BIOS, ABSTRACTS, PHOTOS – APRIL 22-23, 2010

 

COLIN McCALL – ALL4, INC.

 

 

BIO: Colin McCall is the manager of ALL4 Inc.’s (ALL4’s) Ambient Group, responsible for executing air dispersion modeling and air quality and meteorological monitoring projects in support of a wide range of industrial clients.  ALL4 is an environmental consulting firm specializing in air quality consulting.  ALL4’s Ambient Group conducts PSD air dispersion modeling, nonattainment NSR modeling to support emission reduction credit purchases, air toxics modeling, and meteorological/ambient monitoring in support of air quality permitting and compliance needs.  For more information on today’s presentation contact Colin at cmccall@all4inc.com or 610.933.5246 x20.  To sign-up for ALL4’s monthly electronic newsletter “4 The Record”, which covers timely topics such as today’s presentation, visit www.all4inc.com

 

ABSTRACT: Within the past two (2) years, U.S. EPA has promulgated/proposed a 1-hour NO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), a 1-hour SO2 NAAQS, and a revised 8-hour ozone NAAQS.  In addition, U.S. EPA has proposed new source review (NSR) regulations related to the annual and 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.  These new health-based NAAQS are extremely stringent and will make it increasingly difficult to obtain approval for new facilities or for existing facility expansion and modernization projects.  Now more than ever, the NAAQS and the associated air dispersion modeling requirements in both attainment and nonattainment areas will dictate the viability of new projects and the way that new projects are designed.  This presentation will focus on the new NAAQS and their impacts on power plants, including recommendations on the strategic approaches that can be used to address the new NAAQS levels.

 

 

KATE VACARRO - MANKO, GOLD, KATCHER & FOX, LLP

 

 

 

BIO: Kate Vaccaro is an associate with Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP, an environmental and energy boutique law firm located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.  Kate has experience advising clients on issues related to regulatory compliance, litigation, and transactional matters, particularly in the area of air quality. She has represented industrial and commercial entities, ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to closely held companies, in complex matters involving permitting and enforcement actions and regulatory compliance counseling, among other things.  Kate is a 2005 graduate of the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, where she was a member of the Temple Law Review.

 

Abstract: My "Hot Topic Hour" presentation will focus on state-level implementation of the federal New Source Review requirements for PM2.5.  In particular, I will discuss certain challenges faced by owners and operators of fossil fuel-fired power plants and other industrial facilities located in states seeking to institute PM2.5 NSR regulations that are more stringent than the federal standards, evaluating both practical and economic feasibility considerations.

 

 

SONJA SAX - GRADIENT

 

 

BIO: Sonja Sax is an environmental health scientist specializing in exposure assessment and health effects of environmental pollutants, including airborne gases and particles. At Gradient, Sonja has been actively involved in the investigation of indoor and outdoor air quality issues. Sonja also contributes to the evaluation and interpretation of epidemiological and toxicological studies, and in the preparation of technical and expert reports. In this capacity, Sonja has published and presented extensively on the health risks of particles and gases and has often provided regulatory comments to the US EPA, including comments on the NAAQS. Sonja can be contacted via e-mail at ssax@gradientcorp.com or by phone (617) 395-5000.

 

ABSTRACT: Overview of the New Proposed PM and Ozone NAAQS

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) are currently undergoing regulatory review and the ozone NAAQS are being reconsidered. US EPA is recommending lowering both the PM and the ozone NAAQS despite considerable uncertainties associated with the underlying studies used to support these efforts. Gradient will present a brief history of the NAAQS for PM and ozone, an overview of the current review process and uncertainties in the supporting evidence, and the possible implications of lower PM and ozone standards for point sources such as coal fired power plants.  

 

 

Gale F. Hoffnagle - TRC Environmental Corporation

 

 

 

BIO: Mr. Hoffnagle is a Senior Vice President and Technical Director of TRC Environmental Corporation.  He has over 42 years of consulting experience in air quality meteorology, air quality modeling and exposure assessment. He is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) and a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP).

 

Mr. Hoffnagle received a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from New York University in 1967 and during his undergraduate summers worked for the New York Urban Air Pollution Dynamics program under Professor Robert Borenstein and Dr. James Halitsky.  His Master of Science degree, received in Meteorology in 1968 from New York University, is in Air Pollution Control and was sponsored by a grant under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1967 from the National Air Pollution Control Administration.  While serving as a Captain at the United States Air Force Environmental Health Laboratory, Mr. Hoffnagle obtained his Master of Business Administration from Golden Gate University in 1972.

 

Mr. Hoffnagle is an active member of the Air and Waste Management Association.  He served as President in 1987 through 1988 and has taken many leadership roles therein.  He is currently Chairman of the Air Pollution Meteorology committee and General Program Chairman of the Air and Waste Management Association’s Air Quality Modeling Conference set for April of 2006.  He has chaired eight such conferences in the past.  He has chaired sessions on meteorology, provided papers and is currently on the Editorial Review Board for the Environmental Manager’s Magazine.  He is an Honorary Member of and a Fellow of the Association.  As a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, he currently serves as the President Elect and was a past Chair of its Board on Environment.  He has participated and led studies advising Connecticut’s Legislature on MTBE, manganese, nuclear power plant radiation, indoor air quality in schools, hybrid diesel buses, and many other subjects.

 

Mr. Hoffnagle is also a member and participant in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Meteorological Society, the Council of Industrial Meteorologists and the Society of Exposure Assessment.

 

Mr. Hoffnagle has two primary practice areas: 

 

1.      Support to clients in compliance with the Clean Air Act, and

2.      Expert Testimony in litigation.

 

Support to clients has included development and/or modeling demonstrations of compliance.  He has assisted in the preparation of demonstrations of compliance with the Lead NAAQS for State Implementation Plans in Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Arizona.  Many other assignments have included issues related to fugitive dust in mines, quarries, cement plants and Superfund sites. 

 

The expert testimony portion of his practice has included cases on regulatory compliance, e.g., New Source Review litigation, and toxic torts.  Among the toxic torts have been cases on fugitive emissions from mining (including lead), tailings ponds and piles, and cases concerning emissions from existing and closed smelting operations.  There are many other cases not related to lead where fugitive emissions are important sources being considered.  His role in these cases included emissions calculation, air quality modeling, interpretation of monitoring data and exposure assessment.

 

Mr. Hoffnagle attended the public sessions of the last two CASAC lead panels in 1970’s and 1980’s.  Mr. Hoffnagle also testified twice in the 1980’s to CASAC review panels on particulate matter concerning fugitive dust issues on behalf of the American Mining Congress.  In addition, in an assignment from the World Bank, Mr. Hoffnagle worked with the Ministry of Mines in Peru to develop smelter emissions regulations.

 

Within the past two years, Mr. Hoffnagle’s clients have included a wide variety of industrial facilities and law firms.  Out of some 30 compliance assistance projects and 60 litigation support projects, 2 have been from the lead industry.  These represent less than 1% of his billable hours.  As a salaried employee of a public corporation and not a corporate officer of TRC Companies, Mr. Hoffnagle has no financial stake in the outcome of any of his assignments.

 

ABSTRACT: What is the Power Plant impact on PM2.5 and ozone non-attainment?

There are many questions about the modeling of such impacts. What model to use? What assumptions to make? How to interpret the results. The experiences of several permitting efforts in which modeling was required for PM2.5 and ozone will help shed some light on these questions.

 

  

BRYAN BRENDLE - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS

 

BIO: Bryan Brendle serves as the NAM’s Director of Energy and Resources Policy issues, focusing on federal legislation related to expansion of domestic energy supplies and air quality.  Prior to joining the NAM in early 2005, Mr. Brendle worked as the Director of Government Relations for the Washington, DC firm of Baise & Miller, representing clients before the Congress and federal agencies primarily on environmental matters. Mr. Brendle has also worked in a government relations capacity with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games and the Heritage Foundation. A native Texan, Mr. Brendle earned a Bachelor of Arts from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and a Juris Doctor from Mercer Law School in Georgia.