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The EPA has issued a draft policy assessment, “Policy Assessment for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter, External Review Draft,” dated October 2021, which concludes “scientific evidence, air quality analyses and the risk assessment for a type of pollution called fine particulate matter can ‘reasonably be viewed as calling […]
Congress enacted the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act on December 27, 2021, which gives the EPA authority to: Phase down production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). Maximize reclamation, and minimize HFC releases from equipment. Facilitate the transition to next-generation technologies through sector-based restrictions on HFCs. The final rule, issued by the EPA in late […]
On August 5, 2021, the EPA and the U.S. Department of the Army announced upcoming community engagement opportunities for public input into their efforts to revise the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) definition. Redefining WOTUS is a two-part process for the agencies. The first rulemaking will restore the WOTUS definition to the version in […]
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 […]
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 […]
Chicago may be the latest city to join other cities that have enacted cumulative pollution impact ordinances that address the impact of additional pollution from industrial operations seeking to open or expand operations “in already burdened low-income communities of color,” says the Chicago Sun Times.
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Southern District of Texas denied Megasand Enterprise Inc.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by its insurer Everest National Insurance Company. In its lawsuit, Everest seeks a decision relieving it from having to defend Megasand from claims that its discharges worsened flooding following Hurricane Harvey.
On November 25, 2020, the EPA finalized rulemaking that determined that the electric power generation; transmission and distribution; petroleum and coal products manufacturing; and chemical manufacturing industries will not be required to have additional insurance to cover accidents and major spills.
In Q3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized 158 settlement agreements with companies small and large across the United States. There was a definitive increase in enforcement actions, with only 106 penalties issued in the previous quarter. Here we highlight some of the biggest fines.
The air pollution in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska (Fairbanks), is among the worst in the nation, and the EPA is doing nothing about it. That’s the view of several citizen groups that with the assistance of major U.S. environmental organizations are now suing the Agency for inaction for the third time in 2 years. […]