The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently released a prepublication version of its final rule establishing a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measure. The final rule establishes a method for measurement of GHG emissions associated with transportation and requires state departments of transportation (State DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) that have National Highway System (NHS) routes … Continue Reading
The second half of 2020 sped by with all the fleetness of a supercharged truck. In case you missed it, Squire Patton Boggs has provided a recap of the Agency’s revised tampering policy as well as trends in the broader industry. Although we expect the new administration to lead to changes in approach to mobile … Continue Reading
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation is likely to be more active in setting federal standards for vehicle safety, fuel economy and emissions, and to return to more robust safety enforcement, so automakers should update compliance programs and foster constructive relationships with regulators, write Patricia Doersch in this January 25, 2021, article … Continue Reading
On March 26, 2020, US EPA Assistant Administrator, Susan Bodine, authored and released guidance to all governmental and private sector entities entitled “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program.” The seven-page guidance memorandum outlines the Agency’s “temporary” policy governing issues of noncompliance that arise (1) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 19-181 (SB19-181) into law. SB19-181 was a controversial bill as it made its way through the Colorado Legislature, and it is now a controversial piece of legislation. Indeed, SB19-181 passed the Colorado Legislature strictly along party lines, and it has now pitted some … Continue Reading
In 2012, California, the Obama Administration, and major US automakers agreed (2012 Agreement) to nearly double fuel efficiency fleet-wide by 2025, raising the average fuel economy of new cars and light trucks to more than 50 MPG, or roughly 36 MPG in real-world driving. As part of the 2012 Agreement, a midterm review was scheduled … Continue Reading
On December 7, 2017, US EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a memorandum to all Regional Administrators to offer guidance regarding the Agency’s interpretation of New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting requirements in response to recent decisions from the Sixth Circuit in EPA v. DTE Energy Co. Highlighting the lack of unanimity among the individual Sixth … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., addressed whether, “[w]hen a smelter emits lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury compounds through a smokestack and those compounds contaminate land or water downwind, . . . the owner-operator of the smelter [can] be held liable for cleanup costs and natural resource damages under … Continue Reading
As the result of a joint rulemaking effort, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA) Office of Transportation and Air Quality and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized new standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and their engines on August 16, 2016. Included among the types of vehicles affected by … Continue Reading
As 2015 came to a close, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals quietly notified the parties in a decades-long environmental dispute that, in April 2016, the court will hear arguments in a case that could reshape CERCLA liability forever. The basis for the pending appeal is a district court order holding that air emissions could … Continue Reading
On December 15, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected challenges by energy industry groups and several states that are seeking to scrap US EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) final rule. White Stallion Energy Center, LLC v. EPA, Case No. 12-1100. The Court remanded the rule to US EPA for … Continue Reading
On September 29, 2015, US EPA issued a final rule for the regulation of emissions from the nation’s 142 petroleum refinery operations (the “Refinery Rule”). The regulatory structure underlying the rule is complex, but essentially includes both a “residual risk review” to assess the risk to public health, and a “technology review” where, as the … Continue Reading
As we previously reported, in May 2015 US EPA issued a direct final rule allowing for the rescission of certain preconstruction (“PSD”) permits issued by US EPA and delegating permit review authority to states under Step 2 of the Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) Tailoring Rule. Step 2 of the Tailoring Rule set in motion PSD permitting for “GHG-only” sources, meaning sources permitted solely … Continue Reading
As we reported last summer, the US Supreme Court ruled that US EPA lacked authority to impose Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) on facilities based solely on their emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Since that decision there have been many questions about how sources of GHG … Continue Reading
On August 20, 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit brought by environmental groups against Union Pacific Corp. and BNSF Railway Co., holding that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) does not authorize a citizen suit to enjoin the emission of diesel particulate matter as it … Continue Reading
