WASHINGTON – EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is touring areas in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana that could be impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico today and tomorrow.

Today, Administrator Jackson joined U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar for an overflight of the oil spill, and a meeting with state and local officials.  Later today, the Administrator will tour a stretch of the Mississippi coastline that could be impacted by the spill and hold a community meeting in Waveland, Miss. to discuss the spill and the government’s response. The Administrator will also visit EPA employees at a mobile air monitoring station that EPA has established in the area.

Tomorrow, the Administrator will hold an 8:30 a.m. meeting with community leaders in New Orleans. The Administrator will also tour Plaquemines Parish in New Orleans and meet with representatives of the fishing, oyster and shrimping industries. Additional details on those visits will be released as they become available.

April 30, 2010

4:00 p.m. CST              Administrator Jackson Holds Community Meeting

Leo Seals Community Center

527 Hwy 90

Waveland, Miss.

May 1, 2010

8:30 a.m. CST               Administrator Jackson Holds Community Meeting

Greater Little Zion Baptist Church

5130 Chartres St.

New Orleans, La.

R138

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EPA launches site to inform the public about health, environmental impacts of spill

WASHINGTON – As part of the ongoing federal response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, EPA today established a website to inform the public about the spill’s impact on the environment and the health of nearby residents. The website – http://www.epa.gov/bpspill – will contain data from EPA’s ongoing air monitoring along with other information about the agency’s activities in the region. Also today, Administrator Jackson joined Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to tour the region. The Administrator will spend the next 36 hours visiting with community groups and meeting EPA staff responding to the spill.

Additional information on the broader response from the U.S. Coast Guard and other responding agencies is available at:  http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

“We are taking every possible step to protect the health of the residents and mitigate the environmental impacts of this spill,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said. “For several days, EPA has been on the ground evaluating air and water concerns and coordinating with other responding agencies.  We are also here to address community members — the people who know these waters and wetlands best.  They will be essential to the work ahead.”

EPA has established air monitoring stations along Plaquemines Parish on the Louisiana coast. EPA established those facilities to determine how oil set on fire in the gulf and oil that is reaching land is impacting air quality. EPA is monitoring levels of a number of chemicals potentially emitted by oil, including volatile organic compounds such as xylene, benzene and toluene.

EPA has also deployed two Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzers – mobile laboratories that collect and analyze air quality samples in real time – to monitor air quality in the region.

EPA tested smoke from the controlled burn two days ago and found the Louisiana coast had not been affected because an off-shore breeze was blowing away from land and out to sea during that time. The agency will continue to collect and share data with the public, and will coordinate and share information with local health officials.

In addition to monitoring air quality, EPA is also assessing the coastal waters affected by the spreading oil. EPA deployed our twin-engine aircraft to assist in the collection of air sampling data and photograph the spill and surrounding area.

All of the data EPA collects will be posted to http://www.epa.gov/bpspill , along with frequently asked questions, fact sheets about potential health impacts of the spill, and links to more information on the spill and the government’s response.

Cost-effective proposals would reduce harmful air pollution in communities across the United States

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing proposals that would cut U.S. mercury emissions by more than half and would significantly cut other pollutants from boilers, process heaters and solid waste incinerators. These pollutants include several air toxics which are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health problems and environmental damage. The proposed rules are estimated to yield more than 5 dollars in public health benefits for every dollar spent.

“Strong cuts to mercury and other harmful emissions will have real benefits for our health and our environment, spur clean technology innovations and save American communities billions of dollars in avoided health costs,” said EPA  Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This is a cost-effective, commonsense way to protect our health and the health of our children, and get America moving into the clean economy of the future.”

Combined, these proposals would cut annual mercury emissions from about 200,000 industrial boilers process heaters and solid waste incinerators, slashing overall mercury emissions by more than 50 percent. Industrial boilers and process heaters are the second largest source of mercury emissions in the United States.

Mercury can damage children’s developing brains and nervous systems even before they are born. When emitted to the air, mercury eventually settles in water, where it can change into methylmercury, which builds up in ocean and freshwater fish and can be highly toxic to people who eat the fish. This sometimes leads to fish consumption advisories to protect public health.

When fully implemented, today’s proposal would yield combined health benefits estimated at $18 to $44 billion annually. These benefits include preventing between 2,000 and 5,200 premature deaths, and about 36,000 asthma attacks a year. Estimated annual costs of installing and operating pollution controls required under these rules would be $3.6 billion.

These actions cover emissions from two types of combustion units. The first type of unit, boilers and process heaters, burns fuel such as natural gas, coal, and oil to produce heat or electricity. These units can also burn non-hazardous secondary materials such as processed tires and used oil. Boilers are located at large industrial facilities and smaller facilities, including commercial buildings, hotels, and universities. The second type of unit, commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators, burns solid waste.

Large boilers and all incinerators would be required to meet emissions limits for mercury and other pollutants. Facilities with boilers would also be required to conduct energy audits to find cost effective ways to reduce fuel use and emissions. Smaller facilities, such as schools, with some of the smallest boilers, would not be included in these requirements, but they would be required to perform tune-ups every two years.

EPA is also proposing to identify which non-hazardous secondary materials would be considered solid waste and which would be considered fuel. This distinction would determine whether a material can be burned in a boiler or whether it must be burned in a solid waste incinerator. The agency is also soliciting comment on several other broader approaches that would identify additional non-hazardous secondary materials as solid waste when burned in combustion units.

EPA will take comment on these proposed rules for 45 days after they are published in the Federal Register. EPA will hold a public hearing on these rules soon after they are published in the Federal Register. For more information on the proposals and details on the pubic hearings: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion