Widely Used Pesticide… Canceled!
Following through on a court ruling, the EPA has issued a final cancellation order for sulfoxaflor, a widely used pesticide active ingredient manufactured by Dow AgroSciences and registered by the EPA in May 2013.
Category: Regulatory Developments
Fall 2015 Regulatory Agenda: OSHA Prioritizes Silica, Recordkeeping Updates
OSHA’s recently released fall 2015 regulatory agenda outlines the status of the agency’s currently pending prerules, proposed rules, and final rules. While most of the items on the fall 2015 list are holdovers from previous regulatory agendas, the Department of Labor (DOL) identified two major rulemaking efforts, both in the final rule stage, as top […]
Interstate Pollution FIP Proposed
The EPA has released a preproposal for a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to carry out its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) in states that do not have approved state implementation plans (SIP) showing how they will comply with the CSAPR.
Emergency Generator Amendments Proposed
Explaining that owners of regulated stationary emergency generators supplying lifesaving power in emergency situations need more flexibility to bypass emissions controls, the EPA is proposing to allow manufacturers to design the engines in these generators with the means to allow operators to override emissions-control inducements. The Agency is also proposing to redefine remote areas of […]
WOTUS, WOTUS Everywhere, and Not a Drop in the Senate!
After failing the day before to collect the votes needed to approve a bill to force the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers (EPA/Corps) to rewrite their embattled June 29, 2015, Clean Water Rule (also called WOTUS for waters of the United States), Senate opponents of the rule gained the simple majority needed to pass […]
TSCA Reform Bill Supported!
It appears that the U.S. Senate will approve the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697) before the end of 2015. The bill, which has the general support of the chemical industry and some major environmental groups, would amend many provisions of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Under […]
States Petition to Stay the Clean Power Plan
Promptly upon EPA’s publication of its Clean Power Plan (CPP) in the Federal Register, a coalition of 23 states requested that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stay the rule and consider its petition for review. The CPP requires that states take actions to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from existing […]
Hazwaste Rules: Comment Periods Extended
In the November 5, 2015 Federal Register (FR), the EPA officially extended the public comment period by 30 days for both the proposed hazardous waste pharmaceuticals rule and the proposed hazardous waste generators improvements rule.
RegWatch: HFCs on the Refrigeration Regulation Horizon
In a proposal, the EPA is seeking to extend its Clean Air Act (CAA) Refrigerant Management Program covering air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment to non-ozone-depleting substances (ODS) that are Green House Gasses (GHGs). Specifically, the proposal would add hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a non-ODS that contributes to climate change, to the list of regulated refrigerants. HFC-134a, the most […]
OSHA Further Extends Confined Space Enforcement Deadline
OSHA’s Confined Spaces in Construction standard was published in May 2015 and took effect in August. A temporary enforcement policy was in effect for all covered employers through October 2. OSHA has now extended that temporary enforcement policy through January 8, 2016, but only for employers engaged in residential construction work. Nonresidential construction employers please […]