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Despite Few Real-World Impacts, NSPS Coal Proposal To Face Challenges

EPA is acknowledging that its new proposal to weaken greenhouse gas limits for new coal plants will have few real-world effects because no new domestic coal plants are planned, though environmentalists are strongly opposing the measure anyway in part because it could allow a dangerous precedent of setting lax Clean Air Act standards. In addition, few observers expect EPA to take action on a portion of the Dec. 6 plan that questions the threshold legal finding that power plants' GHGs...

EPA Faulted For Relying On State Methane Rules But Not Tallying Emissions

EPA's claims that it can rely on state programs to limit methane leaks at oil and gas operations in lieu of federal rules are drawing fire from environmentalists who say that EPA's analysis for its methane rule rollback proposal fails to quantify the pollution cuts -- or lack thereof -- from the state programs. Even as they argue that the state rules are no substitute for federal requirements, advocates are urging states to bolster their oil and gas emissions controls...

'Early Notice' Of DOJ Referrals May Weaken Regions' Enforcement Leverage

EPA enforcement chief Susan Bodine's mandate that headquarters receive “early notice” of regions' civil cases slated for referral to the Justice Department (DOJ) could weaken regions' leverage in settlement talks, an industry source says, as DOJ referrals are often used as a threat to push for higher penalties in enforcement actions. The requirement for headquarters review of regional enforcement cases before they are referred to DOJ “makes it harder for EPA to start penalty demands as high as it has...

1st Circuit Backs City's 11th-Hour Bid For Negotiations In CWA Permit Suit

On the eve of oral argument, a federal appeals court has ordered a new round of settlement talks in a Massachusetts city's challenge to its EPA-issued Clean Water Act (CWA) wastewater discharge permit, opening the possibility that the case will end without a decision ruling on the scope of the agency's CWA permit powers -- though EPA has cautioned that the odds of a settlement are slim. An April 3 order signed by 1st Circuit Judge Juan R. Torruella grants...

Judge Doubts Industry Request To Intervene In Formaldehyde Rule Suit

A federal judge is all but rejecting industry requests to intervene in environmentalists' suit challenging the Trump EPA's delay of the Obama administration's formaldehyde emissions standard for pressed wood products, just days before the litigants are slated to float plans March 9 for how to implement the judge's ruling scrapping the delay and apply the rule. In a March 6 order in Sierra Club, et al. v. Scott Pruitt , Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court for the...

Trump EPA Defends Obama-Era Policy Finding NSR Violations 'Ongoing'

The Trump EPA and Department of Justice (DOJ) are defending an Obama-era enforcement policy that finds alleged Clean Air Act new source review (NSR) permit violations are “ongoing” and therefore not subject to the statute of limitations, fighting a power company's claim that a pending NSR case is time-barred. The defense of the policy in the ongoing U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit case is the second time in recent months that the Trump administration has backed the...

Pruitt's First 100 Days Advance EPA Rule Rollbacks But Spark Controversy

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's first 100 days in office include several early steps to block or undo a host of Obama-era regulations and reshape the agency with the expectation of major budget cuts, winning praise from GOP lawmakers and industry groups but outcry from some EPA staff and environmentalists over the moves. “Since being sworn in, Administrator Pruitt has spearheaded nearly two dozen significant regulatory reform actions. He has taken significant steps to refocus the EPA on its core mission...

Pruitt Hedges On Future Utility GHG Rules Even As EPA Readies CPP Repeal

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is continuing to hedge about whether and how precisely the agency plans to address greenhouse gases (GHG) from existing power plants after it rescinds the Clean Power Plan (CPP), even as reports indicate the agency is poised to float a plan for repealing the Obama-era rule. His May 24 remarks at an energy and environment forum hosted by Faegre Baker Daniels appear to second guess the scope of existing statutory tools for curbing GHGs and also...

Trump EPA Advances First Final Rule To Implement Revised Toxics Law

The Trump EPA has sent for White House pre-publication review its first final rule to implement the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), advancing a measure establishing how to prioritize chemicals for risk evaluation that the Obama EPA proposed but the new administration will finalize based on its own approach to TSCA. The rule, which EPA submitted to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) on May 23, will establish a risk-based screening process for designating chemicals as...

Bodine Praised As EPA Enforcement Pick But Slow Selections Criticized

Clarification Appended Susan Bodine's nomination to lead EPA's enforcement office is generally winning praise from current and former agency officials, who say she will bring competence and experience to a relatively inexperienced EPA leadership team that faces significant struggles advancing the administration's deregulatory agenda. But her nomination, the first to the agency after Administrator Scott Pruitt, highlights the Trump administration's slow pace in nominating others to top agency posts, raising new fears from deregulatory advocates that the...

Pruitt Rescinds Regional Offices' Control Over High Cost Superfund Cleanups

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is taking back final authority for sign-off on Superfund cleanup remedies known as records of decision (RODs) costing more than $50 million, rescinding the final decisionmaking authority usually reserved for the agency’s regional administrators or its headquarters’ waste office. The move, outlined in a May 9 memo to the agency’s Office of Land and Emergency Response (OLEM) chief and regional administrators, seeks to revitalize cleanup sites while promoting accountability and consistency across regions, according to the...

Criminal Case Tees Up New 9th Circuit Decision On CWA Jurisdiction Test

A Montana man's appeal of his conviction for criminal Clean Water Act (CWA) violations could give the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit a chance to restate or revise its position on which of two Supreme Court tests to use to determine CWA jurisdiction, potentially complicating EPA's bid to use the narrower of the two tests in a new CWA rule. The case, USA v. Joseph Robertson , is pending in the 9th Circuit and hinges on the...

D.C. Circuit Judge Sees 'Renaissance' In Scaling Back Deference To EPA

A federal appellate judge's recent concurring opinion in a case vacating an EPA air reporting exemption for animal feeding operations (AFOs) says a "renaissance" is emerging in federal courts to narrow the Supreme Court's landmark Chevron deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, an effort that could get a boost from new Justice Neil Gorsuch. In her April 11 concurring opinion in the Waterkeeper Alliance, et al. v. EPA, et al., U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...

Revised TSCA Raises Questions Over Limits On EPA Penalty 'Overfiling'

A provision in the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that bars states and EPA from pursuing penalties for violations of the law beyond the federal government's maximum limit is raising questions over whether the language is at odds with an appellate ruling that sought to prevent “overfiling” of state and EPA enforcement actions. The updated toxics law includes a provision that caps the penalty on a violator of TSCA or a similar state statute that has not been preempted...

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