Revision Of Industry Assessment Standard Could Boost Brownfields Cleanups

Planned revisions to an industry standard used to assess the risk of contamination at sites would increase the likelihood for identifying pollution and are likely to boost brownfields redevelopment, environmental attorneys and consultants say, although the changes may also allow lawyers to argue against liability protections at sites where assessors fail to warn that contamination might be present. At issue is ASTM International's E1527-05 standard for conducting Phase 1 environmental site assessments, a preliminary study of potential contamination at a...

To Boost Transparency, EPA Documents Progress At Federal Facility Sites

EPA has evaluated more than 500 contaminated federal facility sites in the early stages of environmental assessment as part of an effort to increase transparency on its cleanup actions, finding that the majority of sites have shown "known progress," while just 23 are stalled. The effort concludes a two-year project under EPA's Integrated Cleanup Initiative (ICI) and responds to recommendations from the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) March 2009 report, "Superfund -- Greater EPA Enforcement and Reporting Are Needed to Enhance...

Badger Citizen Group Seeks GAO Probe Of DOD Compliance With RAB Rule

A Wisconsin citizen group is asking its congressional delegation to launch an inquiry into whether the Defense Department (DOD) is complying with federal rules governing citizen involvement at military cleanup sites, following the Army's recent decision to reorganize a community-led advisory board at the cleanup of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The group, Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB), is asking Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Sen. Herb Kohl, both Wisconsin Democrats, to seek a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review...

In Tight Fiscal Environment, Panetta Backs DOD Cleanup Investments

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta earlier this month told a group representing communities around Defense Department (DOD) and BRAC sites that investing in cleanups of military bases is important even in the current tight budget environment. "Even in this fiscal environment, we must continue to invest in our relationships with these cities and towns to support our military," he told the Association of Defense Communities (ADC) Aug. 6, according to a DOD transcript. "To remain the strongest military power on earth,...

Facing Vast Cleanup, Army Urged To Focus On Recovered Chemical Material

A National Research Council (NRC) panel is urging the Army to significantly bolster its program for cleaning up recovered chemical warfare material (RCWM), warning that the contamination is so extensive that the current ad-hoc program will soon eclipse the Defense Department's (DOD's) munitions and hazardous substance cleanup programs. In a new report, "Remediation of Buried Chemical Warfare Material," released by the NRC Aug. 6, the panel recommends wide-ranging changes to move away from what has primarily been an ad-hoc program...

Risk Group Agrees To Industry Request To Review EPA's New TCE Policies

An alliance of risk assessment experts has agreed to a request from a group concerned about costly cleanups to convene a panel of experts to review EPA policy decisions regarding the ubiquitous solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) -- an area of growing concern since the agency strengthened its risk values for the contaminant last year. The Alliance for Risk Assessment (ARA), a group of environmental consultants and other risk experts that crafts technical risk assessment products and services, Aug. 15 agreed to...

States Exploring Costs Of Hazardous Waste Site Long-Term Stewardship

State cleanup officials have created a spreadsheet tool for estimating the full costs of long-term stewardship (LTS) of hazardous waste sites, responding to the realization that many contaminated sites will never be entirely cleaned up and states will have to ensure contamination is contained at thousands of sites across the country. The Association of State & Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) this month released a conceptual framework document and spreadsheet to help states plan for the ongoing, monitoring, maintenance...

States Eye Short-Term TCE Exposure Levels Despite EPA Uncertainty

Several states have either begun to use a controversial EPA proposed short-term exposure limit for trichloroethylene (TCE) or are considering developing their own short-term limits, even as industry and the Defense Department (DOD) have questioned the validity of the limit and EPA headquarters is continuing to review the science behind the limit. Regulators in California have begun enforcing EPA Region IX's proposed interim Removal Action Level (RAL) of 15 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3) in indoor air, requiring mitigation in...

Appellate Decision Illustrates Limits On Superfund Apportionment Claims

A recent circuit court ruling affirming a lower court's decision to reject the apportionment of cleanup liability for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Wisconsin's Lower Fox River illustrates the difficulty in winning Superfund divisibility claims despite a landmark 2009 Supreme Court ruling that allowed for the apportionment of cleanup liability, according to several lawyers who follow Superfund cases. In an Aug. 3 decision in United States, et al. v. NCR Corp. , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit...

Risk Group Agrees To Industry Request To Review EPA's New TCE Policies

An alliance of risk assessment experts has agreed to a request from a group concerned about costly cleanups to convene a panel of experts to review EPA policy decisions regarding the ubiquitous solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) -- an area of growing concern since the agency strengthened its risk values for the contaminant last year. The Alliance for Risk Assessment (ARA), a group of environmental consultants and other risk experts that crafts technical risk assessment products and services, Aug. 15 agreed to...

Revision Of Industry Assessment Standard Could Boost Brownfields Cleanups

Planned revisions to an industry standard used to assess the risk of contamination at sites would increase the likelihood for identifying pollution and are likely to boost brownfields redevelopment, environmental attorneys and consultants say, although the changes may also allow lawyers to argue against liability protections at sites where assessors fail to warn that contamination might be present. At issue is ASTM International's E1527-05 standard for conducting Phase 1 environmental site assessments, a preliminary study of potential contamination at a...

Risk Group Agrees To Industry Request To Review EPA's New TCE Policies

An alliance of risk assessment experts has agreed to a request from a group concerned about costly cleanups to convene a panel of experts to review EPA policy decisions regarding the ubiquitous solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) -- an area of growing concern since the agency strengthened its risk values for the contaminant last year. The Alliance for Risk Assessment (ARA), a group of environmental consultants and other risk experts that crafts technical risk assessment products and services, Aug. 15 agreed to...

States Eye Short-Term TCE Exposure Levels Despite EPA Uncertainty

Several states have either begun to use a controversial EPA proposed short-term exposure limit for trichloroethylene (TCE) or are considering developing their own short-term limits, even as industry and the Defense Department (DOD) have questioned the validity of the limit and EPA headquarters is continuing to review the science behind the limit. Regulators in California have begun enforcing EPA Region IX's proposed interim Removal Action Level (RAL) of 15 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m^3) in indoor air, requiring mitigation in...

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'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 and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is developing the rule jointly with EPA, has acknowledged a delay in releasing the rule, which many observers...

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,”...

25x'25 Coalition's Briefing Paper

American Clean Skies Foundation Presentation To OMB

ANGA, AGA Feb. 13 Comments On Vehicle Rule

American Clean Skies Foundation Feb. 13 Comments On Vehicle Rule

 

 

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EPA White Paper On Proposed Risk Assessment Process

Federal Register Notice On FIFRA SAP Meeting

 

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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...

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