Focus
California and 15 other states sue EPA over new rule reducing reach of federal jurisdiction over waterways
San Francisco Chronicle – May 1
A coalition of 16 states led by California and New York sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, accusing the agency of illegally exposing waterways to pollution and development by rolling back a key provision of the Clean Water Act. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule (Rule), which became law on April 21, replaces the Waters of the United States rule, adopted in 2015 under the Obama administration, which proposed to regulate all waterways that feed larger navigable waterbodies, including small seasonal tributaries that could, during wet seasons, impact downstream water quality. The opponents of the new Rule argue that it significantly narrows the Clean Water Act's reach, excluding ponds, ephemeral streams, many wetlands, sloughs unconnected to larger flows, and other non-navigable bodies of water from EPA jurisdiction, which collectively make up the majority of the nation's waterways, and pushes too much responsibility to the states to regulate those waters.
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News
EPA seeks to remove Mountain View site from Superfund list
Mountain View Voice – May 5
The EPA is proposing to remove the former Jasco Chemical Corporation (Jasco) site in Mountain View from the agency’s list of Superfund sites after years of cleanup operations overseen by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. EPA asserts that all response activities are complete and the criteria for delisting the site have been met. The site was designated a Superfund site in 1989 due to harmful levels of tetrachloroethene (PCE) in the underlying soil and groundwater. The current property owners, who have been approved by the Mountain View City Council to develop a 226-unit apartment complex, must comply with environmental covenants on the property including installation of a vapor barrier, post-construction indoor air monitoring, and soil management. The EPA is scheduled to publish a notice of intent to remove the Jasco site as a Superfund site on May 11, soliciting comments over the following 30 days.
Conservation groups sue EPA to protect Humboldt marten
Eureka Times-Standard – May 4
Two conservation groups on Monday sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for failing to finalize a rule protecting the Humboldt marten under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) a decade after the initial petition was made to have the species listed for protection. The FWS has spent years considering the petition, including publishing a rule in October 2018 proposing that the Humboldt marten should be listed as threatened. But FWS has yet to make a decision. There are roughly 400 Humboldt martens currently occupying a fraction of their historical habitat, which remains at risk of logging and wildfire, the complaint alleges.
Pandemic prompts call to pause landfill methane rule in California
Bloomberg Law – May 5
Los Angeles County, sanitation agencies, and other local agencies responsible for waste management are asking California regulators to temporarily stop issuing fines and to delay new solid waste and recycling regulations for six months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Gavin Newsom temporarily paused rules on recycling hours and redemption activities late last month, but the agencies responsible for managing the wastes say pending organic waste regulations to reduce methane emissions are too burdensome because of economic and staffing issues. In an April 29 letter sent to the state agencies, the local groups asked for limited grace periods as local governments work to respond to the health crisis while struggling to deal with new stay-at-home orders and fulfilling statutory obligations.
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