Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments

Executive Summary

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A Year In Review
"Region 6 is an innovative leader in environmental protection. Both our dedicated staff and our collaboration with state, local,
Tribal, and other federal agencies help us achieve and exceed ambitious goals set by our leadership. We are proud of these
achievements and motivated to do even more in 2020."	Region 6 Administrator Ken McQueen
Responded to the ITC fire in Deer Park, Texas - at nearly 1M barrels of hazardous substances released, it is one of the largest releases
EPA has responded to in its history.
Redesignated Independence County, Arkansas, from unclassifiable to attainment for S02 (the first such action in the country) and made a
major step toward redesignating St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana to attainment for S02.
Reduced Region 6's State Implementation Plan (SIP) backlog by 42%, and eliminated it entirely in Arkansas.
Returned more than 6,800 acres to the tax rolls and community development through the Ready-for-Reuse Program.
Removed more than 1.5M tons of hazardous material and/or contaminated soil, more than 1,000 containers of hazardous materials, more
than 8,900 gallons of liquid hazardous waste, and 66 cubic yards of radioactive materials through the Superfund program.
Awarded 470 grants totaling $430M, including:
» 216 water grants for $344M,
» Superfund cleanup and community participation grants for $75M,
» 61 General Assistance Program grants to Tribes for $7.6M,
» Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) program grants to states for $3.2M,
» three Environmental Education grants for $300,000.
Processed more than 80% of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on time.
Concluded over 300 enforcement actions resulting in $13.3M in penalties, $130,000 in stipulated penalties, $2.7M in Supplemental
Environmental Projects (SEPs), and $50.2M spent in complying actions, resulting in 23.8M pounds of pollutants reduced and more than
9,000 people protected for drinking water.
Reduced our backlog of judicial referrals by 57%.
Reviewed 100% of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for delegated states on time.
Moved into new office space in Dallas, saving an estimated $50M through the lifetime of the lease.
Won national competition for Non-Point Source (NPS) funds and awarded the first grant to incorporate Green Infrastructure/Low Impact
Development into a hazard mitigation plan for the city of Denton, Texas.
Completed a partial deletion from the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) for the attainment of safe drinking water levels for most of
the South Valley site in Albuquerque, New Mexico, clearing the way for future development.
Issued complex Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which withstood rigorous
legal challenge. Released a site-wide strategic plan for the Tar Creek Superfund site in Oklahoma, accelerating cleanup, recording the
first national conservation easement on tribally-owned property at a Superfund site, and achieving removal from the Administrator's
Emphasis List.
Interacted face-to-face 127 times with our states and 20 times with our Tribes at the Regional Administrator's office level.
Achieved our goal of 63 total EPATribal Environmental Plans.
Achieved final cleanup with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) at the Plains/Encycle site, which is now redeveloped
and making a significant contribution to the Corpus Christi economy.
Collaborated with Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to obtain $39M to construct and nourish 928 acres of back
barrier intertidal marsh for the Caminada Headlands Back Barrier Marsh Creation Project.
Leveraged a projected $23-25 for every federal dollar spent to plan, assess and clean up the former Evans-Fintube Brownfields site in
the Greenwood historic district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will be the home of BMX Corporation USA headquarters.
Achieved highest response rate (86%) of all EPA offices for 2019 Employee Viewpoint Survey.
Negotiated a settlement to resolve enforcement actions taken against three operators of seven Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells
near Bird Creek in Osage County, Oklahoma.
Workforce Diversity, Environmental Stewardship, Character, Accountability, Respect, Excellence
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
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Improve Air Quality
Provide for Clean & Safe Water
Revitalize Land & Prevent Contamination
Ensure Safety of Chemicals in Marketplace

More Effective
Partnerships
Enhance Shared Accountability
Increase Transparency & Public Participation
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Greater Certainty, Compliance,
and Effectiveness
Compliance with the Law
Create Consistency & Certainty
Prioritize Robust Science
Streamline & Modernize
Improve Efficiency & Effectiveness


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Administrator's Strategic Goals
GOAL 1: A CLEANER, HEALTHIER
ENVIRONMENT
OBJECTIVE 1.1: Improve Air Quality
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A Year In Review
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Worked closely with the State of Louisiana and impacted facilities
to finalize approval of St. Bernard Parish Attainment Demonstration
for S02 stopping a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) clock and
taking a major step toward redesignation of the area to attainment.
Redesignated Independence County, Arkansas, from unclassifiable
to attainment for S02, the first such action in the country.
Approved the Houston Reasonable Further Progress SIP, ensuring
adequate progress is being made in reducing emissions.
Approved rules confirming that Reasonably Available Control
Technology was in place in the Houston area for Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs)and in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for nitrogen
oxides.
Processed 32 SIP revisions during the 2019 calendar year and
reduced our backlog of SIP revisions from 33 to 19, a 42%
reduction.
Eliminated the Arkansas SIP backlog, making it the third state in
the nation to reach such a goal.
Completed five data certifications for air monitoring data, reviewed
six annual network plans to ensure monitoring networks continue
to meet necessary requirements, and shifted resources for
Technical Systems Audits (TSA), reducing the backlog of TSAs
from five to three.
Met with Texas and Louisiana to discuss ethylene oxide emissions
from 10 facilities in Region 6 and to explain EPA's too-pronged
approach to ethylene oxide (reviewing regulations and gathering
emissions information).
¦/ Approved an Arkansas Regional Haze SIP revision that replaced the
FIP requiring controls on electric generating units.
Proposed to withdraw the Startup Shutdown Malfunction SIP call for
Texas, in response to a TCEQ petition.
OBJECTIVE 1.2: Provide for Clean & Safe Water
¦S Addressed 739 drinking water priority systems with formal
enforcement action or resolution.
Developed an interactive guide to help schools and child care
providers identify potential funding sources for lead remediation and
water quality-related projects/policies to reduce children's exposure
to lead in drinking water.
¦S Collaborated with schools and Tribal partners to identify 99 facilities
for drinking water sampling.
¦S Helped residents on both sides of the border near El Paso, Texas,
address risk of waterborne diseases and heavy metals contamination
in water storage by installing point of use filtering devices.
Completed 216 water program grant funding actions totaling
approximately S343.8M, providing financial assistance to states,
Tribes, and non-profits to improve water quality, finance wastewater
treatment infrastructure, and protect and maintain drinking water
quality.
¦S Won national competition for NPS funds and awarded the first
grant for $50K to incorporate Green Infrastructure/Low Impact
Workforce Diversity, Environmental Stewardship, Character, Accountability, Respect, Excellence
January 2020
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year, we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
Development into a hazard mitigation plan for the city of Denton,
Texas.
S Restored 14 nonpoint source impaired water bodies in Oklahoma,
surpassing our goal of six and continuing our run as #1 in the
nation for the NPS program.
S Completed wastewater infrastructure projects in North Alamo,
Texas residents and Sunland Park, New Mexico, benefiting more
than 8,000 with an EPA investment of $10.9M for total project
costs of $24.5M. Leveraged $1.25 in other state funding sources
for every EPA dollar spent.
S Certified a wastewater project for construction in Gustavo Diaz
Ordaz (Mexico) to eliminate 600,000 gallons/day of untreated
wastewater discharges to the Rio Grande.
S Successfully collaborated with Louisiana's Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority to obtain $39M to construct and nourish 928
acres of back barrier intertidal marsh for the Caminada Headlands
Back Barrier Marsh Creation Project.
S Sampled drinking water for lead at 53 Tribal schools and day
care facilities and employed mitigation at all of the sites with lead
levels in drinking water exceeding 15 ppb, positively impacting an
estimated 4,000 Native American children.
S Eliminated the backlog of Sole Source Aquifer reviews, ensuring
federally funded construction projects over these primary sources
of drinking water do not negatively impact the water quality.
S Processed five no migration petitions during FY2019, which almost
doubled the annual output for many years prior to FY2018.
S Issued complex MS4 permit to the Los Alamos National
Laboratory, which withstood rigorous legal challenge.
OBJECTIVE 1.3: Revitalize Land & Prevent
Contamination
S Responded to the ITC fire in Deer Park, Texas, one of the largest
hazardous substances releases EPA has responded to in its
history. Worked with responders from TCEQ and other State,
Federal, and local agencies to ensure a coordinated response,
providing water quality monitoring and more than 3,000 air
monitoring readings from the ground and from more than 50 hours
in an aircraft, ultimately collecting more than 3.8M data points.
Provided technical support, expedited sample preparation and
analysis, and final analytical reports on an accelerated schedule.
S Responded to an explosion and subsequent fire at the TPC
Group facility in Port Neches, Texas, in a Unified Command with
Jefferson County, TCEQ and TPC, providing air monitoring, water
sampling and data collection via the Airborne Spectral Photometric
Environmental Collection Technology (ASPECT) aircraft.
S Completed 46 Tribal Underground Storage Tank inspections.
S Completed over 600 Leaking Underground Storage Tank cleanups,
exceeding our target of 580.
S Recruited and retained 119 partners for the EPA's Food Recovery
Challenge, who diverted or recycled nearly 70,000 tons of food
waste that would have normally been landfilled.
S Accomplished 54 Brownfields Ready for Anticipated Use (RAU)
determinations (which beat our goal of 45), resulting in 1,303 acres
that are Ready for Reuse.
S Constructed final remedies at 11 Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities (exceeding the goal by 38%),
accomplished 17 facility-wide RAU determinations (exceeding
our goal by 70%), and 20 remediation complete determinations
(exceeding the Annual Commitment System (ACS) goal by 54%).
These determinations increased the number of acres RAU by 5,000
acres.
S Determined three Superfund NPL sites, totaling 559 acres, were
Ready-for-Reuse.
S Exceeded the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
goal for RCRA permits by 58% with a total of 19 hazardous waste
management facilities with updated controls in place to prevent
releases to air, soil, and groundwater.
S Achieved final cleanup with TCEQ at the Plains/Encycle site, which
is now redeveloped and making a significant contribution to the
Corpus Christi, Texas, economy.
S Accomplished 110 Brownfields assessments in FY2019, which
exceeded the GPRA goal by 57%, and accomplished six cleanups
in FY2019, which exceeded the GPRA goal by 50%.
S Negotiated agreements with the responsible parties for the
San Mateo Creek Basin legacy uranium mines to perform
comprehensive investigations on groundwater impacts from historic
mine water discharges.
S Released a site-wide strategic plan for the Tar Creek Superfund
site in Oklahoma, which accelerated cleanup, resulting in the
first national conservation easement recorded on Tribally-owned
property at a Superfund site, and achieving removal from the
Administrator's Emphasis List.
S Partially deleted one NPL site and completed seven remedial
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year, we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
designs, six remedial actions, 13 Five-Year Reviews, 22 removals,
58 facility response plan inspections, and 136 Spill Prevention,
Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) inspections.
S Completed design, contracted a funding match with Texas, and
funded remedy construction for the Donna Canal Superfund site.
S Selected remedy and negotiated engineering plans for the San
Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site.
S Awarded $75M to cleanup sites/support communities' participation in
the Superfund program.
S Oversaw significant response actions for flooding in Oklahoma and
Arkansas.
S Collected $10.9M through Superfund settlements.
S Acquired over $20M from the Multi-State Trust to fund four
Superfund site cleanups.
S Agreement in principle reached on the Griggs & Walnut Superfund
site litigation for $11M; $2M for past costs and $9M for work.
S Implemented a process for tracking and evaluating $275M in
financial assurance that ensures cleanup actions continue if the
Potentially Responsible Party refuses or is unable to complete the
response actions.
S Completed treatment and disposal of 1,239 total containers at the HP
Gases site in Baytown, Texas.
S Completed the removal and disposal of over 3,200 tons of
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) soils and over 6,000 tons of other
contaminated soil from the F.J. Doyle Salvage site in Leonard, Texas.
S Completed the removal of tanks, hazardous liquids, and sludges at
the EVR-Wood Tank facility, in Jennings, Louisiana, including over
200,000 pounds of pentachlorophenol.
S Conducted air monitoring at a barge collision incident in Bayport,
Texas, that resulted in a 25,000-barrel gasoline discharge into the
Houston Ship Channel.
S Finished removing 150,000 pounds of chromium hazardous waste
and other wastes at the US Cooling Towers and Supply site in
Plainview, Texas.
S Finished removing 50 cubic yards of radiological contaminated
materials under a roadway in the Lowerline neighborhood of New
Orleans, Louisiana.
S Conducted community air monitoring at the ExxonMobil Baytown
Olefins Plant distillation tower fire involving polypropylene in
Baytown, Texas.
S Removed mercury from inside a residence in DeQuincy, Louisiana,
as well as other residences and a hospital that were cross-
contaminated.
S Removed 19 debris piles and over 19,000 tons of demolition debris
contaminated with asbestos from the Goodrich Asbestos site in
Miami, Oklahoma.
S Removed almost 2,400 tons of soil contaminated with asbestos
from rural areas which previously housed a vermiculite and
exfoliation process in Llano, Texas.
S Removed 1,297 tons of soils containing PCBs (non-Toxic
Substances Control Act) and 16 cubic yards of naturally occurring
radioactive materials from the Henryetta Iron and Metal facility
in Henryetta, Oklahoma, the former location of a metal recovery
facility.
S Removed about 89,000 gallons of liquid hazardous waste and 162
cubic yards of hazardous solid waste (involving chromated copper
arsenate) from the Walker Wood former wood treating facility in
Livingston, Texas.
S Removed 1,5M to 2M tons of lead-contaminated battery casings
from Wood Industries in San Antonio, Texas, a former recycling
facility.
S Plugged 69 wells and repaired three leaking flow lines at Lake
Oologah in Winganon, Oklahoma.
S Signed a Record of Decision that ensures residents can receive
a vapor mitigation system to remove harmful contaminants from
their homes if the indoor air is contaminated by the Eagle Picher
Carefree Battery site in Socorro, New Mexico.
S Completed a partial deletion from the NPL for the attainment
of safe drinking water levels for most of the South Valley
site in Albuquerque, New Mexico, clearing the way for future
development.
S Completed construction and began operating a soil vapor
extraction system to remove residual contamination in the soil near
the Jones Road Groundwater Plume Superfund site in Houston,
Texas.
S Authorized extending a public water supply line to supply clean
water to residents whose wells have been impacted by chromium
groundwater contamination from the Odessa Chromium #1
Superfund site in Odessa, Texas.
S Evaluated lead contamination observed in yards near the Trottner
Iron and Metal Superfund site in San Antonio, Texas.
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year, we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
y Leveraged a projected $23-25 for every federal dollar spent to plan,
assess, and clean up the former Evans-Fintube Brownfields site in
the Greenwood historic district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which will be the
home of BMX Corporation USA headquarters.
OBJECTIVE 1.4: Ensure Safety of Chemicals in
Marketplace
S Took 20 actions to ensure 70,640 pounds of pesticidal products
either entered the U.S. commerce legally or were prevented from
entering the U.S.
GOAL 2: MORE EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIPS
OBJECTIVE 2.1: Enhance Shared Accountability
S Had 127 face-to-face interactions with our states and 20 face-to-face
interactions with our Tribes at the Regional Administrator level.
S Fostered cooperative federalism and effective partnerships by
championing joint planning with R6 states, working with our state
partners to develop state specific plans of action to augment
our regional strategic plan, and to develop alternate Compliance
Monitoring Strategies.
S Worked with our state partners in joint EPA/state judicial settlements
resulting in $663K in state penalties.
S Awarded more than $3.2M in grant funds to State Lead Agencies and
Tribes to implement and enforce the FIFRA Program.
S Helped two Tribes develop a draft Community Integrated Pest
Management policy.
¦/ Awarded 470 grants totaling $430M.
S Achieved 63 total EPATribal Environmental Plans.
S Completed and processed 61 General Assistance Program (GAP)
funding actions totaling $7.6M, ahead of expectations as compared
to previous years. The cumulative total of 18 Tribal Performance
Partnership Grants (PPGs) was a 33% increase in number from
FY2018.
S Hosted three Regional Tribal Operations Committee meetings
and one Tribal Summit, ensuring enhanced participation from
stakeholders, with two sessions on EPA's Lean Management System
presented at the Summit.
S Coordinated six Tribal consultation opportunities.
S Presented 17 Tribal Environmental Excellence Awards to highlight
environmental protection on Tribal lands.
S Reviewed 19 Draft Environmental Impact Statements and 19 Final
Environmental Impact Statements.
S Reviewed two North American Development Bank Projects and
two Tribal GAP grant projects involving about $8.9M in federal
funding support, which directly benefit approximately 6,400
residents.
¦/ Completed eight Border 2020 projects with 47% of the $657 K cost
funded by project sponsored institutions.
S Joined the City of Juarez Ecology team in effectively maintaining
the binational air monitoring network that provides real-time data
for reporting US-AirNow and Mexico's SINAICA.
S Signed a Memorandum of Notification on transboundary overflows
of raw sewage along Dona Ana County, New Mexico - Anapra,
Ciudad Juarez, border region, resulting in zero transboundary
sewer water overflow through FY2019.
S Exceeded 1M tires appropriately disposed through a binational
public-private partnership program in the Laredo/Nuevo Laredo
and El Paso/Dona Ana County/Ciudad Juarez areas.
S Improved response time at U.S.-Mexico border crossings by using
binational communication protocols and exercising them through
nine border-wide annual binational drills.
S Encouraged engagement of states and Tribal leadership in Border
2020 program by holding two regional workgroup meetings.
S Developed videos to highlight three Tribal recycling programs and
celebrate America Recycles Day 2019.
S Promoted collaborations with stakeholders on issues related to
Department of Energy legacy uranium mining sites and the Waste
Isolation Pilot Project in New Mexico, encouraging a national plan
for transuranic waste disposal.
S Completed a significant agreement with Texas to use scrap tires
as fuel in kilns, creating a path to eliminate over 16M tires.
S Conducted a study in conjunction with the Quapaw Nation and
the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to calculate
soil concentrations protective of human consumption of produce
and livestock from a portion of the Tar Creek Superfund site in
Oklahoma being used for agriculture and pasture land.
S Conducted two Regional Response Team meetings attended by
191 federal, state, local, and industry personnel.
S Tested coordination and response capabilities in a full-scale oil
pipeline discharge exercise in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with other
federal, state, and local officials.
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January 2020
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year, we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
S Successfully transitioned the groundwater treatment operations
at the Sprague Road site in Odessa, Texas, to the state.
S Developed a Community Advisory Group to represent residents
near the Lane Plating site in Dallas, Texas.
S Working with developers, industry, and cities for future use,
Superfund sponsored three reuse assessments: a solar reuse
assessment at the Tar Creek Superfund site; an economic
development reuse assessment at Eldorado Chemical in
San Antonio, Texas; and an economic development reuse
assessment at Oklahoma Refining Company in Cyril, Oklahoma.
S Established a process with the state for follow-up actions
if elevated blood-lead levels are identified at the Tar Creek
Superfund site in Oklahoma.
S Recognized stakeholders at two Excellence in Site Reuse Award
events for their outstanding efforts to sustainably reuse and
redevelop Superfund sites (Eagle Picher Henryetta is now a non-
profit health clinic and Tulsa Fuel is home to rescued bee hives
for local honey production).
S Hosted the national Superfund Reuse Coordinators conference
in New Orleans, Louisiana, in April 2019.
S Submitted the Mine Prioritization Methodology and the Removal
Site Evaluations to the EPA's Office of Inspector General to
support prioritizing the Tronox Navajo area uranium mines and
allocating funds from the settlement.
S Worked with United States Postal Service offices in Oklahoma
and Texas to clean up two mercury spill and Federal Aviation
Administration control towers in Texas to clean up four mercury
spills.
S Approved Treatment as a State for Pueblo of Nambe and
Pueblo of Laguna under the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319
program.
S Oversaw, developed, or implemented restoration plans
consisting of 43 Texas and Louisiana projects with an estimated
cost of $325M as a member of Deepwater Horizon Natural
Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Implementation Groups.
S Formed a senior-level Task Force between TCEQ, Texas
Railroad Commission, and EPA to address critical issues
associated with transferring jurisdiction for the NPDES permitting
program in Texas.
S Held one Smart Sectors event with representatives from
20 critical agriculture leadership organizations and state
government entities.
¦/ Increased use of e-public notice processes to provide more public
access.
OBJECTIVE 2.2: Increase Transparency & Public
Participation
S Hosted three compliance assistance forums in New Mexico to help
small communities or trailer parks with limited financial or technical
resources comply with the CWA.
S Conducted six community Integrated Pest Management and
pesticide safety outreach events attended by 223 pest management
professionals, among others.
S Conducted a National Tribal Pilot Lead Curriculum training
workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attended by 43 Tribal
members representing 22 Tribes.
S Provided technical and contract support to our states in meeting
GPRA goals with sampling, institutional controls/long term
stewardship documentation, and disaster recovery.
S Provided RCRA Fundamentals training to 30 Arkansas Department
of Environmental Quality staff.
S Conducted 12 introductory Brownfields/grant writing workshops and
webinars with our state partners to further enhance the Region 6
Brownfields program.
S Created a Lead-Based Paint Public Service Announcement that
was released during Children's Health Month and Lead Pollution
Prevention Week, and a Lead-Based Paint Planner, which will be
released in 2020.
S Conducted Lead-Based Paint all-states meeting and contacted 34
local entities about the Lead-Based Paint program.
S Conducted eight Environmental Justice (EJ) training and education
sessions and completed 72 Convening/Consulting activities and
four Tools and Products.
S Developed and hosted a state EJ training webinar on Enhancing
Community Involvement in the Regulatory Process attended by
over 1,000 attendees from government agencies in all 50 states
and the District of Columbia.
S Developed and hosted the El Paso Emergency Preparedness
Workshop under the Community Driven Solutions initiative to
improve access to emergency preparedness and communication
assistance for EJ communities and strengthen community
environmental resilience.
Workforce Diversity, Environmental Stewardship, Character, Accountability, Respect, Excellence
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year,; we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
¦/ Reached about 3,500 residents potentially impacted by Superfund
sites by emailing, conducting 160 community meetings, publishing
159 public notices or ads, and creating or updating 35 Community
Involvement Plans and communication strategies.
S Processed more than 80% of 2019 FOIA requests on time,
including 90% of complex requests, exceeding the goal of 50%.
S Provided nearly 40 workshops for all 10 Region 6 state
environmental and health agencies on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl
Substances (PFAS) issues, collaborating with other agencies on 12
PFAS sites.
S Co-sponsored the annual HOTZONE training in Houston for about
550 first responders to improve responses to hazardous materials
incidents.
S Conducted outreach to the Pueblos of Laguna and Acoma, non-
governmental organizations, local communities, and other external
stakeholders to address significant environmental problems caused
by legacy uranium mining and milling operations in the San Mateo
Creek Basin area of New Mexico.
S Developed a preliminary Conceptual Exposure Model for Tar Creek
Superfund site operatable Unit 4 5 baseline human health risk
assessment with input from Tribal stakeholders.
S Provided training to more than 100 state regulators and Tribal
water system operators on disinfection by-product rule compliance,
as part of our Small Community Water System Compliance
Initiative.
GOAL 3: GREATER CERTAINTY, COMPLIANCE, AND
EFFECTIVENESS
OBJECTIVE 3.1: Compliance with the Law
S Completed 1,007 inspections, of which 124 were in support of
National Compliance Initiatives Volatile Organic Compounds.
S Produced corrections of CWA violations through 92 administrative
enforcement actions.
S Implemented 80.3% of State Review Framework Round 3
recommendations.
S Used aerial flyovers of more than 1,800 emission sources to
identify 197 sources with potentially unauthorized emissions.
Concluded 11 Administrative Orders on Consent and one Consent
Agreement and Final Order related to these emissions, resulting
in a reduction of more than 14M pounds of Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOC) emissions and almost 440,000 pounds of H2S
emissions.
¦/ Lodged a Consent Decree with Georgia-Pacific (GP) with
agreement from GP to pay a penalty of $600,000, implement
three SEPs valued at $1,8M, and implement a mitigation project
valued at $2.9M at its facility in Crossett, Arkansas.
S Shared 85% of inspection reports with the facility within 60 days
of the inspection.
S Filed largest Consent Decree in the nation for a municipality
involving sanitary sewer overflows and effluent violations, with
agreement to pay $4.4M in penalties and $2B in corrective
measures and improvements by the City of Houston.
S Reached a settlement with Evangeline Enterprises, LLC for a
civil penalty of $300 K for violations of the CWA.
S Reached a settlement with Shell Offshore, Inc. to resolve
violations of RCRAfor a penalty of $514K
S Settled RCRA violations against Trussco for $2.594M for storing
and generating hazardous waste without proper notification
and/or permitting, and followed up with a statewide compliance
outreach effort with the Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality and Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
S Concluded over 300 enforcement actions resulting in $13.3M
in penalties, $130K in stipulated penalties, $2.7M in SEPs,
and $50.2M spent in complying actions, resulting in 23.8M of
pollutants reduced and more than 9,000 people protected for
drinking water.
S Prevailed in a challenge in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals over
the approval of the Louisiana Regional Haze SIP.
S Facilitated prosecution of environmental crimes in our region
when two Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsels obtained
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney appointments in the two Districts
of Texas.
S Achieved a 57% reduction in backlogged judicial referrals,
exceeding our 25% goal.
S Reached a settlement in principle with Churchill Downs Race
Track regarding violations of its Louisiana Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit, providing for a $2.8M civil penalty
and injunctive relief.
S Negotiated a settlement to resolve enforcement actions taken
against three operators of seven UIC wells near Bird Creek in
Osage County, Oklahoma.
S Provided for a $616K penalty, the hiring of an independent third
party auditor, and the purchase of a hazardous materials incident
command vehicle for the Beaumont Fire & Rescue Service in
a settlement stemming from a fire at ExxonMobil's oil refinery
Workforce Diversity, Environmental Stewardship, Character, Accountability, Respect, Excellence
January 2020
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year, we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
in Beaumont, Texas, which killed two employees and injured 10
others.
S Resolved 10 RCRA violations and one CWA violation through
a $976K penalty and a compliance order requiring Ascend, the
largest generator of hazardous waste in the U.S., to take the
necessary steps to achieve full compliance with RCRA.
S Conducted over 150 SPCC inspections at oil storage facilities to
determine compliance with oil spill prevention regulations.
S Conducted 69 Facility Response Plan inspections at high-
risk oil storage facilities to determine compliance with oil spill
preparedness regulations.
S Initiated or participated in 11 unannounced government initiated
drills involving the U.S. Coast Guard and facility operators to
assess the response capabilities of the specific facilities.
OBJECTIVE 3.2: Create Consistency and
Certainty
S Worked with Texas and EPA headquarters to propose a path
forward to address the South Coast court decision and repeal
burdensome anti-backsliding requirements from previously
revoked ozone standards.
S Established a new federal permitting program for Title V/PSD
permitting for deep water port crude and Liquid Natural Gas
(LNG) export facilities in coordination with MARAD/U.S. Coast
Guard.
OBJECTIVE 3.3: Prioritize Robust Science
S Developed a new analysis method to measure wastewater
quality in the oil and gas industry, which has been accepted and
published by the American Society for Testing and Materials for
use worldwide.
S Rapidly developed a unique new gas chromatography analysis
method to help Texas confirm a drinking water system in
Cherokee County could return water supply quickly to 1,500
customers after a contamination event.
S Conducted a research project in coordination with several Federal
and Louisiana environmental, agricultural, and natural resource
agencies to help dairy farmers develop approaches to resolve
lagoon overflow issues.
S Initiated a project to improve efficiency in the laboratory with
EPA Method 8270E and shared it at the Pittcon Conference and
Expo (the world's leading annual conference and exposition on
laboratory science), which may lead to more efficient semi-volatile
analytical run times at environmental laboratories worldwide.
S Eliminated backlog of air monitoring technical audits, ensuring
quality air data.
S Developed new analytical methods to address asbestos sites
and to aid risk evaluators in determining the risks associated with
asbestos sites.
OBJECTIVE 3.4: Streamline and Modernize
S Addressed a heavy air permitting workload, issuing all actions
within statutory deadlines while providing extensive technical
support to the regulated community.
S Issued three Tribal minor New Source Review permit actions.
S Completed timely permit application completeness reviews for all
five Prevention of Significant Deterioration and five Title V permit
applications for crude export and LNG export facilities received,
meeting all regulatory timeframes and while continuing to provide
technical assistance.
S Provided significant technical support to the company and worked
closely with our Tribal partners to propose a Title V permit for a
medical waste incinerator located on Tribal lands.
S Completed one Title V program evaluation for the New Mexico
Environment Department (final report pending issuance) and
continued to work on a solution with TCEQ to resolve Permit by
Rule Incorporation by Reference issues.
S Worked extensively with TCEQ to develop and recommend a
solution to recurring Title V permit issues.
S Issued nine PCB approvals, all within the six-month target
timeframe.
S Completed two Accredited Renovation, Repair, and Paint training
provider approvals with an average of 43.5 days per approval.
S Began the process of consolidating regulatory requirements for the
NPDES permit into the Superfund process for the Chevron-Questa
Mine Superfund site in New Mexico, which should streamline
administrative operations.
S Reviewed 100% of NPDES permits for delegated States in a timely
manner: 177 from Texas, 34 from Louisiana, 18 from Oklahoma,
and 11 from Arkansas.
S Reduced backlog of New Mexico NPDES permits to be issued by
50% and to be renewed by 40%.
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Region 6 ¦ 2019 Accomplishments
This past year, we focused our energy, talents, and resources
to accomplish these priorities:
S Reviewed about 360 CWA Section 404 Permit Public Notices,
127 mitigation plans, and 26 National Environmental Policy Act
documents.
OBJECTIVE 3.5: Improve Efficiency and
Effectiveness
S Used data mining to target hazardous waste facilities for on-site
inspections, resulting in virtually a 100% hit rate for significant
violations and an average penalty of $112K.
S Reduced average time Consent Agreement and Final Orders spent
in concurrence from 98 days to 43 days, for a 56% improvement.
S Improved FIFRA Inspector Credential process by decreasing the
average approval time from one year to one week, for a 98%
reduction.
S Reduced number of pending project reviews in-house over 45
days in the Sole Source Aquifer Program from 100 to 5, for a 95%
reduction.
S Reduced the time to provide a Brownfields Phase 1 Targeted
Assessments report back to the customer by over 25%.
S Moved into new office space in Dallas, Texas, saving an estimated
$50M through lifetime of lease.
S Increased efficiencies to complete 52% more Tribal GAP grants by
Labor Day.
S Reduced correspondence response times from 15-20 days to 5-8
days, with rare exceptions.
S Developed a strategy for implementing the transition to the new
Remedial Acquisition Framework contracts and coordinated site-
specific priorities.
S Implemented a pilot to scan and upload Superfund files, creating a
path to eliminate the future paper footprint.
S Implemented records management practices in processing
hundreds of linear feet of paper to protect official documents while
reducing facility records footprint.
S Expanded e-processing and e-signatures to the RCRA Pesticides,
Toxics and Underground Storage Tanks programs, reducing
processing time from about 10-30 days to 2-10 days.
S Helped formulate a more understandable National Airport Lead
Emissions report, prompting an improved roll-out, enhanced data
analysis, and more practical conclusions.
S By leveraging responsible parties in the Tronox settlement with their
ownership at other non-uranium mining sites, Superfund awarded
$20M for site work at Colonial Creosote and American Creosote
DeRidder, eliminating the need for Superfund Trust funding.
S Achieved highest response rate (86%) of all EPA offices for 2019
Employee Viewpoint Survey.
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January 2020

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