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Environmental laws that guarantee clean air and water, protect human exposure to toxic waste, and preserve natural resources are viewed as a birthright by most Americans. On paper, these laws are impressive in scope; in practice, they are often ignored. The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) works closely with local communities to protect the public's health and resources by promoting better enforcement of federal environmental laws. EIP also seeks to protect these laws from political interference.
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Press Release: Pennsylvania Citizens, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Integrity Project Act to Halt Controversial Beech Hollow Waste Coal Plant
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Press Release: Small Farmers, Other Concerned Iowans Petition EPA To Revoke Iowa DNR Authority over Factory Farm Pollution
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Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club and EIP Urge U.S. EPA to Withdraw Iowa's Authority to Issue Clean Water Act Permits to CAFOs
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50 Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants: CO2 Pollution Linked to Global Warming on Track to Rise by a Third, Mixed Picture on Other Key Pollutants (2007)
Dirty Kilowatts: States With Most Problem Facilities for CO2 Emissions Are AL, ...
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Press Release: EIP 50 Dirtiest
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EIP Update: At Least 17 States Charging Major Polluters Less Than EPA-Set Minimum Clean Air Act Fees
Environmental Integrity Project Analysis Finds AL, AZ, CO, FL, IN, KS, KY, LA, M...
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A Broad Coalition of 27 Organizations Requests That USDA Restore Balance to the Industry Dominated Agriculture Air Quality Task Force
On behalf of 27 organizations, EIP requested that the USDA remedy ongoing FACA v...
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Houston We Have A Problem
May 1, 2008
Texas residents are exposed to 14 known "toxic hotspots" that are not being addressed currently by industry, federal regulators and state officials and will require a major initiative to protect the public's health, according to a new report issued today by Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP), Industry Professionals for Clean Air, Houston; Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Austin; and Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Austin. Using Houston - where industry today misses the Houston mayor's May 1, 2008 deadline for cleaning up certain toxic air emissions - as a case study to illustrate the threat to Lone Star state residents, the study also identifies 13 other Texas areas as "toxic hot spots" (in alphabetical order): Bastrop, Beaumont, Bowie/Cass County, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Evadale (Jasper County), Freeport, Galena Park and Lynchburg Ferry (Harris County), Port Arthur, Port Neches and Texas City. The dangerous airborne pollutants with long- and short-term health effects in these communities include arsenic, benzene, butyraldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, styrene, and more than half a dozen others with known adverse health impacts.
Database of Oil Refinery Air Permitting Actions
Updated information - including deadlines, document links, and agency contacts - regarding the permitting of all U.S. oil refineries under Title V and the New Source Review (NSR) provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Apr 25, 2008
U.S. EPA Data Shows Toxic Air Pollution Worsening at Many Texas and Louisiana Refineries
EPA Urged to Get Tougher on Refinery Pollution, Not Turn a Blind Eye to Problem.
Nov 27, 2007
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled a public hearing in Houston on November 27, to hear public testimony on the Agency's recent proposal to require no further reduction in hazardous air pollution from refineries. This proposal assumes that regulations already on the books have reduced emissions to a level that poses no real risk to the public. But data reported by the industry to the EPAs Toxics Release Inventory shows that hazardous air pollutants(HAPs) from some refineries has actually increased since EPA began regulating such emissions in 1995.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club and EIP Urge U.S. EPA to Withdraw Iowa's Authority to Issue Clean Water Act Permits to CAFOs
Sep 20, 2007
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Integrity Project filed a new legal petition urging that the U.S. EPA strip the Iowa Department of Natural Resources of its authority to issue factory farm operating permits due to the state agencys lax oversight in the face of widespread concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
Despite repeated attempts by EPA and citizen groups to spur IDNR to action, IDNR has resisted making any meaningful progress to bring the growing number of Iowa factory farms into compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act allows citizens to petition EPA to withdraw the power of a state to issue Clean Water Act permits.
Press Release: Small Farmers, Other Concerned Iowans Petition EPA To Revoke Iowa DNR Authority over Factory Farm Pollution
Sep 20, 2007
Discharge of Millions of Gallons of Animal Waste into Iowa Rivers and Streams Overlooked; Clean Water Act Compliance Non-existent for Iowa's 2,100 CAFOS.
Clean Air Task Force, Earthjustice release report documenting contamination from coal combustion waste disposal
Sep 18, 2007
Press Release: Environmental Groups Appeal ConocoPhillips Illinois Refinery Permit
Tar Sands Expansion will Triple Global-warming Gases, Increase Pollution
Aug 22, 2007
American Bottom Conservancy, represented by the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club, represented by the Environmental Integrity Project, today filed a Petition for Review of the air permit issued by Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to ConocoPhillips to expand its Wood River, Illinois, refinery in order to process heavy crude oil derived from Canadian tar sands. The massive refinery expansion signals an alarming trend in the U.S. away from conventional crude oil to the use of cheaper and dirtier tar sands, resulting in triple the global-warming gases and increases in regional air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic materials, and sulfur oxides. The groups brought their challenge in front the Environmental Appeal Board because of IEPA's failure to require state-of-the-art pollution control measures and because of IEPA's failure to follow procedural rules designed to protect citizens.
50 Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants: CO2 Pollution Linked to Global Warming on Track to Rise by a Third, Mixed Picture on Other Key Pollutants (2007)
Dirty Kilowatts: States With Most Problem Facilities for CO2 Emissions Are AL, FL, GA, IN, KY, NC, NM, OH, PA, TX, WV, and WY.
Jul 26, 2007
CO2 to Rise Sharply, Mercury Levels Hold Steady, Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide Ease Somewhat; States With Most Problem Facilities for CO2 Emissions Are AL, FL, GA, IN, KY, NC, NM, OH, PA, TX, WV, and WY.
Heads up: Senate attacks on key environmental protections
Jun 14, 2007
The U.S. Senate is debating national energy legislation this week, and the fossil fuel industry is trying to load the bill with sweetheart deals that would weaken environmental law, shut the public out of the permitting process, and promote technologies that would increase greenhouse gas emissions.
10 Year Enforcement Report and Appendices
May 23, 2007
Five Year Report Tables
May 23, 2007
Press Release: EIP EPA Enforcement
May 23, 2007
Press Release: Paying Less to Pollute: Environmental Enforcement Under the Bush Administration
Over the past five years, environmental violators have been less likely to face court actions, be subject to criminal investigation, or pay civil or criminal penalties. There is one bright spot: EPA staff have negotiated settlements that require polluters to spend billions to reduce emissions. But this achievement is threatened by EPA's continued efforts to weaken laws its own staff is trying to enforce.
May 23, 2007
Streaming Audio for Press Conference on May 23, 2007
Paying Less Pollute: Environmental Enforcement Under the Bush Administration
May 23, 2007
PennFuture and the Environmental Integrity Project announce intent to sue FirstEnergy for over 250 violations of air pollution standards at its Bruce Mansfield plant in Pennsylvania
May 22, 2007
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture), with the support of the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), announced that it intends to sue
FirstEnergy for repeated violations of soot and particulate matter standards at its Bruce Mansfield coal-fired power plant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Public records provided by FirstEnergy show that the Bruce Mansfield plant released harmful and illegal air pollution at least 257 times between November 2002 and March 2007. Citizens living near the plant believe its air pollution is responsible for their respiratory problems and the neurological disorders of their children.
Refineries: Top Ten Sources of Carcinogens
The February 8, 2007 report has been revised to reflect that Texas refineries released nearly five times the volume of airborne carcinogens per barrel of oil refined in 2004 as did California refineries (the original report indicated that Texas refineries released two and half times the carcinogens emitted by California refineries on a per barrel basis).
Mar 16, 2007
EIP released a report on February 8, 2007 identifying refineries with the highest emissions of known or suspected carcinogens. The analysis is based on emission reports submitted to the USEPA's Toxics Release Inventory in 2004, the latest year for which such data is publicly available. While overall emissions declined slightly between 1999 and 2004, emissions increased at some refineries owned by companies that have recently reported record profits.
Title V Report Streaming Audio
Mar 7, 2007
News Release: Title V Emission Fees
Mar 7, 2007
*IMPORTANT UPDATE to Title V Emission Fee News Release *
Mar 7, 2007
EIP Update: At Least 17 States Charging Major Polluters Less Than EPA-Set Minimum Clean Air Act Fees
Environmental Integrity Project Analysis Finds AL, AZ, CO, FL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MS, NC, ND, OK, SD, TX, WV and WY Levying Fees Below Federal Clean Air Act Minimums.
Mar 7, 2007
News Release: Coalition of public interest groups and law professors ask Congress to investigate industry influence over clean air rules
Mar 1, 2007
Twelve law professors joined more than sixty public interest groups in asking Senate and House Committees to investigate the role that industry lobbyists have played in weakening the Clean Air Act over the last six years.
Refined Hazard: Carcinogenic Air Pollution from America's Oil Refineries
Feb 8, 2007
Numbers at a Glance
Feb 8, 2007
Refinery Report Streaming Audio
will be available after 5:30 pm EST
February 9, 2007
Feb 8, 2007
Appendix A
Feb 8, 2007
Appendix B
Feb 8, 2007
Appendix C
Feb 8, 2007
MP3/Ipod Friendly Version of Texas Coal-Fired Plant Survey
Dec 7, 2006
Texans Oppose Dirty Coal-Fired Power Plants
SURVEY: FOUR OUT OF FIVE TEXANS OPPOSE GOVERNOR'S "FAST TRACKING" OF DIRTY COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS
Dec 6, 2006
Streaming Audio for Texas Coal-Fired Power Plant Survey Event
Dec 6, 2006
EIP Opposes Seaboard Consent Decree, because it absolves Seaboard of legal liability for violations of the Clean Air Act in exchange for participation in EPA's Air Compliance Agreement.
EIP, on behalf of eight organizations, submits comments opposing the Consent Decree between EPA and Seaboard Farms.
Oct 31, 2006
The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) submits these comments on the proposed Consent Decree between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Seaboard Food LP (Seaboard) on behalf of eight undersigned organizations. In its Decree, EPA proposes to withdraw the air monitoring order that it issued to Seaboard in 2002 and absolve Seaboard of legal liability for violations of the Clean Air Act in exchange for participation in EPA's Air Compliance Agreement (ACO). Under the ACO, Seaboard may not ever test its air emissions, nor is the company required to comply with the Clean Air Act (CAA). Accordingly, the groups oppose this decree, because it is bad public policy to put a polluter's interests ahead of citizens' health and to allow companies to benefit from noncompliance.
Comments: EIP Comments on EPA's Proposed Clean Water Rules for CAFOs
Oct 25, 2006
The Environmental Integrity Project, Inc. (EIP), Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) and the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club submits comments to EPA on its Clean Water Act rule for CAFOs asking the Agency to (1) establish a regulatory presumption that Large CAFOs actually discharge and designate certain categories of CAFOs to be proposed dischargers; (2) require a CAFO to be in compliance with a nutrient management plan (NMP) that is incorporated into a federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit before it can qualify for the agricultural stormwater exemption; (3) eliminate the general permit process for CAFOs so that NMPs are incorporated into individual permits after public review and opportunity for a hearing; (4) require that all elements of an NMP be incorporated into an NPDES permit; (5) clarify that water quality based effluent limitations apply to new sources of swine, veal and poultry operations, and (6) issue a new determination that identifies BCT technologies that achieve greater fecal coliform reductions than achieved by the BPT technologies identified in the 2003 Final Rule.
Presentation: EPA and State Failures to Regulate CAFOs Under Federal Environmental Laws; Outline of Remarks Prepared for the National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production Meeting on September 11, 2006
Oct 25, 2006
This presentation outlines EPA and state failures to regulate CAFOs under our federal environmental laws.
Presentation: The Use of CERCLA to Address Agricultural Pollution; Albany Law School-NYSBA CLE-Sept. 15, 2006
Oct 25, 2006
This presentation outlines how CERCLA has been used to regulate CAFO pollution and discusses efforts to exempt CAFOs from hazardous waste laws.
Press Release: EPA Must Limit Factory Farm Animal Waste Bacteria
E. coli-Tainted Spinach Illustrates Need for Tougher Safeguards
Oct 25, 2006
Three top national organizations working to safeguard the country's food and water supplies warn that bacterial pollution from livestock and poultry factory farms poses a major threat to public health. The warning from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club and Environmental Integrity Project comes in the wake of a highly publicized E. coli outbreak from California-grown spinach.
Giving Away the Farm: Why US EPA Should Reject the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Bid to Administer the Clean Water Act
New EIP report details problems with ODA's enforcement and permitting of CAFO's and argues against US EPA authorizing ODA to issue and enforce Clean Water Act permits
Oct 24, 2006
Press Release: Ohio Department of Agriculture Must Reverse Lax Pollution
Oct 24, 2006
Ohio Department of Agriculture must reverse lax pollution oversight of factory farms before US EPA can give it full Clean Water Act Authority
Letter: See No Evil, Hear No Evil
EPA ignores court order by failing to provide for enforcement of new Clean Air Act rule.
Aug 30, 2006
22 Groups urge EPA to end foot dragging and comply with court order requiring enforcement of New Source Review (NSR) Rules. 14 Months after Court throws out weak EPA Rules, Agency yet to fix enforcement provisions; Double Standard? Agency took just 7 Months to push for new industry-backed rollback of emission monitoring after other court action.
Press Release: 50 Dirtiest Power Plants
50 DIRTIEST POWER PLANTS: DESPITE SLOW PROGRESS, U.S. AIR POLLUTION PICTURE REMAINS DOMINATED BY OLD AND INEFFICIENT ELECTRITY-GENERATING FACILITIES
Jul 27, 2006
Mixed Picture: CO2 Pollution Up, Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide Easing, Mercury Holding Steady; States With Most Problem Facilities Are AL, IA, IL, IN, KY, ND, NE, NJ, OH, PA, TX, and WY.
Dirty Kilowatts: America's Most Polluting Power Plants
New EIP report ranking worst plants on CO2, SO2, NOx and mercury emissions.
Jul 27, 2006
PennFuture, EIP reach agreement with Allegheny Power to clean up Hatfield's Ferry Plant in PA
Jul 13, 2006
PennFuture and the Environmental Integrity Project announced a settlement of its lawsuit against Allegheny Power for violation of soot and particulate matter standards at the Hatfield's Ferry Plant in western Pennsylvania. The agreement requires immediate steps to reduce sooty discharges through flue gas conditioning and other measures, and will further reduce particulate matter through installation of a scrubber no later than June 30, 2010. The settlement is expected to ultimately save over 200 lives and $1.2 billion in health costs annually by reducing exposure to fine particle pollution that triggers asthma attacks and premature death from heart disease
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