MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 12/2/11 - On December, 2011 the U.S. EPA issued new rules for the control of air toxics from existing and new boilers.  This is a revision to earlier action, and EPA’s press releases stress that most affected boilers only have registration, tune-up, and energy audit requirements.  Related Commercial/Industrial Solid Waste Incinerator regulations are also revised.  There is a 60-day comment period, with final rules due “Spring 2012.”

The rules, called Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules or National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) are posted at:

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion/actions.html#feb11

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 11/21/11 - Epsilon congratulates principal Dale Raczynski on his re-election to the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association (NECA) Board of Directors for 2012. Members of the Board play a leading role in NECA activities to help promote a greater public understanding of the benefits of the competitive energy marketplace. For more information about Dale and the other NECA Board members please visit the website.

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 11/18/11 - Epsilon, lead by Mike Guski, CCM, Principal, is supporting the Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) as a stakeholder providing input to the New York State Department of Environmental Protection (NYSDEC) in the agency's development of regulations to implement the new Article X power plant siting law. Earlier this year the New York legislature passed the new Article X law which Governor Cuomo signed in August.

The new Article X law re-establishes the Article X power plant siting process in New York, which is intended to provide "one stop shopping" for the permitting new and modified power projects. New features of the law include lowering the threshold to 25 MW from 80 MW under the old law, and including provisions to address environmental justice (EJ) and cumulative impacts. Epsilon is supporting IPPNY in providing comment to NYSDEC on the issues of EJ and cumulative impacts, particularly with respect to air quality. Epsilon permitted the Empire Generating Plant in Rensselaer, NY, which was the last power plant permitted under the former Article X law.  For more information about IPPNY, please visit their website at http://www.ippny.org/.

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 7/14/11 - Deerin Babb-Brott, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Epsilon Associates, will be a speaker at the upcoming "Census of Marine Life: Demonstrating the importance of coordinated biodiverity research to support federal investments and priorities" lunch briefing. The event is sponsored by the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and will be moderated by Paul Snelgrove, author of "Discoveries of the Census of Marine Life."

About the Census of Marine Life
The international Census of Marine Life culminated in 2010 after a decade of exploration and research on the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans – past, present, and future. More than 2,700 scientists in 80+ countries collaborated to study and synthesize information on marine biodiversity at an unprecedented scope and scale from microbes to whales in all ocean realms. In addition to discovering and describing more than 1,200 new species, the Census documented oceans richer in diversity, more connected through distribution and movements of animals, and more impacted by humans.

For more information about the Census of Marine Life, please visit the organization's website at http://www.coml.org

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 7/10/11 - In January of 2010 the U.S. EPA promulgated a new short-term standard for nitrogen dioxide (1-hour NO2).  Demonstrations of compliance with the recently implemented one hour averaging time National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for NO2 will require consideration of the role of ozone (O3) in the ambient air in converting nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions to NO2.  Two non-default options are included in the AERMOD model (the EPA regulatory model) to treat the conversion of NOx to NO2: the Plume Volume Molar Ratio Method (PVMRM) and the Ozone Limiting Method (OLM).

The American Petroleum Institute (API) contracted Epsilon Associates, in conjunction with Egan Environmental and Hanna Consultants to review the implementation of the PVMRM and OLM. Epsilon found that the implementation of OLM in both ISC and AERMOD is consistent with the OLM formulation, but believes there are issues with the implementation of PVMRM into the AERMOD model. The paper presents the findings of the review of the OLM and PVMRM codes, and a description of the proposed new model validation data sets.

Please click here to view the presentation in its entirety.

Or, click here to download the abstract in Word format.

UPDATE -

A.J. Jablonowski's presentation is now available online. Please click the following link to download a pdf version of the presentation:

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 6/3/11 - Epsilon principal Dale Raczynski and senior consultant A.J. Jablonowski will be attending the Combined Annual Conference of International District Energy Association and Canadian District Energy Association in Toronto.  A.J. will be presenting his paper "Modeling Requirements for Air Permits" during Session C3 on Tuesday 6/28 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Look for Dale and A.J. to discuss environmental compliance issues at existing, modified, and new district energy plants and CHPs.

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About IDEA District Energy/CHP 2011: 

102nd IDEA / 16th CDEA Annual Conference & Trade Show will be held:

This joint conference will bring the global district energy industry together in one of North America's most progressive and robust energy markets.
 
Entitled "Essential Infrastructure for Energy Efficient Communities," this conference will showcase highly efficient clean district energy technologies deployed on an urban scale. Participants will hear from industry and government on effective policies that stimulate investment in community-scale energy infrastructure necessary for a truly sustainable local economy.

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 4/27/11 - Epsilon worked with Victoria Riverview LLC, the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the National Park Service to secure over $6 million in state and federal historic tax credits for the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of the historic Whitman Mill No. 2.  The 178,000 square foot mill on the banks of the Acushnet River has been converted into 98 units of high-quality housing in the City's Logan-Hick Mill Overlay District.

-- Click here to view the Channel 10 news broadcast --

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 3/28/11 - Epsilon will once again return to the world's largest wind energy conference, AWEA's WINDPOWER 2011. Epsilon Principal Rob O'Neal will be presenting his paper "Low Frequency Sound And Infrasound From Wind Turbines" during Session 5B -- Impact of Wind Energy Development:  Perceptions and Realities on Tuesday 5/24 1:30-3:00 PM.

Please stop by Epsilon's exhibitor booth (#4553) to meet the authors of the paper (Rob O'Neal and Richard Lampeter), discuss exciting new developments in the wind industry, and learn about our newest wind energy projects.

 About Windpower 2011:

AWEA WINDPOWER 2011 Conference & Exhibition will be held: May 22 - 25, 2011 Anaheim Convention Center 800 West Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA 92802 The WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition is produced by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) to provide a venue for the wind industry to network, do business, and solve problems. Recognized as one of the fastest-growing trade shows in the U.S, WINDPOWER includes Nearly 1,400 exhibiting companies, thousands of qualified wind energy professionals, engaging educational information and unmatched networking opportunities and special events.

Photos from WINDPOWER 2010:

MAYNARD, Massachusetts, 2/23/11 - On February 21, 2011 the U.S. EPA issued new rules for the control of air toxics from existing and new boilers.  Over 200,000 boilers could be affected, although most smaller and gas-fired boilers will only have registration and tune-up requirements.  Final compliance for existing sources is due in 2014, with notification requirements and new source compliance requirements due much sooner.  The new rules affect industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers; similar rules for utility boilers are due in March.

The rules, called Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules or National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) are posted at:

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/combustion/actions.html