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The EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) has finalized a policy document titled Enforcing Effective Partnerships Between the EPA and the States in Civil Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Work. The intent of the document is to delineate to the extent possible how the EPA and states that are authorized to implement and enforce […]
In their Spring 2019 Regulatory Agendas, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) indicated they are aiming for December 2019 to issue their final revised definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The revised definition of WOTUS is intended to provide clarity to farmers and other members on the regulated community […]
The attorneys general (AGs) of 10 states and the District of Columbia have asked a federal court to order the EPA to initiate rulemaking to require manufacturers (including importers) and processors to report information about asbestos.
During the first half of 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) enforcement record has proven that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Despite shifting priorities and upheaval regarding the scope of the Agency’s jurisdiction over waters of the United States (WOTUS), the EPA has quietly continued to issue hefty fines […]
After acquiring new information, the EPA has decided not to revise its June 28, 2016, Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category. That action finalized pretreatment standards for unconventional oil and gas (UOG) facilities based in part on the Agency’s understanding that no such facilities in the country […]
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected challenges the Sierra Club mounted against procedures the EPA uses to approve plans states develop to monitor compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
In a final rule, the EPA has revised the Agency’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations to incorporate amendments to the FOIA that Congress issued in 2007, 2009, and 2016. These are the first substantive changes the Agency has made to its FOIA regulations since 2002. Among the more important revisions, the rule clarifies which […]
Under a new EPA proposal, a major source of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) could be reclassified as an area source at any time by limiting its potential to emit (PTE) HAPs to below the major source thresholds of 10 tons per year (tpy) of any single HAP or 25 tpy of any combination of HAPs. […]
The use of computers and Internet conferencing are well-established tools for business meetings. But that may not be the case for states and Indian tribes that hold the public hearings that Clean Water Act (CWA) Sections 303(c)(1) and 101(e) and 40 CFR 131.20(b) require when amending or reviewing water quality standards (WQSs).
The EPA has issued new guidance describing measures and other considerations federal agencies should adopt when fulfilling their roles in the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) Section 401 state certification process, particularly in relation to federal permitting of infrastructure projects. Specific topics addressed in the guidance are timelines for review and action on Section 401 certifications, […]