Higher Education Associations Launch Online Campus Environmental Resource Center
Press Release: National Compliance Assistance Centers
A group of higher education associations has launched a new environmental information resource center Web site for colleges and universities called “CampusERC.” Accessible online at www.campuserc.org, the site is designed as a library of resources for college and university officials to keep up with the latest news and information on environmental issues, study best practices in environmental management, view case studies, and better understand what they must do to comply with environmental regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

 Web-based Compliance Tool Available for Tribes
Press Release: National Compliance Assistance Centers
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a new Web-based Tribal Compliance Assistance Center that provides comprehensive compliance assistance and pollution prevention information for regulated activities in Indian country. The center can help tribal environmental professionals and facility owners comply with environmental regulations and get information on topics including waste management, air and water resources, drinking water, and public safety. Viewers can report a complaint to EPA, find out the compliance status of facilities in Indian country, learn how to apply for federal grants, and locate specific personnel at EPA and other federal agencies.

 PNEAC & The New Hazardous Waste Manifest
Printers National Environmental Assistance Center
On September 5, 2006, generators, transporters anddisposal facilities must start using the new uniformhazardous waste manifest. The Printers’NationalEnvironmental Assistance Center (PNEAC), haspartnered with EPA’s Office of Solid Waste todevelop a short, highly informative animated videothat describes how to complete the new form. Thedigital video was developed by the University ofWisconsin through its role in co-directing PNEAC.For a link to this online video training and otherinformation about the new hazardous waste manifestsystem see http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/gener/manifest/

 Centers Now Offer Assistance for Anyone Involved in Shipping Regulated Materials Across U. S. Borders
Border Compliance Assistance Center
The EPA-sponsored Compliance Assistance Centers (Centers) now offer compliance assistance for anyone involved in shipping regulated materials across U. S. borders.  The BorderCenter’s new Chemical Import-Export Issues website (www.bordercenter.org) provides information for importing and exporting a variety of chemicals, including toxic substances and hazardous waste. You’ll find information on existing international agreements and applicable regulations.  Additionally, the site includes a news section to keep buyers, sellers, and transporters aware of the latest developments.

 EPA Announces Grant to Help Colleges and Universities Improve Environmental Results
Press Release: National Compliance Assistance Centers
The EPA has awarded funding to the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) to develop a Compliance Assistance Center (Center) for educational institutions. The education sector Center, the fifteenth EPA sponsored Center, will initially focus on the environmental performance needs of colleges and universities. Currently in development, the education sector Center will provide environmental management, planning, pollution prevention, and regulatory information to those who are responsible for, and affected by, the environmental performance of a college or university. The education sector Center will promote and maintain Internet linkages and partnerships among the various education sector groups/associations, EPA and other federal regulatory agencies, other relevant organizations, and compliance assistance providers. The Center will also provide information and tools to help colleges and universities comply with the many environmental requirements applicable to their wide variety of operations and activities. For more information, please contact Ken Harmon (EPA) at 202.564.7049 or harmon.kenneth@epa.gov.

 Compliance Assistance Centers Celebrate Ten Years Helping Americans Meet Environmental Regulations
Press Release: National Compliance Assistance Centers
EPA-sponsored, Web-based Compliance Assistance Centers are celebrating ten years of helping regulated facilities, particularly small businesses and local governments, understand and meet environmental regulations. In a decade, the number of centers has grown from 3 to 14, and together they attract more than one million visitors a year. In a recent centers' survey, 78 percent of regulated businesses and governments said they had improved their environmental management practices as a result of using the critical information provided by the centers.

 Don’t Miss PNEAC's New Fact Sheets and Newly Archieved Webinar
Printers National Environmental Assistance Center
New Fact Sheets Include: EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Compliance at Printing Facilities Table of EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Chemicals Determining VOC/HAP Emissions from Nonheatset Web Offset Lithographic Printing Operations Determining VOC/HAP Emissions from Sheetfed Offset Lithographic Printing Operations

 Improved Virtual Plant Tour at ChemAlliance
ChemAlliance
ChemAlliance staff have recently completed an overhaul of the popular Virtual Plant Tour by adding a search interface, improving the pollution prevention case studies, and making the tour easier to navigate. According to ChemAlliance Director, Scott Butner, that’s just the first of several changes occurring at ChemAlliance.

 Now Available: Revised 2005 Worker Protection Standard How-to-Comply Manual
National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center
The revised 2005 Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides How-to-Comply Manual has been updated to reflect amendments to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Updates include detailed information on who is covered by the WPS and how to meet regulatory requirements. The new 2005 WPS How-to-Comply(HTC) Manual supersedes the 1993 version. For more information and how to obtain print and/or CD-ROM versions of the manual, visit: http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/htc.html

 MetLife Auto & Home Achieves 100% Completion of CCAR’s S/P2 Training for Claims Staff
CCAR - GreenLink
CCAR-GreenLink®: The Coordinating Committee ForAutomotive Repair has recognized MetLife Auto & Home as the first company in the insurance industry to have 100 percent of its automotive field staff complete the S/P2 Claims Staff course in Safety and Pollution Prevention.

 Update on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) ("Mad Cow") Case in United States

On the morning of December 25, the BSE world reference lab in Weybridge, England, confirmed USDA's December 23 preliminary diagnosis of BSE in a single nonambulatory dairy cow that had been slaughtered on December 9 at Vern's Moses Lake Meats in Washington State.

 New SPCC Training Module Available
Environmental Compliance for Automotive Recyclers
Don't miss the Transportation Environmental Resource Center's new training module providing an overview on developing a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan. This web-based training module also highlights some special SPCC considerations for facility owners and operators in transportation industries.

 Occupational and Safety Information Now Available At CICAcenter
Construction Industry Compliance Assistance
Don't miss the Construction Industry Compliance Assistance Center's new state agency locator for health and safety providing direct access to state health and safety guidance and contact information.

Also be sure to peruse the Center's expanded collection of construction specific compliance information, including EPA's new 'Managing Your Environmental Responsibilities Guide - A Planning Guide for Construction and Development' (www.cicacenter.org/links/), which offers summaries of federal regulations that apply to construction sites, numerous references and detailed self-audit checklists.

 Ford Motor Company Adopts CCAR's S/P2 Training
CCAR - GreenLink
Ford Motor Company has adopted CCAR's S/P2 online training in environmental and related safety issues for auto repair and will incorporate the course into Ford's Technical Career Entry Programs. CCAR is also working with General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., which have added S/P2 to their technician training curriculums.

CCAR provides the S/P2 course free of charge to automotive training programs at secondary and post-secondary schools throughout the U.S. To date, more than 1,700 programs, representing an audience of over 140,000 students, have enrolled.

 Tell us how we are doing and register to win a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate
Press Release: National Compliance Assistance Centers
The 2005 Center User Survey is now available. Please take a few moments to select the Centers that relate to your work and tell us how we are doing. Your input will help improve our services and for each survey you complete you can register to win a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate.

 New from the Ag Center: Practical Information Now Available for Small Farms
National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center
Small-scale farms make up 94% of the farms in the United States. Using best management practices can protect the environment, improve the health and well-being of farm animals and increase farm profits. The Ag Center sponsored development of practical environmental stewardship information now available at: http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/index.html#sflpes

 Engineering Interns Available to Michigan Chemical Manufacturers Through the RETAP Internship Program
ChemAlliance
Chemical manufacturing companies located in the state of Michigan can receive free, on-site technical assistance for their pollution prevention (P2) projects by hosting an engineering intern for the summer. Under the Retired Engineer Technical Assistance Program (RETAP) Student Internship Program, engineering students are placed in small to medium sized companies to work on projects that involve research, evaluation, or implementation of P2 technologies and practices (i.e. source reduction, waste minimization, and recycling).

 On-line Inspection Survival Course for Metal Finishers.
National Metal Finishing Resource Center
NMFRC is now offering an on-line course delivered entirely over the Internet designed to help your shop survive an EPA or state agency inspection. It contains a wealth of information, including real-life examples from metal finishers who have recently survived their own inspections.

 LGEAN Offers Free Air Quality, Solid Waste Management, and Wastewater Treatment Fact Sheets
Local Government Environmental Assistance Center
The Local Government Environmental Assistance Network (LGEAN) has developed three new fact sheets aimed at raising awareness about local government environmental liability as it relates to air quality, solid waste, and wastewater. Local governments are as susceptible to environmental liability as any other party, thus they should at least have a general understanding of the liabilities they face. For more information, click on the following URL: http://www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=537

 LGEAN Offers Free Environmental Liability Publication
Local Government Environmental Assistance Center
LGEAN developed "A Primer for Local Governments on Environmental Liability" to raise awareness about local government environmental liability and provide information that can be used to develop a system-wide response to environmental risks. The primer contains information that forms the basis for a local governments assessment of their environmental risks and the formation of a program that prevents liabilities both now and into the future. For more information, click on the following URL: http://www.lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=222

 Making An Impact On Protecting Public Health, Environment
Press Release: National Compliance Assistance Centers
Survey Reveals Centers Helping Regulated Community Understand Environmental Regulations
"These Compliance Assistance Centers provide users real-time, easy and cost-effective tools to prevent violations and improve compliance, both of which lead to greater protection of human health and the environment," - Sylvia Lowrance, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

 “S/P2” Online Training Available to Automotive Industry
CCAR - GreenLink
The Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair (CCAR), which operates “CCAR-GreenLink®,” the environmental compliance assistance center for the automotive service/repair community, has launched a new online training program in Safety and Pollution Prevention, called “S/P2.”

 EPA Honors Local Governments with Clean Air Excellence Awards
Local Government Environmental Assistance Center
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held the second Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards ceremony in Washington, DC, in March to recognize individuals and organizations for using innovative ideas to improve air quality across the country. Click headline for more information.

 ChemAlliance Has a New Look -- and More!
ChemAlliance
In addition to updated content and an improved, "cleaner" menu, we've added new stops and new features to the Virtual Plant Tour. Now you'll find more than 352 pollution prevention case studies and 204 good management practices, each linked to specific process operations and site locations where they can be applied.

 Three New Ask the Expert Features
National Metal Finishing Resource Center
The NMFRC has added three new "Ask the Expert" features. Anyone is free to submit questions in the topic areas, and to view archives of recent answers. The three new topic areas are: Hard Chromium Plating, Wastewater Treatment, and Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting. You can find links to the Expert question forms, the archives, and information on the Experts' experience and qualifications on the NMFRC home page.