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David Schnare, the former EPA transition official who wrote this article, left the agency earlier this year over concerns about infighting among administration appointees and Administrator Scott Pruitt's alleged lack of engagement. In it, his first since departing the agency, he discusses his reasons for leaving and his views on EPA's upcoming climate science review. The views expressed here are his.
A former Trump EPA transition team official is taking issue with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's plans to conduct a “red team, blue team” debate of climate change science, arguing the approach would politicize the issue, is outside of EPA's authority and would result in too shallow of a critique of mainstream findings that human-released greenhouse gases are the primary cause of global warming.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is endorsing 42 recommendations from an agency task force for a sweeping overhaul of the Superfund program that would rely heavily on the novel use of third-party investments in cleanups and seek to accelerate site projects with incentives such as reducing oversight costs charged to responsible parties.
A coalition of Democratic-led states is defending its legal standing to intervene in litigation to defend the Obama EPA's stricter ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS), saying the states face harm if an appellate court vacates the standard and rejecting the Trump administration's claim that they face a strict test to win a role in the suit.
The appellate ruling rejecting EPA's plan to forgo interagency review of new pesticides' risks to endangered species is spurring debate over whether it could trigger revisions to the agency's review policies, with an environmentalist saying it boosts their push for more-efficient reviews but an industry source says the ruling's overall effect is limited.
A California farm whose suit over its alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations tests a host of legal questions on CWA jurisdiction and agriculture exemptions is mounting a new argument that the Army Corps of Engineers lacks the power to bring enforcement actions over CWA violations unless they involve a Corps-issued permit.
A consumer group is offering a preview of some of the arguments supporters of vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards will use to resist planned rollbacks of combined EPA and Department of Transportation (DOT) rules, submitting formal comments to DOT's deregulatory “reform” docket that tout the rules' economic benefits and the ability of automakers to comply with them.
Environmental and labor groups are renewing their arguments aimed at vacating the Trump administration's lengthy delay of an Obama-era update to the agency's Risk Management Plan (RMP) facility safety rule, charging the delay violates the Clean Air Act and faulting EPA's claim that seeking public input allows for lengthy reconsideration of final rules.
A potential EPA appeal of the ruling striking down its 90-day stay of Obama-era methane standards for new oil and gas operations could focus on a novel argument supported by a dissenting judge that courts lack authority to review such stays, but observers say that even if courts back that claim it might not impact related suits over other paused rules.
Free-market and other proponents of deregulation are reserving judgment -- at least publicly -- on the progress of the Trump administration's pledge to rollback environmental and other regulations, even as administration officials tout their initial successes in withdrawing or reconsidering rules at EPA and other federal agencies.
Several recent EPA actions demonstrate an increasing deference to state decisions on water quality standards under the Trump administration, part of what agency and state officials say is a shift to a more hands-off oversight approach if the agency believes a state's environmental program is generally sound.
A federal appellate court has found that the United States may be liable for cleanup costs as an “owner” at a massive Superfund site on public land while upholding a lower court ruling that found the government is not liable as an "arranger" at the site -- opening the door to new federal liability -- though attorneys say much will depend on how any liability is allocated.
EPA is drawing criticism from its children's health advisors and a Region 9 official over its decision to preclude legacy uses of chemicals, such as asbestos, in finished products from review under the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), bolstering criticisms from environmentalists who say they may sue the agency over its approach.
Jeffrey Clark, the Trump administration's pick to head the Department of Justice's (DOJ) environment division, is offering general assurances to senators that he will “vigorously enforce federal law,” while at the same time cooperating with states on environmental enforcement.
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.
