wood  Creek  north  of Visalia,  to cultivated
Even in its present condition,
the Bolsa Chica wetlands
provide important habitat for
egrets, blue herons, and other
shorebirds.
10    Clean Water

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   cropland. The  landowner agreed to convey
   a nearby 300-acre parcel of land, containing
   rare alkali vernal pool wetlands, to a region-
   al  land  trust for permanent  protection  and
   management.
•  In Las Vegas, EPA reached an agreement with
   KB Home in which the developer will spend at
   least $193,000  on riparian restoration projects
   in  the Bureau  of  Land  Management's  Red
   Rock Canyon  National Conservation Area.
   The agreement came after EPA learned  that
   KB Home had graded a 160-acre site west of
   Fort Apache Road in southwestern Las Vegas,
   filling tributaries of Las Vegas Wash, without
   the required permit.
•  In  Mendocino County, Calif., EPA's review
   of  the proposed Willits Bypass  resulted in
   changes to the  highway project that saved 60
   acres of  wetlands (see Communities and Eco-
   systems, p. 21).

Protecting  Rivers, Reefs  by
Preventing Polluted Runoff

Polluted runoff, also known as nonpoint source
pollution,  has been the nation's biggest water pol-
lution  challenge for the past decade. Since it has
no single  source, it is difficult to control. Pollution
prevention efforts must be tailored to specific pol-
lution  sources in each watershed.
Coral Reefs
In Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, EPA is working
with other federal and local agencies to address
priority threats to coral reefs. In Hawaii, reducing
polluted runoff in three watersheds is part of a Lo-
cal Action Strategy to Address Land-Based Pollu-
tion Threats to Coral Fleets, released in April 2004.
(For more information, see EPA People, p.  13.)

EPA Nonpoint Source Grants
To help states take action, EPA also awards non-
point source grants. In 2004, EPA awarded a to-
tal of $21.9 million to the four Pacific Southwest
states and Pacific  Island  territories for projects
including:
•  California's Middle Mattole River Restoration
   in Humboldt County, which involves erosion
   control measures on 85 miles of abandoned
   roads,  stream  bank stabilization, and plant-
   ing 72,000 trees along the river. The goal is to
   prevent an estimated 146,000 cubic yards of
   sediment from washing into the river annually,
   which can smother salmon eggs before they
   hatch.
•  Arizona's Santa Fe Ranch Project on the Santa
   Cruz River, which involves bank stabilization,
   revegetation, fencing, and  monitoring along
   1,000 feet of the Santa Cruz River northeast
   of Nogales, to prevent about 28,000 tons of
   soil from choking the river each year.
                                                                                            Preventing polluted runoff
                                                                                            is an important part of
                                                                                            interagency efforts to protect
                                                                                            coral reefs from land-based
                                                                                            pollution.
                                                                                              Clean Water   11

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EPA funded the Pyramid Lake
Paiute Tribe's nonpoint source
project, which fenced springs
to keep out livestock and
installed solar-powered pumps
to draw well water instead.
This has reduced levels of
phosphorus, nitrates, and
sediment in the Lower Truckee
River, the main source of the
lake's water.
                            •  Nevada's McCarran Ranch Project along the
                               Truckee River near Reno. This pilot project
                               has already restored one mile of the river, in-
                               cluding recontouring the channel, constructing
                               two wetlands and four riffle/pool sequences to
                               improve fish  habitat, and  revegetating seven
                               acres of flood plain. Four more miles remain to
                               be restored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
                               neers, using local matching funds.
                            •  The Waimanalo Stream Restoration, com-
                               pleted in June 2004 by the University of Ha-
                               waii's Pacific  Biomedical Research  Center.
                               This urban project on Oahu included reveg-
                               etation of 750 feet of streambanks with native
                               sedges, and  community cleanups that raised
                               public awareness about  preventing  polluted
                               runoff.

                            Ensuring  Safe Drinking Water

                            Ensuring the purity of  drinking water is one of
                            EPA's highest ongoing priorities. In 2004, the Pa-
                            cific  Southwest Office took part in a nationwide
                            EPA  effort to  monitor drinking water  quality on
                            U.S.  and foreign flag airlines that  fly  within the
                            United States. In this region,  EPA collected water
                            samples  from  aircraft arriving at the San Francis-
                            co, Ontario, John Wayne, and Los Angeles air-
                            ports. Of the 327 aircraft tested across the coun-
                            try, 15%  tested positive for total coliform bacteria
                            in  either  the lavatory, galley, or both. From these
                            results, there was no pattern or trend to suggest
                            that  the coliform contamination was limited to a
                            specific type of  aircraft. The contamination was
                            found on U.S. flag aircraft, foreign flag planes, do-
                            mestic flights,  international flights, and large and
                            small aircraft.
                            EPA  is working to  require all  U.S.-based airlines
                            to  take specific actions to ensure the drinking wa-
                            ter on  their planes  is safe to drink. The  agency
                            will also  place foreign  flag carriers that provide
                            service within the United States under similar re-
                            quirements to  the extent the  law allows. EPA has
                            initiated an accelerated rule-making  process to
develop specific regulations for all water onboard
aircraft.
Other actions taken  by EPA's Pacific Southwest
Office  in  2004  to  ensure safe  drinking  water
include:
•  An enforcement case involving the owners of
   eight public water supply systems in the Mon-
   terey-Salinas, Calif., area, whom EPA found to
   have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by
   submitting false water sampling data to regu-
   latory agencies, among hundreds of other vio-
   lations from  the early 1990s to 2001. To pro-
   tect water consumers, a federal court ordered
   the defendants,  Alisal Water Corp.,  related
   companies and Robert  and Patricia Adcock,
   to sell the companies. The court also imposed
   a record $500,000 penalty.
•  232 inspections of underground injection well
   sites,  where brine  from oil drilling or liquid
   wastes from auto shops or large-capacity sep-
   tic systems are injected into the earth for dis-
   posal.  Careless injection of such wastes can
   be disastrous if it pollutes clean ground water,
   which  is  used as a drinking water source by
   millions of people in the Pacific Southwest. In-
   spections ensure that operators of such wells
   obtain and comply with Underground Injection
   Control permits  setting  conditions for pro-
   tecting drinking water sources. In one case,
   Mountain  States  Petroleum  Corp. agreed to
   pay a $90,000 penalty for violations found in
   an earlier inspection of its  injection wells on
   Navajo lands in southwest Utah.
•  In response to the elevated levels of lead found
   in Washington, D.C. area drinking water, EPA
   worked closely with state water agencies to
   assess the lead rule's effectiveness in reduc-
   ing  lead exposure. EPA assessed state imple-
Nogales Wash near Arizona/Sonora border. EPA grants
for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure
projects in Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona will
provide safe drinking water and reduce pollution in the
wash (see story, p. 23).
12    Clean Water

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   mentation of the rule through regional data
   verification  audits,  collected data to ensure
   the completeness of lead data in the national
   database, and in some cases conducted sys-
   tem-specific reviews.

New Arsenic Standard
to Take Effect in January 2006
About 12% of drinking water systems in Arizona,
California, Nevada and tribal lands in these states
will need to make modifications in order to meet
the January 2006 deadline for  compliance with
the new arsenic standard of 10 parts per billion.
Many will need to develop and install arsenic treat-
ment systems. Most affected are smaller systems,
where financial, technical and managerial capacity
is limited. EPA will provide training to utilities, de-
sign engineers,  the Indian Health Service and the
regulatory community to assure  that recent infor-
mation on arsenic treatment and waste disposal
technologies is accessible and understandable.

Financing Island Infrastructure
EPA and the Department of Interior are working
with four U.S. Island Territories (American Samoa,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and federal
partners to explore innovative methods of financ-
ing water and solid waste infrastructure. Given the
        Drinking Water Systems Out of Compliance
  with the Arsenic Standard  in the Pacific Southwest
                                         -12%
  Total Number
  of Systems
  = 6,618
                under current arsenic standard
                                            under new arsenic standard
                                                 January 2006
economic climate in the islands, combined with
the huge costs of such projects, it is very difficult
for islands to secure affordable financing.
The  effort  brings  together  federal and  island
representatives with expertise in grant and loan
programs, the bond market,  island infrastructure
plans, as well  as an awareness of unique island
needs. Currently the group is exploring the possi-
bility of developing a region-wide bond bank and
other potential financing mechanisms, including
federal  guarantees and  public-private partner-
ships.
   EPA  People
  In Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, coral reefs are
  essential to food supplies, economies, indigenous
  cultures, shoreline protection, and ecology. An es-
  timated 20% of the world's coral reefs have already
  been destroyed and about half the remaining reefs
  are  threatened. Dr. Wendy Wiltse,
  a marine ecologist in  EPA's Honolulu
  office, plays a key role in EPA efforts
  to protect coral reefs in the Pacific
  Basin, which  includes more than half
  of the the nation's coral reefs.
  The multi-agency  Coral Reef Task
  Force  has identified activities harm-
  ing coral  reefs, such as land-based
  pollution,  overfishing, coral disease,
  climate change, recreational overuse,
  and lack of public awareness. Within
  the task force, Wendy led a steering
  committee to develop Hawaii's Local
  Action Strategy. She also  organized workshops
  that brought coral reef and water quality special-
  ists together from islands as distant as Guam and
  Saipan to improve scientific tools for coral moni-
  toring and protection.
  Wendy also reviews  coastal  construction  pro-
posals that may impact coral reefs and supports
enforcement  actions involving  coastal  wetlands
- which include coral reefs. Developing  biological
criteria guidance for coral reefs is EPA's newest ini-
            tiative in coral protection.  Wendy is
            organizing a workshop on this topic
            for the  upcoming 2005 Pacific Is-
            lands Environmental Conference.
            EPA grants now support over $1.1
            million of coral reef protection proj-
            ects in Hawaii. Wendy has been in-
            strumental in encouraging qualified
            grant applicants. These projects in-
            clude an assessment of coral reefs in
            polluted waters, and efforts to con-
            trol  invasive non-native seaweeds
            that can smother coral reefs.
            Wendy enjoys the challenge of ad-
dressing environmental concerns in  Hawaii, her
home for the last 12 years.  "Island people care
deeply about reefs  and fishing," she says. Her
leadership, local perspective, technical expertise,
and broad experience  in water  programs make
her an effective advocate for protecting these vital
ecosystems.

                                                                                                Clean Water   13

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 Clean   Land
                         Responding to Environmental
                         Emergencies

                         Readiness and Rapid Action
                         EPA's Emergency Response Program — with fed-
                         eral on-scene coordinators based in San Francis-
                         co and Los Angeles, Calif., and Carson City, Nev.
                         — responds to environmental disasters, hazard-
                         ous materials releases, time-critical removals, and
                         inland oil spills that threaten human  health or the
                         environment.  Other duties include participating in
                         emergency preparedness drills, counter-terrorism
                         drills and  planning, and the Oil Spill Prevention,
                         Control and Countermeasures program.
                         In 2004, EPA's Pacific Southwest Region initiated
                         27 emergency cleanups of hazardous  materials
                         posing imminent threats. In  addition,  EPA took
                         part in multi-agency drills involving a  simulated
                         major oil spill off the Southern California Coast
                         and a simulated detonation of a radioactive dis-
                         persion device (or "dirty bomb") at the port of
                         LA/Long Beach. EPA also upgraded its response
                         readiness in the region,  taking delivery of a new
mobile command post and new emergency re-
sponse equipment stationed in the San Francisco
and Los Angeles areas. Plus, EPA trained a re-
gional 12-member Incident Management Team
to support on-scene coordinators responding to
nationally-significant emergencies.

Radiation in North Hollywood
During World War II and continuing into the 1950s,
gauges in airplane instrument panels were often
painted with radioactive paint to make them glow
in the dark. The practice was discontinued when
it became clear that people painting the dials were
being dosed with dangerous levels  of radiation.
But a company in North Hollywood, Calif., Pres-
ervation Aviation  Inc., stockpiled over a million ra-
dioactive dials and other equipment contaminated
with radium and radon at its warehouse and yard
in a residential neighborhood. When the company
went bankrupt and abandoned the property, state
and local agencies requested EPA's help with the
14   Clean Land

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costly cleanup and removal of this unusual radio-
active waste.  In assessing the  site, EPA found
gamma radiation levels from 100 to 500 times the
ambient level nearby.
EPA completed the first phase,  removal of con-
taminated materials from an  open yard, in De-
cember 2004. In January 2005, workers wearing
air-purifying respirators sorted, packaged and re-
moved hundreds of thousands  of the dials and
other radioactive materials inside  the  building.
The materials were taken to licensed radioactive
waste storage sites suitable for low, medium and
high-level waste.
As the cleanup progressed, EPA constantly moni-
tored the air at the site and took careful precau-
tions to prevent  any radioactive materials, in the
form of dust or storm  runoff, from  moving into
the surrounding  neighborhood. Decontamination
of the building and yard, including removal of ra-
dioactive soil, was expected to be completed by
May 2005.

Cleaning Up Suisun Marsh
and Preventing Future Oil Spills
On April 27, 2004, a corroded underground fuel
pipeline running through Suisun  Marsh in Solano
County, Calif., ruptured and spilled over 103,000
gallons of diesel fuel into the state's largest tidal
wetland,  home to migratory waterfowl and the
endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. The U.S.
Coast Guard and the pipeline owner, Kinder Mor-
gan Energy Partners, took initial measures to re-
cover the fuel  and prevent it from spreading, but
called on EPA to clean up and restore the marsh.
By September, after the work was done, 616 tons
of contaminated soil had  been removed.  Tests
showed that the mud remaining in the marsh no
longer  posed  a threat to the  environment.  Over
the course of 2004, EPA assisted with cleanup ef-
forts in eight oil spills in the Pacific Southwest.
                                               This new Mobile Command
                                               Post enhances EPA's capability
                                               to respond to environmental
                                               emergencies in the Pacific
                                               Southwest, including
                                               earthquakes and terrorist
                                               threats.
EPA took charge of the cleanup of
contaminated sediments after a major oil spill
in Suisun Marsh, one of California's largest
remaining wetlands.
The Suisun Marsh incident spotlighted the vulner-
ability of oil and fuel pipelines which crisscross the
nation unseen, just below the ground. To help pre-
vent major spills from these pipelines,  oil refiner-
ies and "tank farms," EPA conducted 12 surprise
drills in 2004 at  oil facilities in the region to test
their readiness—including one at a Kinder Mor-
gan facility near the Truckee River in Sparks, Nev.
The drills  involved deployment of company per-
sonnel and equipment, such as floating booms to
corral oil in waterways.  In the Reno/Sparks area,
EPA also worked with local agencies to develop
an emergency plan  to respond to any toxic spill
along the  Truckee River. An interstate freeway, a
rail line and pipelines — all of which transport fuel
or hazardous liquids —  run parallel to the river.
In 2004, EPA inspected 67 oil facilities  in the Pa-
cific Southwest to assess compliance with federal
Spill  Prevention, Control,  and Countermeasure
(SPCC) regulations developed under the Oil Pol-
lution Act  of 1990. The inspections targeted fa-
cilities with aboveground  tanks near waterways.
Most  of the inspections found compliance with
the regulations,  indicating that these facilities can
adequately prevent or respond to spills.
However,  EPA's July 2004 surprise inspection
and oil spill drill  at Kinder  Morgan's oil terminal in
Sparks,  Nev., found that the  facility failed to ad-
equately respond. A records  check showed that
the  facility also  failed to hold oil spill drills annu-
ally, as required  by SPCC regulations. EPA filed a
complaint  seeking correction of the violations and
up to $157,500  in penalties.

Mercury Cleanups in Nevada
Last year,  EPA assisted with two mercury clean-
ups in Nevada involving youths who found con-
tainers of the highly  toxic  liquid metal and played
with it, contaminating a  home and a school.
In January 2004, dozens of  middle  school chil-
dren in Gardnerville were exposed to the element
and the vapors  it gives  off. Just a quarter cup of
mercury brought to the  school by a student con-
taminated  not only classrooms and a school bus,
but the clothing and belongings of more than 50
of his classmates. The state and federal govern-
ments spent more than $100,000 on decontami-
                                                                                                 Clean Land    15

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Ground water treatment plant
under construction in the San
Gabriel Valley.
nation. The school was closed for more than a
week. Local businesses made donations to those
students whose belongings were contaminated
and had to be destroyed.
Less than a week after the Gardnerville incident,
severe poisoning from long-term exposure to mer-
cury vapor sent a 17-year-old youth in Las Vegas
to a hospital's intensive care unit for a week. The
exposure may cause lifelong health problems. EPA
and Clark County officials  spent weeks decon-
taminating the boy's home  because of extremely
high levels of mercury vapor. Even the family dog
suffered severe mercury poisoning.
In conjunction with the cleanup, EPA took ad-
vantage of widespread news coverage of the in-
cidents to educate Nevada residents about the
danger of mercury poisoning. In Nevada and Ari-
zona,  containers of pure mercury are sometimes
found by children  and teens at abandoned min-
ing operations. To learn more about mercury, its
health effects, regulations, and  how to dispose of
it, go to www.epa.gov/mercury

Asbestos in El Dorado Hills
Asbestos, a known human carcinogen, occurs
naturally in certain rock and soil formations, often
near earthquake faults in California's Coast Rang-
es and Sierra Nevada foothills. This naturally-oc-
curring asbestos sometimes takes a fibrous form.
Natural weathering, excavation or bulldozing can
break the larger fibers down to microscopic fibers,
easily suspended in air. When inhaled, these thin
fibers can cause asbestos-related diseases.
Grading  for  soccer fields  at  Oak  Ridge  High
School in El Dorado Hills (near Sacramento, Calif.)
in 2002 disturbed a vein of naturally-occurring as-
bestos. Lack of water prevented the school dis-
trict from covering the new fields immediately with
sod, leading to concerns about dust or mud from
the fields exposing students and school employ-
ees to asbestos.
In the wet months of February and March 2004,
after assessing the  problem, EPA oversaw  the
landscaping of areas of exposed soil that were
of  immediate  concern.  The next phase,  cover-
ing  exposed soil, took place over school vacation
in April.  Bare dirt areas  next to classrooms were
landscaped or paved, access roads were paved,
and bare soil within the central area of the cam-
pus was covered with concrete. By July, the work
was complete.
EPA also  initiated  a site  assessment of  three
schools and a Community Services District park
area in El Dorado Hills.  The work involved  activ-
ity-based air sampling and extensive coordination
with state and county agencies.
For more details on asbestos and  EPA actions
in El Dorado Hills, go to www.epa.gov/region09/
toxic/noa

Cleanups  Advance
at Superfund Sites

At   the  124 Superfund National Priorities  List
cleanup sites in the  Pacific Southwest Region,
cleanup is underway at 81 % of the sites, and con-
struction of cleanup facilities has been completed
at  45%. Some highlights of recent Superfund
accomplishments:

$78.5 Million Secured
for San Bernardino Cleanup
EPA reached a $78.5 million settlement with  the
City of San Bernardino, Calif., the California  De-
partment of Toxic Substances  Control and  the
U.S. Army for cleanup of the city's water supply,
which is contaminated by the Newmark Superfund
site. The settlement provides funds for cleanup of
groundwater contamination from Army operations
in the area during World War II.
More than  25% of the water supply for San
Bernardino's 175,000 residents  has been con-
taminated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
such as solvents. Under the settlement, the City
of San Bernardino will operate the  Newmark site's
newly-expanded groundwater treatment system
to  provide clean replacement water and prevent
the contamination from spreading.

San Gabriel Valley Cleanup Forges Ahead
After four years of negotiations, 38 parties agreed
to  pay  a total of $44.1  million  for cleanup of
groundwater contamination in the El Monte Op-
erable Unit  of the San  Gabriel Valley Superfund
sites. In addition to  the  cleanup, the settling par-
16   Clean Land

-------
ties are required to reimburse EPA approximately
$1.9 million.
The El Monte unit, one of four in the valley, is an
area of 10 square  miles of groundwater contami-
nated with VOCs  in  both the deep and  shallow
aquifers.  Businesses owned or operated by the
settling parties had used VOCs for degreasing,
metal cleaning and other  purposes.
The  cleanup, already  underway,  involves using
14 separate groundwater treatment systems to
pump approximately 2.4 million gallons per day of
contaminated groundwater and treat it to remove
VOCs and other chemicals, as  necessary. This
will control the movement of VOC-contaminated
groundwater and protect  downstream water sup-
ply wells.

Work Nearly Complete
in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.
Most construction work  at the Waste Disposal
Inc.  (WDI) Superfund site in  Santa  Fe Springs,
Calif., is  now complete. In 2004, work crews
removed  waste-filled drums and debris,  and in-
stalled protective capping systems to prevent rain
from seeping through  buried waste and fouling
groundwater or runoff. That portion of the WDI
site is a 580-foot  diameter concrete-lined reser-
voir which was used until  the 1960s as a disposal
area for  petroleum wastes,  construction debris
and other materials.
The  cleanup involved covering the buried waste
with an impermeable multi-layered cap and install-
ing a system to collect and treat liquids and gases
emanating from the site. The capping system will
isolate the waste and prevent the area groundwa-
ter from becoming contaminated. The liquid and
gas collection systems will ensure that chemical
contamination cannot reach the soil, water and air
of the surrounding  community.
EPA is working with the  community and the city
government  to  facilitate redevelopment  of the
property under EPA's Revitalization Initiative.

Perchlorate Cleanup Successes
In 2004,  EPA oversaw design and construction
of drinking water  treatment  systems to  remove
perchlorate,  a chemical  found in rocket fuel, at
ongoing Superfund cleanups in California. These
included  the NASA-Jet Propulsion Lab in  Pasa-
dena, Baldwin Park in San Gabriel Valley, and
Rialto-Colton  in Riverside County. In  addition to
the 30 sites where EPA and state agencies have
responded to perchlorate contamination in the
Pacific  Southwest, EPA  worked with California
agencies to identify, prioritize and initiate site as-
sessments at nine  locations using state-of-the-art
GIS mapping technology.  To assist this effort, EPA
produced a comprehensive map pinpointing the
location of all known sites with perchlorate con-
tamination of groundwater.
In  Nevada, EPA  and the state set stricter dis-
charge limits for a perchlorate treatment system
at the Kerr-McGee site in Henderson, significantly
reducing its allowable discharges. During the last
five years,  Kerr-McGee's control strategy has re-
duced releases to the Las Vegas Wash by more
than 85%,  from over 900 pounds per day in 1999
to  about 135  pounds per day in the second half
of  2004. This has reduced perchlorate detected
in downstream water supplies in Lake Mead and
the Colorado River.
An erosion control structure
on Las Vegas Wash, near
Las Vegas, Nev. Perchlorate
contamination levels in the
wash have decreased steadily
over the last few years (see
graph, below).
            Average  Daily Perchlorate Releases
                        in  Las Vegas Wash
      1,000
                1998   1999   2000   2001  2002  2003  2004
                                                                                               Clean Land    17

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Acting EPA Administrator
Steve Johnson (far left)
and Regional Administrator
Wayne Nastri (second from
right) present "big checks" to
Jimmy Torio of the Anahola
Homesteaders Council, and
Kauai, Hawaii Mayor Bryan
J. Baptiste (far right) to clean
up a redevelopment site
contaminated with pesticides
and herbicides.
Pioneering Redevelopment
at Federal Facilities
At 31  closed military bases in the Pacific South-
west,  120,000 of a total 150,000 acres is now
open  for redevelopment. At El Toro Naval Air
Station  in Southern  California,  the  Navy  put
3,800 acres up for auction in February 2005, and
the land was purchased by a developer for $650
million. The Navy will use the money for cleanups
nationwide, including the remaining portions of El
Toro, which will cost an estimated $72 million.
At the closed Hunters Point Naval  Shipyard
Superfund site in San  Francisco, 76 acres known
as Parcel 1A have been declared  clean and  ready
for reuse — the  first part of the site to be cleared
for redevelopment.
At the defunct McClellan Air  Force Base near
Sacramento, Calif., EPA began discussions with
the Air Force, state, and county  about a plan to
privatize  a 60-acre parcel  as  a  pilot  project to
demonstrate  how  cleanup  and  redevelopment
can take place simultaneously, with the Defense
Department paying a private entity to conduct the
cleanup.
At Pearl  Harbor in Hawaii, where the naval base
remains in use, the Navy used  a thermal  desorp-
tion process to  treat over 40,000 cubic yards of
PCB-contaminated soil — saving $24 million by
avoiding the cost of transporting and disposing of
the material on the U.S. mainland.

Brownfields and Revitalization

In 2004, EPA awarded 39 grants totaling over $10
million to local governments to speed  up revital-
ization of brownfields - unused commercial or in-
dustrial sites where potential contamination from
past uses hinders redevelopment.
In  Anahola,  Kauai, in  Hawaii,  an  EPA grant fi-
nanced planning for a redevelopment project on
20 acres of vacant farmland used for years  as an
illegal trash dump. The Anahola  Homesteaders
Council's sustainable master plan calls for a se-
nior care and independent living center, a charter
school, and retail and office space, all designed
to be pedestrian-friendly, conserve energy and in-
corporate other "green building" principles. In Oc-
tober 2004, EPA announced grants for the next
phase: $200,000  to  Kauai  County to inventory
potential  brownfields sites, do site assessments
and  involve local communities, and $196,334 to
the  Anahola Homesteaders Council for cleanup
of the 20 acres, which is also contaminated with
pesticides and  herbicides.
A $200,000 Brownfields grant  to the Wiyot Tribe
will  be used to clean up a former dry dock and
ship repair site contaminated by paint, solvents,
metals, petroleum products, and pesticides. The
site,  on Indian Island in Humboldt  Bay  on Califor-
nia's North  Coast, will then be restored as part
of the tribe's sacred  Tuluwat Village and dance
grounds.
Successful  Brownfields  grants  from previous
years have been instrumental in redeveloping the
harbor area of downtown Stockton, Calif., and the
Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. The Fruitvale
project, where  EPA worked with many state and
local partners, including  Habitat  for  Humanity,
won a national  Phoenix Award in 2004 for excel-
lence in redeveloping the area surrounding a Bay
Area Rapid Transit (BART) station.

Enforcing  Hazwaste,
Storage Tank Rules

To protect the  public and  prevent costly hazard-
ous waste cleanups in the future, compliance with
federal regulations under the Resource  Conserva-
tion  and  Recovery Act (RCRA) is  essential. This
includes Underground Storage  Tank (LIST) regula-
tions, which prevent leaks and spills from under-
ground fuel and chemical tanks.

United Airlines Starts Compliance System
As part of a settlement resolving hazardous waste
violations at San Francisco  International Airport,
United Airlines agreed to develop an environmen-
tal compliance management system (ECMS), at
an estimated  cost of $500,000.  The  Bay Area
facility,  United's only aircraft maintenance center
in the U.S., employs 5,200 people and operates
continuously, seven days a week.
United worked with EPA to develop the ECMS and
agreed to an independent environmental audit of
the facility. (For  more information on environmental
management systems, go to www.epa.gov/ems)
Violations included  failure to  close  hazardous
waste containers, improper labeling of contain-
ers,  and  storage of hazardous waste  for longer
18   Clean Land

-------
than allowable limits. United also agreed to pay an
$850,000 penalty.

Waste Catches Fire at Border Station
EPA charged that three hazardous waste firms,
one in Tijuana, Baja California, and two in San Di-
ego, violated federal hazardous  waste law, after
the companies sent two shipments of waste that
burst into flame in transit —  one at the U.S. cus-
toms port at Otay Mesa, San Diego County, and
the other on a highway in Riverside County.
The  three companies —  Samex Environmental
Services,  Hazardous  Materials  Transportation,
Inc. and  Servicios Ambientales Mexicanos, S.A.
de C.V  — were cited for violations involving im-
properly characterizing,  manifesting  and packag-
ing hazardous waste that had been transported
from Mexico into the United States.
"EPA will go after any company — U.S. or foreign
— that violates hazardous waste laws in the U.S.
We won't let a border be a shield against liability,"
said Jeff Scott, Waste Management  Director of
EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. The companies
paid a fine of $25,000.
Samex collects, transports and arranges for the
U.S. disposal of hazardous waste from "maqui-
ladoras," foreign-owned assembly plants in Mex-
ico. Under Mexican law, maquiladoras that obtain
their raw materials in  the U.S. must  dispose of
their hazardous wastes in the U.S.
EPA regulations specify that all shipments of haz-
ardous waste in the U.S. must be properly char-
acterized, packaged, labeled and manifested.
  California's Gold Rush is a distant memory, but
  its environmental impacts are continuing. At the
  Lava Cap Mine in California's Sierra Nevada
  foothills, northeast of Sacramento, mining be-
  gan in 1861  and ended in 1943.  Ore from the
  mine was  crushed and treat-
  ed with cyanide  to  extract
  gold  and silver, then dumped
  into a creekbed behind  a log
  dam. The  cyanide dissipated
  long  ago, but  the  ore pile
  contains high  levels of the
  naturally-occuring  but  toxic
  mineral  arsenic. In the  mid-
  1990s, the log dam gave way,
  sending tons of arsenic-laced
  sediment  downstream every
  rainy season since, contami-
  nating  Little  Clipper Creek
  and Lost Lake. In  1999, EPA
  added the site to its Superfund National Priori-
  ties List  for cleanup.
  EPA's project manager at the site is Dave Se-
  ter. Originally from Chicago, Dave joined EPA's
  Philadelphia office in 1987 as an environmental
  engineer in the Water Management Division. He
  moved to San Francisco in 1993, where he has
  worked  on a number of  Superfund projects. As
  a licensed civil engineer in the states of New
  Jersey and California, he enjoys  the technical
  challenges the job entails.
  Over the past couple of years, Dave has led
  EPA's effort to protect residents living near the
  mine site from the arsenic hazard, while evaluat-
ing long-term cleanup options and drawing up a
cleanup plan. In 2004, EPA relocated residents
living in two homes on the property, and installed
water filtration  units at five homes nearby. The
plan includes construction of a multi-layer cap
                over the tailings, surface wa-
                ter diversion channels, and a
                rock buttress to prevent con-
                taminated runoff  and keep
                the waste in place. The plan
                also provides for cleanup of
                homes  and  other  buildings,
                and  cleanup of a stretch of
                creekbed  below the tailings
                pile. Work is  scheduled  to
                begin this summer.
                Working behind the scenes
                on the  Lava Cap and other
                sites is  Kim Muratore, one
                of EPA's most experienced
Superfund enforcement case developers. Kim
has worked in EPA's Pacific Southwest office
for 22 years. Her job is to identify parties who
contributed to the  hazardous waste problems
at Superfund sites. Working with EPA's attor-
neys, she helps enforce the federal Superfund
law, which requires responsible parties to clean
up their sites, or pay EPA for the cleanup. Kim
helps develop the  government's case when
litigation  is necessary, so taxpayers don't get
stuck with the cleanup bill. In addition, she par-
ticipates  in EPA's environmental education pro-
gram, visiting classrooms to help students learn
about environmental science and EPA's work.

                                                                                                 Clean Land    19

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 Communities and  Ecosystems
                                                                                                :,,:.
                       Environmental Review Fulfills
                       the Promise of NEPA

                       With its high rates of growth and high percentage
                       of federal lands, the Pacific Southwest is home to
                       a large number of water, transportation, energy,
                       mining and land management projects involving
                       the federal government. Many of these projects
                       have the potential to create  significant environ-
                       mental impacts.
                       The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
                       (NEPA) requires federal agencies to integrate en-
                       vironmental values into their decisions by consid-
                       ering the environmental impacts of their proposed
                       actions,  as well as  reasonable alternatives. For
                       major actions with  significant  impacts, federal
                       agencies must prepare a detailed environmental
                       impact statement (EIS). EPA reviews and com-
                       ments on EISs prepared by other federal  agen-
                       cies — as required by Section 309 of the Clean
                       Air Act — and maintains a national filing system
                       for all EISs.
Environmental review staff in EPA's Pacific South-
west office are responsible for about one of every
five EIS reviews performed by the agency nation-
wide. EPA reviews and rates draft EISs based on
their environmental impacts and quality of informa-
tion, and  provides written comments to the lead
federal agency. EPA strives to work collaboratively
with the lead agency to ensure the completeness
of every EIS, especially regarding project alterna-
tives and  mitigation to better protect the environ-
ment. For more information on the NEPA process,
go to www.epa.gov/compliance/nepa
Avoiding Wetlands Impacts of Willits Bypass
Highway  projects, funded or approved  by the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and fre-
quently planned by state agencies, can have sig-
nificant environmental impacts,  including effects
on air quality, water quality, and environmental jus-
tice. Whenever there may be substantial wetlands
20  Communities and Ecosystems

-------
impacts in  California, EPA works collaboratively
with  FHWA and the state Department of Trans-
portation to integrate NEPA review with Section
404 of the Clean Water Act, which protects wet-
lands. This  approach is called for in  EPA's 1994
NEPA/404  Integration Memorandum of  Under-
standing for Surface Transportation Projects.
This  collaborative  approach  avoids  unneces-
sary damage to public resources such as air and
water, fish and wildlife.  In one project,  a bypass
around the  city of Willits along Highway 101 in
Mendocino  County,  the wetlands impacts were
expected to affect 120 acres. Working in partner-
ship, EPA and the transportation agencies iden-
tified a  modified alternative that would address
community  concerns, reduce wetlands impacts,
and meet transportation needs. The new alterna-
tive reduced the wetlands  impacts by 60 acres
from the original proposal. Unavoidable wetlands
impacts will be addressed through compensatory
mitigation, such as  restoring or preserving  wet-
lands elsewhere.

Reducing Air Quality Impacts
at the Port of Long Beach
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Port
of Long Beach are  planning a major expansion
of the  port, dramatically increasing the number
of ships using the port  each year. The construc-
tion project, and later the smokestacks of addi-
tional ships, would increase air pollution in the Los
Angeles area, which already fails to meet health
standards for particulates and ozone.
In 2004, EPA reviewed the draft EIS and made rec-
ommendations to reduce air pollution: Construc-
tion contractors should use low-sulfur diesel fuel
and electric-powered dredges, create ridesharing
programs for construction workers, and minimize
dust. The benefits of this construction mitigation
are enormous, with  peak emission reductions of
430 pounds per day for nitrogen oxides, 1,900
pounds per day for particulate matter, 69 pounds
per day for carbon monoxide, 16 pounds per day
for reactive  organic  gases, and 500  pounds per
day for sulfur oxides.
Once operational, the expanded port agrees to
use cargo-handling equipment  that meets EPA's
proposed non-road  emission standards, cleaner
alternative fuels,  and advanced exhaust  control
technology.  In addition,  the port will provide elec-
trical hookups for ships so that while berthed,
ships can plug in to shore-based electric power,
which is cleaner than running onboard diesel gen-
erators. This mitigation of operational emissions
will provide peak reductions of 150 pounds per
day for nitrogen oxides and  11 pounds per day for
particulate matter.
Taken together, these measures will provide major
reductions in particulate emissions, smog-form-
ing ozone precursors, and air toxics. And the port
expansion can  go forward,  bringing economic
benefits to Southern California.

Tribes Get Results
EPA's Pacific Southwest Region has 146 Indian
tribes — more than any comparable area of the
U.S. Tribal lands are subject to federal as well as
tribal environmental laws, but many tribes until re-
cently have lacked the capacity or funding to carry
out environmental programs. This is changing.
Over the past 10 years, 90% of  the tribes  in the
region have  developed environmental programs.
As of late 2004,  more than 500 EPA grant-funded
projects were underway on tribal lands. EPA  and
tribal partners have made significant  progress in
protecting  tribal  lands,  waters,  and  cultural re-
sources. EPA's stewardship responsibility involves
working with tribes as partners in compliance  and
enforcement, fostering cooperative relationships
with other governments,  and providing funding
and  technical assistance for  capacity  building,
infrastructure improvements, and  environmental
cleanup and restoration projects.
For more details on tribal environmental accom-
plishments in the Pacific Southwest, go to  www.
epa.gov/region09/crossjor/indian/success

Safeguarding Tribal Waters
Thousands of tribal homes still lack basic running
water and sewage systems. Both  must be con-
sidered, since inadequate sewage disposal  can
pollute ground water used  as a drinking  water
source.  In 2004, EPA provided funding to improve
drinking water for 4,411 tribal homes and sew-
age  systems for 2,000 tribal  homes. EPA also
As part of the Port of Long
Beach expansion, the port will
provide electrical hookups for
berthed ships. Air pollution will
be reduced because the ships
will no longer need to run
diesel generators for electric
power.
                                                                       Communities and Ecosystems   21

-------
Water supply tank at the
Quitovac Tohono O'odham
Community in the U.S.-Mexico
border region.
provided training for 140 operators of tribal drink-
ing water programs, and helped analyze arsenic
levels in nearly 500 drinking water systems. Over
the past 15 years, EPA has funded  drinking water
or sewage systems for over 33,000 tribal homes.
On the  Tohono O'odham  Nation, at the Santa
Rosa Village, EPA provided $779,000 to rehabili-
tate and expand the existing wastewater lagoon
system. In addition,  the tribe  contributed funding
for construction of bathroom additions and plumb-
ing for the community. The  Santa Rosa Village la-
goon system was completed in April 2004 and
is serving  78 tribal homes. Another EPA-funded
project will  bring a safer drinking water supply to
the Quitovac Tohono O'odham Community, part
of the Tohono O'odham Nation.
On the Torres-Martinez Reservation in Riverside
County,  Calif.,  EPA issued federal drinking water
regulation compliance orders  to four private trailer
park owners. EPA also assisted the Bureau  of In-
dian Affairs (BIA) and the Department of Justice in
a BIA case involving another private trailer park on
the reservation with  4,000 residents who are pri-
marily migrant and service workers. BIA success-
fully  settled the case,  with the operator agree-
ing to get  a BIA-approved  lease and to bring all
structures in the trailer park, including the drinking
water and  sewage systems, into compliance with
applicable laws within 18 months.
Tribes that demonstrate the capacity to  run their
own  programs  under the Clean Water Act, like
states, may apply to EPA  for authorization. For
example,  EPA  approved  the  Hualapai Tribe's
Water Quality Standards Program. The Hualapai
have lived near the Grand  Canyon for centuries,
and this program will protect their water for future
generations.
In 2004, EPA assisted tribes with protecting their
rivers, streams, and wetlands through 130 grants
to 85 tribes totaling more than $12.3 million. The
Salt  River Pima-Maricopa  Indian Community,  in
the  Phoenix, Ariz., area, completed  two  phases
of an important nonpoint source pollution control
project to improve the Salt  River's  water qual-
ity and riparian habitat. The  community created
a treatment wetland,  which  prevents pollutants
from agricultural  and  urban runoff from washing
into the Salt River. These wetlands also  provide
ideal habitat for wildlife in the desert region.

Protecting Tribal Lands
In 2004,  tribes closed 60  dumps, organized  19
recycling projects,  created four household haz-
ardous waste pickup projects, conducted seven
pollution prevention assessments at tribal medical
facilities,  finished  11  metal waste cleanup proj-
ects, and sponsored  eight abandoned auto and
trailer removal events. EPA and tribal regulators
inspected 69 gas stations and other  fuel tank fa-
cilities and  cleaned up five leaking underground
tank sites. For example, the  Navajo  Nation EPA
(the tribal agency) inspected more than 50 under-
ground tank sites. Federal and tribal regulators is-
sued 11 field citations to violating facilities.
One successful  project  was the  Fort  Indepen-
dence Tribe's new curbside recycling program  at
their community  in the Owens Valley, California.
The project raises enough money from recycled
materials to finance itself.
Other successes included  removal and recycling
of 219 abandoned cars from  Karuk tribal land
along the Klamath River near  the Oregon-Cali-
fornia border, and 174 junked cars from Pit River
tribal land,  in northeastern California. In Arizona
the  Havasupai Tribe cleaned up a half-acre dump
on their land in the Grand Canyon using a helicop-
ter to lift heavy metal items from the dump to the
canyon rim.

Reducing Risks in Communities
In 2004, tribal staff inspected 800 agricultural pes-
ticide spraying operations  to ensure  compliance
with safety regulations.  In addition, four tribes
used EPA grants to test  the blood lead levels  of
256 children and  pregnant women.
In 2004,  four Northern California tribes brought
together 70 tribal youth from many areas of Cen-
tral and Northern  California for a series of environ-
mental summer camps on the Hoopa Reservation
and at the Black  Mountain Preserve  in the Sierra
Nevada. Many tribal kids also  participated  in trash
cleanups and recycling  projects  in  their home
communities.
22    Communities and Ecosystems

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U.S.-Mexico
Border 2012 Program

EPA's 10-year Border 2012 Program focuses on
six goals: cleaner air, water and land; and improv-
ing  environmental health, emergency response
and  planning,  and environmental  stewardship.
The interagency effort encompasses a wide range
of activities, including  air quality  improvements
(detailed on p. 6), drinking water and wastewater
infrastructure projects, hazardous waste manage-
ment, and environmental health projects.

Improving Water Infrastructure
By the end of 2004, EPA's Pacific Southwest Re-
gion had allocated $77  million for drinking water
and  wastewater  infrastructure projects soon to
begin or already under construction in 10 cities in
the border area, half in the U.S. and  half in Mexico
(see  chart). The funds will be disbursed over sev-
eral years as construction progresses.
These  10  Border  Environmental  Infrastructure
Fund (BEIF)  projects will benefit a  total popula-
tion  of over 1.9 million  residents of cities where
water and sewage systems  have not kept  pace
with  rapid growth. The lack of safe drinking water
and  adequate  sewage  disposal systems poses
an ongoing  threat to public health on both  sides
of the border.
EPA is contributing $12.9 million to  the Mexicali II
wastewater treatment project, which will treat up
to 20 million gallons of sewage per day  before it is
discharged into the New River, which originates in
Mexicali, Baja California, crosses the U.S.-Mexico
Border, and ends at  the Salton Sea  in Califor-
nia's Imperial Valley. Overall,  EPA has supported
over 50  drinking water  and wastewater projects
along the border,  benefiting some 6.5 million area
residents.

Assisting Tribal Communities
Twenty-six tribes on the U.S. side of the U .S.-Mex-
ico border have serious drinking water, sanitation,
and other environmental needs. For example, the
Tohono O'odham Tribe has health effects from E.
coli bacteria at 108 times the national average,
tuberculosis at 17 times  the national average, and
shigellosis at 13  times  the  national average. To
help meet these challenges, EPA's Tribal Border
Infrastructure Program has brought better water
or sanitation to over 8,000 tribal  homes  since
1996.

Border Inspectors Stage Hazwaste Drill
U.S. federal, Arizona,  and Mexican environmen-
tal and customs agencies conducted a joint ex-
ercise at the Nogales, Ariz.,  border port of  entry
to improve coordination on inspecting hazardous
EPA Water (W) and Wastewater (WW)
Grants in CA/AZ Border Area

Gadsden, AZ
Patagonia, AZ
Somerton, AZ
Bisbee, AZ
Douglas, AZ
Nogales, Sonora, MX
San Luis Rio Col, Son., MX
Mexicali, BC, MX
Tecate, BC, MX
Tijuana, BC, MX
Project
WW
WW
WW
WW
WW
w/ww
WW
WW
WW
WW
BEIF$
$1.5M
$1.3M
$3.9M
$11. 3M
$3.7M
$14.2M
$5.9M
$12.9
$3.7M
$18M
waste shipments crossing the border. During the
drill, a truck carrying simulated  liquid hazardous
waste crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in both di-
rections. The truck first crossed  towards Mexico,
where Mexican  customs officials stopped it so
that environmental inspectors could investigate.
They assessed the safety of the  cargo area, took
samples of the waste, and interviewed the driver
as part of the simulation. The exercise was then
repeated  on the U.S. side. Afterwards, a debrief-
ing session was held at the U.S. Customs com-
plex. For  more information, go to www.epa.gov/
regionOQ/features/hazwaste

EPA, Mexico Collaborate on Tijuana
Hazardous Waste Cleanup
Since 1989, the community of Chilpancingo  in
Tijuana, Mexico, struggled with the health haz-
ards of tons of  lead-contaminated wastes from
Metales y Derivados,  an abandoned battery re-
cycling operation. Metales was  perceived as an
example of the adverse environmental impacts of
free trade agreements, even though the problem
began well before the 1995 effective date of the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The difficulty of cleaning up this site stemmed
from the fact that the contamination resulted from
a U.S.-owned business, yet U.S.  hazardous waste
laws did not apply in Mexico. EPA's Border 2012
Program prioritized the cleanup and restoration of
sites like  Metales. The Border 2012 Program is
also developing  policies to prevent similar prob-
lems in the future.
Consequently, in June 2004, EPA collaborated
with  Mexico to  remove the  hazardous  waste,
dispose of it in a permitted U.S. disposal  facility,
and create a technical assistance group involving
Chilpancingo residents. This action was the first
of several to reduce risks from the site and create
a framework for longer-term cleanup and resto-
ration. EPA will share with Mexico its institutional
                                                                      Communities and Ecosystems   23

-------
EPA cooperated with officials
of the Mexican environmental
agency, SEMARNAT, in
overseeing the cleanup of an
abandoned battery recycling
site, Metales Derivados, in
Baja California.
                   Before
                   During
                    After
                                Mhefwi
                                >. - *^       .fcl'"
                           and technical expertise in conducting cleanups.
                           This involves strengthening Mexican government
                           capabilities with regard to cleanup technologies,
                           as well as legal mechanisms for defining respon-
                           sible party liability for cleanup costs, and commu-
                           nity involvement.

                           Agriculture

                           FQPA Projects Assist Farmers in
                           Adopting New Pesticide Strategies
                           EPA's Agriculture Program administers Food Qual-
                           ity Protection Act  (FQPA) grants to  help grow-
                           ers transition  from  older, more toxic pesticides
                           to  more sustainable chemistries  and practices.
                           These projects demonstrate ways to  prevent or
                           reduce the movement of pesticides from agricul-
                           tural sites into water and air while helping farmers
                           remain competitive. In 2004,  EPA awarded five
grants ranging from $38,000 to $50,000 to tree
fruit, almond, lettuce and alfalfa growers.
In addition, EPA's Agriculture Program led the na-
tional effort to  solicit projects that leverage  U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds. In 2004,
EPA awarded funds for two projects that also uti-
lize the Natural Resources Conservation Service's
Environmental  Quality  (EQIP) funds and  USDA
Conservation Innovation Grants, helping tree fruit,
dried plum, walnut and almond growers make en-
vironmental progress in California's Central Valley.

Dairies: Preventing Pollution
Can Reduce Costs
California produces more milk and dairy products
than any other state, and most of the state's dairy
cows are in the San Joaquin Valley—but the ma-
nure from all these cows can pollute ground wa-
ter with nitrate and other salts. To help solve the
problem,  EPA is collaborating with the University
of  California, the dairy  industry,  and  other agen-
cies on the Dairy Biologically Integrated Farming
System (BIFS) project. This project is demonstrat-
ing  how dairies can apply the right amounts of liq-
uid  manure to their forage fields to maximize plant
growth, reduce the use  of chemical fertilizers, pre-
vent pollution of ground and surface waters, and
save money.
Participating dairies found they could reduce fertil-
izer use by 130 Ibs./acre of nitrogen, 70 Ibs./acre
of phosphorus, and 45  Ibs./acre of potassium, for
a savings of $57 per acre annually—over $10,000
for  the average dairy—while virtually eliminating
ground water pollution.
But there's more manure in the valley than crops
there can safely use. In  late 2003, EPA, the USDA
and Department  of Energy, along with five state
agencies, the  dairy industry, and environmen-
tal groups, formed the  Dairy Manure Collabora-
tive to  demonstrate ways manure can be used
a resource  —  not only as fertilizer,  but also as
compost  and organic soil amendments,  and as
a source  of renewable energy. One  way to turn
manure into power is to ferment it anaerobically to
produce methane, which can be burned to gener-
ate electricity. Five California dairies already have
such systems  in use, and  13 more were under
construction by mid-2004.
In  May 2004,  Marin County  dairy farmer Albert
Straus switched on his new $280,000 methane
power system, the first  of 14 to receive matching
funds from the California Energy Commission. His
Straus Family Dairy, small by industry standards,
has 270  cows,  and  generates 75  kilowatts-
enough to meet the needs of the family home, the
dairy and the  associated  creamery, and  some-
times pump excess power into the utility grid.
24   Communities and Ecosystems

-------
Sonoma County Winegrapes
Use Fewer Pesticides
Over  the  last  few years,  the  Sonoma  County
Grape Growers received two FQPA grants to re-
duce  the use of pesticides on winegrapes. As a
result, the grape growers reported that their pesti-
cide usage declined 16% between 1999 and 2003
while  acreage increased  16%. In addition, methyl
bromide  use  decreased 98% during this same
period. Sulfur,  a natural  fungicide used by con-
ventional and organic growers,  comprised 81 %
of all  pesticides used in 2003. Sonoma  County
grape growers are proud of their integrated pest
management  regime  and committed to using as
few pesticides as possible.

Protecting Farm Workers
Farm  workers who apply pesticides  or work in
fields  that have been sprayed  are especially at
risk of pesticide exposure. The  federal  Worker
Protection  Standard  contains  requirements  for
pesticide safety training, notification of pesticide
applications,  use of  protective equipment,  re-
stricting reentry into fields where pesticides were
applied, and access to decontamination supplies
and  emergency medical assistance.  In  Hawaii,
EPA worked with the state agriculture department
in 2004 to train field  inspectors to check farms
for compliance.  In California, EPA worked with the
state  Department of Pesticide Regulation to up-
grade that state's pesticide field posting rules.
                                               Inspecting farms to ensure
                                               compliance with worker
                                               protection rules.
In Arizona, EPA filed a complaint against a Scott-
sdale, Ariz.-based  company for allegedly failing
to  protect employees from  pesticide exposure
in  its lettuce fields in Olathe, Colo. EPA sought
penalties of up to $9,460 from Cactus Produce,
Inc. for failing  to provide  required  decontamina-
tion supplies and pesticide safety  information to
field workers. The complaint also alleged that the
company failed to  ensure that its  workers were
adequately trained in pesticide safety, and failed
to  notify them  about recent spraying of the fields
they worked in. The complaint was based on in-
spections done by the EPA's  Colorado office and
the Arizona Department of Agriculture's follow-up
inspections.  For  more information  on  pesticides,
go to www.epa.gov/pesticides
   EPA People
  Nancy Levin joined EPA in 2001. As a member
  of the Federal Activities Office, Nancy reviews and
  comments on National  Environmental Policy Act
  (NEPA) documents prepared by the Federal High-
  way Administration for transportation projects in
  California. She  also works extensively under an
  interagency memorandum of understanding to in-
  tegrate NEPA and Section 404 of the Clean Water
  Act, which protects wetlands. In her work, Nan-
  cy seeks to  reduce environmental impacts and
  streamline the environmental review process.
  The Willits Bypass highway project in Mendocino
  County, Calif., originally included several alterna-
  tives with extensive destructive impacts to a large
  wetland/marsh complex in the path of the bypass.
  Working closely with EPA's Wetland Regulatory
  Office, Nancy has helped to identify project modi-
  fications that will meet the project purpose, but will
  save up to 60 acres of wetlands. Earlier, as part of
  the Lincoln Bypass Team, she earned a Regional
  Administrator's Award for an innovative approach
  to protect aquatic resources from indirect impacts
  of a new freeway. As a result of this work, the Fed-
eral Highway Administration agreed to purchase
$3.9 million in  conservation  easements to  pro-
tect sensitive aquatic resources in western Placer
County from growth
associated  with  the
freeway.
As  a  participant  in
Mare  Island Accord
initiatives,     Nancy
works  to  advance
partnership-build-
ing  and streamlining
goals   among  EPA,
the  Federal Highway
Administration   and
the California Depart-
ment  of  Transporta-
tion. Nancy is an  ac-
tive member of  the Regional Facilitator's network,
and has facilitated interagency meetings and re-
treats. She serves as regional co-chair of GLOBE,
EPA's  special emphasis employee group for les-
bian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.
                                                                        Communities and Ecosystems   25

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                          Advancing Compliance Through
                          Enforcement and Assistance

                          Ensuring compliance with environmental laws and
                          regulations through strong enforcement is critical
                          to achieving a cleaner, healthier environment. En-
                          forcement actions resulting in penalties also send
                          a message that there are consequences for non-
                          compliance —  leveling the playing field for those
                          who invest  in meeting  environmental  require-
                          ments. EPA,  state and tribal agencies all play im-
                          portant roles in inspecting facilities and enforcing
                          environmental laws.
                          In addition to enforcement, EPA collaborates with
                          its state, tribal, and industry partners to offer com-
                          pliance  assistance  to facilities,  especially small
                          businesses. EPA also helps facilities find the most
                          cost-effective methods not just to comply,  but to
                          set environmental goals  beyond compliance that
                          will benefit their employees, their communities,
                          and their bottom line.
                          To learn more about EPA efforts to assist specif-
                          ic industry sectors, go to the agency's National
                          Compliance Assistance  Web site, at cfpub.epa.
                          gov/clearinghouse
Enforcement Actions Bring
Environmental Improvements
EPA's enforcement actions completed in the Pa-
cific Southwest continued an upward trend, from
344 in 2003 to 622 in 2004. The  largest settle-
ments were two Southern California cases involv-
ing thousands of sewage spills and overflows, in
which the responsible  local government agencies
committed a record $2.6 billion for sewer system
upgrades to prevent future spills (see Clean Water
chapter,  p. 8).
Aside from  these sewage  cases,  responsible
parties committed over  $100 million to correct
violations,  restore the environment and prevent
additional damage. Some notable  examples are
featured  on pp. 27-29; for additional information
go to www.epa.gov/region09/en1orcement/2004.html
In addition to civil enforcement actions, EPA's re-
gional Criminal Investigation Division (CID) worked
with its federal, state and local law enforcement
partners to successfully  prosecute  serious en-
vironmental crimes. The  CID maintains a strong
26   Compliance and Stewardship

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presence across the Pacific Southwest from its
offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Di-
ego, and Sacramento, Calif., Phoenix, Ariz.,  and
Honolulu, Hawaii. For contact  information, go to
www.epa.gov/region09/enforcement/cid

Arizona Area

EPA took 97 enforcement actions against pollut-
ers in Arizona, the Navajo Nation (which includes
parts of Arizona, Utah,  and  New Mexico),  and
other tribal lands within Arizona in 2004. Some of
the highlights:

Mobil Settles Aneth Oil Spills Case
In  a Clean Water Act settlement  with EPA, Mobil
Exploration and Producing U.S. Inc. agreed to re-
duce its spills of oil and contaminated water  and
build a drinking water pipeline to remote homes
in  oil fields on the Navajo Nation, near Aneth in
southeastern  Utah. The settlement requires the
company to spend about $4.7 million on improve-
ments in oil field operations to reduce  spills  and
includes a $515,000 penalty.
Mobil will also spend approximately $327,000 on
environmental improvement projects that include
sewage facilities and a drinking water pipeline ex-
tension that will provide running  water to 17 re-
mote homes. Currently, residents must drive up to
an hour to fill 55-gallon drums with drinking water.
The settlement stems from 83 spills of oil and oil/
water mixtures at the company's wells  along the
banks of the  San Juan River and its tributaries,
on Navajo Nation lands. The tribe had requested
EPA's assistance in resolving this case.

Reducing Hazardous Waste on Gila River
Another action  involved hazardous waste viola-
tions at the Firebird International  Raceway on the
Gila River Indian Community in Maricopa County,
Ariz. As part of the settlement with EPA, Firebird
is required to purchase equipment to reduce haz-
ardous waste generation and contract with an in-
dependent third party to perform monthly audits
of  the facility's waste management practices for
at  least  one year. The company is also required
to   provide environmental compliance training
seminars to at least 15 professional racing teams
at  the raceway. Firebird will also  pay an $11,000
penalty.

California

In  California, which has a larger  population  than
the rest of the Pacific  Southwest Region com-
bined, EPA completed 437 enforcement cases in
2004, more than double the 195 cases in 2003.
Some of the highlights:
PVC Firm Pleads Guilty
to Felony Charges
A Los Angeles County company that made poly-
vinyl chloride (PVC)  resin pled  guilty to  a series
of federal felony charges involving environmental
violations at its Saugus factory, and for lying about
its employees' over-exposure to toxic chemicals.
EPA's Criminal Investigation Division discovered
that the Keysor-Century Corp. knowingly released
toxic wastewater into the Santa Clara River, emit-
ted cancer-causing  air pollutants at high levels,
and falsified emission reports to state and federal
agencies. The company  also illegally stored and
handled hazardous waste, and  failed to maintain
its plant safely. The  company was banned from
ever again producing polyvinyl chloride resin, and
ceased operations  in late 2003. Keysor-Century
also paid more than $4 million in civil and criminal
penalties and restitution.
Shipping Fleet Pleads Guilty
in Ocean Oil Dumping Case
Hoegh Fleet Services, a Norwegian  operator of
a fleet of cargo ships, pled guilty in federal court
to seven felony counts in a case stemming from
a ship that was discharging oil on the high seas.
Vincent  Genovana, second engineer on the MV
Hoegh Minerva, admitted that he illegally ordered
a pipefitter to create a bypass pipe to dump oil di-
rectly into the ocean, and made false entries into
a log book to  conceal the discharges.
Hoegh Fleet Services was ordered to carry out an
environmental compliance plan, and spend about
$1.6 million on environmental restoration projects.
The company was also placed on probation for
four years and fined $3.5 million. Genovana was
sentenced to  30 days in prison for his role in the
offense,  which was revealed by a crew member to
the U.S. Coast Guard during an annual inspection
in California.
                                               Oil well on the Navajo Nation
                                               in the "Four Corners" area,
                                               where the borders of Utah,
                                               Arizona, Colorado, and New
                                               Mexico intersect. Under a
                                               legal settlement with EPA, an
                                               oil company will spend $4.7
                                               million to prevent spills and
                                               leaks from oil fields in this
                                               area.
                                                                        Compliance and Stewardship   27

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Toxic fluids in junked cars,
such as antifreeze and
mercury, can be released
to the environment unless
removed before cars are
crushed.
                           Preventing Pollution from
                           Auto Wrecking Yards
                           As part of an enforcement settlement,  Pick Your
                           Part Auto Wrecking in Hayward, Calif.,  agreed to
                           spend  $40,000 to remove and recycle mercury
                           switches from junked cars to  prevent this mer-
                           cury from contaminating the environment. State-
                           wide, the company also started recycling mercury
                           switches from about 60,000 salvaged vehicles at
                           its nine junkyards, the first such program in the
                           state. Nationwide, an estimated 10 tons of the
                           silvery,  highly  toxic liquid metal are  released each
                           year from mercury-containing  light switches dur-
                           ing the shredding  and crushing of old vehicles.
                           To prevent pollution from auto wrecking yards,
                           the  California  Auto  Dismantlers  Association
                           (SCADA) has created the "Partners in the Solution"
                           program to  ensure  that its  members  adhere
                           to strong environmental and  safety standards.
                           EPA supports this program, which provides the
                           education and  support  needed to  bring  facili-
                           ties  into compliance. Nearly 200 auto recycling
                           facilities currently  participate. For more informa-
                           tion, go to  www.epa.gov/region09/enforcement/
                           auto-compliance, html

                           UC Completes Hazwaste Audits
                           The  University of  California (UC) completed haz-
                           ardous waste, risk management, and emergency
                           preparedness audits of 47 facilities, including its
                           agricultural  research  stations,   medical and vet-
                           erinary schools, and nine campuses. UC report-
                           ed close to 100  violations  of  hazardous waste
                           regulations, which were corrected  at the time or
                           shortly after the audit. As a result of the audits,
                           UC has redirected resources to improve  compli-
                           ance at each  stage of the hazardous waste man-
                           agement process. The University's  Environmental
                           Health  and Safety offices devoted over 23,000
                           work-hours to the $1.8 million project, which was
                           unprecedented  in  scope for an academic institu-
                           tion. Through the audits and subsequent  preven-
                           tive measures, the University has achieved greater
                           environmental compliance throughout its system,
and safer conditions for more than 200,000 stu-
dents and employees.

Ensuring Companies File Hazwaste Reports
Thirty-one California  companies  that  use haz-
ardous materials reported  more than 36  million
pounds of hazardous waste  to EPA in 2004 as
a result of an innovative approach — the nation's
first expedited settlement involving  failure to  file
biennial reports. Making sure  facilities report their
hazardous waste is important to nearby commu-
nities, especially residents of adjacent homes. The
information  is also available to firefighters and lo-
cal police who are first to respond to emergencies
at such sites. After discovering that numerous fa-
cilities had failed to file their reports, EPA stream-
lined the process of settling violations in order to
increase compliance. For more information, go to
www, epa.gov/region09/enforcement/hazwaste.html


Nevada

EPA took 26 enforcement actions against pollut-
ers  in Nevada in 2004. In  settling these  actions
with EPA, responsible parties committed $2.5 mil-
lion for improvements to prevent future violations
of environmental laws. They  also paid a  total of
$731,200 in civil penalties. Some highlights:

Sand Mine, Furniture Maker,
Asbestos Removal Cases
The J.R. Simplot Co. agreed to install air pollution
control equipment worth $2 million to resolve vio-
lations of the federal Clean Air Act at  its silica sand
mining facility in Overton, Nev.  The facility dries
silica sand in a coal-fired dryer, which generates
sulfur dioxide emissions.  These  emissions  can
cause respiratory illnesses, and can also cause
acid rain. Acid rain damages aquatic life and veg-
etation,  and also decreases  visibility, which is a
problem at many  national parks, including the
Grand Canyon.
EPA required  Capital  Cabinet Corp., a wood
furniture manufacturer in  Las Vegas, to  spend
$241,000 on technology to reduce  emissions of
smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
by 50 tons  per year. This settlement benefits the
fast-growing Las Vegas area  since ozone (smog)
levels there exceed the eight-hour ozone health
standard, a violation of the Clean Air Act.
Dean  Roberts, owner of  Axis  Environmental
of Reno, Nev., was sentenced  to six months in
prison and  three years of supervised  release  for
knowingly violating the Clean Air Act by illegally re-
moving asbestos-containing material from a com-
mercial building. Roberts also failed to notify state
inspectors about unprotected workers removing
asbestos under his  supervision.
28    Compliance and Stewardship

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Hawaii And Pacific Islands

EPA completed 35 enforcement actions in Hawaii
in 2004. In settling these cases with EPA, pollut-
ers committed $80,652 to improve their  facilities
to  prevent future violations. EPA also collected a
total of $383,377 in civil penalties for clean wa-
ter, hazardous waste, and pesticide violations. In
the outer Pacific islands, EPA completed 27  en-
forcement actions — 14 in Guam, 11 in Ameri-
can Samoa, and two in the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands. Penalties  in these  ac-
tions totaled $234,204.

University of Hawaii Completes
Hazwaste Prevention Projects
The University of Hawaii has spent $1.2 million to
complete environmental projects that were part of
a 2001 settlement with EPA and the Hawaii De-
partment of Health for hazardous waste violations.
The projects reduced hazardous waste  genera-
tion at the university by more than 13,000 pounds
annually. The university also reduced the  amount
of  chemicals it has to purchase and store, and
reduced the exposure to hazardous chemicals for
students, faculty and staff. The university convert-
ed chemistry labs to microscale, which uses small
amounts of chemicals and special glassware. The
Honolulu Community College print shop was con-
verted to a digital system, eliminating more than
11,000 pounds  of silver-based  developers, inks,
solvents and other printing wastes. The university
also replaced more than 1,300 pieces of equip-
ment containing a total of about 10 pounds of
highly toxic mercury, and adopted new technol-
ogy to improve paint spraying in various campus
auto body programs.

Multi-State Enforcement

Taking Action Against Mislabeled,
Unregistered Pesticides
In 2004, EPA initiated a multi-state effort to pro-
tect consumers from illegal pesticide products, ul-
timately fining companies in three western states
for trafficking counterfeit and/or unregistered  pet
products.
Three companies were cited for allegedly selling
and distributing  unregistered versions of  "Front-
line" or "Advantage" — popular flea and tick con-
trol products used on dogs and cats. State and
federal inspectors discovered the illegal products
at  various retail stores in Oregon, California, Ha-
waii, Pennsylvania and Georgia, and traced  the
products to the three companies.
The counterfeit pesticides appeared to have been
unlawfully imported  and packaged  to look  like
U.S.-registered pesticides.  Packaged incorrectly
and  mislabeled,  these  products  can endanger
pets and their owners,  and undercut legitimate
businesses that  have registered  their products
and  included proper safety labeling. Registered
pesticides have an EPA registration  number on
the label. EPA will register a pesticide only with
proof that it will  not pose  an  unreasonable risk
when used as directed.
EPA sought  fines of $357,000 from Rizing Sun,
LLC, in Peoria, Ariz., and $341,000 from Pang &
Son Distribution, LLC, in Honolulu,  Hawaii. The
third company, Tidalwave  Distribution,  Inc.,  of
Torrance, Calif., settled  a pesticide case, paying
a $50,000 penalty.
Earlier, in March 2004, EPA took actions against
56 companies in seven  states, ordering them  to
stop selling unregistered pesticide pet products.
"Stop Sale" orders were  issued to 56 retailers and
distributors in California, Hawaii, Washington, Or-
egon, Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Preventing  Pollution
Before It Occurs

It's  far more  cost-effective to prevent pollution
than to clean it up after the fact. EPA has a num-
ber of voluntary  programs to  promote pollution
prevention. Among their accomplishments in the
Pacific Southwest in 2004:
•  Air toxics are a serious problem in many in-
   ner-city  urban areas.  EPA  is working  with
   community groups, state and local agencies,
   and industries to prevent pollution through the
   South Phoenix Multi-Media Toxics Reduction
   Project.  Forty businesses and  eight agencies
   are participating. The  businesses have vol-
   untarily agreed to reduce air emissions of 35
   high-hazard chemicals by 20% between 2002
   and 2007, and enhance site safety measures
   to prevent chemical  accidents. Also,  EPA is
   working with state and local partners to mea-
   sure air toxics throughout the Phoenix metro-
             Energy Saved
   Region 9 Performance Track Members
    •—   4
    CO
               2001   2002
                             2003
Fifteen facilities that are
members of EPA's National
Environmental Performance
Track in the Pacific Southwest
saved more than 108 billion
BTUs of energy in 2001 -2003
compared to their 2000 usage
— equivalent to the energy
used by 1,000 homes in a year
(see Improving Performance, p.30).
                                                                        Compliance and Stewardship   29

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Event at Hoover Dam with
EPA Regional Administrator
Wayne Nastri, Administrator
Mike Leavitt and Nevada
Dept. of Conservation and
Natural Resources Director
Allen Biaggi (all sitting left
of speaker) welcoming new
Performance Track members.
   politan area in the Joint Air Toxics Assessment
   Project. In California, EPA is working with state
   and local partners and the community of West
   Oakland to reduce pollution from diesel trucks
   and engines in the neighborhood.
•  An energy-saving lighting demonstration proj-
   ect at the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) sys-
   tem's Hayward parking garage cut the station's
   energy use  by 25%, reducing CO2 emissions
   by 130,198 pounds annually and providing an
   amazingly quick 1.8-year payback. This suc-
   cess is readily transferable to parking garages
   throughout the nation and is being used in all
   new BART construction.
•  The University of Nevada, Reno, Business En-
   vironmental Program, funded by an EPA grant,
   helps businesses  to  reduce the hazardous
   waste they generate. In one year, participating
   companies cut their hazardous waste by over
   47,000 pounds.
•  The  California Air  Resources  Board's Auto
   Body Project, an EPA-initiated  effort  to train
   body shop technicians about pollution preven-
   tion practices, trained 50 people, reducing air
   pollution emissions at their shops by  an esti-
   mated 15,000 pounds per year.
•  Training  efforts included  EPA's  pollution pre-
   vention in hospitals workshop in  Hawaii,  at-
   tended  by  70  healthcare employees;  and
   EPA's hazardous waste training at the National
   Oil Recyclers Conference in San Diego.

Managing and  Reducing
Solid  Waste

Ensuring proper  solid  waste disposal, whether
in the Nevada desert or on the wet Hawaiian is-
lands, continues to pose a challenge in the Pacific
Southwest.
Hawaii has little room for landfills,  and  recycling
and  reuse  infrastructure is  badly  needed.  The
state's "Bottle Bill" took effect on Jan.  1, 2005.
An EPA grant is supporting administrative rule de-
velopment for the new law, which encourages the
return of all beer and soft drink containers through
a refund program. Congressional grants of  over
$1 million are being spent on model waste, recy-
cling and reuse facilities on the Big  Island, where
920 tons of materials were recycled last  year.
Nevada has one of the lowest recycling rates in
the country, with little infrastructure or incentive for
recycling. A $60,000 EPA grant to the Clark Coun-
ty Public Education  Foundation's School Reuse
project funded distribution of nearly 73,000 used
computers and other reusable items to schools in
the Las Vegas area. This kept 247,000 pounds of
material out of the landfills.
California'slocalgovernmentsmustmeetthestate's
50% recycling mandate. Last year,  EPA  hosted a
national Deconstruction  and Building  Materials
Reuse Conference in Oakland, focused on the re-
use of building waste. Two hundred participants,
including national experts in the field, shared new
and cost-effective deconstruction and reuse op-
portunities. EPA also launched a stadium recycling
partnership with the HP Pavilion in San Jose (see
www. epa.gov/region09/waste/stadiumrecycling).
The  Federal Electronics Challenge encourages
federal agencies to set up state-of-the-art elec-
tronics recycling programs.  The  NASA Ames
Research Center and  the  Lawrence Livermore
National  Laboratory in Northern  California pi-
loted  the project, and  won  awards for initiating
this difficult and innovative program as a model
for other federal agencies.  For details, go to
www. federalelectronicschallenge. net

Improving Performance
with Environmental
Management Systems

The National Environmental Performance Track is
a voluntary partnership that  recognizes environ-
mental leaders in the public  and private sectors.
Facilities that demonstrate strong environmental
performance beyond regulatory  requirements are
eligible to join. EPA's Pacific Southwest Region
helped develop this innovative program by pilot-
ing the use of Environmental Management Sys-
tems (EMSs), which are required for members.
Since the program began in 2000, membership
has grown steadily, with  results ranging from air
pollution reductions to waste minimization. Many
members are  leaders in water and energy con-
30   Compliance and Stewardship

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  As Senior Counsel for Administrative Enforcement
  for air and toxics in the Office of Regional Counsel,
  Carol Bussey is responsible for the enforcement
  of air, asbestos, lead, pesticides and toxics regula-
  tions. In addition to her own extensive case load,
  Carol oversees nine enforcement attorneys who
  prosecute  these  administrative  enforcement ac-
  tions in EPAs Pacific Southwest Region.
  Carol's tireless efforts have significantly improved
  environmental  compliance by the  construction
  industry, federal  and state agencies,  pesticide
  manufacturers, and residential
  landlords. In cooperation with
  the U.S. Department of Hous-
  ing and Urban Development,
  Carol   brought  precedential
  enforcement actions against
  landlords that improved com-
  pliance  with  lead  disclosure
  requirements in the Los Ange-
  les basin, and  resulted in ex-
  tensive lead  abatement and a
  Child Health  Improvement Project.
  Carol's successes include innovative compliance
  initiatives, settlements with far-reaching  environ-
  mental  and community benefits,  and winning fa-
  vorable  decisions  at challenging administrative
  hearings. Carol continues to receive the  highest
  accolades from her colleagues in both the Region
  and at  EPA Headquarters. The EPA Air Enforce-
  ment office in  Washington,  D.C. praised Carol's
  oral argument  before the Environmental  Appeals
  Board as one of the best they had ever witnessed.
  Carol epitomizes the professionalism and excel-
  lence that characterizes EPA's workforce.
  Mercury pollution in air, water and land is an issue
  that is gaining more and more public attention in
  recent years. EPA has proposed several new reg-
  ulations regarding mercury as well as the recently
  finalized "Roadmap" outlining  EPA's  strategy for
  addressing these concerns.
In the Pacific Southwest, every EPA division is in-
volved in resolving mercury emission and contami-
nation issues, from developing cleanup plans for
mercury-polluted waters, to reducing the use of
mercury containing products and developing  pol-
lution prevention efforts, including voluntary indus-
try partnerships. Lisa McClain-Vanderpool  has
coordinated this  regional mercury  team's efforts
with  EPA's National  Mercury Workgroup.
In addition to her role as Mercury Coordinator for
the Pacific Southwest Region, she has been the
staff  lead on the highly suc-
cessful  Voluntary   Mercury
Emission Reduction Program
with  four Nevada gold mining
companies and the Nevada
Department of Environmental
Protection.  The  partnership
has resulted in a 75% reduc-
tion in mercury air emissions
— a  reduction of over 8,300
pounds of mercury emissions
from  gold mining processes in Nevada. Lisa is as-
sisting the national effort to transfer the successful
mercury control technology from these gold mines
to the international community through the United
Nations  Environment  Programme  (UNEP).  She
is also participating in national efforts to develop
programs for the removal of mercury switches in
old cars,  the fourth largest source  of mercury air
emissions in the country.
Lisa  leads the Innovative  Industry Partnerships
Team in the Waste Management Division's Strate-
gic Planning and Partnerships Section. The team
is working with industry to "green" large venues,
develop partnerships for the  use of waste oil in
biodiesel, expanding BART's successful program
for energy efficient  lighting, and creating markets
for recycled paint. Lisa also coordinated the highly
successful and well-attended  National Decon-
struction  and Building  Materials Reuse Confer-
ence in September 2004.
servation (see graph, p. 29),  and new pollution
prevention  technologies. The  Pacific Southwest
has 39  member facilities, which have made the
program a meaningful venue for government-in-
dustry collaboration.
Benefits to members  include  public  recogni-
tion, networking opportunities, low  priority sta-
tus for  routine inspections, and other regulatory
and  administrative benefits.  EPA accepts  ap-
plications twice  a  year:  February  through April,
and  August  through October. To  learn  more
about the  program and  its  participants, go to
www.epa.gov/region09/performancetrack
In 2004, EPA brought the EMS concept south of
the border with an EMS certification training semi-
nar for industries  in Tijuana.
EPA's Pacific Southwest Office has its own EMS.
The system includes environmentally  preferable
purchasing policies to ensure that the office buys
supplies and  equipment  that conserve  energy
and natural  resources, such as 100% post-con-
sumer  recycled  paper. Contracts with  outside
organizations have a "Green Meeting" clause, re-
quiring waste from meetings to be recycled. And
in 2004, EPA's Pacific Southwest regional office in
San Francisco recycled an impressive 93% of its
solid waste.
                                                                            Compliance and Stewardship   31

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EPA Honors Environmental Heroes

At the Pacific Southwest Region's sixth annual Environmental Awards Ceremony in
San Francisco on April 20, 2004, EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri presented
awards to 36 Western organizations and individuals in recognition of their efforts to
protect and preserve the environment. Award categories included community and non-
profit organizations, government agencies, individuals,  businesses and industry, and
news media.
One winner was the Honolulu community group Malama o Manoa. The group worked
with the city Board of Water Supply to integrate water quality and conservation into
local schools' curricula. Students surveyed neighbors about their  awareness of these
issues. The group then conducted an outreach program with 200 volunteers, who
stenciled "Don't Dump" messages on storm drains, delivered  brochures, produced a
video, and sponsored tours of city water facilities.
Elementary, middle school, and high school students can also be nominated for  the
annual President's Environmental Youth Awards. For more information, go to www.epa.
gov/region09/enviroed
Business owner Annie Chun of San Rafael, Calif.,
accepts an award from EPA's Laura Yoshii and
Wayne Nastri. Annie Chun's All Natural Asian
Cuisine was the first U.S. company to introduce a
biodegradable/compostable bowl.

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Field Office Opens
in Los Angeles
Entrance to EPA's Southern California
Field Office, on Wilshire Boulevard in
Los Angeles
                                 In June 2004,  EPA opened a
                                 Southern California Field Office
in downtown Los Angeles to more effectively manage environmental pro-
grams in this important part of the  Pacific Southwest Region. The counties
of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego, along with the western
portions of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, together represent a
constituency of nearly 20 million people, as well as the world's 11th-largest
economy.
Field office staff work with state and local agencies, businesses, non-profits,
the news media, and the public to address a variety of issues facing South-
ern California. These include clean air, proper management of dredged ma-
terials at Southern California's largest ports, preparation of Total Maximum
Daily Loads (TMDLs) that contribute to cleaner beaches and waterways,
cleanup of leaking underground tanks, community involvement at Superfund
sites, responding to environmental  emergencies, and criminal enforcement
of environmental laws.
                                    U.S.  Environmental Protection
                                    Agency

                                    Pacific Southwest/
                                    Region 9 Contacts
                                    Phone Inquiries
                                    415.947.8000
                                    or 866.EPA.WEST (toll-free)
                                    Email Inquiries
                                    r9.info@epa.gov
                                    EPA Web Site
                                    www.epa.gov
                                    For Pacific Southwest Issues
                                    www.epa.gov/region09


                                    Offices
                                    EPA Pacific Southwest Region
                                    75 Hawthorne Street
                                    San Francisco, CA94105
                                    EPA Pacific Islands Contact Office
                                    300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 5124
                                    Honolulu, HI 96850
                                       3.541.2710
                                    EPA San Diego Border Office
                                    610 West Ash St., Suite 905
                                    San Diego, CA92101
                                    619.235.4765
                                    EPA Southern California Field Office
                                    600 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1460
                                    Los Angeles, CA90017
                                    213.244.1800
                                                                     To Obtain This Report
                                                                     Order from EPA's Environmental Information Center
                                                                     at 415.947.8000, or 866.EPA.WEST (toll-free),
                                                                     email r9.info@epa.gov or view and print from the
                                                                     Internet at www.epa.gov/region09/annualreport
                                    ®EPA
                                          Printed on 100% recycled paper, 50% post-consumer
                                          content - process chlorine-free
                                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 2005-784-229

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EPA Pacific Southwest/Region 9
Environmental Information Center
Web: www.epa.gov/region09
Email: r9.info@epa.gov
Phone: 866.EPA.WEST (toll-free)
       415.947.8000
Office of the Regional Administrator
415.947.8702
Wayne Nastri, Regional Administrator
Laura Yoshii, Deputy Regional
        Administrator
Carla Moore, Civil Rights Director
Steven John, Southern California Field
        Office Director
Office of Public Affairs
415.947.8700
Sally Seymour, Director
Public Information/News Media Relations
Partnerships: State, Congressional Liaison
Compliance Assurance Coordination
Office of Regional Counsel
415.947.8705
Nancy Marvel, Regional Counsel
Legal Counsel
Civil and Criminal Enforcement
Defensive Litigation, Ethics
Air Division
415.947.8715
Deborah Jordan, Director
Planning, Permits, Rulemaking
Enforcement, Technical Support
Radiation & Compliance Assurance
Grants & Program Integration
Superfund Division
415.947.8709
Keith Takata, Director
Site Cleanup, Brownfields, Oil Pollution
Federal Facilities and Base Closures
Emergency Response & Planning
Community Involvement, Site Assessment
Waste Management Division
415.947.8708
Jeff Scott, Director
Pollution Prevention, Solid Waste
RCRA Permits/Corrective Action
RCRA Inspections & Enforcement
RCRA State Program Development
Underground Storage Tank Program
Water Division
415.947.8707
Alexis Strauss, Director
Clean Water Act
Safe Drinking Water Act
Marine Sanctuaries Act
Communities and Ecosystems Division
415.947.8704
Enrique Manzanilla, Director
Agriculture Program, Environmental Justice
Pesticides, Toxics, TRI
Environmental Review/NEPA
Tribal Programs, Pacific Islands
U.S.-Mexico Border Program
Stewardship/Performance Track


Policy and Management Division
415.947.8706
Jane Diamond,  Director
Budget, Finance/Grants/Contracts
Strategic Planning, Science Policy
Laboratory & OA/QC, Facilities
Information Resource Management
Health & Safety, Human Resources
                                        Southern California Field Office (Los Angeles)
                                        Pacific Islands Contact Office (Honolulu)
                                        San Diego Border Office (San Diego)
                                                              213.244.1800
                                                                 .541.2710
                                                              619.235.4765
©EPA
U.S. EPA Pacific Southwest/Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA94105
Official Business Only
Penalty for Private Use
Address Service Requested

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