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EPA Administrator Nomination Confirmed by Senate While EPA Defends Recent Analysis Showing Decline in Enforcement

The Senate narrowly confirmed Andrew Wheeler as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, February 28, 2019, by a vote of 52-47. No Democrats supported the nomination and one Republican also opposed. ...more

EPA Enforcement Actions Down Substantially

EPA enforcement actions as reflected by the amount of assessed civil penalties have dropped substantially during the first two years of the Trump Administration. (Washington Post, January 24). ...more

EPA Proposes Revising Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants

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

Government Climate Change Report Issued - Despite Continued Skepticism, Evidence and Predictions of Significant Potential Damage...

The federal government, through the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), released the Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II, on the Friday following Thanksgiving. ...more

Upcoming Election Includes Environmental Issues for Several States

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. ...more

Comprehensive Study Confirms That Climate Change is Having Substantial Adverse Impacts on National Parks

A recently published report that studied all 417 U.S. National Parks indicates climate change is having a significant and unique impact on many of them. ...more

Air Quality Progress While Rolling Back Regulations

Irony abounds as the new Acting Administrator at EPA last Tuesday announced historic progress under the Clean Air Act even while the Administration works to roll back a number of Clean Air Act rules. ...more

ADEM Air Division Adds New Reporting Provision To Emission Test Protocol Guidance

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s Air Division recently issued a revised version of its long-standing guidance document “Emissions Test Protocol and Test Report Requirements.”...more

EPA To Assess Health Threat Posed By At Least Some PFAS Substances, But There Are Doubts About Objectivity

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has announced an effort to assess the potential health risks posed by a class of chemicals known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been found in significant concentrations...more

Whether by Guidance or Rule, Fundamental Changes Continue at EPA

Through a combination of memoranda and a recently proposed rulemaking, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is moving to affect longstanding and fundamental components of EPA programs. The merits (or lack thereof) may be lost as...more

EPA Revising Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards For Cars And Light Duty Trucks

EPA Administrator Pruitt announced on Monday that the Agency has completed a midterm evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and light-duty trucks for the model years 2022-2025. He has determined that the...more

EPA Seeks Comments on Discharges of Pollutants to Groundwater

On February 20, the Environmental Protection Agency published in the Federal Register a request for comments on a longstanding EPA policy regarding the question of whether and to what extent discharges to groundwater might be...more

Changes Continue in EPA's Air Program

In late January, EPA issued a guidance memorandum related to major sources under § 112 of the Clean Air Act that will likely reduce participation in the program. ...more

EPA Regulatory Agenda Shows Continued Retrenching

In mid-December, EPA issued its semi-annual regulatory agenda reflecting rulemaking activities scheduled for 2018 and beyond. The overall announcement is reflected in the EPA press release and detailed explanations are...more

Putting an End to the Climate Change Debate -- More or Less

President Trump has promised that his Administration will resolve any continuing debate on climate change. On the front line of the effort, the President’s EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, has moved to eliminate climate...more

Reminder of the Impacts of Air Pollution on Public Health

The issue of climate change has become the focus of air emission regulations and prompted deep division in the process. The last Presidential election brought the issue to the fore in the sense that those who are now...more

Devastation of Puerto Rico's Power Grid May Offer an Opportunity

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

Waters of the U.S.: Extension of Public Comment Period to Re-establish Historic Rule and Announcement of Public Meetings for...

In late August, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced an extension of the public comment period for a proposal to recodify a pre-existing rule defining the scope of waters of the United States. The...more

Chemical Safety Rule Delay Challenged in D.C. Circuit

Attorneys General for eleven states filed a challenge in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia seeking to vacate a recently announced 2-year delay in implementation of chemical safety rules. ...more

Put Aside Global Warming and Consider Evidence That Air Pollution in the U.S. Harms Local Populations

Last Thursday, National Public Radio reported on a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine which offers evidence that air pollution continues to kill thousands in the United States every year. ...more

Withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord and the Potential Fallout

President Trump is expected to announce this afternoon his decision whether to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. Several news sources yesterday indicated that President Trump has decided to withdraw....more

A Hodgepodge of Action and Thought on Climate Change

While the Trump Administration has taken steps to dismantle or revise many of the Obama Administration’s actions regarding climate change, there are conflicting opinions within the Administration and key businesses about the...more

Acknowledging Climate Change But Limiting the Role of Science?

The past week was not a good one for the cause of science as it relates to environmental issues and may foreshadow what might be described as an Age of Un-enlightenment....more

Whither EPA

President Trump has proposed a dramatic cut in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, the new EPA Administrator has suggested rollbacks in regulations, and there are even proposals to abolish the Agency entirely. ...more

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