Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The EPA has promulgated a federal implementation plan (FIP) to control emissions of nine pollutants from existing sewage sludge incinerators (SSIs), that is, those for which construction began on or before October 14, 2010. The intent of the FIP is to implement EPA’s March 21, 2011, emissions guidelines (EGs) for the existing SSIs. According to […]
The National Institute for Storage Tank Management (NISTM) recently held the 18th International Aboveground Storage Tank Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida. The 4-day conference provides the regulated community forecasted energy outlooks and a variety of advanced technological solutions and products. Each year the conference attracts tank owners and operators with an EPA-hosted practical […]
The potential health effects of climate change on workers is now available in a new report just released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The report, U.S. Global Change Research Program Climate and Health Assessment provides a comprehensive overview of the potential health effects of climate change across the United States. Included in the […]
In one of his last authored opinions on environmental law, the late Justice Antonin Scalia expressed the will of a 5–4 Supreme Court majority in Michigan v. EPA (No. 14–46 June 29, 2015) when he wrote that the EPA had erred when it determined that it was appropriate and necessary under Section 112 of the […]
Q. Will a source having four large gas fired boilers with fuel oil back up trigger the Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standards (MACT) if it burns oil to avoid high natural gas prices?
The air regulatory agencies and industries of many states have been frustrated by EPA’s decision to revise its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone in 2015. One of the major complaints is that the 2008 ozone NAAQS are still in effect. Therefore, states now face the prospect of implementing two different ozone standards […]
The next several months should be eventful in the promulgation of both international and U.S. standards for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from commercial aircraft. In February 2016, the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), a body of 170 international experts, convened by the United Nations’ (U.N.) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), unanimously recommended new CO2 […]
Amendments issued following a March 2014 judicial settlement addressing EPA’s construction and demolition (C&D) rule have been included in the Agency’s draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for stormwater discharges from construction activities (CGP). General permits under the Clean Water Act (CWA) are typically issued for 5 years; the current CGP is […]
If you are planning a small construction project now or in the future, did you know that you may qualify for a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or your state permitting authority? Projects that qualify for the waiver are exempt from the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) […]
Applying what it calls the “latest scientific information,” the EPA has updated its recommended aquatic life water quality criteria for cadmium. This is the fifth time—and the first time since 2001—that the Agency has changed the recommended criteria for cadmium since they were first issued 1980. There are four recommended criteria—two each (acute and chronic) […]