On August 27, 2015, the US District Court for the District of North Dakota granted a motion for preliminary injunction to a coalition of 13 states (the States) attempting to block implementation of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, promulgated by US EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) and set to go into … Continue Reading
On July 28, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit remanded part of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to USEPA for reconsideration, finding that the Agency had erred in 2014 sulfur dioxide and ozone budgets for 13 states. The next opportunity to influence outcome will be US EPA’s rulemaking process for re-setting … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2015, EPA revised AP-42 emission factors for equipment found in refineries, chemical plants, and miscellaneous sources, substantially increasing the estimated emissions produced by equipment from these industry categories. The emission factors, which were last updated in 1991, were revised as a result of litigation brought by environmental groups that asserted that EPA had … Continue Reading
Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) published its report Truth In Regulating: Restoring Transparency to EPA Rulemaking, criticizing EPA for not providing critical details about the regulatory intent and true costs associated with significant Agency rulemakings. The Chamber report follows on the heels of last week’s passage of H.R. 1029, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform … Continue Reading
The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued a final rule on March 20, 2015 to regulate hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” on public and American Indian Lands. Although the new rule has been final for less than three weeks, it is already a source of controversy. In a press release, the BLM explained that the new rules “will … Continue Reading
This month, in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, the US Supreme Court overturned the D.C. Circuit’s Paralyzed Veteran doctrine, rejecting nearly 20 years of precedent requiring federal agencies to abide by notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures when they substantially alter an “interpretive” rule. However, the decision also hints that even broader changes may be afoot. Writing in … Continue Reading
On November 25, 2014, US EPA released its long-awaited proposal to tighten the 8-hr ground-level ozone standard. The impacts of this rule are difficult to overstate. Unless changed, it will push much of the country into non-attainment, forcing state regulators to pursue emissions reductions while making permitting more difficult and restricting growth. A Smoggy Past: … Continue Reading
On November 25, 2014, a federal judge granted a motion for preliminary injunction, and ordered US EPA to stop all work pertaining to its investigation of and proposed plan to restrict discharges from the prospective Pebble Mine project near Bristol Bay in Alaska. The plaintiff, Pebble Partnership, contended that US EPA failed to comply with the requirements … Continue Reading
US EPA has updated its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan for Chemical Assessments, the Agency’s list of priority chemicals for analysis, adding 23 new chemicals to the list while removing or consolidating 16 others. US EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety & Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) produced the original list of Work Plan chemicals in … Continue Reading
The extended public comment period for the US EPA and Army Corp of Engineers’ proposed rule to redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA) expired November 14, 2014. The proposed rule has come under intense scrutiny for its apparent expansion of CWA jurisdiction. US EPA received nearly 500,000 public comments … Continue Reading
On April 21, 2014, US EPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a proposed rule to redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA). As previously reported here, the proposed rule has come under intense scrutiny for its apparent expansion of CWA jurisdiction. Now, recent reports published by US EPA’s … Continue Reading
Under new reporting requirements announced on September 11, 2014 by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employers will be required to notify OSHA of any work-related fatalities within eight hours, and any work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations or losses of an eye within 24 hours. This is a move away from OSHA’s prior, less stringent … Continue Reading
On March 10, 2014, US EPA published proposed revisions to its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting requirements for petroleum and natural gas sources under the GHG Reporting Program. The Program, which was enacted in 2008, collects GHG data from facilities that conduct petroleum and natural gas systems activities, including production, processing, transmission, and distribution and produce … Continue Reading
On February 3, 2014, the US Department of Energy (USDOE) issued a pre-publication version of its final rule on energy conservation standards for external power supplies (EPS). EPS converts household electric current into direct current or lower-voltage alternating current to operate a consumer product, such as a laptop computer or smart phone. There are hundreds … Continue Reading
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has circulated proposed rules that would regulate hydraulic fracking on federally owned lands. The proposed rules would impose requirements on companies extracting natural gas on such lands, including mandating disclosure of chemicals used in fracking operations. The DOI’s proposed rules would only cover fracking on federal lands, meaning that the majority … Continue Reading