News Briefs - EPA's Latest Developments

News Briefs - News Briefs - EPA's latest developments: (1) People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Awards; (2) Water and Wastewater Plants Join Energy Star to Cut Electricity Costs; (3) All States to Share in Water Quality Monitoring Funds

(1) People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Awards

Contact: Suzanne Ackerman, 202-564-4355 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov

To encourage sustainable solutions to environmental issues, EPA last year launched the People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award competition. On May 16 - 17, more than 400 college students exhibited their innovative solutions for an environmentally sustainable future on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

"The originality and breadth of these projects demonstrates the high degree of innovation and environmental interest that exists on college campuses today," said E. Timothy Oppelt, acting administrator, EPA Office of Research and Development. "These young students represent the scientific leadership of tomorrow."

The P3 Award winners, who were selected by a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences are:

Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio -- design of a low-cost system that enables visual observation and interpretation of total energy and water consumption for individual dormitory floors or an entire college campus.

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y. -- design of a low cost, multifunctional solar oven for use in developing Latin American countries. Solar ovens can reduce wood consumption, thus lessening deforestation and soil erosion.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.-- a system to compare the costs, health and economic benefits, and performance of three drinking-water treatment technologies for developing nations.

University of Colorado, Denver, Colo. -- a sustainable system design to meet the energy needs of a tribal village in India, using local materials and renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines, anaerobic digesters, solar cookers, and efficient stoves.

University of California, Berkeley, Calif. -- use of ultraviolet light to disinfect drinking water at the point of use -- the household tap or neighborhood well.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. -- management model for research labs to select less toxic, green chemical alternatives. The system inventories types and volumes of lab chemicals and links to alternative green chemical databases.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. -- AWARE@Home: a tool for households to monitor resource consumption patterns in real time and on-demand, and to measure the costs and impacts of specific energy conservation actions. The homeowner can see immediately the results of conservation actions in dollars saved and emissions reduced.

More information about the P3 Award winners and the competition can be found on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/P3 . Additional information about the EPA's sustainability research program can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/sustainability .

(2) Water and Wastewater Plants Join Energy Star to Cut Electricity Costs

Contact: John Millett, 202-564-4355 / millett.john@epa.gov

U.S. drinking water and wastewater plants are joining a new EPA initiative to increase their energy efficiency and reduce municipalities' electric bills. Over the next year, with participation by more than 20 organizations, the new Energy Star Industrial Water and Wastewater Focus will develop an energy performance rating system, a guide to assessing energy efficiency opportunities, strategies for superior energy management, and innovative approaches to financing energy efficiency projects. This new Energy Star program for water systems is part of a series of efforts to improve the energy efficiency of selected industries.

Drinking water and wastewater systems spend about $4 billion a year on energy to pump, treat, deliver, collect, and clean water -- with much of this cost borne by ratepayers and municipalities. The energy costs to run drinking water and wastewater systems can represent as much as one-third of a municipality's energy bill. If drinking water and wastewater systems reduce energy use by just 10 percent through cost-effective investments in energy efficiency, collectively they would save about $400 million and 5 billion kWh annually.

Currently, the Energy Star Water and Wastewater Focus includes the American Council for An Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), Awwa Research Foundation, California Energy Commission (CEC), Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), Columbus (GA) Water Works, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Los Angeles - Bureau of Sanitation, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Oakridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Public Technology Institute (PTI), Water Environment Federation (WEF), Wisconsin Focus on Energy, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), and WateReuse Association.

EPA, through Energy Star, develops focuses for sectors that consume large amounts of energy, produce significant carbon emissions, have large costs associated with energy use, and would benefit from tools and resources to improve energy efficiency. EPA currently has an Energy Star Industrial Focus for the corn-refining, beer-brewing, automobile assembly, and cement industries.

Information on Energy Star's Industrial Focus is available at: http://energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=news.nr_news#new_focus , and additional information about Energy Star is available at: http://www.energystar.gov .

(3) All States to Share in Water Quality Monitoring Funds

Contact: Dave Ryan, 202-564-4355 / ryan.dave@epa.gov

Every state will get additional water quality monitoring funds as a result of an EPA decision to target a $9.92 million increase in fiscal year 2005 water pollution control grants for these activities. Each year, the EPA awards funds to assist states (including territories and the District of Columbia), Indian Tribes and interstate agencies in establishing and implementing water pollution control programs. The funds are awarded under Section 106 of the Clean Water Act.

EPA will provide a total of $208.3 million for the grant program in FY 2005. While the majority of these funds will be awarded according to established funding formulas, EPA used a different approach to target the state portion of the funding increase -- $9.1 million -- specifically for water monitoring activities. These activities provide the data necessary to support cost-effective water quality management decisions and to generate a national assessment of water quality conditions. Funding increases for interstate agencies and tribes will be distributed in accordance with existing allotment formulas.

The alternative allocation formula responds to priorities identified by the president in his FY 2005 budget request and by Congress in awarding the additional funds in the appropriations process. By using the alternative state allocation formula, EPA will award each state an additional $172,000 in funding, while each territory and the District of Columbia will receive $86,000. EPA Regions will distribute grant funds after reaching agreement with individual states on program priorities and commitments.

For further information, visit the Water Pollution Control Program Grants web page at: http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/pollutioncontrol.htm .

Source: EPA