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Roundup of Recent News Items in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Release Date: 11/23/1999
Contact Information:

(#99187) REVIEW DRAFT ISSUED OF A HEALTH ASSESSMENT FOR DIESEL EMISSIONS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) draft Health Assessment Document for Diesel Engine Emissions has been submitted to the Science Advisory Board's Clean Air Science Advisory Committee (CASAC), a Congressionally-established panel of external scientific experts, for their review. This document is an ongoing health assessment of diesel exhaust emissions. The draft concludes that diesel emissions are a highly likely carcinogen and that they also cause many non-cancerous chronic respiratory problems. A copy of this document is available at: www.epa.gov/ncea under "What's New." There will also be a meeting of the CASAC Diesel Review Panel on Dec. 1 at the Hawthorne Suites, 300 Meredith Drive Durham, N.C. 27713. Contact Robert Flaak at 202-564-4546 or flaak.robert@ epa.gov. Copies of the agenda will be available prior to the meeting at www.epa.gov/sab or from Diana Pozun at 202-564-4544 or [email protected]. A Federal Register notice about this meeting was published on Nov. 15 and is available at: www.epa.gov/fedrgtr. Comments on this document must be received by Dec. 17. For more information, contact Cathy Milbourn, EPA at 202-260-2587 or Mary Mears, EPA at 212-637-3669.

EPA SETTLES CASE AGAINST PRASA FOR VIOLATIONS AT PUERTO NUEVO

On November 15, 1999, EPA settled a complaint it had issued against the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) for Clean Water Act violations at its Puerto Nuevo Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. PRASA has agreed to pay $98,000 for the violation. On March 12, 1999, EPA issued a complaint to PRASA for violations of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The complaint alleged that PRASA discharged raw sewage directly into a creek when a twenty inch sewer line collapsed during the passage of Hurricane Georges and that it had not provided any mitigation, such as disinfection of the raw sewage, nor had it installed a temporary line until final repairs were conducted. The sewer line was repaired in November 1999. For copies of the settlement, please contact the EPA's Caribbean Environmental Protection Division at 787-729-6951. For more information, contact Mary Mears at 212-637-3669.

For more information contact:

Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3675 FAX: 212-637-4445