Search Frequent Questions

Displaying 1 - 15 of 725 results

• What state or federal agencies are responsible for evaluating records from the PADOH cancer registry? Are all types of cancers considered in this evaluation [including rare and/or environmentally associated cancers]?

  A few important items to note regarding the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry:  PADOH’s Pennsylvania Cancer Registry is a statewide data system responsible for collecting information on all new cases of cancer diagnosed or treated in Pennsylvania. It is part of the National Program of Cancer Registries administered by the Centers for…

  • Last published: March 4, 2024

• What is a site assessment and what is the difference between a site assessment and a site investigation?

  The first step of the site assessment process is known as a preliminary assessment (PA). This assessment gathers historical and other readily available information on site conditions and surroundings to evaluate whether the site poses a potential threat to human health and the environment and/or whether further investigation is needed…

  • Last published: March 1, 2024

• What questions was EPA trying to find answers to during its first round of sampling at the Norwood Landfill site?

  The main question that EPA seeks to answer is whether the identified waste areas warrant consideration for placement of the Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) or Superfund List. In the first round of sampling, EPA collected surface soil samples (0-2 feet) from the landfill property, and surface water…

  • Last published: March 1, 2024

• What does it mean when EPA finds contamination that “exceeds screening levels?”
  

  Screening levels are not the same as cleanup or action levels. An exceedance of a screening level indicates the need for additional evaluation, potentially including a site-specific risk assessment.

  • Last published: March 4, 2024

• If EPA finds any contamination associated with the Norwood Landfill site that “exceeds” what is considered safe, will EPA clean up that contamination - even if the Agency cannot find any “pathways” for that contamination to reach humans or sensitive environments?

  If the sampling data shows an exceedance of a screening level, EPA will consult with the site Toxicologist and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to conduct a human health risk screening assessment to determine any potential threat to human health. EPA will also consult with the…

  • Last published: March 8, 2024

• How do you know you are not missing some areas that might be contaminated?

  EPA uses all credible information available, including community input, regarding the boundaries and geographic areas of waste that may have been deposited or where contaminated soil may have been placed. The team selects its sampling locations based on those areas and consults historic aerial images that help depict those boundaries.

  • Last published: March 8, 2024

• Why hasn’t the Norwood Landfill Site been identified as a Superfund Site? Two nearby landfills, Folcroft and Clearview, which were established and in use at the same time as Norwood Landfill and Dump have both been designated as Superfund sites.

  EPA is still conducting its investigation of the Norwood Landfill Site to determine if it should be placed on the National Priorities List (NPL), or Superfund List. Thus far, the data collected has not demonstrated that the site warrants placement on the NPL. Both the Folcroft and Clearview Landfills went…

  • Last published: March 15, 2024

• Will EPA sample the Glenolden Laboratory property?

  The former Glenolden Laboratory property located on South Avenue is a separate site. The previous owners conducted a voluntary cleanup pursuant to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PADEP) Environmental Cleanup Program, known as Act 2. Concerns regarding remedial actions conducted under Act 2 should be directed to PADEP as…

  • Last published: March 18, 2024

• Purpose of Oil Pollution Prevention regulation

  What is the purpose of the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation? When oil spills into navigable waters or onto adjoining shorelines, it can have harmful impacts on the environment, human health, and economic activity. EPA issued the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation to prevent oil spills and to assure that oil facility…

  • Last published: June 5, 2024

• If RFG is shipped from a refinery to a terminal through a proprietary pipeline system, may the pipeline rely on the refinery and terminal test results to satisfy the quality assurance defense element?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . In a case where EPA documents a downstream standard violation at a proprietary terminal that is served only by a proprietary pipeline that receives gasoline only from a proprietary refinery, the company that owns the refinery, pipeline and…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• If, due to piping constraints, a refiner must put a purchased or inter-refinery transferred batch of finished gasoline through the refinery blendstock system, but does so without the batch losing integrity, must the refiner include the batch in his compli

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . No. As per § 80.65(i) of the regulations, any refiner, importer, or oxygenate blender shall exclude from all compliance calculations, the volume and properties of any RFG that is produced at another refinery or oxygenate blending facility, or…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• In areas where an oxy fuels program is in effect, how do these requirements coincide with RFG requirements? In areas where there is an overlap, are any regulatory changes necessary by the state?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . In areas that are covered by both a state's winter oxy fuels and the federal RFG programs, the fuel must comply with both program requirements. Therefore, the more stringent 2.7 wt% minimum requirement of the winter oxy fuels…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• If foreign product is acquired by an importer through an exchange agreement instead of a sale, does it change identification of the importer for RFG reporting purposes?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . No. The person who is the importer of record for Customs purposes should be the importer for RFG purposes, and this is usually the gasoline owner, regardless of how that ownership was acquired.(7/1/94) This question and answer was…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• If terminals utilize the services of outside laboratories for periodic sampling and testing, how can the terminal limit exposure to liability in the event non-complying product from the tested tank(s) leaves the terminal during the three or four days befo

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . A terminal-distributor's release of RFG that does not meet applicable standards would constitute a violation of § 80.78(a)(1) for which the distributor would be liable, and it would not be a defense if the violation was caused by…

  • Last published: July 10, 2024

• If a pipeline must be classified as a refiner, how would that be handled administratively by EPA? Since pipelines don't own the product, would pipeline have to become buyers and sellers for regulatory purposes?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Refiners must be registered with EPA. The pipeline need not be an owner of the gasoline to be a refiner.(7/1/94) This question and answer was posted at Consolidated List of Reformulated Gasoline and Anti-Dumping Questions and Answers: July…

  • Last published: July 11, 2024