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U.S. EPA Files Draft of New NSPS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 26, 2013, filed with the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) its draft of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for wood-burning hearth appliances. The OMB is charged with assessing the draft of the NSPS to determine if it is "reasonable," according to Hearth, Patio & Barbecue (HPBA) president and CEO Jack Goldman.
The OMB has a maximum of 90 days to complete the assessment, but Goldman says some assessments have taken as long as one year. After the OMB has completed its assessment and given its recommendations to the EPA, the revised draft will become a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and will be published in the Federal Register.
The HPBA doesn't know exactly what is contained in the current draft; it will take action based on what it has been told may be in the draft by the EPA's Gil Wood. The HPBA will hold meetings with industry members of its Wood and Pellet Section regarding the industry's reply to the draft, followed by a meeting of the HPBA and industry leaders with the OMB.
"Our goal is to educate the OMB during this assessment period to get it to make recommendations back to the EPA to ensure the draft is more in our interest," says Goldman.
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Innovative Hearth Products Closes One Plant
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Innovative Hearth Products has announced the closure of their Union City, Tennessee facility. The closure is scheduled for spring or summer of 2014. Currently, the company has four facilities with two located in the same region, one in Union City and one in Russellville, Alabama.
Mark Klein, CEO, said: "This is part of our stated strategic plan, to have West Coast and East Coast, mirror image, fireplace manufacturing facilities. We realize this has some very difficult consequences for many of our long time employees at the Union City facility. This is our plan to remain the low- cost producer and stay very competitive in the difficult building products industry." The company announced this information early to provide its employees ample time to make all the necessary arrangements. Further details will be available as the plans develop. About Innovative Hearth Products: Offering a diverse family of products for every style and budget, Innovative Hearth Products (IHP) is a leading manufacturer of indoor and outdoor fireplaces, fireplace inserts, free-standing stoves, gas log sets, accessories and venting products for the specialty retail, residential new construction and industrial markets. IHP has manufacturing plants in Auburn, WA, Union City, TN, Russellville, AL and Santa Ana, CA. For further information contact Catherine Scott, Marketing Communications Manager, Catherine.Scott@lennoxhp.com.
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Fire from the Blue Rhino propane plant explosions light up the night sky on Monday in central Florida. TYLER BOYLSTON/DEMOTIX/CORBIS.
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Explosions Rock Blue Rhino Plant in Florida
TAVARES, FLORIDA
By David Boroff, New York Daily News
At least eight people were injured, including five critically, as a series of explosions rocked a central Florida propane gas plant on Monday night, sending local residents who believed "bombs are going off" into a panic.
All the workers at the Blue Rhino propane plant in Tavares, Florida, were accounted for early Tuesday.
"People from very far away and in towns six, seven, eight, 10 miles from here were reporting feeling their homes shaking," John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff's Office told ABCNews.com.
Three workers were listed in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center early Tuesday, while one person injured in the explosion was in critical condition at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital. Other injured workers drove themselves to hospitals.
The plant, located northwest of Orlando, refilled propane tanks usually used for barbecues and other uses. There were at least 53,000, 20-gallon tanks on the premises.
The tanks at the plant hold 90,000 gallons of propane each, but did not ignite the fire, Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith said Tuesday morning. "We don't think there was any act of sabotage or anything like that," Keith told the Orlando Sentinel. "It was probably a human or equipment error." "It was like a car had run into my house, is what I thought had happened," said Marni Whitehead, who lives less than a mile from the plant.  | |
Firefighters walk through a sea of propane cylinders following Monday night's accident. There were at least 53,000, 20-gallon tanks at the plant. JOHN RAOUX/AP.
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She ran outside and saw the explosions.
"We knew right away it was the plant, the propane plant," Whitehead said. "After that, it was just sort of panic. And it was just boom after boom after boom."
"I have heard tons of booms for at least 30 minutes," Mount Dora's Blake Cottle told ABC affiliate WFTV-TV.
Officials believe the fire was contained, but while reporters were examining the facility on Tuesday morning, firefighters found burning plastic tank caps in a gigantic container, according to the Sentinel. Blue Rhino, which was built in 2004 and employs fewer than 50 people, is a subsidiary of Kansas-based Ferrellgas. "We know very little so far. It's very early, it's very preliminary," a Ferrellgas spokesman told the Sentinel. "It was a tremendous fire," Keith said Tuesday morning. "We still have a lot of work to do." Read more at the website.
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