Think Tank Warns GOP Rule-Review Plan Will Politicize, Stall Regulations

A pro-regulatory think thank is raising concerns that House Republicans' plans to require congressional approval of major EPA and other agency rules costing $100 million or more before agencies can implement them will further politicize the regulatory process and make it "virtually impossible" for any rules to win approval. Law professor Sidney Shapiro, a scholar with the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), a think tank that supports stronger environmental and human health regulations, argues in an article recently circulated by...

States Urge EPA To Remove Local Determinations For E15 Tanks Suitability

State environmental officials are urging EPA to eliminate one of three proposed options for ensuring underground storage tanks are compatible with fuels containing 15 percent ethanol (E15), arguing that language intended to provide local officials with flexibility may not be as protective as a manufacturer's guarantee or third-party certification. At issue is a provision in EPA's recently released draft E15 tanks guidance that would allow local officials to "use another method determined by the implementing agency to sufficiently protect human...

Alabama Steps Up Mine Monitoring After EPA Threatens Permit Objections

Alabama environmental officials are stepping up monitoring of pollutant discharges from coal mines in response to negotiations between the state and federal officials, after EPA threatened to object to Clean Water Act permits for coal mines in the state that the agency said could have violated water quality standards. EPA has apparently backed off what state and industry sources say were earlier demands that Alabama fully apply its landmark guidance on mining permits, which outlines strict requirements for approving water...

EPA To Add 'Backstops' To State Plans For Chesapeake Bay Cleanup

Chesapeake Bay states have modified their plans for implementing the watershed's cleanup to meet EPA requirements, but the agency still intends to "backstop" the watershed implementation plans (WIPs) by requiring states to count some pollution sources traditionally categorized as nonpoint sources in the point source category. EPA approval of the final WIPs comes as the agency on Dec. 29 also issued the final pollution limits for the Bay, known as a total maximum daily load (TMDL). Relevant documents are available...

Proponents, Foes Of E15 Criticize EPA Labeling Plan To Prevent Misfueling

Proponents and foes of EPA's decision to boost the allowable content of ethanol in gasoline to 15 percent (E15) for some vehicles are criticizing an agency fuel pump label proposal that EPA says is necessary to warn consumers about which vehicles can lawfully use the new fuel blend and avoid misfueling in vehicles and engines that cannot handle E15. EPA's proposed label "will do little, if anything, to promote the successful introduction of a new fuel to the market," according...

Activists' Suit Claims EPA Pesticide Reregistration Violates Species Act

Activists are suing EPA over claims that the agency did not comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in its reregistration of the popular pesticide rotenone, saying EPA failed to adequately consult with the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) about what the activists believe are major risks that rotenone poses to endangered species in Arizona waters. The Dec. 27 lawsuit, filed by the Council for Endangered Species Act Reliability (CESAR), charges that EPA's failure to consult with FWS during the...

EPA Rejects Industry Bid To Expand RFS Corn Ethanol Climate Exemption

EPA has rejected an industry request to expand the amount of corn ethanol that is exempted from greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements under its renewable fuel standard (RFS), but the agency is addressing some industry concerns by clarifying that some fuel facility expansions will not trigger pollution control requirements. Meanwhile, EPA faces a Jan. 11 deadline to file a motion in consolidated lawsuits over the RFS -- including environmentalist challenges to the GHG mandate exemption. But EPA recently won a...

Lawsuit Could Be Test For Enforcing EPA Permit Guide At Existing Mines

Parties have agreed to a briefing schedule in a first-of-its-kind citizen lawsuit over alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations by a mountaintop mining site in West Virginia, setting the stage for legal arguments in the suit that could test whether EPA's strict water quality guidance for mining permits can be applied to existing permits. Environmentalists filed the suit, Sierra Club, et al. v. Fola Coal Company LLC , in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia...

As Interim Step, States May Push EPA To Implement Bush Ozone Standard

State air regulators in the Northeast and elsewhere are raising concern over EPA's recent delay in issuing a revised ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) and may soon push the agency to fully implement the contested Bush EPA standard issued in 2008 rather than wait for EPA to issue and implement a new standard. EPA has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to grant it permission to extend the release date for the...

EPA Readies Guidance Aimed At Expanding Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

EPA has sent for White House review a new draft guidance document that sources say will aim to expand the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA) using a broad test for determining jurisdiction, following Supreme Court rulings that have created competing tests for establishing the scope of the water law. Although the document has not been publicly released or widely circulated outside the agency, sources briefed on the document say it will use Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's "significant...

Texas Wins Temporary Stay Of EPA Takeover Of GHG Permitting Authority

EPA's greenhouse gas (GHG) rules did not take effect in Texas Jan. 2 -- the start date for the rest of the country -- following a surprising federal circuit court ruling late on Dec. 30 granting a temporary stay of an EPA rule that would allow the agency to take over GHG permitting in the state. The stay came one day after another federal circuit court denied a related Texas motion to postpone implementation of EPA's landmark GHG rules on...

EPA Warns Looming Deadline For Boiler Air Rule May Aid Legal Challenges

EPA is urging a key federal district court to reject Sierra Club's request to keep in place a Jan.16 legal deadline for issuing strict air toxics rules for industrial boilers and waste and sewage sludge incinerators, saying that issuing the rules this month would be contrary to the public interest because the rules would be unlikely to survive a legal challenge. EPA in a Jan. 3 filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reiterates its request...

EPA Drops Disposal Advice From Fluorescent Light Bulb Cleanup Guide

EPA has revised its consumer guide for how to clean up a broken compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), removing a provision that advised consumers to dispose of bedding and clothing that came into contact with broken CFLs due to concerns about potential mercury contamination from the widely promoted bulbs. CFLs have long presented a conflict for EPA because they are more efficient than incandescent bulbs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but present a risk of exposure to mercury if broken...

Key Players Question EPA's Ability To Lead New Sustainability Approach

As EPA takes steps toward building an operational framework for incorporating sustainability measures across the agency, a landmark effort that Administrator Lisa Jackson calls the "new approach" to environmental issues, key former agency officials and other observers are questioning the agency's ability to lead sustainability efforts. While Jackson recently announced the creation of a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel to advise the agency on how it can replace its current risk-based approach with a more holistic sustainability approach, some...

Groups Ready Defense Of State Environmental Laws As EPA Rollbacks Loom

Some state lawmakers and environmentalists are preparing to defend and promote state environmental laws that are stricter than federal requirements on curbing greenhouse gases (GHGs), exposures to toxics, and other issues, fearing an attack on state laws echoing Republican attempts in the 112th Congress to rollback EPA regulations. State-level attempts to undo or pare back environmental regulations could occur in states where the governor's office or state legislature switched from Democratic to Republican following the November elections, sources say. In...

EAB Ruling Could Set Precedent For Weighing New NAAQS In Air Permits

EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) has rejected key "major" source air permits the agency issued for Shell to drill exploratory wells off Alaska's coast, setting a possible precedent for future permits after finding EPA erred by not including a new national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) in its equity analysis supporting the permit and also questioning EPA's practice of relying only on NAAQS attainment to demonstrate environmental justice. The Dec. 30 ruling in In re: Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc...

GOP Sharpens Three-Pronged Legislative Strategy To Overturn EPA Rules

The new House Republican majority in the 112th Congress is crafting a three-pronged strategy to challenge what it sees as costly EPA regulations, planning a series of Congressional Review Act (CRA) votes to undo rules, proposed spending cuts to prevent the implementation of regulations, and aggressive oversight to highlight rules' costs, sources say. Rep. John Carter (R-TX), secretary of the House GOP Conference, will lead efforts to move CRA resolutions that require a majority vote in both chambers to disapprove...

EPA Targets Interstate Air Pollution

EPA is proposing to reject Kansas' claim that the states' nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions do not contribute to ozone formation in downwind states, saying the state needs to take steps to cut NOx pollution or the agency will impose an air quality improvement plan on Kansas. In a proposed rule slated for publication in the Jan. 6 Federal Register , EPA says it wants to reverse a Bush administration final rule that agreed with Kansas' claim that it is not...

Targeting 'Job-Killing' Rules

An industry think tank is urging the new chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), to investigate EPA's endocrine disruptor screening program (EDSP) as part of the lawmaker's plan to review “job-killing” regulations from the Obama administration. Issa Dec. 8 sent letters to 150 trade associations, companies and conservative think tanks as he assembles his agenda for the 112th Congress, which convened Jan. 5. The new chairman asked for input on new and upcoming...

http://InsideEpa.com/sites/insideepa.com/documents/jan2011/epa2011_0027.pdf


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