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In its 2018 Automotive Trends Report, the EPA states that estimated real-world CO2 emissions from model year (MY) 2017 light-duty vehicles were at a record low and fuel economy at a record high. The report covers vehicles manufactured in 2017, the most recent year for which the Agency has complete data. The report is based […]
The EPA’s recent final rule based on its residual risk and technology review (RTR) of the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Surface Coating of Wood Building Products (Subpart QQQQ, Part 63) (March 4, 2019, Federal Register (FR)) provides an opportunity to consider how the Agency determines if […]
Reforming environmental laws, rules, and policies occupies about a half of President Donald Trump’s Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America. Since moving into the White House, the administration has taken up the call to simplify and speed up the process of conducting environmental reviews of federal actions, including major infrastructure projects, as required under […]
Opposing opinions by three U.S. appeals courts (two issued by the same circuit on the same day) have led to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to address the core Clean Water Act (CWA) question—Is a point source discharging pollutants to navigable water via a groundwater pathway the functional equivalent of a direct discharge […]
Capturing and destroying harmful emissions from pharmaceutical processes can be challenging. It’s not because the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are difficult to destroy, but rather their concentration spikes that complicate things. These process streams raise safety concerns, both when they’re collected in vents and when they reach the final combustion equipment. This article discusses the […]
In a 2016 settlement agreement with 10 environmental groups, the EPA committed to providing funds to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) to convene a committee to study the effectiveness of the Agency’s Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP). The NAS has now published its final report, which includes recommendations to put the MSGP […]
In the latest of its periodic reports on what the legislative branch is doing about climate change, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes that lawmakers in eight Congresses over the last 15 years have introduced bills to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 60 times.
In October 2017, former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that no individual who is benefiting from an EPA-issued grant may serve on an EPA federal advisory committee (FAC). The intent of the new directive was to eliminate “the appearance or reality of potential interference with [FAC members’] ability to independently and objectively serve as a […]
Fourteen states have responded to the EPA’s June 22, 2018, request to voluntarily submit information about facilities that produce, use, or store hazardous substances (HSs) designated at 40 CFR part 116 (Clean Water Act [CWA] Listed Hazardous Substances), the CWA HS they store, historical discharges of these HSs to waterways, and any state requirements relating […]
Introduced in the House and Senate on February 7, 2019, the Green New Deal is a proposed resolution that goes much further than recognizing climate change as the ultimate environmental threat. It also directly links climate change to “systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic injustices” that disproportionately affect indigenous communities, communities of color, migrant […]