Clean Water Reporting Gets...Cleaner

Nixon supported the Clean Water Bill's aims but objected to its pricetag

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to modernize Clean Water Act reporting for municipalities, industries, and other facilities. The final rule will require regulated entities and state and federal regulators to use existing, available information technology to electronically report data required by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program instead of filing written paper reports.

EPA estimates that, once the rule is fully implemented, the 46 states and the Virgin Islands Territory that are authorized to administer the NPDES program will collectively save approximately $22.6 million each year as a result of switching from paper to electronic reporting. The final rule will make facility-specific information, such as inspection and enforcement history, pollutant monitoring results, and other data required by NPDES permits accessible to the public through EPA’s website.

“Electronic reporting will give the public full transparency into water pollution sources, save millions of dollars, and lead to better water quality in American communities,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This rule will significantly reduce the burden and costs of paperwork, freeing up limited resources for states and other regulatory authorities to focus on the most serious water quality problems. After more than two years of working closely with states and a range of stakeholders, today we take a critical step to bring clean water protection into the modern age.”

“ECOS is pleased to see a rule move ahead that modernizes how businesses, states, and the federal government interface and share information in the clean water program,” said Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Environmental Council of the States. “Our focus going forward with EPA and the impacted regulated community will be on smooth implementation of this rule, and on developing flexible approaches when needed.”

The Clean Water Act requires that municipal, industrial or commercial facilities that discharge wastewater directly into waters of the United States obtain a permit. The NPDES program requires that permitted facilities monitor and report data on pollutant discharges and take other actions to ensure discharges do not affect human health or the environment. Currently, some facilities subject to these reporting requirements submit data in paper form to states and other regulatory authorities, where the information must be manually entered into data systems. Through the e-reporting rule, these facilities will electronically report data directly to the appropriate regulatory authority.

EPA proposed the e-reporting rule in July of 2013 with a public comment period. Since then, EPA has held over more than 70 technical and individual meetings with states to review the electronic reporting provisions and to identify any issues requiring resolution. In addition, EPA held over 50 webinars and meetings with over 1,200 stakeholders to discuss the rulemaking. EPA will continue collaborating with states as they enhance their electronic reporting capabilities to support the rule’s implementation. Over the next few months, EPA will schedule trainings and outreach webinar sessions for states and regulated entities to provide an overview of the final rule, and the next steps for implementing electronic reporting.

In response to state feedback, the final rule provides authorized NPDES programs with more flexibility for implementation, providing more time for the transition from paper to electronic reporting and more flexibility in how they can grant electronic reporting waivers to facilities. Most facilities subject to effluent monitoring reporting requirements will be required to start submitting data electronically one year following the effective date of the final rule. A second phase will incorporate electronic reporting for other Clean Water Act reports such as performance status reports for municipal urban stormwater programs, controls on industrial discharges to local sewage treatment plants, and sewer overflows. Also in response to comments and suggestions from states, EPA is providing states with more time to electronically collect, manage, and share this data – up to five years instead of two years as initially proposed.

This rulemaking is part of EPA’s Next Generation Compliance strategy, as well as the E-Enterprise for the Environment strategy with states and tribes, to take advantage of new tools and innovative approaches to increase compliance and reduce pollution. The shift toward electronic reporting in the NPDES program and others will help make environmental reporting more accurate, complete, and efficient. It will also help EPA and co-regulators better manage information, and improve effectiveness and transparency.

EPA expects to publish the final rule in the Federal Register in October, 2015. The final rule will be effective 60 days following this publication.

View the final rule here.

How Big is the Market for Kitchen and Bathroom Linen?

The worldwide market for kitchen and bathroom linen registered an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 3.7% during 2008-2014. Till 2019-end, the market is forecast to grow at an average rate of 1.0% per year.

Currently, kitchen and toilet linen of cotton terry towelling capture сlose to 83.5% of the total demand, whereas the remaining share is distributed amid other kitchen and toilet linen of cotton (8.8%), kitchen and toilet linen of man-made fibers (just over 6%) and kitchen and toilet linen of other materials (1.7%).

China, Turkey, Japan, the UK and the US are the dominant kitchen and toilet linen markets, whilst such nations as Poland, the Philippines, Bolivia, Jordan and Morocco are expected to post the highest growth at 10.3%, 9.5%, 8.3%, 5.5% and 5.5% per annum, respectively, over the forecasted period.

source: Global Research and Data Services

Don't Drink the Water (without Treatment!)

Propelled by continuous growth in industrialization, especially in developing economies, increasing water contamination and increasing awareness about the importance of clean drinking water is expected to drive the water treatment systems market at a compound annual growth rate of 8.52% from 2015 to 2020.

The market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to register the highest growth by 2020 owing to significant investment in point-of-entry technologies, as well as its growing economy. The growth of this region is supplemented by the rising demand for clean drinking water in developing economies such as India and China. The main key players in this market are The DOW Chemical Company, Honeywell International Inc., 3M Company , Danaher Corporation, Pentair PLC , Best Water Technology (BWT) AG , Calgon Carbon Corporation , Culligan International, General Electric and Watts Water Technologies Inc.

For more information visit  Water Treatment Systems Market

National Assoc. of Manufacturers Decries China's Pollution

With the White House set to make a determination on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ozone proposal by October 1, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is launching its latest major ad buy. This ad highlights how air pollution from abroad is offsetting the substantial air quality gains made across the United States.

The ad buy, the latest in a multimillion-dollar television campaign by the NAM, will first air in Washington, D.C., Virginia and New Mexico on Wednesday, September 9, and will continue through October 1 in several other states. “It makes no sense to punish manufacturers in the United States for China’s failure to curb air pollution,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “We are part of the solution.”

Communities throughout the United States are pushing hard to reduce ozone levels—and it’s working. According to the EPA, ground-level ozone is down nearly 20 percent over the past decade and by 33 percent since 1980. Out west, states have reduced their ozone production by 21 percent in recent years. Despite these substantial improvements, a recent study by researchers affiliated with NASA concluded that air pollution from China is offsetting emission-reduction measures in the United States.

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 14 million men and women, contributes $2.09 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for more than three-quarters of private-sector research and development.

What You Don’t Repair You Destroy

Critical maintenance failings that risk the long-term health and productivity of British manufacturing are highlighted in a recent report published by Bosch Rexroth UK. The report, What You Don’t Repair You Destroy, catalogs a series of problems affecting manufacturing maintenance practices that threaten productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.

Published in conjunction with the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET), the report surveyed 300 engineers in a variety of roles from manufacturing director through to maintenance engineer. Key findings include 71% of engineers describing their maintenance practices as reactive or planned; 50% stating that maintenance training budgets have stagnated or decreased in recent years and that the majority of maintenance engineers receive only five days training or less every year.

Alastair Johnstone, managing director of Bosch Rexroth UK, said: “We have been concerned for some time that maintenance practices and skills have not kept pace with advances in machine complexity. “This report suggests that UK manufacturing is walking a tightrope, with dated maintenance practices and budgetary constraints posing a critical risk to the long-term health of our manufacturing base. More strategic maintenance, such as condition monitoring and preventive maintenance techniques, are the exception rather than the rule. He added: “This report is, of course, a snapshot. There are outstanding examples of maintenance practices in British manufacturing, you only need to look at the car industry as a prime example of that. But, it is vitally important that the rest of the industry follow suit and take a longer-term view of maintenance and its positive impact in order to safeguard the UK’s impressive productivity statistics which are, rightly, celebrated.”

The report covers keys areas of maintenance, including resource, planning and monitoring, critical machinery, obsolescence and training and includes verbatim quotes from engineers who took part in the research, which detail their concerns about the role of maintenance in manufacturing and the challenges faced on a daily basis.

The report can be downloaded here.

4 Trends to Watch in Credit Cards

Your customers all use them. So do you. Here's four emerging trends with credit cards:

1. Mobile and Alternative Payments Are Reshaping the Consumer Experience. New innovative payment methods are quickly gaining popularity. With the rise of mobile devices, consumers are increasingly turning to mobile and alternative payment options. Cash, checks, and credit cards could eventually become relics of the past. POS mobile payments reached $35 billion in 2014, and strong growth is expected through 2017, according to the report Mobile and Alternative Payments in the U.S., Forth Edition.

2. The Small Business Card Market Is Positioned for Growth. The U.S. small business card purchase value is an estimated $505 billion, up 10.1 percent from 2013, according to Packaged Facts, a leading publisher of market research. The market for U.S. small business cards is expected to grow into 2016. Several factors contribute to the upswing, including increased industry innovation, employment growth, and favorable macroeconomic trends. For more information, see the Financial Services for Small Businesses in the U.S. Third Edition report.

3. Co-Branded Credit Cards Are Attracting Millennials.  In an intensely competitive market environment, a variety of players are pursuing affluent consumers by offering co-branded credit cards with more rewards and deeper benefits. According to a 2015 report titled Co-Branded and Affinity Cards in the U.S. Fifth Edition, co-branded credit cards generated $809 billion in U.S. purchase value. Visa captured the greatest share at 47 percent, followed by MasterCard at 30 percent, and American Express at 23 percent. Co-branded cards are working to draw in more millennials, at a time when it is increasingly difficult for marketers to rely on brand loyalty.

4. Affluent U.S. Consumers Remain a Key Target Market. Because affluent consumers tend to use their credit cards frequently, spend large amounts of money, and pay on time, they are an important target market for credit card companies, particularly during turbulent economic times. Credit card companies market to luxury consumers by offering access, concierge services, security, and exclusivity. World Elite MasterCard, for example, entices affluent households with an on-call personal travel advisor, luxury benefits and amenities, and VIP promotions. Although emerging luxury markets are expanding rapidly in places like China, the U.S. luxury market remains the world’s largest. According to the Federal Reserve Bulletin, there are 11.53 million millionaire households in the United States.

source: blog.marketresearch.com