Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It seemed like 2020 was going to be the year of a big win for environmental groups in their war against single-use plastic bags. Several states, including New York, California, Maine, and New Jersey, had already enacted or were in the process of enacting bans on the bags. Additionally, bag taxes as much as $1 […]
On June 25, 2020, the EPA recognized eight initiatives by federal agencies for their efforts in increasing efficiency in their facilities in fiscal year 2019. The Agency is encouraging all businesses to follow their lead for the good of the environment and the bottom line.
Executive Order (EO) 13924, issued in response to COVID-19 by President Donald Trump on May 19, 2020, authorized federal agencies to provide regulatory relief to support recovery of the economy. Trump characterized this order as giving agencies “tremendous power” to cut regulations seen to hinder economic recovery.
In a petition filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 19, 2020, 23 advocacy groups represented by Earthjustice sued the EPA and asked the court to overturn the current administration’s updated benefit-cost analysis (BCA) for limits on coal-fired power plants’ mercury emissions. The existing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) regulations took […]
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management Standard, last updated in 2015, sets out key criteria for environmental management and, in turn, environmental compliance. By using a framework to map out an effective environmental management system, it can be tailored to any type of organization regardless of product, service, or industry, and can […]
The EPA proposed a new rule on June 11, 2020, that would impose specific requirements for the Agency to utilize uniform and transparent “high-quality analysis” in its statutory obligations in the rulemaking process under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Many statutes, including the CAA, include cost consideration language but do not provide exact guidelines or […]
Earlier this month, the EPA finalized its “Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule,” which aims to increase the transparency and efficiency of the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification process to promote the timely review of infrastructure projects.
On March 12, 2020, the EPA finalized its rule amending the 2004 National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Organic Liquids Distribution (OLD NESHAP). Organic Liquids Distribution (OLD) air toxics standards regulate chemical and petrochemical facilities that manufacture, distribute, and store organic liquids, except gasoline and its derivatives. These standards limit the quantity of […]
In 2003, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA established the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Site Remediation (40 CFR Part 63, Subpart GGGGG). In 2006, the rule was revised to address questions and clarifications, as well as technical errors in the original version. Many years later, in 2019, the […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided in April 2020 that the EPA is required under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to set additional emissions limits on hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from pulp mills covered by the National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at […]