The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and 25 partners from the standardization community have launched Standards Boost Business, an awareness campaign that calls on corporate America to invest in the standardization system and gain its rewards, ANSI said. The organization noted that C-level leaders who actively participate in standards development influence technical content and enable their companies to get early access to information on changing market demand and emerging issues, effectively improving their bottom line.
The Oregon Building Codes Division has developed an optional, higher level energy efficiency code based on the November 2010 International Green Construction Code (IGCC) public version 2.0, the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code, and ASHRAE 90.1, according to Contractor magazine. The Oregon Reach Code applies only those IGCC sustainability provisions related to lowering energy use in constructing and operating commercial facilities. It also includes some water conservation requirements derived from the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials Green Plumbing & Mechanical Code Supplement.
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Austin, Texas, will expedite the installation of a pair of emissions scrubbers on two of the coal-fired Fayette Power Project’s smokestacks in La Grange, Texas, to comply with current regulations and try to better compete in the electric utility market, The American-Statesman reported. An LCRA spokesman said that, with the new scrubbers in place by 2012, the coal-fired plant also will comply with the EPA’s new air pollution rules.
A new international standard, ASTM F2683, will help on-scene response coordinators, planners, and oil spill management and removal teams determine which boom is best for the job at hand, ASTM said. The Guide for Selection of Booms for Oil Spill Response lists the main advantages and disadvantages of different boom types in various oil spill scenarios.
Steel Dynamics will pay a $5,500 fine for not having inspection logs or proper container labeling at a new hazardous waste accumulation area at its Roanoke Bar Division plant, the Daily Journal said. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s consent order also says the steel company’s contingency plan had not been updated.
AIN Online reports that ASTM International’s revised specification on biofuel blends (ASTM D7566-11) will enable fuel suppliers to add up to 50 per cent bio-derived synthetic blending components to jet fuel. The standards organization also has created a task force to establish direct sugar-to-hydrocarbon fuel specifications while other airline stakeholders are studying the production of renewable jet fuel from Brazilian sugarcane.
California’s Office of Mine Reclamation warned Lehigh Southwest Cement Company of Cupertino that it has until Aug. 20 to correct issues at its open pit mine, such as stabilizing pit slopes and conducting mining and dumping outside of boundary lines, or the company will lose government-funded project opportunities, the Los Angeles Times said. In 2010, the company addressed mercury emissions by installing a system that recycles heavy metals into cement products.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on Monday opened the second public comment period for its proposed 2012 update to the LEED green building rating system. During the winter, the USGBC collected about 6,000 comments and recommendations and this feedback has been integrated into the latest drafts. The group will accept comments until Sept. 14.
Finally, a 34-year-old Miami, Fla., man was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for importing from China 20,460 cylinders of hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22, an illegal refrigerator gas that depletes the ozone layer, according to The Associated Press. Brendan Clery, who formed Lateral Investments LLC in 2005 and smuggled the gas in the summer of 2007, must pay $40,000 and turn over more than $900,000 from the company’s sales.
