The Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) has found Arsenic and Other Dangerous Pollutants contaminating groundwater and soil at 20 new coal ash dump sites. Since 2010 the EIP has identified 90 such sites. You read that right 90! (read article linked below)

There are solutions to mitigate arsenic and other pollutants. At Midwest we have been dealing with Coal Ash for more than 30 years. Here are some of the things we have learned:

• Geotechnical engineering is an essential part of coal ash storage facility design
• Parameters used for coal ash strength and stability can vary from site to site
• Industry resources are available and can make important contributions to develop solutions (Midwest and other companies have products and services specifically designed to assist with Coal Ash)

Midwest is kicking off a new campaign in 2012 themed “Regulation by Education.” Our goal is for companies and organizations to better understand the implications of the dust control products and services they are using to solve both what seems to be simple and complex challenges. The issues many organizations are having with Coal Ash is an example of how they can self-regulate and prevent dangerous arsenic and pollutants from contaminating the environment.

Read the article here.

Last month’s accident on Wetzel County’s Blake Ridge Road where a natural gas drilling truck rolled over, the third such occurrence in a week, got my attention – really got my attention. No driver error here. The problem was that a chemical that ostensibly was to makes a road safer, may have actually made it dangerous. My ire would be no less – probably more – if it were a Midwest product involved in the incident.

The bottom line is that it is time for someone to step up and bring important change to the game, and that means self regulation. The EPA has risen to the occasion in the last few years, helping to create regulations related to dust as a pollutant. But there is no regulation or industry oversight – none, zippo, zero – regarding the chemicals and their applications used to control dust. It’s 2011 and it’s still the Wild West out there!

I tasked my team to create a plan to help bring awareness and creative solutions to this critical issue so, among other things, we won’t be seeing any more incidents as we did on Blake Ridge Road. They proposed a broad-based communications effort – we are calling it Regulation by Education – to educate industry influencers and decision-makers about the questions they need to ask before committing to a dust-control solution.

Here are some questions you should have answers to before committing to a dust-control solution for roadways:

1. Is the product you are considering certified effective or environmentally safe? By which independent third parties? If so, for what has it been certified and by whom?
2. Do assessments meet ASTM and AASHTO standards?
3. Has any supplier you are considering asked for samples of your roadway materials to determine the optimal dust-control product and application treatment for your problem area?
4. Can the supplier you are considering customize a product solution for your unique needs, based upon laboratory and field testing?
5. Has your supplier done a competitive cost-per-performance comparison for three-, or five- year programs to demonstrate lifecycle cost savings?
6. Have suppliers talked to you about the short- and long-term impacts their products have on the environment?

In the absence of true regulations for product development and application, Midwest has regulated itself for more than 35 years now, a practice started because of our own concern about the environment long before such concern was trendy. We have also learned that products that are gentle on the environment can also, over the not-so-long term be gentler on our customers’ wallets.

Over the next few months Midwest’s R&D teams will help craft “self regulation recommendation” guidelines that will help assure that your project is estimated and executed with a focus on environmentally-friendly, safe products that deliver the best cost/value and have a positive impact on society and your community, not the negative impact of an overturned truck or worse!!

Contact us now if you are in the consideration phase of a project. We’ll be happy to answer the questions above – and many others – so you can make a truly informed decision about which vendor will deliver the most for you.

A recent Wall Street Journal article goes into wonderful detail on how this 60 year-old technique has revitalized our gas industry and is impacting our ability to create energy, LOCALLY. No dealing with foreign countries, no jobs overseas. Right here in our own US of A backyard.

It now accounts for 25% of our gas supply and has brought what was once $15 per million BTUs to $4.

Something to be excited about no? Well not so fast. Environmentalists and their allies have come out against hydraulic fracturing and are raising public concern. The article goes on to separate Fact from Fiction.

•  Fracking contaminates drinking water allowing chemicals to leach into water sources. And Fracking
can release methane gas into our drinking water. Read the article, both NOT TRUE.

•  Fracking releases toxic or radioactive chemicals. With 99.5% of the fluid injected into fracture rock
is water and sand. Again, NOT TRUE.

•  Fracking causes cancer. Fracking causes earthquakes. Shale exploration is unregulated.
Again all untrue.

Pollution from trucks. This however is a fact, and in the article it talks about risk vs reward. It is obvious that the author of the article, and most likely the companies that were interviewed for the research are not connected to the Dust Control Industry. We need to work with energy industry leaders and show them how we can help minimize and prevent pollution that stems from fracking with high-quality dust and road stabilization techniques that are proven and available today. The reality is our solutions did not even exists 10 years ago, so the old way of thinking needs to be transformed with our new solutions.

My personal mission, and the DNA of my company Midwest is to be an environmental steward in the area of dust control, where we can impact the safety of both air and water. As an industry we need to step up and let the environmentalists know there are wonderful solutions that can help keep and grow fracking as a preferred technique to support our energy solutions. There you have it, all fracks.

Officials of the U.S. Geological Survey in Austin Texas told Long Island Suffolk County lawmakers a ban on coal tar sealers for driveways and parking lots could begin to significantly reduce contamination within five years and cut it in half in 15 years.

Now take a moment to think about this. Think about our driveways that are coal tar-based blacktops. Our kids are playing basketball on them, drawing chalk games and down on their hands and knees on them. How many times have you seen your kids hands and skin black from playing on these blacktops. And now discussions are taking place about the environmental impact on coal tar sealers.

There is a solution; Non-asphaltic alternative paving system that are “green” and eco-friendly. Many of your neighbors have already installed them. Many parks and town walking trails as well. If you are involved with your local schools or communities, and there are construction projects being considered, look for alternatives to coal tar blacktop.

And so does Midwest! Having spent my life trying to create powerful solutions that will help control dust particle pollutants so the air we breathe and the water we drink is safer for our planet, I support the EPA on last weeks injunction and settlement.

The dust control industry as a whole has looked at stormwater regulations as an incredibly positive move to help reduce pollution and impove the safety and quality of our water. The enforcement of this settlement is a clear sign that the EPA is not fooling around.

We have always said the price you pay to do things right will save tens of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars. Even in these tough economic times we all must weigh the cost of not doing things properly, both the monetary consequences, and the important ethical and moral obligations we have to the environment.

I’ll get down from my soapbox now, but it is a heartfelt thank you to the EPA for sticking to their guns.

Here is the link to the recent settlement case.
Here is a pdf of the article.

This is a long running issue; what and how to regulate coal ash. Although “the industry” says that 40% of coal ash is recycled, environmentalists argue that the presence of heavy metals in the combustion products makes all of it hazardous. The U.S. EPA is proposing new rules that would declare it as such, and eliminate the use of coal ash in building materials and tighten groundwater-monitoring.
 
Over the next few months, seven public hearings will take place in areas where coal-burning power plants generate nearly 90% of electricity. An environmental coalition is out to change things in a big way. Using public documents, they have released a major study “In Harms Way” showing how current state regulations have been ineffective and that tough federal regulations must be adopted.
 
My point of view is that our Industry is capable of developing technically sound and environmentally-friendly coal ash handling and disposal methods to protect our air, water and populous from contamination. We are called in when there are major problems and clean up after the fact, so we know first-hand we are capable of creating long-lasting solutions.
 
Some Power Plants are being pro-active and are trying to self-regulate, but this is a national issue that will ultimately  result in federal regulations to ensure our safety. The reality is that all of us as consumers will have to pay for this, so why not get it stated sooner rather than later. The Dust Control industry is ready to contribute to the solution now.

Tyler Hamilton is dead-on. Environmental journalism cannot be allowed to become a victim to the political theater that had denigrated so many of the topics which are so vital for each of us individually and worldwide.

Unfortunately, that does not mean that environmental reporters will become any less of an endangered species within the world of mainstream media. But the medium may need to change; specifically it’s future could be in the business community where large and small businesses devote most or all of their efforts into improving air quality, water quality, wildlife and natures habitat.

The message from those with the expertise, companies both large and small, may best be delivered in the actions they take. These companies can explain the complex issues and more importantly make the case for the solutions. Their value will be in solving the air and water quality issues, not just talking about them.

Midwest for example, is a small company specializing in environmental services, able to provide many valuable solutions; that’s almost the easy part. The hard part is being able to communicate the value in a way that actually argues the case that the solution does not “cost” but pays dividends in the overall quality of life.

This communications expertise is needed by those of us in business who have great solutions. Maybe we need to hire the Tyler Hamilton’s of this world to help tell our stories.

I would like to share an interesting story with you. It represents an example of why I believe independent testing of company claims is very important for the purchasers of products from companies within our industry – during the bidding stage, and then again during the delivery stage.

For many years we have been supplying a customer with their requirements for a dust palliative and soil stabilizer. Our multi-year contract just expired and the user has issued a notice of solicitation for current bids to fulfill their requirements. Their solicitation included a detailed performance requirement for the product to pass CBR lab testing for a specific soil type to meet the standards for the customer’s needs. The specification matched our specific product, which they have been using for many years.

In the bidding, a competitor quoted a price approximately 20% below our quoted price. Part of the competitive vendor’s bid information included marketing and test data to prove that their product was equal to the product called for in the specification.

Shortly after the competitor was awarded the new multi-year contract for the delivery and installation of their brand name product, based on being the low bidder, they began communicating with producers of the basic raw materials stating they had just received a multi-year contract and needed to source significant volumes of a non-prime polymer emulsion. Within these communications there was no product chemistry specification that might indicate that what they were trying to source would meet the requirements as called for by the purchaser’s specification.

So here is the issue; since testing and documentation for the specification requirements is typically only required at the bidding stage, and product sampling is NOT required at the delivery stage to assure the exact product specified in the bid is being delivered, the bait and switch can take place and the customer will never know.

It will take due diligence on the part of the customer to catch this bait and switch activity. It will also take significant due diligence to confirm that the environmental soundness of whatever is actually delivered and installed on public roadways is in fact what was represented.

We know that price is an issue and customers need to assure their constituencies that they have done everything possible to obtain the best product solution for the lowest price. We also know customers do not want to “buy price” and close their eyes to product deficiency and possible environmental issues.

This is why it is in the best interest of both the community of users and principled industry leaders to expose such bait and switch activities. This is needed for both the protection of people and the environment in which these products might be used.