Tag: EPA rules

States Challenge EPA Over Tougher Emissions Standards

Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton led a 15-state coalition in filing a petition for review of the EPA’s final rule for tougher emissions standards in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals entitled “Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards.” “At a time when American gas prices are skyrocketing at […]

On-Site EPA Civil Inspection Rule Rescinded

Effective immediately, the EPA rescinded its March 2, 2020, final rule on the Agency’s procedures for conducting on-site civil inspections on behalf of the EPA.  Because the EPA classifies this rulemaking as procedural rather than substantive, there is no required public comment period. The rescinded rule, promulgated in response to the Trump administration’s Executive Order […]

EPA on-site inspection

More Allegations That EPA Scientists Are Pressured To Alter Reports

Whistleblowers responsible for completing chemical risk assessments have come forward with allegations that their reports have been and continue to be “improperly altered to completely eliminate or minimize risk calculations,” according to a complaint filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on behalf of four scientists who work in EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety […]

Colorado Whistleblower Complaint Launches Air Permitting Investigation

On July 1, 2021, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that attorneys at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP have been appointed as special assistant attorneys general to conduct an independent investigation into “allegations regarding alleged improper non-enforcement of air quality standards as alleged by certain Air Pollution Control Division staff at the Colorado Department of […]

Navajo Nation Sees Relief in Lawsuit Over Navigable Waters Definition

New Mexico is known as the “Land of Enchantment,” but it is also a state without a lot of bodies of water. When the Trump administration changed the “navigable waters” definition to include only waters that flowed year-round, both New Mexico and Arizona were particularly hard hit, as the majority of their waterways don’t have […]

EPA Faces Challenges Addressing SIPs

The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a June 14, 2021, report that says continued delays by the EPA on State Implementation Plan (SIP) actions “increase the risk that state or local air agencies are not implementing plans sufficient to achieve or maintain the [National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)]” under the Clean Air […]

Hazardous material release, RCRA, CERCLA

Call to Strengthen RMP Regulations

In response to the EPA’s request for comments on the Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations and related goals, on June 16, 2021, former EPA Administrator and New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, retired generals Russel Honoré and Randy Manner, former EPA Official Robert Bostock, and former National Security Council and Senate Intelligence Committee staff member […]

Asbestos exposure, asbestos danger

EPA Reaches Settlement to Close Asbestos Reporting Loopholes

In a settlement agreement announced June 7, 2021, the EPA said it will require reporting on asbestos usage under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), according to San Francisco CBS. The legal battle over this decision was preceded by the 2017 EPA refusal to consider a petition to close some asbestos reporting “loopholes.” “The EPA […]

Hazardous Waste Barrels, HSMs

1-Bromopropane being added to HAP list

On June 11, 2021, the EPA published advance notice of proposed rulemaking to add 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to the Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) list. This addition is historical as it will mark the first time an air toxin has been added to the HAP list through a petition and it “is the first time that a […]

Farming

EPA Ignored Policy and Procedures for Dicamba Registration

In a report dated May 24, 2021, the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined that the Agency “deviated from typical procedures in its 2018 Dicamba pesticide registration decision.” The watchdog report found required internal peer reviews were not conducted for three dicamba pesticide products. “While division-level management review is part of the typical operating […]