Category: Sustainability

Funding Community Air Monitoring Programs

More than 130 air monitoring projects in 37 states will receive $53.4 million in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Of the funding, $20 million is provided by the ARP, with the rest coming from the IRA. The additional funding from the IRA allowed the EPA to deploy, […]

EPA Announces Significant Improvements in CWA Permit Compliance

The EPA recently announced major improvements in Clean Water Act (CWA) permit compliance over the last five years. In 2018, the Agency and 47 states agreed to work collaboratively toward achieving the target goal of reducing significant noncompliance among facilities permitted under the CWA by 50% over five years. The EPA announcement celebrates the achievement […]

Proposed Climate Disclosures for Federal Contractors

The Department of Defense (DoD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently proposed a rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a requirement to ensure certain federal contractors disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-related financial risk and set science-based targets to reduce their […]

New Methodology Estimating the Social Cost of GHG Emissions

Due to “recent scientific advances,” the EPA has proposed a new approach to estimating the social cost of greenhouse gases (SC GHGs). SC GHGs are the estimated social harms from each incremental ton of GHG emissions released into the atmosphere. The proposal came packaged as part of a proposed rule to cut methane and other […]

Corporate Survey Finds ‘Dramatic Increase’ in Sustainable Building Initiatives

Greater energy efficiency, better indoor air quality (IAQ), and meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) guidelines are three objectives currently prioritized by multinational organizations as they face increasing pressure to incorporate their building operations into their sustainability plans. These are among the key findings of a new report released by Honeywell and Reuters, which surveyed senior […]

Cap-and-Trade Programs—Is It a Fee or a Tax?

On November 16, 2022, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court heard arguments in two separate but related cases regarding Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program, an interstate carbon cap-and-trade program. Earlier this year in April, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration finalized regulations for the state to join the RGGI program. Wolf’s time in the […]

More Stringent Heavy-Duty Emissions Standards on the Way

The EPA is planning more stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and large trailers in 2023, Reuters reports. In March 2022, the Agency published a proposed rule to set more stringent pollution reductions regulations applicable to heavy-duty vehicles and engines starting with model year (MY) 2027.  The vehicle types expected to be […]

California Enacts Carbon Capture Laws

Three bills recently signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsome are expected to clear the path for the state to meet its stringent carbon reduction/neutrality goals in 2030, 2038, and 2045. The bills address new regulation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide (CO2) removal (CDR) projects in the state. Senate […]

Public Invited to Comment on IRA Programs

The EPA recently announced opportunities for public input on new and existing programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Agency seeks input as it puts together core design aspects of multiple IRA programs. The engagement strategy in program implementation includes: Issuing a request for information (RFI) for public input to inform program design; […]

The EPA, CWA, and Invasive Organisms

Last month, a letter signed by 160 organizations was sent to President Joseph Biden Jr. requesting that he take action to direct the EPA to implement discharge standards for ships’ ballast water that comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA administrator Michael Regan also received a similar request from 34 members of Congress. “Ballast […]