There's a whole new dynamic brewing, with the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda set to run into a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. Follow every move with Inside EPA.
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EPA's plan to develop new rules to limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) from heavy-duty trucks could provide the sector leverage to negotiate flexibilities with California, which is planning its own rules, but the plan is also prompting cautious praise from environmentalists and others who suggest the effort may avoid the kind of clash occurring in the light-duty sector.
The head of a federal health agency that earlier this year recommended stricter risk levels for perfluorinated chemicals than EPA's told a Senate hearing that regulators face significant scientific uncertainty assessing the substances' risks, and raised doubts about whether federal agencies will be able to reach agreement on the risks.
The coal ash reuse sector is pressing EPA to extend its regulatory deadlines for ash impoundments to shut down as it revises the 2015 Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) rule governing the waste, arguing that a longer timeframe will broaden their window to “harvest” previously disposed ash to reuse in products such as wallboard.
EPA and New Mexico have released a draft white paper aimed at facilitating the use of produced water from oil and gas drilling in the state by identifying regulatory or policy gaps, but the state's ability to make any changes outlined in the paper could be limited by EPA's pending decision on how to manage wastewater from onshore oil and gas extraction.
Environmentalists and the power sector are waging an 11th-hour effort calling on the White House and EPA to preserve the Obama-era mercury emissions rule for utilities, with environmentalists aiming to keep the rule intact while utilities that have invested millions of dollars to comply want it retained with changes to ease some requirements.
The results of this week's midterm elections -- with Democrats taking the House and vowing strict EPA oversight -- are gaining significant focus from environmentalists, industry groups and others, but the agency is meanwhile pushing ahead with key deregulatory policies.
Three GOP-led states are asking a federal district court to scrap the Obama-era Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule due to a lack of “clear” authorization from Congress for the policy, a claim that echoes Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's preferred test for reviewing major agency rules and could bolster their suit if it reaches the high court.
EDF says EPA’s policy on “unique identifiers” for chemicals with a confidentiality claim is welcome, but falls short of addressing its claims that the rules governing confidential information are unlawful.
The indictment of EPA Region 4 Administrator Trey Glenn on criminal charges of violating Alabama's ethics laws is likely to bolster House Democrats' plans to strengthen federal ethics law, which they are already justifying based on concerns that former EPA chief Scott Pruitt was able to escape scrutiny due to inadequate requirements.
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.
