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On January 15, 2021, the EPA published its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 2021 Issuance of the Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (MSG).
A group of public health organizations and asbestos scientists led by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) petitioned the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for administrative review of the EPA final risk evaluation for asbestos on January 26, 2021. The groups also sent the EPA a 60-day notice of their intent to file suit against […]
Former President Donald Trump’s “secret science” rule is currently the subject of scrutiny in lawsuits filed by states, cities, a county, and concerned environmental groups. In the latest filing, on January 20, 2021, a coalition of 18 states, 3 of the nation’s largest cities, and 1 county filed suit against the EPA over the Strengthening […]
Big changes have been promised from President Joseph Biden Jr., and he is wasting no time in getting started. On January 20, shortly after his swearing in ceremony, Biden’s chief of staff, Ronald Klain, issued a White House memo to all agency and executive department heads for a “regulatory freeze pending review.”
On January 20, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. As is the case with most changes in governmental administration, environment, health, and safety (EHS) managers are interested in any potential shifts in the landscape of employment law. Here’s a short summary of some changes the […]
On January 5, 2021, the EPA announced it was reopening the reporting period under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Active-Inactive Rule, whereby companies identified chemicals that were manufactured, imported, or processed in the United States during the 10-year time period ending on June 21, 2016.
On December 22, 2020, the EPA announced final revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). These changes mark the first updates to this rule since it was created in 1991 to control lead and copper in drinking water.
Each year, the EPA publishes annual inflationary increases to the fine amounts for civil penalties assessed under its authority.
In the fourth quarter (Q4), the EPA finalized 150 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. This represents a significant decrease in enforcement actions—down from 327 penalties issued in Q3 for 2020. The actions taken resulted in $4,582,755 in fines.
In December, the EPA released its final risk evaluation for 1,4-dioxane, a chemical “currently used as a solvent in a variety of commercial and industrial applications such as in the manufacture of other chemicals, a processing aid, functional fluid, a laboratory chemical, in adhesives and sealants, in spray polyurethane foam, in printing inks, and as […]