On December 27, EPA proposed to revise the cost finding associated with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) along with the risk and technology review required by the Clean Air Act. (EPA Announcement)....more
The November 6 election will include environmental ballot initiatives as well as issues dividing candidates and the results should provide an interesting aspect of the election.
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The Trump Administration announced a long-awaited proposal to roll back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan late last month. (Chicago Tribune). The action had been promised by the President and his appointees at EPA, who pursued...more
9/7/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Deregulation ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Health and Safety ,
Natural Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Rollbacks ,
Trump Administration
Hurricane Maria left the entire island of Puerto Rico without power. About fifty-five percent of the nation’s transmission towers were destroyed, but about 90 percent of the entire distribution network is out of operation. ...more
10/4/2017
/ Clean Energy ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Energy Sector ,
Geothermal Energy ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Natural Disasters ,
Power Grid ,
PREPA ,
Puerto Rico ,
Renewable Energy ,
Severe Weather ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Damage ,
Wind Power
The first nuclear generator commissioned in the U. S. in 20 years has begun commercial operation. The Tennessee Valley Authority brought the Watts Bar 2 Reactor on line on October 19 (The Hill). Despite the long interval...more
The EPA’s publication of a coal ash rule on April 17, 2015, did little to resolve the debate about the proper management of the material. Members of Congress have continued to push for legislation which would change...more
For the past three years, since 2013, energy production in the United States from renewable sources (non-nuclear) has remained fairly constant at about 9 ½% of total energy production. (U. S. Energy Information Agency...more
Alabama has joined several other states in a petition filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule regulating emissions standards for certain...more
One of the many issues in the current Presidential campaign involves the question of whether to pursue a tax on carbon emissions. The matter has been viewed by the Clinton campaign with some interest but not commitment,...more
Certain regulated entities that operate under Clean Air Act permits are being reminded that those permits do not necessarily cover air emissions associated with the management of hazardous wastes regulated by the federal...more
The coal industry has experienced substantial economic turmoil over the recent past, including bankruptcies – most recently by Peabody Energy Corporation – but also by Arch Coal, Inc., Walter Energy, Inc., and Patriot Coal...more
Legal challenges filed almost immediately after President Obama announced the Clean Power Rule may be premature. That is what attorneys for EPA told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently in...more
9/3/2015
/ Appeals ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Register ,
Fracking ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Kyoto Protocol ,
MATS ,
Mercury ,
Natural Gas ,
Obama Administration ,
Oil & Gas ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Utilities Sector
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court halted further implementation of a U.S. EPA’s regulation limiting mercury and other hazardous air toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired electric power plants. In a 5-4 decision, the...more
A recent article in USA Today questions whether ethanol’s days are numbered. While that article is written from the perspective of whether the stock of ethanol producing companies is a good investment, it focuses on some of...more
EPA’s new rules for limiting emissions of carbon dioxide for both existing power plants and proposed plants have prompted at least two substantive reports by public policy institutes focusing on the economic aspects of the...more
We have periodically updated the status of EPA’s long-running effort to decide whether and how to regulate coal ash generated primarily from electric power generation. Recent events have put EPA on a course to make a final...more