Category: Regulatory Developments

river / WOTUS

WOTUS Case Will Not Be Delayed by Supreme Court

Without comment or explanation, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a motion from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hold briefings on litigation affecting the EPA/Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Clean Water Rule (CWR), which defined the term waters of the United States (WOTUS), in abeyance.

Pruitt Denies Petition on Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced he is denying a 9-year-old petition from environmental groups that requested that the Agency ban all uses of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Pruitt’s order reverses a November 2015 proposal by the Obama EPA to revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances based in part on uncertainty surrounding the potential for chlorpyrifos to cause neurodevelopmental […]

power plant / GHG

Reviews of GHG Rules Announced in Federal Register

With announcements of three rule reviews in the April 4, 2017, Federal Register (FR), EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has begun to formally implement President Donald Trump’s March 28, 2017, Executive Order (EO), Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth.

Industrial fire training for refinery or chemical plant fire brigade or fireman

RMP Amendments Stalled by Industry Petition

EPA Will Reconsider Legal Issues After taking over at the EPA, Administrator Scott Pruitt took less than 3 weeks to grant an industry petition to delay implementation of ex-President Barack Obama’s EPA’s final amendments to the Agency’s Risk Management Program (RMP) (January 13, 2017, Federal Register (FR)). Calling themselves the RMP Coalition, the petitioners comprise […]

American Chemistry Council: Redundancy Not Needed in TSCA Reset Rule

The regulated sector has generally gone along with Congress’s major June 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), as well as the various notices and proposals the EPA is issuing to implement those revisions. One action for which industry has voiced support is the Agency’s proposal to reset the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory […]

What Orders Are in the President’s EO?

What is the major message behind President Trump’s Executive Order (EO), Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth? Does it signal that the Obama administration’s so-called “war on coal is over” (Vice President Mike Pence)? Or does it “call into question America’s credibility and our commitment to tackling the greatest environmental challenge of our lifetime” (Senator […]

President Trump: Clean Power Plan Will Be Reevaluated

President Donald Trump’s bombshell Executive Order (EO) to begin the process of dismantling major actions the Obama administration took to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote renewable energy is the clearest indication yet that the president views major federal environmental regulations as a direct threat to the nation’s prosperity, energy independence and security, and […]

Cal/OSHA Confronts Indoor Heat Illness

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) has had a heat illness prevention rule in place since 2006; that rule has been revised and updated several times. But, as often as it has been updated and as determinedly as Cal/OSHA has enforced it, the rule has had one huge, gaping hole in coverage: indoor […]

Capitol building

OSHA Recordkeeping Rule Overturned by Senate Vote

For the first time since the ergonomics rule was overturned by using the Congressional Review Act during the last days of the Clinton administration, yesterday, the Senate voted 50-48 to adopt H.J. Res 83, overturning OSHA’s rule “Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain Accurate Records of Each Recordable Injury and Illness,” informally […]