Focus
U.S. Supreme Court leans toward disallowing private party remedy claims in Montana Superfund case
Reuters – December 3
U.S. Supreme Court justices this Tuesday appeared inclined to shield a unit of BP Plc, a British oil company, from claims seeking a more extensive cleanup of a Superfund hazardous waste site in Montana than the cleanup federal environmental officials had ordered. The nine justices heard arguments in an appeal by BP affiliate Atlantic Richfield Co., which had spent $450 million cleaning up its former Anaconda copper smelter in western Montana in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements, of a Montana state court ruling allowing a group of private landowners within the sprawling site to bring their claims against the company for additional cleanup not required by regulators. All justices signaled their concern that permitting such claims could interfere with remediation efforts ordered by the U.S. EPA under the federal Superfund law.
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News
EPA guidance relaxes longstanding restrictions protecting air quality in vicinity of pollution source
The Hill – December 3
The EPA this Tuesday released guidance reinterpreting its definition of “ambient air” that must meet pollution standards under the federal Clean Air Act. Under federal regulations, “ambient air” is defined as “that portion of the atmosphere, external to buildings, to which the general public has access.” Based on this definition, pollutant-emitting sources are not required by the Clean Air Act to ensure healthy air quality in outside areas surrounding buildings if those areas are inaccessible to the public. Since 1980, EPA has considered outdoor areas to be inaccessible to the public only if they are enclosed by fences or other physical barriers to public entry. The guidance posted this week does not alter the regulatory definition of ambient air, but would allow industries to rely on non-physical barriers, such as signage, routine security patrols, remote surveillance cameras, and drones, to render outdoor areas inaccessible to the public. The definition is likely to be of greatest benefit to industries with large plots of land that are difficult to fence in, such as the timber and lumber industries, and industrial plants in rural areas. The EPA touted the new interpretation, which is part of a package of changes to the New Source Review permitting process for building or modifying pollution sources, as one that removes unnecessary obstacles to permitting of projects. Critics commented that non-physical barriers are unreliable and decried the new interpretation as enabling industry to avoid pollution controls necessary to protect public health.
San Diego and Imperial Beach officials calling for federal action on Tijuana River
KPBS – December 3
A group of local San Diego County officials introduced a resolution this Tuesday calling on the federal government to take action to stop cross-border sewage flows in the Tijuana River Valley. The group, including the cities of San Diego and Imperial Beach, the Port of San Diego, and the County of San Diego, introduced a list of recommended actions, which will be voted on by multiple city councils and boards in coming weeks. The resolution calls for the federal government to allocate funding to the EPA to complete restoration projects in the valley and for the EPA to work with the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to complete projects required to cleanse the valley's water and avoid ongoing beach closures near the border.
San Francisco Bay dredging fuels an unexpected concern: climate change
San Francisco Chronicle – November 30
A proposal by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to deepen 13 miles of waterways in the San Francisco Bay in order to accommodate larger and heavier ships drew criticism at a recent public meeting in Pinole from citizens who, out of concern about climate change due to fossil fuel combustion, complained that deeper channels would facilitate increased crude oil deliveries to oil terminals and refineries in Contra Costa and Solano counties. Corps officials indicated that their only concern is ensuring the safe passage of vessels. The deeper channels would also make possible increased movement of agricultural, construction, and other industrial products. Several hurdles remain before the dredging project can proceed, including state environmental review and Congressional appropriations. Officials estimated that, even without delays, work would probably not commence on the project for another ten years.
Conservation groups sue federal agencies over California water project opinions
Courthouse News Service – December 2
Several fishing and conservation organizations on Monday brought a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California over the federal government’s efforts to set new rules for the operation of major California water projects, reported to be two of the largest in the U.S. Led by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the groups claim that the government’s biological assessments of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project arbitrarily concluded that the projects would not have a damaging effect on endangered fish species, including salmon and steelhead. The projects at issue divert water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, primarily for agricultural and municipal uses.
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