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While the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) creates opportunities for investors to fund carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration/storage (CCUS) projects and provides Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Section 45Q tax credits at a rate of $85 per ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured and stored, the regulatory red tape for permitting in the sector remains daunting. The […]
Baton Rouge District Judge Trudy White recently vacated air permits for the Formosa Petrochemical Corp.’s proposed plastic and petrochemical plant in Louisiana’s infamous industrialized “Cancer Alley,” so named because of the high rates of cancer suffered by the predominantly African-American residents. Environmental and citizen advocacy groups challenged the permit approval decision for Formosa’s controversial Sunshine […]
The EPA announced the first 18 states to receive Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding for water infrastructure improvements. The BIL allocates more than $50 billion to the EPA for repairing the nation’s essential water infrastructure, which helps communities access clean, safe, and reliable drinking water; increase resilience; collect and treat wastewater to protect public health; […]
On September 13, 2022, a group of environmental and community advocacy organizations petitioned the EPA to close “loopholes” in the regulations implementing the Clean Air Act (CAA) that “allow facilities like oil refineries, chemical plants, and incinerators to disregard emission standards, stop reporting their pollution, and avoid fines or other consequences for excess pollution they […]
Having failed to reach the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone by July 20, 2021, the EPA announced a final proposed action to downgrade the following five regions from “Serious” nonattainment status to “Severe”: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Loveland, CO Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX Morongo Band of Mission Indians, CA New York-N. New […]
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced approval of its Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) rule on August 25, 2022. The rule establishes a year-by-year road map so that by 2035, 100% of new cars and light trucks sold in California will be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The regulation realizes […]
The EPA recently proposed revisions to strengthen the Risk Management Program (RMP) rule, including enhanced employee participation and transparency for communities on safety decisions. The RMP rule requires industrial facilities with high accident rates to prevent accidental air releases of dangerous chemicals that could cause deaths, injuries, or property and environmental damage or require evacuations […]
Although the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains many incentives for companies to decarbonize, it also contains a hidden gem for the EPA by quietly bolstering the Clean Air Act (CAA). “The IRA repeatedly defines greenhouse gas (GHG) as a form of air pollution,” reports The Atlantic. “It amends several sections of the [CAA] to define […]
As a result of lawsuits filed by 10 environmental groups, the EPA has signed two consent decrees requiring the Agency to consider updates to toxic air standards for industrial flaring, which is used as a pollution control measure to combust waste gas compounds at petrochemical plants and storage tanks. These air standards have not been […]
The EPA recently announced flyover emissions monitoring of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico to identify super-emitters. “The Permian Basin accounts for 40 percent of our nation’s oil supply and has produced large quantities of dangerous [volatile organic compounds (VOCs)] and methane over the years, contributing to climate change and poor air quality,” […]