States Seek CAIR Deadline

The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), a prominent group representing all 50 state environmental commissioners, is backing the legislative fix to EPA's vacated clean air interstate rule (CAIR) floated by House Energy & Commerce Democrats that includes codifying the rule's first phase of emissions cuts, with the added caveat that any legislation include an April 1, 2009, deadline for EPA to propose a more stringent, second set of emission cuts. ECOS sent separate Sept. 5 letters to the chairs...

Praise For Palin

Environmentalists may be lambasting the GOP vice presidential nominee, Gov. Sara Palin (AK), but EPA officials are praising the governor's record smoothing relations with the agency's regional office that oversees the The Last Frontier. Palin has made cooperating with Region X a priority, says a source close to the governor. In fact, Palin has never taken a position on a “Region XI” office, despite the fact that Alaskan officials had been pushing for it since at least the early 1990s...

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...

After Setback, Activists Push Suit To Force EPA Financial Assurance Rule

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...

To Limit Enforcement, Industry Seeks To Force EPA To Approve Texas SIP

Texas industry groups in a just-filed lawsuit are seeking to force EPA's long-delayed approval of a state implementation plan (SIP) that includes a contentious "flexible" air permit rule, amid their ongoing concerns that EPA is preparing to sharpen its enforcement focus on facilities that might deviate from stringent Clean Air Act requirements under the unapproved Texas plan. Industry is also warning that if EPA successfully prosecutes Texas facilities for following state air rules rather than federal ones, that would set...

After NTP Finds Risks, EPA Reconsiders Study On Bisphenol's Hazards

EPA is reconsidering whether agency staff will perform a risk assessment of the controversial plastic ingredient bisphenol-A (BPA), following last week's finding by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) that the chemical poses "some risk" to children. 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 impact than the NTP study, though activists are citing the NTP...

Federal Court Rulings May Bolster Vapor Intrusion Suits Against Liable Parties

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...

Superfund Report - 09/08/2008

Mon, 2008-09-08 00:00

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Court Order Allowing Superfund Claim To Proceed

Court Order Dismissing Administrative Procedure Act Claim

Major Industry Groups' Motion To Intervene

Treated Wood Council's Motion To Intervene


EPA Proposed Vapor Intrusion Settlement

Company's Comment On Proposed Settlement


Legislation Tracking Update

The following section summarizes and provides the status of key bills in the Legislature, in the following categories: climate change, air quality, alternative fuels, water quality, environmental health, energy, hazardous waste, solid waste, multimedia, and pesticides. CLIMATE CHANGE Regional Transportation GHG Emission Reductions SB 375 -- Senate President Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). Requires regional transportation planning agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) tied to urban sprawl and land use through changes to regional planning documents. If signed, the bill is...

ACTIVISTS FILE FIRST GHG CHALLENGE OVER CEC POWER PLANT REVIEW

Environmentalists in an unprecedented petition to the state energy commission are calling on the agency to fully address the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of a proposed southern California power plant during an environmental review for licensing the facility. The activists argue the commission to date has failed to analyze GHG impacts of power plants statewide and argue that this and other planned facilities should offset all GHG emissions. The facility's plans to also tap liquefied natural gas (LNG) for energy...

BILL TO BAN PFCS RAISES DOUBT ABOUT MAJOR CHEMICAL POLICY AGREEMENT

On the last day of session, the Legislature approved a bill to ban the coatings substances perfluorochemicals (PFCs) despite an agreement negotiated the week before by Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on a major "comprehensive" policy for consumer product chemicals that state officials said should eliminate the need for restrictions on specific chemicals. While sources are speculating that the governor may veto the ban on PFCs, passage of the bill raises questions about lingering tensions between lawmakers and...

INDUSTRY COALITION FLOATS ALTERNATIVE TO ARB DIESEL TRUCK RULE

A coalition of truckers and other industry groups is floating to the air board an alternative proposal to its "on-road" diesel truck rule expected to be adopted by the board by the end of the year. The industry coalition argues that its proposal is more practical because it allows the industry flexibility and incentives for cleaning up older engines, while also still achieving significant emission reductions sought by the board. It is unclear whether Air Resources Board staff is seriously...

ASSEMBLY PANEL TAPPED TO TACKLE RENEWABLE ENERGY REFORM

Environmentalists and other stakeholders attempting to reform the state's renewable energy law -- including boosting the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources -- are scheduled to meet with lawmakers next week to push for a number of revisions that they believe would make increasing renewable energy generation more feasible. Next week's first meeting with a legislative panel to explore renewable energy issues comes following the collapse of negotiations this year between lawmakers and the governor to enact renewable energy...

ENVIRONMENTALISTS APPEAL CIRCUIT RULING TO FORCE PESTICIDE VOC STANDARDS

Environmentalists are asking the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a reexamination, including a possible en banc review by the entire circuit court, of a recent decision that sided with the state pesticides department on fumigant standards intended to control smog. Environmentalists argue the department's pesticide regulations violate an agreement between the state and the U.S. EPA on limiting pollutants that contribute to low-level ozone formation. The Ninth Circuit last month reversed a lower court decision that faulted the...

STATE WATER BOARD TO ADOPT STAKEHOLDER RECYCLED WATER PLAN

A recycled water policy proposal crafted by a diverse group of stakeholders has gained the support of state water board members, which means the board may enact the plan as a statewide rule. The proposal, which was developed as a compromise between environmentalists and wastewater agencies, includes proposals to create recycled water mandates for the state; establish salt and nutrient management plans to be paid for by water and wastewater agencies; and form a scientific panel to evaluate how the...

EPA GRAPPLES WITH RISK-BASED APPROACH FOR ADDRESSING BIOSOLIDS

U.S. 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 said models for determining risks posed by pathogens in the solids raise questions about how to develop...

GOVERNOR SEEN APPROVING BILL ALLOWING BIOFUEL MIXES IN FUEL TANKS

The Legislature is poised to enact a first-of-its-kind bill allowing the continued operation of underground storage tanks (USTs) containing untested biofuel blends while third-party investigators examine such blends' corrosive effects. The bill would circumvent a state memo that ordered any tanks containing untested fuel blends to be shut down immediately. An source said other states will likely take notice of the legislation, as more industries and municipalities weigh the use of biodiesel as an alternative fuel source amid an ongoing...

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