GORE PLAN USES BUDGET SURPLUS TO 'CLEAN UP' COAL-FIRED UTILITIES

Vice President and presidential contender Al Gore announced recently he would use the budget surplus generated in part by the "careful fiscal management" of the Clinton administration to address emissions from coal-fired power plants. The plan, however, stops short of prescribing specific actions Gore would take as president and only directs a portion of the money to go into a trust fund for clean air. And environmentalists say the plan is in direct violation of the Clinton administration's mantra of...

INDUSTRY REJECTS DEFINITION OF 'RELEASE' FOR TOXIC REPORTING

The mining and waste disposal industries are again raising strong concerns about EPA's definition of the term "release" under the agency's right-to-know program, charging that the definition includes toxic materials contained in storage facilities but not actual toxic releases. The industry concerns are emerging shortly after EPA released its latest Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data reporting emissions for 1998. The latest data contains first-time reporting from both the mining and waste disposal industries. That data shows 282 million pounds of...

HOUSE DEMOCRATS SEEK EPA CAUTION, USDA ROLE ON PESTICIDE REVIEWS

Over 50 House Democrats say EPA should not cancel pesticide registrations for which there are no alternatives. The lawmakers are demanding that EPA develop a plan that would give the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a "strong role" in implementing the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), which requires EPA to review all pesticides, according to a recent letter from the lawmakers to EPA Administrator Carol Browner. Click here to download a copy of the letter in Adobe Acrobat format. Click here...

EPA SENDS EMBATTLED WATER ACT RULE TO WHITE HOUSE FOR REVIEW

EPA officials have sent a new version of their embattled Clean Water Act impaired waters rule to the White House for review, despite dissatisfaction with the proposal amongst Congress, industry, states and environmentalists. In fact, despite a series of last minute changes to the proposed rule, EPA has apparently been unable to win over one-time supporters and has increased the frustration of industry and state officials, sources close to the issue say. Click here to download a copy of the...

SCIENCE PANEL MAY ASK EPA TO BOOST ARSENIC DRINKING WATER LIMIT

EPA's Science Advisory Board may recommend EPA more than double its proposed standard for arsenic in drinking water, breaking sharply with agency officials who have pushed forward extremely tight limits despite pressure from Congress, industry and drinking water officials. During a recent meeting of the board's Drinking Water Committee (DWC), members of the panel discussed recommending levels of 15, 10 and 20 parts per billion (ppb), well above EPA's favored level of 5 ppb, sources close to the issue say...

LOGGING REPORT CASTS DOUBT ON EPA SCIENCE IN TMDL RULE

House Agriculture Committee members are calling on EPA to drop the proposed revisions to its program to address impaired waters because a recent report is casting doubt on the credibility of EPA's scientific data. Although the report focuses on the logging portions of the rule, which have now been dropped, some House members believe that the implications of the report go well beyond forestry. A bipartisan group of House members, including Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Eva Clayton (D-NC) --...

ACTIVISTS LAMBAST EPA'S STANDARDS GUIDE FOR SEWER OVERFLOWS

Environmentalists are lambasting EPA's proposed draft guidance on reviewing water quality standards for water bodies impacted by combined sewer overflows (CSOs), saying that the draft is inconsistent with the agency's existing CSO policy and would encourage cities to institute less stringent standards rather than comply with their existing ones. A coalition of environmentalists submitted comments to EPA June 2 raising serious concerns with EPA's draft guidance on implementing the water quality-based provisions in the CSO Control Policy. In particular, the...

INDUSTRY URGES COURT TO DISMISS ACTIVISTS' SUIT OVER EPA PAPER RULE

Industry lawyers earlier this month urged a federal appeals court to dismiss environmentalists' challenge to EPA's pulp and paper rule, claiming the environmentalists lack standing to challenge the rule. Opposing sides in the case, National Wildlife Federation et al v. EPA et al , are challenging the lawfulness of EPA's pulp and paper rule. The so-called cluster rule, which was published in the Federal Register April 15, 1998, is a complex set of air and water quality requirements that EPA...

STATES BLAST EPA 'SHIFT' ON DRINKING WATER IMPLEMENTATION ROLE

State drinking water administrators, who are responsible for overseeing EPA's drinking water program at the state level, are blasting EPA's recent raft of drinking water regulations for placing too much of a burden on states. The administrators say that EPA is "deceiving itself" and the public if it thinks that state drinking water programs have the resources to implement the regulations that the agency is currently developing, according to recent comments submitted to EPA. The states are raising these concerns...

WATER SUPPLIERS URGE RECALL OF EPA FILTER BACKWASH PROPOSAL

Drinking water suppliers are blasting EPA's proposed drinking water regulations on filter backwash, and are calling for the agency to either repropose the rule or drop it entirely. Suppliers' concerns about the rule include the lack of implementation guidance that is crucial to the rule, and an alleged failure by EPA to use the best available science on the occurrence of the microbial pathogen Cryptosporidium . The filter backwash rule is part of a package of two proposed drinking water...

EPA CONSIDERS REGULATING DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

EPA is commencing work to determine if regulations are needed to set rules for how drinking water facilities manage their distribution systems, including requirements on materials for pipes and maintenance, according to EPA, state, and drinking water industry sources. But industry and state sources caution that implementing distribution system regulations could be exceptionally expensive. There is concern drinking water may become re-contaminated as the water is distributed to consumers. EPA is preparing a white paper outlining possible regulatory options for...

INDUSTRY URGES COURT TO SET DEADLINE FOR NEW CHLOROFORM STANDARD

The Chlorine Chemistry Council (CCC) is urging a federal court to force EPA to promulgate a nonzero drinking water goal for chloroform as soon as possible, rather than meeting EPA's request for a flexible schedule in developing the standard. In a June 7 brief the CCC asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to order EPA to take action on "an expeditious basis, by a date certain, to establish a chloroform MCLG [maximum contaminant level...

NEW EPA DRAFT CIVIL RIGHTS POLICY PLEASES STATES, ANGERS ACTIVISTS

EPA's newly released draft environmental justice guidance is receiving mixed stakeholder reactions, with states cautiously commending EPA's efforts to address their concerns, while civil rights attorneys are slamming the agency for what they call a betrayal of their trust and confidence. At least one activist says that environmental justice groups will conduct a massive, nationwide campaign to force more revisions to EPA's embattled guidance and says community groups are already planning demonstrations at a series of "listening sessions" the agency...

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS TO CONTAIN NEW COST-BENEFIT SUMMARIES

All government regulations, including environmental regulations, will soon appear in the Federal Register with a new, standardized appraisal of the relative economic costs and benefits accompanying them. Congressional observers hope new cost-benefit data will better enable affected stakeholders and the public to better understand the effectiveness of government regulations. The White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB), at the suggestion of Senate Governmental Affairs Chairman Fred Thompson (R-TN), is requiring federal departments and agencies include the analyses, which come...

PENALTY REDUCTIONS AND SELF AUDITS SEAL ENFORCEMENT DEAL

Under a new deal between EPA and industry, a group of about 600 companies will perform audits of their reporting procedures under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) over the next 6 months and report the findings to EPA immediately in exchange for indemnity from any violations found as part of those audits. EPA has also agreed to significantly lower penalties the companies had faced for alleged reporting violations under TRI, according to industry sources. The deal could end the weeks-long...

BOND BLASTS LACK OF EPA ACTION ON INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORTS

Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) is blasting EPA's apparent lack of action on recommendations from the agency's Inspector General (IG), charging that the inaction poses a risk to public health and the environment. In response, Deputy Administrator Michael McCabe has asked all agency offices to provide him with an explanation of why agency offices have not complied with IG recommendations and a schedule for completing work on the reports -- a move Bond argues does not "address the more important and...

ACTIVISTS, UNIONS DEMAND OVERHAUL OF EPA BURDEN REFORM PLANS

A large coalition of environmental and union groups is pressing Clinton administration officials to modify a series of new paperwork reduction initiatives proposed under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act, charging the reforms will cripple EPA's public right-to-know program and deprive communities of critical environmental data. Although EPA and White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) sources could not be reached for comment, sources say officials from both agencies plan to sit down...

EPA TO OFFER LUKEWARM SUPPORT FOR BIPARTISAN BROWNFIELDS BILL

At press time, the Clinton administration has agreed to offer, at best, lukewarm support for the bipartisan Senate brownfields bill, although sources say officials still have strong concerns with several key provisions of the bill. An EPA source says that while the administration is taking a "hard look" at this bill and has always been supportive of brownfields legislation, it still has concerns about this bill. The administration's decision to back the bill came after deputy-level officials from EPA, the...

HOUSE PANEL MODELING BROWNFIELDS BILL ON SENATE MEASURE

The House Commerce Committee is piecing together brownfields legislation from previously introduced Superfund measures in the hopes of moving a bipartisan bill similar to language introduced by Senate environment leaders earlier this month, congressional and industry sources report. Although details of the proposal are not available, sources say the measure likely will address so-called consensus issues tackled in brownfields legislation introduced in the Senate -- limiting liability for innocent landowners, prospective purchasers and contiguous property owners, providing grants to states...

HOMEBUILDERS WILL OPPOSE SENATE BIPARTISAN BROWNFIELDS BILL

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is likely to announce its opposition to new bipartisan brownfields legislation pending in the Senate because the bill only strips federal liability for stakeholders under the Superfund statute, but not under other federal laws governing the release of hazardous chemicals, sources say. An NAHB source says that while the legislation puts restrictions on EPA from intervening in a brownfields cleanup under a state program, nothing in the bill says EPA cannot use other...

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