ARMY, EPA REACH TENTATIVE COMPROMISE OVER CLEANUP CRITERIA DISPUTE

EPA Region II and the Army appear poised to end a dispute over criteria for deciding when state and federal drinking water and other standards apply at a contaminated site under Superfund law, proposing a resolution that will still uphold the regulatory agency's groundwater cleanup policy and therefore avoid setting a possible national precedent, according to an EPA source. EPA had feared that a "risk based" approach advocated by the Army would lead to less strict cleanup standards. The nationally...

SENATOR TO PRESS ARMY ON TECHNICAL ADVICE TO CITIZENS AT CLEANUP SITES

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) plans to question the Defense Department (DOD) on the Army's recent move to restrict the type of cleanup advice that can be offered by an independent expert hired, via DOD funding, by a citizen advisory panel at a contaminated Army site, according to a source with the senator's office. The move to restrict the expert's advice has alarmed citizens, who fear the consultant will be "muzzled," unable to offer key advice on a heavily contaminated area...

LAWMAKERS HAIL CHEMICAL WEAPONS PROGRESS, CHASTISE PENTAGON

Leading Kentucky lawmakers late last month expressed optimism that the United States would meet a congressionally mandated deadline to destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons agents by 2017, citing recent progress toward eliminating the last stockpile in the country, slated for destruction at a facility in their state, but also criticized the Defense Department (DOD) for failing to make chemical weapons destruction a higher priority. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), the Senate minority leader, and Rep. Ben Chandler (D) Aug. 21...

EPA ADVANCES ACADEMIC WASTE RULE AMIDST DISPUTE OVER ITS SCOPE

EPA appears to be making a push to finalize its controversial rule relaxing storage and record-keeping requirements for university research laboratories that generate hazardous waste before the Bush administration leaves office amidst an ongoing dispute over whether the agency should expand the burden-reduction effort to also cover some industrial facilities. The agency Aug. 21 sent its Rulemaking To Streamline Laboratory Waste Management in Academic and Research Laboratories to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for interagency review,...

SBA SAYS EPA MAKING PROGRESS ON WASTE, OTHER REGULATORY REFORM

The Small Business Administration (SBA) says EPA has begun making progress on reviewing four air, water and waste policies that SBA earlier this year put on its Top 10 list of government regulations that it wants to "reform." SBA Aug. 28 unveiled a status report on its Regulatory Review and Reform initiative, which "encourages federal agencies and small business owners to review and reform regulations that are outdated and ineffective," according to an SBA press release. The first status report...

EPA GRAPPLES WITH RISK-BASED APPROACH FOR ADDRESSING BIOSOLIDS

EPA is seeking to determine whether it can move forward with a new, risk-based approach for addressing biosolids, an approach favored by the wastewater industry which is seeking to move away from the agency's current technology-based standards. The agency is "trying to evaluate if there is enough critical mass to use [risk-based standards] for rule making," according to an EPA source, who says models for determining risks posed by pathogens in the solids raise questions about how to develop rules...

DESPITE RULING, ACTIVISTS SAY SHIP BREAKING STILL LOW EPA PRIORITY

A recent federal appellate ruling reinforces EPA's authority to carry out administrative warrants to search ships and other facilities for high levels of contaminants under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but environmentalists say the decision is unlikely to increase EPA and other government agencies' enforcement of provisions designed to prevent international ship breaking. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in United States v. M/V Sanctuary rejected arguments from the ship's owner that TSCA does not specifically...

CRS FINDS 'LIMITED' EPA SUCCESS GATHERING DATA ON NEW CHEMICAL RISKS

EPA is having "limited success" gathering information about the risks new chemicals may present to people and the environment using existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authorities, according to a recently updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) report that comes amid a growing push to amend the toxics law. The July 18 report outlines advances in toxicology methods and new knowledge about health effects that TSCA "does not account for," including hormone-disrupting effects. "The available evidence indicates that EPA has had...

PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS SEEN VYING FOR OBAMA EPA, ENERGY POSTS

Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) and former state environment secretary Kathleen McGinty are said to be vying for key cabinet posts if Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) wins the White House this fall. McGinty is said to be eyeing the slot of EPA administrator while Rendell is making overtures to be energy secretary, observers say. In particular, Rendell is fueling speculation with recent remarks including an Aug. 26 speech to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) that focused entirely on promoting alternative...

ACTIVISTS CHARGE PALIN SUPPORTS 'BACKWARD-LOOKING' ENERGY POLICY

GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) pick of Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) as his running mate is already prompting criticisms from major environmental groups who accuse the governor of supporting "backward-looking energy policies." McCain announced his selection of Palin as his vice presidential candidate at an Aug. 29 event in Dayton, OH. Palin took office Dec. 4, 2006, and prior to becoming governor she served two terms on the Wasilla, AK, City Council and two terms as the mayor...

ACTIVISTS PRAISING BIDEN AS DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

Environmental groups are widely praising Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's (IL) selection of Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) as his running mate, saying the lawmaker has a "progressive" energy stance and a strong environmental track record. Obama announced Biden would be his vice presidential nominee Aug. 23, in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention. Biden, who has served in the Senate since 1973, unsuccessfully ran for the top seat on the ticket this year but dropped out after poor...

AFTER TOXICS PROGRAM'S FINDINGS, EPA RECONSIDERS STUDY ON BPA RISKS

EPA is reconsidering whether agency staff will perform a risk assessment of the controversial plastic ingredient bisphenol-A (BPA), following last week's release of the National Toxicology Program's (NTP) final assessment of the chemical and ongoing work on the issue by the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Agency reconsideration of its BPA assessment could undermine efforts by public health advocates who are hoping the NTP assessment could help them push EPA to develop an assessment that would have greater regulatory...

INDUSTRY EYES EPA PERC RISK ASSESSMENT TO SET PRECEDENT ON UNCERTAINTY

Industry is arguing that EPA should use its upcoming draft risk assessment of the controversial chemical perchloroethylene (perc) to set a precedent for how the agency will publicly communicate uncertainty in an "understandable manner" in future risk assessments, according to recent industry comments. At an Aug. 18 listening session in Arlington, VA, industry groups were largely critical of the agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of the dry cleaning chemical that EPA is preparing for review by the National...

EPA SEEKS ANSWERS TO KEY QUESTION IN MODELING CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE

EPA is offering $5 million in research grants to tackle the long-running question of how to measure and model children's exposure to hazards in their environments, especially in schools and daycare centers where children spend many hours but where researchers are often unable to conduct tests. Developing models or other tools that can estimate children's exposure in real-world scenarios is crucial to agency risk assessments because exposure is an integral component of the assessments. In addition, children are an important...

SIERRA CLUB EAB FILING COUNTERS MICHIGAN CLAIM ON LANDFILL CO2 LIMITS

Environmentalists are strongly countering as "nonsensical" claims by Michigan that EPA does not "regulate" carbon dioxide (CO2) under existing landfill air rules in a new brief in an ongoing challenge before EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) seeking to force CO2 permit limits. Sierra Club in an Aug. 21 brief in the case, In the Matter of Northern Michigan University , rejects claims by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that the state does not need to mandate greenhouse gas...

EPA ADDING FEW SITES TO SUPERFUND LIST AMID DEMOCRATS' WARNINGS

EPA is adding a relatively small number of new sites to its Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), amid warnings from Democrats that such a move underscores their criticism about how the Bush administration has mismanaged the hazardous waste cleanup program. EPA Sept. 3 announced it will add six new hazardous waste sites to the NPL and is proposing to add another 11 sites to the list. The same time last year, the agency announced it would add seven new sites...

EPA ADVISORS BACK FIRST-TIME RISK LEVEL FOR SUPERFUND CONTAMINANT

An EPA peer review panel is backing the agency's proposed first-time risk level for 2-hexanone, a waste chemical that may be present at close to 200 top-priority Superfund sites. The chemical, which is a waste product from pulp production and some energy production, was also used in paints and paint thinners until the early 1980s. EPA's Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response (OSWER) in 2004 requested that the clear liquid be added to the chemicals undergoing risk assessment for...

EPA AWARDS RECORD GRANT TO STUDY HEALTH RISKS OF NANOMATERIALS

Amid activists' calls for Congress to mandate a massive funding boost into the study of the potential health risks of nanomaterials, EPA has awarded a $2 million grant -- its largest ever for nano research -- for a project to analyze the effects of metal oxides on the human brain, which could also assist the agency in future risk assessments. EPA Aug. 20 announced the grant for the University of Kentucky to study how the size and shape of the...

HURRICANE GUSTAV TESTS EPA'S DISASTER RESPONSE AMID GAO CONCERNS

Hurricane Gustav is posing a key test for the adequacy of EPA's disaster response strategy, just days after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report that finds the agency has yet to implement several recommendations to improve its strategy following its criticized response to Hurricane Katrina. Environmentalists and other critics of EPA's disaster response planning say they will closely watch how the federal government reacts to Gustav and other storms that are expected to follow the hurricane. Three years...

'Virtually Insurmountable' Hurdle

The Supreme Court's ruling in an upcoming case could create a “virtually insurmountable” barrier for environmental and other public interest groups to bring facial challenges to EPA and other federal agency regulations, if the high court backs Justice Department (DOJ) arguments, according to Scott Nelson of the Public Citizen Litigation Group and other panelists at a Sept. 8 event sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). The high court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case, Priscilla Summers...

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