Midwest Education Law

The EPA is currently conducting a symposium on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in the nation's schools.  Here is an excerpt from the EPA's news release:

“Protecting children’s health is a top priority for EPA,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “School kids, parents and teachers face challenges every day, so EPA designed the Tools for Schools Program to make sure that poor indoor air quality isn’t one of them.”

Poor indoor air quality in schools can impact the comfort and health of students and staff, which, in turn, can affect concentration, attendance, and student performance. Eight school districts across the country are being recognized at the IAQ Tools for Schools National Symposium for leading the way to improving conditions at their schools and taking action to prevent future IAQ health risks. The symposium focuses on a wide range of environmental risks, including radon, mold, pest management, and asthma management.

Here are a few tips schools can take to start improving their indoor air quality:

- Get an IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit online
- Review the IAQ Coordinator’s Guide provided in the IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit
- Develop an IAQ team and review current IAQ practices in your school
- Develop an IAQ program and encourage good IAQ practices across the school and community
- Test your school for radon

The IAQ Tools for Schools Program, launched in 1995, assists school districts in identifying the actions they can take to successfully plan and implement an effective IAQ management program.

More information on IAQ Tools for Schools:  http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/index.html

In early 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to finalize its "Area Source" boiler rule which will require first-time controls on air emissions from existing and new institutional boilers at schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education, as well as other commercial and institutional boilers. 

EPA estimates there are 183,000 existing boilers at 92,000 separate facilities that will be covered by the Area Source final rule.  "Institutional boilers" are combustion units that burn coal, oil, biomass, or natural gas as a means to generate steam or hot water for heat.   

If your school has a boiler, now is the time to begin considering how these new rules will impact operations.  For more information on any of these rules, or other recent environmental developments, please contact Andrew Brought at abrought@spencerfane.com, any other member of the Environmental Law Practice Group or Education Law Group, or your regular Spencer Fane contacts, at 1-800-526-6529.  (Thanks to Drew for alerting us to this development, and authoring this post!)