On October 5, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its intent to streamline the review process of mixed metal oxides (MMOs). MMOs are a key component in lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles and other clean energy initiatives, including in semi-conductors, and renewable energy generation and storage, such as in solar … Continue Reading
While rulemakings under the Administrative Procedure Act typically take several years from proposal to enactment, that can vary significantly. While some rules run a fairly standard course, others languish for years with no action nor any apparent reason for inaction. EPA’s recent revival of a proposed rule that is now, were it a person, old … Continue Reading
As the US Department of Justice (DOJ) begins to revive the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs), it is likely that they will appear again with increasing frequency in settlement agreements moving forward. DOJ received comments through July 11, 2022 on its interim final rule to revoke the Trump-era regulation that prohibited payments to non-governmental, … Continue Reading
As 2019 moves into its closing months, US EPA activity under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) remains front and center. As part of US EPA’s three-step process of prioritization, risk evaluation and risk management for existing chemicals, as we previously reported, EPA began in 2016 by identifying the first ten chemicals for risk … Continue Reading
Stormwater permitting requirements for many industrial facilities are set forth in US EPA’s Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (MSGP) or state permits based on the MSGP. US EPA last issued the permit in 2015, which expires on June 4, 2020. While the current Administration does not appear to be predisposed … Continue Reading
Asbestos is in the hot seat these days and is receiving significant attention from both US EPA and Congress. In particular, US EPA continues to evaluate asbestos risks under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and has imposed additional regulations, while Congress is currently considering an outright ban on the substance. On April 25, 2019, … Continue Reading
As a result of the recent lapse in appropriations, the US EPA and US Department of the Army (Army) delayed a planned January 23, 2019 hearing regarding the proposed new “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) definition. Publication of the proposed rule and the start of the comment period on the rule were also postponed due … Continue Reading
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, two federal agencies charged with administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA or Act), recently announced major revisions to the regulations implementing the Act. The proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2018 and have already garnered … Continue Reading
On May 30, 2018, US EPA issued a final rule to revise the regulations associated with the 2015 Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) Rule. US EPA performed this rulemaking to bring the regulations in line with the D.C. Circuit’s 2017 and 2018 rulings in American Petroleum Institute v. EPA (Case No. 09-1038), which vacated and … Continue Reading
US EPA announced on April 24, 2018 that EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, had signed a proposed rule to strengthen the science used in regulations issued by US EPA. The proposed rule, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” was published on April 30, 2018 and would require that – where scientific studies are pivotal to US EPA’s regulatory action … Continue Reading
On March 6, 2018, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals modified its 2017 ruling in American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, No. 09-1038, concerning US EPA’s Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) Rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which defines when hazardous recyclable materials are excluded from regulation as hazardous waste. The end result … Continue Reading
On July 7, 2017, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision striking down portions of US EPA’s Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) Rule, which defines when certain hazardous secondary materials (i.e. recyclable materials generated as the remainder of industrial processes) become “discarded” and thus subject to regulation as a solid waste. The Rule, … Continue Reading
On March 16, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) adopted a 60 day effective-date delay for its controversial rule regulating occupational exposure to beryllium (the Final Beryllium Rule). The rule is now scheduled to be effective on May 20, 2017. The delay in the rule reflects the agency’s compliance with a directive issued … Continue Reading
A coalition of environmental and conservation groups have given US EPA notice of their intent to sue over the Agency’s failure to timely review Ohio’s and Michigan’s biennial impaired waters listings. Under §303(d)(2) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), US EPA is required to approve or disapprove a state’s proposed list of impaired waters not … Continue Reading
US EPA recently agreed in federal court to engage in a rulemaking process over the next three-plus years which would culminate in the promulgation of final perchlorate regulations by December 19, 2019. Perchlorate remains the only unregulated contaminant for which US EPA has made a final determination to regulate since the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was amended in … Continue Reading
Although the focus and priorities of a new US EPA administration under President-elect Trump remain unclear, regulatory changes may be in the works that could require certain industrial entities to either change how they handle stormwater discharges or face lawsuits brought by environmental groups. As described more fully below, US EPA entered into a settlement … Continue Reading
On June 21, 2016, the US District Court for the District of Wyoming set aside the US Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing on federal and Native American lands, finding that BLM lacked Congressional authority to promulgate the regulations. “Congress has not delegated to the Department of Interior the authority to regulate … Continue Reading
US EPA has agreed to promulgate financial assurance rules for hard rock mining companies by December 1, 2017. Specifically, the agencies requirements will apply to facilities which extract or process metals (e.g., copper, gold, iron, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, silver, uranium, and zinc). The financial assurance requirements will obligate companies performing environmental cleanup to provide a … Continue Reading
On January 21, 2016, Senate Republicans failed to override President Obama’s veto of a recent legislative attempt to block the “Waters of the US” Rule. The challenged Rule defines the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, while, as we noted previously, expanding federal jurisdiction over waters that were not previously … 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
A federal investigation has revealed that US EPA violated federal law by utilizing “covert propaganda” and illegal grassroots lobbying to encourage voters to support its Waters of the United States Rule (the “Clean Water Rule“). US EPA’s legal violations in the context of the Clean Water Rule could lead to additional trouble for the agency. Members of the … 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
On September 30, 2015, the US District Court for the District of Wyoming preliminarily enjoined the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from enforcing its final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing on federal and Native American lands, pending the resolution of a challenge to the rule under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) brought by various industry, state, … Continue Reading
