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In an action that ranks in importance with President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally repealed the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) and replaced it with the Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE). Both actions are contained in the same rule along with a third […]
Explosions at two petroleum refineries in 2015 and 2018 resulted in a high level of alarm in the neighboring communities about the possibility of releases of clouds of hydrofluoric acid (HF) or modified HF (MHF) into those communities. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) investigated both incidents and also held public meetings […]
The EPA’s implementation of the small refinery exemption is one of the more disputed aspects of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The major question associated with the exemption appears to be how does the Agency make decisions to approve or deny applications for exemptions?
In a document required by a judicial settlement with environmental and community groups, the EPA says it is not necessary at this time to revise federal regulations governing the management of exploration, development, and production (E&P) wastes generated by the oil and gas (O&G) industry.
The energy-water nexus is the current phrase used to connote the interdependence of energy and water. The generation of energy requires large volumes of water, mainly for cooling equipment at thermoelectric fossil fuel and nuclear power plants; much less water is needed for renewable energy, such as wind and solar.
Hundreds of U.S. cities of all sizes are not waiting for the federal government to recommit to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and regain its position as the world leader in stemming climate change. At an April 2, 2019, House hearing, the mayors of three of those cities told their stories of commitment to a […]
A proposed project to construct a terminal in Longview, Washington, from which up to 44 million metric tons of Western coal would be shipped annually to Asian ports, hit another snag when a U.S. district judge dismissed a claim by the project’s sponsors (plaintiffs) that Washington State’s denial of a water quality permit for the […]
In 2018, the EPA issued the first of two sets of amendments to the Agency’s 2015 regulations (April 17, 2015, Federal Register (FR)) governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) generated by electric power plants. Among other things, the 2015 rule directed that the owners and operators (O/O) of CCR units (i.e., landfills and […]
In September 2018, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) promulgated amendments that eliminated or replaced most provisions of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation final rule the Obama administration issued in 2016. However, several 2016 provisions were retained with modifications, including a provision relating to measuring and […]
Introduced in the House and Senate on February 7, 2019, the Green New Deal is a proposed resolution that goes much further than recognizing climate change as the ultimate environmental threat. It also directly links climate change to “systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic injustices” that disproportionately affect indigenous communities, communities of color, migrant […]