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Industrial Ecology, Pollution Prevention and the New York/New Jersey Harbor

Industrial Ecology, Pollution Prevention and the New York/New Jersey Harbor. Kathleen C. Callahan Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2 State-EPA Symposium on Environmental Innovation and Results January 25, 2006. NY/NJ Harbor Watershed. History of the Harbor Project.

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Industrial Ecology, Pollution Prevention and the New York/New Jersey Harbor

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  1. Industrial Ecology, Pollution Prevention and the New York/New Jersey Harbor Kathleen C. Callahan Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2 State-EPA Symposium on Environmental Innovation and Results January 25, 2006

  2. NY/NJHarbor Watershed

  3. History of the Harbor Project • EPA developed the concept of conducting an industrial ecology (IE) project in the NY/NJ Harbor (1998) • NYAS convened workshop to explore industrial ecology as tool for developing P2 recommendations for the Harbor (1998) • NYAS initiated the IE/P2 and the NY/NJ Harbor Project (1999) as a cooperative agreement with EPA funding. • NYAS formed a multi-stakeholder Consortium (2000) • Project goals: • Explore the use of industrial ecology on a regional scale • Reduce flows of Hg, Cd, PCBs, Dioxins & PAHs to the Harbor environment through generating targeted pollution prevention recommendations

  4. Industrial Ecology at a Regional Scale The Environment Waste Output Air The Economy Commercial Industrial Household Sectors Material Input Product Production (Ind./Comm. Services) Land Waste Output Water Reuse/recycle Harbor

  5. Process Overview • Process: • Select contaminants of concern to the Harbor – Consortium votes on selection • Conduct research on mass balance and material flows into and out of the Harbor – Harbor Project staff perform research and also hire consultants • Develop pollution prevention recommendations based on findings – Consortium reviews and selects and supports • Reports generated summarize the results of the research and P2 action plans

  6. NYAS Decision Tree

  7. Why Engage a Consortium? • Emphasizes public involvement and communication • Open process acts as an educational forum • Generates an open dialogue on stakeholder values and interplay with science • Diversity of sponsors allows for wider implementation and support

  8. Members of the Consortium • Includes over 50 members from the following types of institutions - Academic institutions Non-profit organizations Business organizations Consultants Local, state and federal governments Interstate organizations Sewerage Commissions Labor organizations

  9. Funders • Environmental Protection Agency (Region 2,ORD, OPPT) • Port Authority of NY/NJ • Abby R. Mauzè Trust, • Anonymous (through Rockefeller Financial Services) • AT&T Foundation • Commonwealth Fund • J.P. Morgan • NYC Environmental Fund

  10. Mercury

  11. Releases of Hg to the Watershed

  12. Hg Key Finding • IE inventory helpful to identify all contaminant sources, including the cumulative effect of numerous Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) which are not usually the focus of regulations, but, which cumulatively can have a large impact.

  13. Cadmium

  14. Estimated Cadmium Releases for the NY/NJ Watershed Products (kg/yr) Confidence Release Metal Plating Production 400 L air, water Plastic Additives Production 80 M air Secondary Steel Production 40 M air MSW Incineration 40 H air Battery disposal 120,000 L air/ landfills Other products disposal 40,000 L air/ landfills   Processes (kg/yr) Confidence Release Phosphate Fertilizer 500 M soil Sewage Sludge Land App 500 M soil Cement Production 300 M air Fossil Fuel Combustion 200 M air Tires 100 L soil Petroleum Refineries 50 M air

  15. Cadmium - Key Findings • Pathways to the harbor (from primary release source) are not always easily quantified • Data gaps are a challenging issue for industrial ecology analyses • Impacts on Harbor depend on current management practices (ex. Solid Waste Management: incineration vs. landfills; export vs. local management)

  16. PCBs

  17. PCB Legacy • PCBs are a legacy pollutant • Production generally prohibited since 1977 • Banning production but not the use of a substance can present materials flow tracking problems • Despite intense scrutiny by Federal and State agencies, our knowledge of material flows of PCBs is limited

  18. PCBs - Key Findings Opportunities for P2/BMPs: • Small Quantity Generators: cumulative impact of small capacitors disposal overlooked by regulations • Inadvertent production of PCBs – PCBs generated inadvertently end up in products without intentional addition by the manufacturer ~ 10% of current PCB loadings • Challenging Issues: • Uneven reporting requirements on usage/disposal • Regulatory gap (small quantity generators, no post-ban tracking requirements) • Limited recycling opportunities

  19. Results and Next Steps • Results: • NYAS has conducted follow-up outreach and implementation where feasible • Other stakeholders can utilize the P2 recommendations to motivate independent action. Implementation is voluntary • EPA has used results to guide the selection of regional pollution prevention opportunities and target priority areas for grant funding • Next Steps • Project process can serve well in a national case study • NYAS received a grant of $144,000 from ORD in 2005 to use their combined Industrial Ecology/ Collaborative Decision-Making approach to develop watershed-wide strategies for pollution prevention of dioxin and PAH's in the New York New Jersey Harbor • Replicate and expand upon the NYAS IE/P2 project model where appropriate • ORD/OPEI/OEI/Region 2 Workgroup being formed to explore further industrial ecology opportunities and challenges on a national level • Continue to support work of Multi-Media Materials Management Workgroup at EPA to identify additional case studies and pilot projects

  20. Concluding remarks

  21. Concluding Remarks • Industrial Ecology provides an important set of tools as part of the Environmental Stewardship Framework for EPA • Materials accounting is crucial to encourage the sustainable outcomes sought by the Stewardship Framework • More Industrial Ecology case studies needed that can inform management decisions

  22. For copies of documents and more information about the project: http://www.nyas.org/programs/harbor.asp “Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for Mercury in the NY/NJ Harbor” “Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for Cadmium in the NY/NJ Harbor” “Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for PCBs in the NY/NJ Harbor” COMING SOON!! “Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for Dioxins in the NY/NJ Harbor” “Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for PAHs in the NY/NJ Harbor”

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