Category: Special Topics in Environmental Management

Back to Basics: Women in EHS

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine the issues that women face in EHS workplaces. In recent years, EHS leaders have been shifting focus towards becoming more sustainable and embracing concepts such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). […]

Biden Launches Clean Manufacturing Initiative

On February 15, 2022, the Biden administration announced plans to support clean manufacturing initiatives, including the creation of a Clean Task Force, to source low-carbon materials in federal purchasing and new trade policies to incentivize manufacturers of low-carbon aluminum and steel. The industrial sector currently produces almost one-third of domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according […]

The Ongoing Saga of Redefining WOTUS

The old adage that you can’t please everyone definitely applies to the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). According to the fall Unified Agenda, a new WOTUS definition was proposed to be released by the Biden administration in February 2022. However, there is a mountain of comments to sort through, as the EPA […]

Environmental Groups Demand Regional Haze SIPs

Thirty-nine U.S. states have failed to provide their revised regional haze state implementation plans (SIPs) as required by Section 304(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), according to a Notice of Intent (NOI) to file suit dated February 7, 2022, sent to the EPA by a coalition of environmental organizations, reports a Sierra Club press […]

EPA Wants to Put MATS Back in Play

The EPA recently proposed to “reaffirm the scientific, economic, and legal underpinnings of the 2012 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants, which require significant reductions of mercury, acid gases, and other harmful pollutants,” the Agency stated in a news release dated January 31, 2022. To do so, the Agency’s proposal is to […]

Infographic: The Fundamentals of ESG

The modern workplace is changing because of many different factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, and younger generations entering the workforce. Employees are demanding more from companies, in terms of what the company can do for them, and within a broader social context. To deal with this shift in values, employers are turning […]

Back to Basics: The Fundamentals of ESG

Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine the definition, history, and workplace implementation of ESG, and how it can lead to a more sustainable workplace. The modern workplace is changing because of many different factors, including the COVID-19 […]

North Carolina GHG Executive Order

On January 7, 2022, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order (EO) 246, which affirms “North Carolina’s commitment to a clean energy economy and [directs] next steps in the state’s plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and create economic opportunities for North Carolinians across the state, especially in underserved communities,” states the governor’s […]

EPA Says It’s Time to Clean Coal Ash

On January 11, 2022, the EPA announced coal-fired power plants will be required to clean up their coal-ash waste ponds as the Agency begins enforcing regulations to remove decades of coal combustion residue (CCR). Facilities impacted by this announcement are located in New York, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Kentucky, reports CNN. CCR […]

Streamlined CWA Permitting Final Rule Issued

On December 27, 2021, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued a final rule for the reissuance and modification of nationwide permits (NWP), which authorizes “certain activities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) of 1899 that have no more than minimal individual […]