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In a final action, the Trump EPA has reversed a finding the Agency made in 2000 (and affirmed by the Obama EPA in 2012) that it is appropriate and necessary (A&N) to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from coal- and oil-fired electric generating units (EGUs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act […]
It has been clear for some time that deregulatory actions at the federal level will slow but not stop the decline of coal as an energy source in the United States. Still, the EPA continues to do what it can to ensure that coal remains a key component of the nation’s energy portfolio.
According to projections by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the United States from burning fossil fuels to generate energy will decrease during the early to mid-2020s but will then begin to increase all the way to 2050. The reason, says the EIA, is that “economic growth and increasing […]
In a final rule containing technical amendments to the EPA’s National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for petroleum refineries, the Agency is also announcing its decisions regarding petitions for reconsideration of the NESHAP received from industry and environmental groups. For four issues for which reconsideration was requested, the EPA says it believes that […]
There is strong support in the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) industry for a bill in the U.S. Congress that would significantly reduce the nation’s use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), one of the world’s most common refrigerants and a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG).
The ethanol industry, as well as the agricultural sectors that provide the raw materials for the production of ethanol, welcomed an opinion by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that vacated decisions by the EPA to extend exemptions to renewable fuel obligations to three small refineries. The panel’s basic […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Philadelphia Energy Solutions for serious violations of the process safety management (PSM) standard and proposed $132,600 in penalties.
On its way to becoming a final rule, an odd thing happened to an EPA proposal that would withdraw requirements promulgated by the Obama administration—major players in the affected sector itself have come out against the proposal and requested that the Agency preserve the provisions it wants to eliminate.
In October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1057, a bill specifically intended to change the primary mission of the state Division of Oil , Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) from increasing production of oil and natural gas (O&G) in the state to ensuring that the regulation of O&G provides protection of public health […]
The Trump administration is relying heavily on its environmental authority to try to reverse the declining role of coal in energy generation. Under both the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Agency has the power to regulate how much the coal-fired electricity sector must do and how much […]