The latest news on BERC can be found on this page. Read on to find out more.
JULY 2008
2008 Mailing from State DTSC Delayed (Pollution PreventionProgram)
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is briefly delaying the annual mailing of the 2008 Verification Questionnaire and Fees Assessment, in an effort to improve the quality of our customer service and increase the efficiency of its operations. DTSC is simplifying the documentation and streamlining the fee processing in an effort to reduce costs and provide improved service to its EPA ID and manifest fee payers. The verification questionnaire and fee assessments are typically mailed in early June, but the process improvement efforts have delayed the mailing until late summer or early fall. For additional information or questions, contact the DTSC Information Center at (800) 618-6942 or visit the DTSC Website. Posted: 07/09/08
JUNE 2008
Enhanced Vapor Recovery (EVR) Phase II and In-station Diagnostics (ISD) (Pollution PreventionProgram)
EVR Phase II requires a new generation of clean nozzles and equipment to control emissions at gasoline dispensing facilities (GDFs) in California. By April 1, 2009 nearly 13,000 GDFs will need to obtain permits, purchase equipment, and have installation performed by a certified contractor.
ISD monitors performance of the vapor recovery system and triggers an alarm when failure occurs – to find out more go to www.evrhome.org. To determine Sacramento County/City local agency permit procedures for building, planning, fire, air district and CUPA agencies go to Business Assistance - Air Quality Regulations - Permitting Requirements. To view the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Four Steps to Compliance click this link: www.evrhome.org/.
To obtain information about grant and loan programs offered by State Water Resources Control Board RUST program go to the RUST program website. You may also go to www.evrhome.org/.
for additional financing options.
Posted: 06/27/08
Utilities to test method of turning grease to energy (Pollution PreventionProgram)
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District are testing a process of turning waste kitchen grease from restaurants into methane gas. The grease will go into the sanitation district's anaerobic digestion tanks, where bacteria cook down solids in the wastewater.
The utilities use the methane currently produced by the digesters to supplement natural gas that fuels the Carson Cogeneration Project, a power plant near the wastewater treatment plant in Elk Grove. The power plant has a capacity of 57 megawatts, enough electricity for about 57,000 homes at any given moment.
If the restaurant grease test works, the utilities would consider building a methane production plant that could generate enough extra energy for 1,000 to 3,000 homes.
Most grease gets caught in traps indoors and sent to renderers. Some slips down the drain to interceptors pumped out by septic tank contractors who then truck the watery grease down to the sanitation district's sewage plant, which runs it through the same treatment processes as regular wastewater.
Kitchen grease that doesn't get separated ends up in sewage lines where it doesn't belong, clogging pipes. Grease build-ups cause about half of the sewer back-ups and overflows in Sacramento County.
"It's a wastewater pollutant we have to get rid of ," said Wendell Kido, manager of the sanitation district. The pilot project would send the watery grease to the anaerobic digester to make energy instead.
The methane gas project, started in early 2008, will be completed and end in spring 2009.
Posted: 06/05/08
MAY 2008
Environmental official from Brazil visits BERC (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
Luis Daldegan, Secretary of the Environment for the State of Mato Grosso in Brazil, visited BERC on May 8, 2008 and was briefed on how our compliance assistance programs are implemented.
Mr. Daldegan has the responsibility for the Amazon Rain Forest, which is in his state. He said that he has found that there is a need to improve relations between businesses and government regulators, and that he would like to start a similar program in his country, with a mission to help businesses achieve environmental quality and business success.
Rene Costales (Interpreter),Luis Daldegan, Secretary of Environment, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, and BERC Supervisor Duane O'Donnell
Luis was invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, and his trip in Sacramento was facilitated by the Northern California World Trade Center, which includes BERC among its members. BERC was excited to be part of the Secretary's itinerary, which also featured stops at CalEPA, and UC Davis. Posted: 05/20/08
Mercury-containing wastes are a fact of life in dental offices. Washed down the
drain or otherwise improperly disposed, mercury can find its way into Sacramento waterways and the environment. The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) is working to reduce mercury discharges to the Sacramento watershed and here is how you can help.
Best Management Practices
• Do use precapsulated alloys in a variety of sizes
• Do store mercurycontaining wastes in airtight containers
• Do collect all amalgam wastes and recycle them as universal wastes
• Do keep waste streams segregated to optimize recycling and disposal options
• Do use chair-side traps and vacuum pump filters and recycle them properly
• Don’t place other materials in your mercury waste containers
• Do install an amalgam separator that complies with ISO 11143 and maintain it properly
• Don’t rinse traps and screens in the sink
• Don’t flush amalgam waste down the drain or toilet
• Don’t put mercury containing waste in medical waste containers (red bags)
SRCSD, in cooperation with the Business Environmental Resource Center (BERC), has compiled a list of companies that will accept amalgam waste from Sacramento area dentists.
Green California Summit and Exposition in Sacramento, April 7, 8, and 9 (Sacramento Sustainable BusinessProgram)
BERC invites you to visit us at booth 1201 in the Sacramento City Convention Center and join thousands of representatives from California government and the commercial sector gathering for the 2008 Green California Summit and Exposition. The event is designed to support statewide efforts to build clean and sustainable communities.
Keynote speakers for the event will be Rick Fedrizzi (April 8), founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council and Hunter Lovins (April 9), co-author of Natural Capitalism and founder of the non-profit Natural Capitalism Solutions.
The exhibition hall will feature over two hundred companies providing green products and services, ranging from green cleaning supplies and energy efficient lighting to freeway-worthy electric vehicles. The floor will also feature an information center that highlights government sustainability programs, green economic alliances and private sector initiatives.
The Summit’s education program, which begins on April 7 with a series of pre-conference training sessions, will cover topics ranging from water conservation and green building to climate change and transportation planning. Presenters will include a wide range of state and local officials and national experts.
The keynote presentations and the exhibit hall at the Green California Summit and Exposition are free to registered attendees.
The Summit will be held on April 7, 8, & 9 at the:
Sacramento City Convention Center
1400 J St
Sacramento, CA 95814
California initiates mandatory plastic bag recycling (Sacramento Sustainable BusinessProgram)
On July 1, 2007 California became America's first state to initiate a mandatory recycling program to cut down on its mounds of plastic bags.
Under legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine -- Assembly Bill 2449 -- and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year, supermarkets, pharmacies and other major retail outlets must provide recycling bins to make it easier for customers to recycle their bags.
Many California supermarkets and retailers -- including Safeway, Raley's, Ralphs, Whole Foods supermarkets and Wal-Mart -- have already made plastic-bag recycling bins available in anticipation of the new law.
Californians dispose of 19 billion plastic shopping bags each year, creating litter, clogging landfills and presenting major environmental challenges.
The effort is being hailed by plastic-bag manufacturers, who say the recycling effort is reducing a glut of bags and providing a reservoir of plastic to remanufacture into other products. For example, recycled bags are melded with wood shavings to make weather-resistant lumber products.
Under the law, California will require supermarkets, pharmacies and other stores using plastic bags to make the recycling bins available if the stores have more than 10,000 square feet of retail space and $2 million or more in annual sales.
The legislation, however, doesn't require consumers to recycle their plastic bags. Nor does it pay them for recycling.
Once plastic grocery bags were touted as an alternative to paper bags and the destruction of trees needed to produce them. But the bags, which don't decompose in landfills, are piling up. Posted: 02/29/08
Free Styrofoam and Cell Phone Recycling Event (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
Come take part in this public event to collect used Styrofoam products and unwanted cell phones that would otherwise end up in the local landfill.
EVENT DATE: MARCH 4, 2008
LOCATION: WEST SACRAMENTO, RALEY FIELD
TIME: 10:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.
Hosted by Keep California Beautiful in partnership with the California Integrated Waste Management Board, Timbron, the City of Roseville & West Sacramento, Sacramento County Regional Parks and other partners. This event is a free service for local businesses and the residential community.
Materials that can be dropped off include:
- Clean White Expanded Polystyrene Foam #6 (Styrofoam™)
NO PACKING PEANUTS PLEASE!
- Cell Phones
- Hospital Blue Wrap
Services Provide include:
- Confidential Paper for Shredding: Compliments of Viking Shred, LLC
- IKEA will accept from Residents fluorescent tubes & bulbs during regular store hours.
Those people who drop off #6 foam can enter into a drawing for pairs of River Cat Game vouchers.
Great America Cleanup (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
Come help kick off the Great America CleanupTM with the California Statewide Litter Collection,
Enforcement and Beautification Day on March 4, 2008. Hosted by Keep California Beautiful and State Agency partners; highlighting public private partnerships!
WHERE: ALL OVER SACRAMENTO! (Highway and American River Parkway cleanups)
WHEN: 6:00AM-5:00PM (Shifts available please preregister)
HOW: To volunteer for cleanup efforts or assist in organization, contact Marisa Bautista at 368-9301 or mbautista@cleanca.org.
The City of Roseville’s Environmental Utilities Department has launched a pilot program to begin collecting and recycling Styrofoam. Very few programs in California take the specially shaped Styrofoam, which is lightweight but takes up a lot of room for shipping.
Expanded polystyrene (EPS), more commonly known by its trademark name Styrofoam, is used to cushion products during transit or for retail distribution. Due to its light weight, Styrofoam™ is a large source of litter both on land and in waterways. Cities bear the cost of cleaning up this material with clean-up costs for litter estimated at more than one dollar per pound. Collecting Styrofoam™ and directing it towards recycling helps save money and is good for the environment.
The Styrofoam™ collected by the city is condensed and transported to companies who pay for the collected Styrofoam™ to be recycled and made into items such as baseboards, crown molding, lightweight concrete and packaging.
The program will also collect Styrofoam™ at participating retail sites within Roseville.
Additional information about the Roseville Styrofoam™ recycling program can be found at Roseville EPS Project
The State of California requires the county to inspect many businesses for stormwater compliance.
Free workshops are being offered to help facility owners, managers, and employees understand stormwater regulations, prepare for stormwater
compliance inspections, and avoid violations that can result in enforcement actions and/or fines.
They are being offered at the following times for the following business types:
Restaurants
Feb. 20, 2008 from 9:45-10:45 a.m.
Automotive Industry*/Equipment Rental
Feb. 20, 2008 from 11:15-12:15 p.m.
*includes auto repair, auto body, and auto dealers
General Industrial Stormwater Permit Facilities
(especially for operators that are new to the General Permit)
Feb. 20, 2008 from 1:30-2:30 p.m.
All workshops will be conducted by EMD stormwater compliance inspectors. A question and answer session will be offered at the end of each workshop.
Workshops will take place in EMD headquarters located at 8475 Jackson Rd (second floor) on the corner of Jackson Rd and Florin-Perkins.
NOTE: Space is limited - call (916) 875-8400 to reserve a seat if you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity.
Posted: 02/06/08
Understanding Your Fleet’s Carbon Footprint - Workshop (Pollution PreventionProgram)
What will you say when your boss asks you what you are doing to lower your fleet operation’s carbon footprint? If you are a fleet manager, what strategies can you employ to reduce the carbon footprint from yourfacility and fleet?
The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) and Greater Sacramento Regional Clean Air Coalition (Clean Cities) invite you to join us in a lively and informative discussion to UNDERSTANDING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT….and save money, too.
This forum features experts in the greenhouse gas, fleet management, and facilities technologies:
* Tim Olson, Manager of the International Program in the Fuels and Transportation Division at the California Energy Commission is an expert on state and federal greenhouse gas policies
and regulations;
* Mike Jackson, Senior Director for Transportation Technology at Tiax, LLC, a national
technology consulting company is an expert in quantifying the climate change impacts of
various fuels and strategies;
* Mike Corbett is the owner of California Fleet News and Spectrum Consulting. California Fleet News is a nationally circulated newsletter recognized by fleet managers as a tremendous
source of useful material for managing fleet operations in the face of shrinking budgets and
increasing regulations. Spectrum Consulting provides direct assistance to fleet operators.
Our speakers will explore the following topics to understanding your carbon footprint:
* What are greenhouse gases and what is California doing about it?
* What strategies should you select to lower your carbon footprint?
* How do you calculate your carbon footprint?
* Get practical information to begin your own carbon assessment footprint.
* Meet with a host of sponsors with information on fuel and energy efficient products.
Where:
KVIE6 - 2595 Capitol Oaks Drive (near the intersection of I-5 and West El Camino Avenue)
Sacramento, CA 95833
Cost for Registration:
$10 pay at the door. Registration includes lunch.
Cash or Checks accepted.
Make checks payable to the Greater Sacramento Regional Clean Air Coalition
You Must RSVP to Attend: Registration is $10 (pay at the door)
Make checks payable to the Greater Sacramento Regional Clean Air Coalition (GSRCAC) Posted: 02/05/08
DECEMBER 2007
OSHA Releases Personal Protective Equipment Rule (Pollution PreventionProgram)
OSHA has released a final rule that all Personal Protective Equipment, with a few exceptions, will be provided by the employer at no cost to the employee. OSHA anticipates that this rule will have substantial safety benefits that will result in more than 21,000 fewer occupational injuries per year.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Edwin G. Foulke Jr. stated that employees exposed to safety and health hazards may need to wear personal protective equipment to be protected from injury, illness, and death caused by exposure to those hazards and that this final rule will clarify who is responsible for paying for PPE, which OSHA anticipates will lead to greater compliance and potential avoidance of thousands of workplace injuries each year.
The final rule contains a few exceptions for ordinary safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, logging boots, and ordinary clothing and weather-related gear. The final rule also clarifies OSHA's requirements regarding payment for employee-owned PPE and replacement PPE.
The rule also provides an enforcement deadline of 6 months from the date of publication in the Federal Register to allow employers time to change their existing PPE payment policies to accommodate the final rule.
Discussion on Construction Sites: Wet-Season Stormwater Compliance! (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
The Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership and Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board invite you to one of two free open forums discussing wet-season stormwater compliance at construction sites. Topics will include:
~ What was done right last year?
~ What can be done better?
~ Upcoming changes to the State’s Construction General Permit
~ Areas of concern for local and state inspectors
You will have a chance to talk with local stormwater agency staff to get your questions answered!
Workshop Date and Time:
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
9:30 – 11:30 am
Folsom Community Center
52 Natoma Street, Folsom
No registration required!
Open to businesses in the County of Sacramento and the Cities of Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, & Rancho Cordova. Posted: 09/25/07
General Stormwater Compliance for Business: Keeping Your Head Above Water (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
BERC is partnering with SMUD and the County of Sacramento to bring you this educational workshop opportunity! Learn the basics of stormwater compliance from staff at local Stormwater Quality Programs including the County of Sacramento Department of Water Resources and the Environmental Management Department’s Water Protection Division. Leave this workshop with an understanding of stormwater regulations and compliance tips so you can operate in a way that protects water quality and minimizes the possibility of receiving a stormwater violation.
Date: October 4, 2007 9am - 11am
Place: SMUD, Rubicon Room, 6301 S St, Sacramento
Regulatory Compliance Workshop: Avoiding Common UST Violations (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
BERC is offering a free, one-hour regulatory compliance workshop to owners/operators of underground storage tanks (USTs). There are two sessions to choose from (10 a.m. or 2 p.m.) for the same workshop.
Find out about GRANTS and LOANS and how to:
- avoid common UST violations,
- prepare for inspections from the Sacramento County Environmental Management Department, and
- stay in compliance with State Water Resources Control Board laws and regulations.
Date & Time: 11/07/07, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: BERC, 3331 Peacekeeper Way, McClellan, CA 95652
State Requires Rechargeable Battery Take-Back (General Education/ WorkshopProgram)
Retailers selling rechargeable batteries have new State requirements to take the used batteries back from consumers for recycling or proper disposal.
While rechargeable batteries reduce waste and can be more economical than one-time use batteries, they may contain mercury, cadmium, lead, and other heavy metals that can threaten human health and the environment when improperly disposed. This is a considerable concern, since rechargeable batteries are used in a wide variety of products, including cellular and cordless phones, digital cameras, laptop computers, portable electronic devices, remote control toys, electric razors, and cordless power tools.
Previous legislative action made it illegal to dispose of any batteries in the regular trash, leaving consumers with few options. The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act (AB 1125), passed in 2006, requires retailers who sell rechargeable batteries to a consumer in California, accept used rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal. At no cost to the consumer, retailers must:
1. Take back from the consumer a used rechargeable battery of a type or brand that the retailer sells or has previously sold.
2. Provide a notice with information that directs how the consumer can return used recharge-able batteries at no cost for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal [applies only to a retailer who makes out-of-store sales (e.g. by mail)].
3. Publicize information about the used re-chargeable battery recycling opportunities that the retailer provides. This may include, for example, signage, brochures, or advertising material given to the consumer, or direct communications with the consumer at the time of purchase.
The law only applies to retail sales (not wholesale) to consumers in the state, including a transaction conducted through sales outlets, catalogs, or the internet. Those large chain supermarkets and persons (including corporations or franchisees) who have less than one million dollars annually in gross sales are not considered “retailers” under this law’s definition and are therefore exempt. Also, sales of rechargeable batteries that are contained in, or packaged with, a battery-operated device are not subject to this law. However, the law does apply to a retailer selling replacement batteries for such devices.
