EPA Says There’s No Need for New Hazardous Spill Regs
In a recent “final action”, the EPA announced that it will not “at this time” promulgate new regulations to prevent spills of hazardous substances (HSs) under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 311.
Category: Special Topics in Environmental Management
Report Details EPA’s Aggressive Implementation of Deregulatory Agenda
Among the actions President Donald Trump has taken to reform the issuance of federal regulations, none exceed Executive Order (EO) 13771, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs (January 30, 2017) in originality. That action stipulated that for every new regulation, the issuing federal agency must identify at least two prior regulations for repeal, replacement, or […]
A Closer Look at Incremental Sampling Methodology
Apart from the cleanup itself, sampling is probably the most important task to perform at a contaminated site (or a site suspected to be contaminated).
EPA’s Controversial O&G Methane Proposal
Seven years after the Obama administration issued major amendments to Clean Air Act (CAA) New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) affecting the oil and gas (O&G) sector and 3 years after it issued another set of amendments, the EPA is proposing to rescind substantial parts of both actions. First, the Agency wants to remove O&G storage […]
2015 Ozone Primary NAAQS Upheld by D.C. Circuit
Two challenges filed from opposite directions against the EPA’s 2015 primary or health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone were denied by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. At one end, environmental and health advocacy groups argued that the standard was insufficiently protective of children. At the […]
State CWA Certification Process Would Be Amended Under EPA 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.
Court Says EPA Memo on HAPs Not a ‘Final Action’
In a majority opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed a petition from the state of California and environmental groups to have the court review the legality of a memo William L. Wehrum, the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, issued to all Regional Air Division directors.
How Recurring Prescribed Fires Fit into the NAAQS
The EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards recently issued guidance on how information on prescribed fires on wildland may be factored into exceptional events demonstrations required by Section 319(b) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). If the Agency accepts a state’s exceptional event demonstration, air pollution resulting from the event is excluded from […]
Amendments to the Endangered Species Act: The Three Final Rules
The Trump administration has issued three final rules that together may constitute the most sweeping revisions yet made to regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The revisions specifically clarify procedures and criteria used to add species to or remove them from the lists of endangered and threatened species and to designate species’ critical habitats; […]
EPA Begins Rulemaking on Streamlining NSR
The EPA is proposing to amend its New Source Review (NSR) regulations (40 CFR 51.166 and 51.165) to allow the emissions decreases from a single project to be included in Step 1 of the NSR applicability test. The EPA has interpreted existing regulations to indicate that only emissions increases may be considered in Step 1, […]