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Natural Gas Vehicles Seen As 'Bridge' To Fuel Cells But EPA Rules In Doubt

The Obama administration is increasingly looking to natural gas as a means of bridging the gap between petroleum-fueled vehicles and zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, industry and other sources say, though supporters of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) are concerned that EPA's upcoming vehicle rules will not provide the incentives that the industry says are crucial to help commercialize the fuel cells. "For whatever reason, EPA has not received the message and industry leaders . . . are calling the agency...

Issa Cites 'Secret' Talks In Bid For OMB To Return Vehicle GHG Rule To EPA

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chair of the oversight committee, is urging the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to return EPA's pending final vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) rule for model years 2017-2025 to the agency, saying EPA needs to rewrite the rule to account for his recent report that criticized the "secret" process the agency used to craft the regulation. "Overall, the process of developing these standards was politicized, and not rooted in sound science or objectivity," Issa...

Industry's 11th-Hour OMB Meetings Seen Delaying EPA Vehicle GHG Rule

Industry groups' 11th-hour meetings with White House and EPA officials over the agency's pending greenhouse gas (GHG) and fuel economy rule for model year 2017-2025 vehicles are seen as delaying release of the rule, with industry making a last-minute push for the regulation to include provisions such as incentives for natural gas vehicles. The National Highway & Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is developing the rule jointly with EPA, has acknowledged a delay in releasing the rule, which many observers...

Aggregation Ruling May Bolster States' Air Permitting 'Proximate' Policies

The federal appeals court ruling scrapping EPA's "adjacency" definition for determining when to aggregate emissions as a single source subject to strict Clean Air Act permits could embolden state efforts to pursue aggregation policies based on a "proximate" distance test that activists warn would capture fewer facilities than EPA's approach, sources say. Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit's ruling has scrapped a key piece of the adjacency test -- which focuses on the "functional interrelationship" of...

Industry Urges OMB To Release EPA Rule On Waste Exemptions For Wipes

Industry is urging the White House to release EPA's long-stalled final rule to ease waste-handling requirements for reusable and disposable industrial towels, saying it is a "win-win-win" for President Obama as it has broad industry support because it will lift regulatory burdens in line with the administration's bid to streamline rules. "What industry is hoping to achieve is basically reducing what are currently excessive regulatory burdens on non-laundered wiping products," according to one industry source. EPA has acknowledged that the...

EPA Fights Bid For High Court To Hear Suit On Air Law Oversight Of States

EPA is urging the Supreme Court to reject industry's bid to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that critics say would give the agency "unbridled power" in using the Clean Air Act to direct how states should cut emissions based on computer modeling, with EPA rejecting claims the ruling allows "breath-taking . . . federal intrusion" on states. The fight highlights an increasing number of challenges filed by industry and specific states over EPA imposing federal pollution control plans, including...

Industry At Odds Over Waiver From EPA's Formaldehyde Emissions Rule

Cabinet makers are lobbying the White House to exempt laminate cabinets and furniture from a pending EPA proposed formaldehyde emissions rule for wood furniture, saying all component pieces of a cabinet will have to comply with the rule and therefore requiring emissions testing of a finished cabinet would be an unnecessary burden. But manufacturers of wood flooring and other hardwood products oppose the exemption, countering that such a provision would create a loophole to allow non-compliant imported products into the...

Activists Threaten Suit To Force Species Reviews In CWA General Permits

Environmentalists are threatening to sue the Army Corps of Engineers to block implementation of its streamlined Clean Water Act (CWA) permits they say fail to address concerns about adverse impacts on endangered species from dredge-and-fill activities authorized by the permits, hoping a delay will allow for broad reforms to the program. In an Aug. 16 notice of intent (NOI) to sue, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) claims the Corps must stall all 48 of the recently revised permits because...

Industry Seeks Immediate Changes To New EPA Drilling Emissions Rules

The oil and gas industry is asking EPA to make "immediate" revisions to its just-published emissions rules for the drilling sector, saying in an Aug. 16 petition that concerns over the agency's oil storage tank measures and "inadvertent" restrictions on venting of gas from hydraulic fracturing wells could curtail drillers' ability to comply. The American Petroleum Institute (API) Aug. 16 petitioned the agency for a reconsideration of the final rules, along with an administrative stay on the rules, which are...

EPA Floats Long-Awaited Plan For Assessing Pesticide Risks To Pollinators

EPA has released a document describing its long-awaited tiered approach for quantitatively estimating the risks that pesticides pose to pollinators, an approach that appears to embrace advice from expert panels on how to improve the agency's methods and could reduce environmentalists' concerns that the agency has failed to address pollinator risks. "While EPA has evaluated the potential risks of pesticides to other taxa using a point estimate based approach, it has historically only qualitatively described the potential hazard to bees,"...

Texas Argues EPA Lacks Data For Coastal Oil Drilling Discharge Limits

Texas is arguing that EPA lacks data to justify its final general Clean Water Act (CWA) permit for oil drilling in the state's coastal waters that includes a ban on produced wastewater discharges from marginal wells into waterbodies impaired for low dissolved oxygen, saying EPA failed to show produced water contributes to impairments. The permit restriction is likely to apply to a significant number of Texas waters, given the massive hypoxic "dead" zones in the Gulf of Mexico. The provisions...

Correction

An article in our Aug. 10 issue, "EPA Appears Poised To Adopt Sustainability Approach But Weighs Limits," incorrectly characterized the purpose of the Office of General Counsel's (OGC) review of environmental laws. OGC is looking for flexibility within statutes to allow for regulatory efforts that promote sustainability.

CSAPR Vacatur 'Rewrites' Air Law Process For Curbing Interstate Pollution

The 2-1 federal appeals court ruling vacating EPA's utility emissions trading program "rewrites" the Clean Air Act process for how the agency can address interstate air pollution, says the dissenting judge, which appears to give states new deference to take years to craft emission control plans before EPA can unilaterally impose pollution cuts. Under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's Aug. 21 ruling, EPA will face a new mandate to first quantify each state's exact...

California's Draft Flame Retardant Test Expected To Reduce Chemicals' Use

California agencies are proposing to replace the state's strict "open flame" fire safety standard, a measure that critics say drives excess use of toxic flame-retardant chemicals nationwide, with a "smolder" standard that one expert says will reduce use of the chemicals. Arlene Blum, a chemistry professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told attendees during an Aug. 8 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences webinar that a rough estimate of the proposed smolder standard suggests that about 85 percent of...

Appeals Court's Split Ruling Rejecting E15 Suits May Spur Rehearing Bid

A federal appeals court in a 2-1 ruling has rejected food, oil and engine industry groups' suits over EPA's partial waivers allowing sale of ethanol blends up to 15 percent (E15) after finding the groups lack standing to sue, but the dissenting opinion could spur an industry bid for rehearing as it details reasons why the waivers are illegal. The American Petroleum Institute (API) was quick to criticize the ruling, attacking the court's "astounding" claim that it lacks standing to...

EPA Urged To Craft Regional Plans To Implement Diesel Fracking Guide

EPA is facing competing calls on how regions and states should implement its draft guidance for permitting hydraulic fracturing operations using diesel fuels, with industry seeking waivers for areas where geology would shield water from contamination, such as in North Dakota, and activists calling for a strict ban on the use of diesel in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. While EPA is yet to clarify whether or how it will apply the guidance in states where the agency is not the...

Industry Warns EPA Of Flaws In Studies Suggesting Greater Ozone Risks

Correction Appended Industry groups are warning that EPA failed to account for flaws in studies that it is relying on as part of its latest draft assessment of the health risks of ozone, saying the agency gave more weight to findings suggesting a stronger connection between ozone and adverse health impacts that could form the basis for proposing a tighter ozone standard. The criticisms -- in comments on EPA's third draft of its integrated science assessment (ISA) for ozone...

Senate Prepares For Debate On Reforming Toxic Substances Control Act

The Senate appears to be preparing for a floor debate on reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amid intensifying advocacy from industry groups and environmentalists pushing their competing stances over a reform bill that its Democratic sponsor is hoping to bring to the floor this year. A broad coalition of dozens of industry groups including the American Chemistry Council (ACC) sent all senators an Aug. 21 letter reiterating that its members oppose the bill. The letter also rejects recent...

Activists Win Right To Defend EPA GHG Rules In Potential Court Rehearing

Activists have secured a role in a potential rehearing or Supreme Court appeal of the federal appeals court ruling that upheld EPA's greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting rules, meaning they could continue to defend the climate rules even if Republicans win the White House in November and a Mitt Romney EPA decides to drop its defense of the rules in the ongoing legal fight. The Environmental Defense Fund, Indiana Wildlife Federation and other groups recently asked the U.S. Court of Appeals...

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