California Activists Lose Bid To Strengthen EPA Pact On PFOA Chemicals

Environmentalists appear to have lost their effort to win a California ban on allegedly harmful alternatives to the controversial chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from food cartons, a move that activists had hoped would have put pressure on EPA to strengthen a landmark enforcement agreement targeting the chemicals. The California Senate late last month gave final approval to a scaled back bill banning PFOA after lawmakers dropped contentious provisions targeting alternatives, such as C-6. Industry groups are now lobbying California Gov...

Chemical Safety Board Eyes New Risk Threshold For Accident Inquiries

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) says it will adopt a new risk-based threshold to determine when it should investigate chemical plant accidents, which CSB is proposing to defend against criticism from congressional investigators that it is "investigating far fewer accidents than is required by law." The board -- an independent federal agency charged under the Clean Air Act with investigating the root causes of accidental chemical releases that result in a fatality, serious injury or substantial property...

Critics Target Data Supporting EPA-Backed Asbestos Disposal Plan

Critics of a controversial EPA-backed method for disposing of asbestos-containing building waste without first removing the cancer-causing compound are opposing any agency research into the new method because they say the agency used an unvalidated risk assessment and faulty monitoring to outline the proposed research plan. The critics, including state air regulators, union workers and public health activists, say that in addition to the research flaws, the method may not be cost-effective. The opposition is just the latest setback to...

D.C. Circuit Cases Pose Crucial Tests For EPA, Activists

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is slated to hear a number of cases this fall that are expected to pose a key test of environmentalists' ability to win standing to challenge EPA rules, as well as the extent that EPA is obligated to follow the guidance of its independent advisors in setting health-protective national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The fall session of the D.C. Circuit's calendar, which began Sept. 4, comes as the...

Super-Sized RFS

KANSAS CITY, MO -- EPA is already facing controversy as it seeks to implement a renewable fuel standard (RFS) requiring deployment of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels but Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer says the standard should be raised to 43 billion gallons. Addressing EPA's agriculture advisory committee here Sept. 8, Schafer said an increase in the RFS supply mandate to 43 billion gallons would help displace 1 billion barrels of fossil fuel, one quarter of current oil imports. Schafer...

How To Regulate Nanosilver

EPA has so far been reluctant to use its authority under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to regulate nanosilver particles -- a widely used nanomaterial which is increasingly used as an anitmicrobial -- but one nanotech expert says the law could be a useful tool in addressing the materials' human health and environmental effects. Despite being limited to regulating pesticides, FIFRA is “quite stringent and puts the burden of proof for safety on the manufacturer,” while the...

Endangered ESA?

KANSAS CITY, MO -- The Endangered Species Act (ESA) -- already under fire by industry and others for providing environmentalists an opportunity to press for greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations -- is facing new criticism from EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and the chemical industry over its successful use by activists to block pesticide decisions. At a meeting here of EPA's Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities advisory committee, Johnson and Agriculture Department (USDA) Secretary Ed Schafer said Sept. 8 that the recent...

Waste (In Analog)

As a way to limit disposal of electronic waste (e-waste), EPA is encouraging residents of Wilmington, NC not to cavalierly throw away their old television sets when the town becomes the first in the nation to eliminate its analog broadcast signals Sept. 8. The town's changeover comes in advance of the nationwide phase-out scheduled for this coming February, in which all television signals will be broadcast in a digital format instead of the traditional frequencies that have been in use...

Johnson Pick For CASAC Chair May Back Major NAAQS Review Change

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson's Sept. 9 announcement that he is tapping highly respected scientist Jonathan Samet to chair the congressionally chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) may open the door to a debate over the frequency of EPA's reviews of national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) -- as Samet supports EPA and industry efforts to lengthen the current five-year requirement. Johnson chose Samet, the chairman of the epidemiology department at Johns Hopkins University's public health school and a CASAC...

EPA May Face Legal Test On Power To Veto Corps Wetlands Permits

EPA's recent veto of an Army Corps of Engineers wetlands permit could provide a rare opportunity to test the agency's Clean Water Act authority to issue the seldomly used vetoes. Agency water chief Ben Grumbles announced Sept. 2 that the agency will veto a controversial proposed Mississippi Delta flood control project known as the Yazoo Backwater Pump Project, which Congress authorized in 1941. Grumbles said it would damage over 67,000 acres of wetlands and puts the needs of agriculture above...

California Toxics Bill Falls Short Of Activists' Goals For TSCA Reform

Public health advocates are applauding the California legislature's passage of comprehensive legislation reforming the state's toxics control program for "taking a great step away" from chemical-by-chemical reform, but some say the initiative won't immediately shift the burden of proof from regulators to industry as activists consider necessary for federal chemical management reform. Many environmentalists want to see comprehensive overhaul of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the 30-year-old law that regulates industrial chemicals. Some have touted S. 3040, a bill introduced...

California Bill Limits Activists Bid To Strengthen EPA Pact On PFS Chemicals

Environmentalists appear to have lost their effort to win a California ban on allegedly harmful alternatives to the controversial chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from food cartons, a move that activists had hoped would have helped them pressure EPA to strengthen a landmark enforcement agreement targeting the PFOA and other perfluorinated (PFS) chemicals. The California Senate late last month gave final approval to a scaled-back bill banning PFOA after lawmakers dropped contentious provisions targeting alternatives, such as C-6. Industry groups are...

Critics Target EPA Research For Controversial Asbestos Disposal Method

Correction appended Critics of a controversial EPA-backed method for disposing of asbestos-containing building waste without first removing the cancer-causing compound are opposing any agency research into the new method because they say the agency used an unvalidated risk assessment and faulty monitoring in the research. The critics, including state air regulators, union workers and public health activists, say that in addition to the research flaws, the method may not be cost-effective. The opposition is just the latest setback to...

Risk Policy Report - 09/09/2008

Tue, 2008-09-09 00:00

GAO Audit Faults CSB's Limited Investigations Draft 1999 Legislation Would Have Clarified CSB's Authority


ECOS Letter To Chair And Ranking Member Of House Energy Committee

ECOS Letter To Chair And Ranking Member Of Senate Energy Committee


FEDERAL RULINGS MAY BOLSTER VAPOR INTRUSION SUITS AGAINST INDUSTRY

Two recent federal court rulings may bolster efforts by government regulators and environmentalists to file suit under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) to hold companies responsible for chemical vapors from decades-old waste sites that can contaminate indoor air, according to a legal observer following the issue. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in a July 28 ruling found that chemical vapors at issue in United States v. Apex Oil Company Inc . could cause...

EPA FACES INDUSTRY RESISTANCE TO STRICT VAPOR INTRUSION STANDARDS

A major environmental consulting firm is resisting EPA efforts to use strict Superfund standards to force an emergency cleanup action to address the threat of vapor intrusion in commercial facilities in Pennsylvania -- efforts that if successful could indicate the agency will insist on using its own stringent standards to assess the quality of indoor air in workplaces rather than relying on more lax Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, a legal observer following the issue says. In comments...

ACTIVISTS ADVANCE FINANCIAL ASSURANCE SUIT FOLLOWING LEGAL SETBACK

Environmentalists are pushing forward with a legal battle aimed at forcing EPA to issue decades-delayed Superfund financial assurance rules following a recent setback in which a federal court in California dismissed a portion of their lawsuit against EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. The activists are preparing to file a motion in the case Sierra Club et al. v. Johnson in which they will ask the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to rule without a trial that EPA...

GOP EYES SUPERFUND STUDIES TO FIGHT TAX RENEWAL IN NEXT CONGRESS

Senate Republicans are looking to Government Accountability Office (GAO) and EPA Inspector General (IG) studies on the agency's Superfund program to boost their claims that the program does not need additional funds, in advance of an expected Democratic push to reinstate the Superfund tax in the 111th Congress. GAO released a report Aug. 17 showing that EPA efforts to recover cleanup costs through enforcement actions are making the Superfund program close to becoming self-sufficient, a Senate Republican says. Meanwhile, an...

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