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In its September 18, 2015, announcement that Volkswagen AG had installed illegal emission defeat devices in 500,000 four-cylinder diesel vehicles sold in the U.S. since 2008, the EPA said it would continue testing the company’s vehicles for compliance with the Clean Air Act.
Federalism—the cooperative legal relationship between state governments and the federal government—with regard to the Clean Air Act was addressed in a recent opinion published by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The panel affirmed a district court finding that the right of private property owners to sue a whiskey […]
It’s hard to swallow a huge fine for what might have happened. But, as part of its efforts to comply with the president’s EO to improve safety and security at chemical facilities, the EPA is hunting down companies that are required to develop RMPs but have not even though there has not been a release […]
So, should you wash, dry, or toss your solvent-contaminated rags? How About Dry? We can tell you right away, don’t hang your solvent-contaminated wipes out to dry. Let’s take that one off the table. Never mind the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations you would be facing, you will also have great big headaches […]
Employer Trip Reduction (ETR) Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, states that have areas designated as extreme or severe nonattainment for ozone were required to revise their state implementation plan (SIP) by adopting regulations to implement ETR programs and reduce work-related vehicle trips and miles traveled by employees. In 1995, Congress amended the law, […]
Costs and Benefits of EPA’s Proposed Ozone Standards Since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, the EPA claims harmful air pollution has been reduced “by about 70% while the U.S. economy has more than tripled,” with ground-level ozone dropping about 33% since 1980. Overall, 90% of the areas in the United States that […]
EPA’s Proposed Changes to Ground-Level Ozone Standards The EPA is required by the Clean Air Act (CAA) to review outdoor air quality standards for ozone every 5 years “by following a set of open, transparent steps and considering the advice of a panel of independent experts.” In this most recent review, more than 1,000 […]
EPA Adds New TRI Reporting Category for Nonylphenol Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requires facilities that manufacture, process or otherwise use chemicals listed in the TRI to report a variety of data regarding those chemicals. The EPA is authorized to add new chemicals to the TRI when those chemicals […]
Four RMP Documentation Violations to Avoid 1) Failure to include all the required documentation for the alternative release scenarios for the chemical pipe leak and natural gasoline vapor cloud fire as required by 40 CFR 68.39(b). 40 CFR 68.39(b) establishes the offsite consequences analysis documentation requirements for alternative release scenarios that include a description of […]
Recent RMP Settlements Underscore Compliance Pitfalls On September 24 and 29, 2014 the EPA announced settlements with three different companies in two states for violations of to RMP regulations. The first two settlements were at facilities in Idaho, one a corn-based ethanol production facility in Burley and the other a manufacturer of agricultural chemicals in […]