Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, the EPA issued draft guidance dated December 4, 2020, to clarify how the Agency intends to apply the decision on a case-by-case basis.
On October 22, 2020, the EPA finalized a rule to streamline and improve the Clean Air New Source Review (NSR) permitting process. It specifically clarifies the process to evaluate when an NSR preconstruction permit is required when an existing major emitter facility makes changes.
The EPA must improve oversight of how states implement air emissions regulations for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, according to a report published by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) on July 30, 2020. The OIG serves as the EPA’s watchdog.
On July 13, 2020, the EPA published its final rule “to update and clarify the substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act) section 401.”
By a tally of 6 to 3, the U.S. Supreme Court found that under certain circumstances, a discharge of pollution from a point source that travels in groundwater before entering a navigable water subjects the discharger to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Attempts by the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin to invalidate a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 (dredge and fill) permit the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) granted Aquila Resources Inc. for a mining project on a portion of the Menominee River were unsuccessful in both a federal district court and the U.S. Court […]
Noting that the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) petition process for Title V permits will benefit from additional clarity and transparency, the EPA has issued a final rule that establishes three new provisions for petitions.
In Montana v. United States (1981), the U.S. Supreme Court found that Indian tribes do not have civil or criminal jurisdiction over nontribal members within a reservation. This opinion has proven to be one of the clearest indications that Indian tribes possess no authority over lands they do not own (called non-Indian fee lands), even […]
With the goal of expediting resolution of objections to permits issued by the EPA under major environmental statutes, the Agency is proposing amendments to regulations governing its Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Among the seven proposed revisions, the most significant would strengthen the role of the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) program. Other parts of the proposal […]
Proponents of energy infrastructure projects such as natural gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines that require federal licenses or permits welcomed an EPA proposal to amend regulations to implement the state certification process authorized by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for these projects.