The resignation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt raises new questions about the direction of environmental policy under President Trump. There's never been a more important time to read Inside EPA.
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EPA is refusing to take sides in court on the merits of its 2015 Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule, urging a federal judge to put challenges to the regulation on hold as it weighs a repeal but adding that if the suit does continue it will defend only the procedure the Obama administration used to craft its signature clean water policy.
Petrochemical and other industry representatives are reiterating their support for EPA's proposed rule barring the use of science where the underlying data and models are not publicly available but they are also calling for clarifications that would expand the rule's scope, limit EPA's ability to grant waivers, better protect trade secrets and more.
A federal health agency's recently released draft report recommending stricter risk values than EPA had adopted for two perfluorinated chemicals is already driving calls for tougher regulatory requirements, with a bipartisan group of House lawmakers urging EPA to reconsider its health advisory levels once the draft is finalized.
EPA is planning to consider workers' exposures to existing chemicals when it assesses substances' risks for possible regulation under the revised toxics law, noting that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has acknowledged that its exposure limits for many chemicals are “outdated and inadequate.”
Echoing an approach advocated by former EPA toxics nominee Michael Dourson, House Republicans are preparing to mark up draft legislation that seeks to return both ongoing and new work of EPA's influential but often controversial risk analysis program to the agency's program offices -- similar to how the work was done in the program's early days.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's opinions in past EPA rule challenges that he heard as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paint a picture of a jurist who would be a reliable -- though not automatic -- vote against strict environmental policies and in favor of considering the costs those policies impose on regulated entities.
EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have released an overhauled proposal to withdraw the 2015 Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule that greatly expands on their legal arguments for abandoning the Obama administration's signature water policy, a move that could help bolster the repeal to fend off expected legal challenges.
EPA's final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) rule governing an inventory of mercury supply, use and trade exempts data that has already been reported to an existing state-run database, rejecting calls from 13 states that had sought to either scrap the waiver or harmonize state and federal reporting to ensure a comprehensive national database.
What's ahead for EPA in the second year of the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda and Administrator Scott Pruitt's efforts to overhaul the agency
Environmentalists' rare win on a mandamus petition earlier this year that forced EPA to quickly update to its lead-dust health standards is paying dividends for other groups pressing the agency to take actions they say are long overdue, starting with its renewal of a years-expired Clean Water Act (CWA) permit shortly after another court petition was filed.
Exclusive news, hot documents, and timely updates on legislation and litigation over EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers' joint Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule.
