EPRI Environment Newsletter

Environment Quick News

A Monthly Report on EPRI's Environmental Research Programs

June 2009

Program members can use their epri.com ID and password to download Acrobat PDF files of EPRI technical reports. For assistance, contact the EPRI Customer Assistance Center at (800) 313-3774.

Dear Environment Sector members:

Climate change legislation has moved past its first hurdle in Congress with the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. There is a lot of speculation about when final legislation will emerge from Congress and in what form, and how the electric industry will be affected. Given the implications, all we can say at this time is that there will be many changes to the legislation as it exists today before it becomes law.

The staff of our Global Climate Change programs has been feverishly working with members, federal and state agencies, legislative staff, and other stakeholders to convey EPRI research results and engage people in collaborative dialogue. The recent Climate Seminar in Washington is a good example of EPRI’s ability to engage the stakeholder community in an open dialogue to discuss issues such as climate policy, geoengineering, energy efficiency, and climate science. As noted in this issue of Quick News, we have just completed our 5th Greenhouse Gas Emissions Offset Policy Dialogue, which was attended by a broad spectrum of stakeholders, many of whom are intimately engaged in the legislative process. We also sponsored a webcast by EPA in which Agency staff summarized an economic analysis of the Waxman-Markey climate legislation for members of our Global Climate Change programs.

Such meetings and dialogues provide a neutral forum for open discussions to occur, reinforcing EPRI’s public benefit mission. We would like to thank you for your support of our research efforts, and we look forward to working with you as this process winds it way through the halls of Congress and into a regulatory framework.

Bryan Hannegan Vice President, Environment bhannegan@epri.com (650) 855-2858		Michael Miller Director, Environment mmiller@epri.com (650) 855-2455		Tina Taylor Director, Env. Business Development tmtaylor@epri.com (650) 855-2819

ENVIRONMENT SECTOR

EPRI-UARG Presentations Posted. Presentations from the May 2009 EPRI-UARG Air Toxics Research Coordination Conference are now available on epri.com. Please use your epri.com ID and password to sign in first, then use this link and select the Meeting Materials tab. Presentations restricted to program 59 funders are available here.

AIR QUALITY

Program 42: Air Toxics Health and Risk Assessment

. EPA and California risk assessment groups recently signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to “work together to standardize our risk assessments so we can in effect double in size” and become more efficient, according to Peter Preuss, director of EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA).

. EPRI researchers have completed a preliminary analysis of the impacts of the proposed new arsenic cancer slope factor (CSF)—expected to increase approximately twentyfold over the current CSF—on arsenic ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) and soil ingestion levels.

GEOS-Chem Presentations Available. Presentations from the April 2009 4th GEOS-Chem Scientific and User’s Meeting are now available at the meeting website.

Program 91: Assessment Tools for Ozone, Particulate Matter, Regional Haze and Atmospheric Deposition

. Under EPRI and EPA funding, a group of leading aerosol researchers has reviewed the body of knowledge to redefine the organic aerosols present in the atmosphere.

. TVA and EPRI researchers have looked at measurements from several sites in the Southeast to see if laboratory experiments relating acidity to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation are supported by real-world data.

. For the first time, rodent inhalation exposures to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) have been accomplished in a laboratory test chamber.

Program 92: Assessment of Air Quality Impacts on Health and the Environment

. For the first time, rodent inhalation exposures to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) have been accomplished in a laboratory test chamber.

. EPRI and researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have begun the first-ever large-scale characterization of air pollution health effects in the Pittsburgh region.

. Preliminary results from the Children’s Air Pollution Asthma Study were presented at the May 17–20 annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society.

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Visit the Global Climate Webpage

Program 102: Global Climate Policy Costs and Benefits

. Using the Model for Evaluating the Regional and Global Effects of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Policies (MERGE), EPRI has assessed the feasibility of reaching global targets for greenhouse gas reductions.

. On March 31, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released the Waxman-Markey Discussion Draft of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

. Land use has often been overlooked in economic analyses; however, that inattention is changing.

Program 103: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Options

. On May 13 in Washington DC, EPRI hosted the fifth workshop in its Greenhouse Gas Emissions Offset Policy Dialogue project.

. EPRI’s Adam Diamant recently participated in a panel discussion at the 2009 Annual Environmental Markets Association conference focused on the role of GHG emissions offsets in evolving national and regional GHG cap-and-trade emissions reduction programs.

. EPRI’s Adam Diamant participated in a recent two-day workshop entitled Biological Sequestration Through Greenhouse Gas Offsets, cosponsored by the World Resources Institute, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and other organizations actively engaged in the development of policies to incorporate greenhouse gas emissions offsets from the agriculture and forestry sectors into evolving national and regional GHG cap-and-trade emissions reduction programs.

Global Climate Change Area News

. EPRI is looking for Program 102 and 103 members who would like to participate in an advisory group for the development of EPRI’s new U.S. regional energy-economic model.

LAND AND GROUNDWATER

Program 49: Coal Combustion Products—Environmental Issues

. The World of Coal Ash international conference was held May 4–7 in Lexington, KY.

Program 50: Manufactured Gas Plant Site Management

. After attending a recent Contaminated Sediment Management Symposium in Alexandria, VA, EPRI’s Jeff Clock notes that, “it is becoming clear that dredging is not the ‘silver bullet’ for sediment remediation that many assumed it would be. Practitioners are finding that residuals of 5–10 percent remain.”

Program 59: Power Plant Toxics Characterization

RY2008 LARK-TRIPP Software Availables. LARK-TRIPP RY2008 Version 1.1 (1019357). This most recent version of EPRI’s software estimates chemical releases from power plants for use in year 2008 Toxics Release Inventory reporting to EPA. For more information, contact Naomi Goodman, (650) 855-2193, ngoodman@epri.com.

Report Tracks Multimedia Fate of Trace Elements at Bituminous-Fired Power Plant. Multimedia Fate of Trace Elements at a Full-Scale Bituminous Coal Power Plant with SCR and Wet FGD (1017982). This report describes the behavior of a number of trace elements across pollution control devices—an electrostatic precipitator, a selective catalytic reduction system, and a wet flue gas desulfurization system—at a power plant burning bituminous coal. For more information, contact Paul Chu, (650) 855-2812, pchu@epri.com.

Program 59 EPRI-UARG Presentations Posted. Program 59 presentations from the May 2009 EPRI-UARG Air Toxics Research Coordination Conference are now available on epri.com (ID and password required).

WATER AND ECOSYSTEMS

Program 53: Water Quality Criteria Development and Assessment

. EPRI researchers have completed a preliminary analysis of the impacts of the proposed new arsenic cancer slope factor (CSF)-expected to increase approximately twentyfold over the current CSF-on arsenic ambient water quality criteria (AWQC) and soil ingestion levels.

Program 54: Fish Protection at Steam Electric Power Plants

Engineering Evaluation of Fine-Mesh Screens Under Way. EPRI researchers have completed two of their six planned site visits for EPRI’s new project conducting an engineering evaluation of fine-mesh screens.

Report Published on Value of Impingement Losses at Ohio River Intakes. Ohio River Ecological Research Program: Economic Valuation of Impingement Losses at Cooling Water Intakes on the Ohio River (1018643). This Technical Report provides estimates of the economic value of fish impinged at 13 intake structures withdrawing cooling water from the Ohio River. For more information, contact Doug Dixon, (805) 642-1025, ddixon@epri.com.

Program 55: Strategic Water Issues: TMDLs, Availability, Climate

EPRI Research Reaches Wider Audience. Bob Goldstein recently was invited to give a presentation at the ASME Water Management Technology Best Management Practices and Innovations Workshop for the Process Industries, organized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in cooperation with EPA.

Program 56: Effluent Guidelines and Water Quality Management

Program Webcast Describes Results From Recent Research Report. The webcast was designed to summarize the report results, especially for those who do not have the time to review the entire report.

Program 58: Waterpower

EPRI Research Presented at National Hydropower Association Conference. Doug Dixon participated in the National Hydropower Association (NHA) Annual Conference, held May 11–13 in Washington DC.

EPRI and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Submit Proposal to DOE. EPRI is collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a proposal to DOE to conduct research on GHG emissions from hydropower reservoirs.

T&D ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Program 57: ROW: Siting, Vegetation Management, and Avian Issues

EPRI Developing Cumulative Impact Analysis Primer. EPRI is developing a primer to help companies understand and conduct cumulative impact analyses of transmission development projects.

Program 60: EMF Health Assessment and Radio-Frequency Safety

Visit the EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety Public Webpage

Residential Measurements Consistent With Proposed Role of Contact Current Exposure in Childhood Leukemia. The authors conclude that “the observed relationships within and across residences indicate that contact current has the characteristics of a factor that could explain the association of magnetic fields with childhood leukemia.”

ENVIRONMENT FEDERAL HIGHLIGHTS (Washington D.C. Office, John Novak)

For more information on the items below, contact John Novak, 202-293-6180, jnovak@epri.com.

Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. Ministers from the 17 major economies met on April 27–28 in Washington, DC, in a preparatory session for the Leaders’ Meeting that will take place in La Maddalena, Italy, in July, adjacent to the G-8 Leaders’ Meeting. John Novak attended an invitation-only reception in honor of the delegates.

Center for Clean Air Policy. On May 4, John Novak participated in a meeting of the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) Climate Policy Initiative. CCAP is an independent think tank working on air and climate issues.

Meeting with Minister from UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. On May 20, Bryan Hannegan and John Novak met with Mike O'Brien, Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change in the UK. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss areas of US-UK energy co-operation.

Meeting with EPA Office of Air and Radiation. On May 21, Bryan Hannegan and John Novak met with Ana Maria Wood, Rob Brenner and other staff of the EPA Office of Air and Radiation to brief them on the Prism/MERGE analysis and the EPRI analysis of decisions to retrofit existing power plants.

NEW SUPPLEMENTAL PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES

Program 49: Coal Combustion Products-Environmental Issues

Sustainable Management of Coal Combustion Products: Informing the Regulatory Process (1019334). EPRI will provide scientific and technical information to inform the impending EPA regulatory determination on the management of coal combustion products.

Program 54: Fish Protection at Steam Electric Power Plants

American Eel Interest Group (1019333). EPRI is launching an American eel interest group, which will allow participants to monitor technical and regulatory developments related to protection of American eels.

For a complete list of all active Environment Supplemental Project Opportunities click here.

NEW MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Program 55: Strategic Water Issues: TMDLs, Availability, Climate

Regional Water Quality Trading in the Ohio River Basin: Program Summary (1019305).

UPCOMING EVENTS

* denotes EPRI sponsored or cosponsored event

Environment Sector

* Environment Sector and Area Council Advisory Meetings
Oct. 5–8, Boulder, CO. Contact: Adina Kozuh, (650) 855-2991, akozuh@epri.com.

* Environment Sector and Area Council Advisory Meetings
Mar. 15–18, 2010, Orlando, FL. Contact: Adina Kozuh, (650) 855-2991, akozuh@epri.com.

Air Quality

9th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant
June 7–12, Guiyang, China. Contact: Leonard Levin, (650) 855-7929, llevin@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Air & Waste Management Association 102nd Annual Conference & Exhibition
June 16–19, Detroit, MI. Contact: Naresh Kumar, (650) 855-2990, nkumar@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Exposure Science in the 21st Century
June 18–19, Washington, DC. Contact: Sharan Campleman, (650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

42nd Annual Society for Epidemiologic Research Meeting
June 23–26, Anaheim, CA. Contact: Sharan Campleman, (650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Gordon Research Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry
Aug. 23–28, Waterville Valley, NH. Contact: Eladio Knipping, (650) 855-2592, eknippin@epri.com.

Twenty-First Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology
Aug. 25–28, Dublin, Ireland. Contact: Annette Rohr, (650) 855-2765, arohr@epri.com.

Annual Meeting of the American College of Epidemiology
Sept. 12–15, Silver Spring, MD. Contact: Sharan Campleman, (650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

National Atmospheric Deposition 2009 Annual Meeting & Scientific Symposium
Oct. 6–8, Saratoga Springs, NY. Contact: Arnout Ter Schure, (650) 855-2753, aterschu@epri.com.

Air Quality VII Conference
Oct. 26–29, Arlington, VA. Contact: Leonard Levin, (650) 855-7929, llevin@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

American Association for Aerosol Research 28th Annual Conference
Oct. 26–30, Minneapolis, MN. Contact: Stephanie Shaw, (650) 855-2353, sshaw@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

2009 National Ambient Air Monitoring Conference
Nov. 2-6, Nashville, TN. Contact: Stephanie Shaw, (650) 855-2353, sshaw@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 30th Annual Meeting
Nov. 19–23, New Orleans, LA. Contact: Sharan Campleman, (650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Society for Risk Analysis 2009 Annual Meeting
Dec. 6–9, Baltimore, MD. Contact: Sharan Campleman, (650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

American Geophysical Union 2009 Fall Meeting
Dec. 14–18, San Francisco, CA. Contact: Stephanie Shaw, (650) 855-2353, sshaw@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Land and Groundwater

9th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant
June 7-12, Guiyang, China. Contact: Leonard Levin, (650) 855-7929, llevin@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Air & Waste Management Association 102nd Annual Conference & Exhibition
June 16–19, Detroit, MI. Contact: Contact: Babu Nott, (650) 855-7946, bnott@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

2009 Naphthalene Research Meeting
June 22–23, Davis, CA. Contact: Annette Rohr, (650) 855-2765, arohr@epri.com. This meeting will be held at the University of California at Davis.

* MGP Mid-Year Research Review Webcast
June 25, 10–2 EDT. Program 50 members will review the technical research portfolio. Contact: Jeff Clock, (845) 608-0642, jclock@epri.com.

* Coal Combustion Product Research Mid-Year Meeting—Joint Programs 49 and 78
July 21–22, Beltsville, MD. Contact: Ken Ladwig, (262) 754-2744, keladwig@epri.com.

Air Quality VII Conference
Oct. 25–29, Arlington, VA. Contact: Leonard Levin, (650) 855-7929, llevin@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

* Agricultural & Industrial Uses of FGD Gypsum
Nov. 17–19, Indianapolis, IN. Contact: Ken Ladwig, (262) 754-2744, keladwig@epri.com. This conference is jointly sponsored by EPRI, ACAA, USDA-ARS, EPA, and Southern Company. More information is available at the event website.

* EPRI MGP 2010 Symposium
Jan. 27–29, 2010, San Antonio, TX. Contact: Jeff Clock, (845) 608-0642, jclock@epri.com, or Jim Lingle, (414) 355-5559, jlingle@epri.com. EPRI has issued a call for abstracts. More information is available at the event website.

Water and Ecosystems

Water and Ecosystems Summer Advisory Meeting
June 17-18, Holden, MA. Contact: Kent Zammit, (805) 481-7349, kezammit@epri.com.

WaterPower XVI Conference
July 27–30, Spokane, WA. Contact: Doug Dixon, (804) 642-1025, ddixon@epri.com. More information is available at the event website. EPRI will also hold a workshop on July 26 at which any conference attendee can review and comment on EPRI’s waterpower research program.

American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting
Aug. 30–Sept. 3, Nashville, TN. Contact: Doug Dixon, (804) 642-1025, ddixon@epri.com. Doug Dixon is organizing a National Symposium on Fish Community Monitoring in Big Rivers during this meeting. More information is available at the event website.

T&D Environmental Issues

The Bioelectromagnetics Society 31st Annual Meeting
June 14–19, Davos, Switzerland. Contact: Rob Kavet, (650) 855-1061, rkavet@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

* Mid-Year Joint Meeting of P51 (Transmission & Distribution) and P57 (Rights-of-Way)
July 8–9, Charlotte, NC. Contact: Babu Nott, (650) 855-7946, bnott@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

* 2009 EMF Scientific Advisory Committee Meeting
July 20–21, Milwaukee, WI. Contact: Rob Kavet, (650) 855-1061, rkavet@epri.com.

International Society of Arboriculture 85th Annual Conference & Trade Show
July 24–29, Providence, RI. Contact: John W. Goodrich-Mahoney, (202) 293-7516, jmahoney@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Ninth International Symposium on Environmental Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management
Sept. 27–Oct. 1, Portland, OR. Contact: John W. Goodrich-Mahoney, (202) 293-7516, jmahoney@epri.com. More information is available at the event website.

Together�Shaping the Future of Electricity�

1019392

June 2009


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