Biden administration announces plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from power plants

CBS News – May 11

The Biden administration proposed new regulations this Thursday that, if enacted, would aggressively limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The move stands to force major changes in the energy sector and is likely to set up a legal battle with the energy industry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the new standards would enable the sector to avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2042, the equivalent, according to officials, of taking roughly half the 300 million cars in the U.S. off the road. The new standards would require power plants to fundamentally change operations either by installing carbon capture and storage technology, which takes carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels out of the air and places it back into the earth, or by abandoning fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources.

News

EPA preps Trump-era plan to push wetlands permitting to states

E&E News – May 8

EPA is moving forward with plans to clarify how states can take control of federally administered wetlands permitting in a move that opponents worry will empower deregulation enthusiasts. At least three states, Alaska, Nebraska, and Minnesota, are seeking to oversee a permitting program that influences construction projects with implications for federally protected waters. At issue is an authority chain laid out under the Clean Water Act’s Section 404 that addresses dredge-and-fill activities, which often involve moving sediments within U.S. waters. That permit program allows states to take over the process if they can prove to EPA that they have the capability to do so, subject to continuing agency oversight.

EPA must regulate perchlorate, contaminant in water

Associated Press – May 9

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that EPA must regulate perchlorate, reversing a Trump-era rollback on the drinking water contaminant that has been linked to brain damage in infants. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously in an appeal brought by an environmental group in 2022 after EPA defended the rollback. Perchlorate has been used in the U.S. for decades, particularly by the military and defense industries.

Oil groups, Ventura County move forward in settlement talks over environmental regulations

Ventura County Star – May 5

Ventura County officials say they have reached a settlement in principle with oil interests suing over new environmental regulations in the county’s 2040 General Plan. In 2020, the county Board of Supervisors adopted a long-range plan that guides land use, resource protection, and development in unincorporated areas. The plan expanded buffers between new oil and gas wells and schools and homes, curtailed transport of oil by truck rather than pipelines, and set new limits on the release of gases. Until the settlement is finalized, the details cannot be disclosed, said Jeff Barnes, chief assistant county counsel.

Conservation group sues California oil regulator for approving wells with inadequate environmental review

The Hill – May 11

An environmental group last Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) of approving new oil and gas wells without conducting sufficient environmental review. The wells in question are located in Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties, in close proximity to homes, beaches, and key habitats, according to the lawsuit. CalGEM’s approvals, the complainants argue, are based on out-of-date environmental reviews that fail to consider “climate change or the risks to human health that have become well understood since that time.”

California Coastal Commission to study climate change effect on coastal access

Courthouse News Service – May 10

The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to study how sea level rise will affect Californians’ beach access as high tides push up against seawalls and other structures built to protect inland private property. The Public Trust Guiding Principles & Action Plan does not give the commission new regulatory powers, but it outlines how the commission can study the effects of rising tides while working with other state and municipal agencies, private businesses, and tribal governments in an equitable way. The plan also outlines how the Public Trust Doctrine interacts with the Coastal Act, the 1976 law defining the California Coastal Commission’s responsibilities.