Search Frequent Questions

Displaying 1 - 15 of 128 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

• All I do is produce corn ethanol and sell it all to X Company, which is an ethanol marketer. Do I have to do anything, or can X Company generate the RINs for me?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Each producer of renewable fuel is responsible for generating the RINs that represent that renewable fuel. This function cannot be delegated or assigned to any other party, including a party to whom a producer sells its product. Question…

  • Last published: July 24, 2024

• If blenders either opt not to trade or are not allowed to trade, who will be responsible for tracking these RINs through the system?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . The blender must submit quarterly RIN transaction reports to EPA that will document all RIN transactions, including RIN purchases, RIN sales, and expired RINs. RINs that are reported purchased and thereafter are not sold will be identifiable through…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• Prior to the RFS rule, industry has used an equation for standardization of ethanol volumes that carries the correction factor out to 5 digits rather than 7 digits as in the formula given in the RFS rule at 80.1126(d)(7)(i). Will use of the equation curre

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Because the difference between the five-digit and seven-digit factors is extremely small, regulated parties may find that it makes no practical difference whether they use the shorter factor for batches of a certain size . If it makes…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• We are considering developing a PTD that lists ethanol and denaturant as separate items being transferred. RINs would be generated for the entire volume of denatured ethanol. If, for example, we transfer 950 gallons of ethanol and 50 gallons of denaturant

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . The RINS should not be split between ethanol and denaturant. Section 80.1153(a) of the RFS rule refers to "the volume of renewable fuel that is being transferred" as necessary information for PTDs. Denatured ethanol is the "renewable fuel"…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• If a specific refinery is the producer of renewable diesel, I assume they need a facility ID number, but we can use the RINs for aggregate company compliance.

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . Yes. The facility ID number is used to generate the RIN, but the RIN can be separated and used for compliance on a company-wide aggregate basis, subject to any applicable restrictions in the regulations such as regulation Sections…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• A tank of ethanol has become contaminated and must be disposed of. How would we treat this situation for RIN reporting under the RFS program?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . The RFS regulation envisions various scenarios under which RINs might be retired. The reporting section in the regulation names a few examples: retirement in satisfaction of enforcement action, spill, and use in a boiler or heater. We recognize…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024

• What metering system does the plant use to measure gallons? Is it a production meter, a load-out meter, etc.?

  See More Frequent Questions about Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help . EPA regulations provide flexibility in terms of the specific mechanisms through which producers and importers measure volumes for purposes of generating RINs. However, the approach should ensure that gallons are neither systematically ignored nor systematically double-counted. Also, approaches…

  • Last published: August 2, 2024