Focus
EPA proposes exemptions for ‘forever chemical’ reporting requirements
The Hill – November 10
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to loosen requirements for companies to report on their uses of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These chemicals, many of which are toxic, have been used in a wide array of consumer and other applications, including to make items that are nonstick, waterproof, and stain resistant. According to a Monday announcement, EPA is moving to exempt companies that make or import chemicals where PFAS make up 0.1 percent or less of an item or mixture from reporting requirements. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin argued this exemption would reduce “crushing regulatory burdens” and costs for industry.
News
White House said to propose opening California coast to oil drilling
The New York Times - November 13
The federal government plans to allow new oil and gas drilling off the California coast for the first time in roughly four decades, according to three people briefed on the matter. The Interior Department could announce the proposal as soon as this week. When asked about the proposal this Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom said that the state would “absolutely” challenge the plan in court once it was finalized. There has been almost no fossil fuel development along the California coast since an enormous oil spill near Santa Barbara in 1969 that sullied beaches, killed thousands of birds, damaged property, and harmed the commercial fishing industry.
Long Beach harbor commission OKs port emissions agreement with Air District; LA to vote next week
Press-Telegram – November 12
The Long Beach harbor commission this week unanimously approved a cooperative agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) that commits its port — and the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, whose commissioners are expected to approve the agreement at their November 20 meeting— to developing and implementing zero-emissions infrastructure. The agreement commits the two ports to develop and implement plans for zero-emissions infrastructure for equipment types in three phases, starting with a draft plan in May 2027, followed by approved plans in place for all equipment categories by the end of 2029.
The clock is ticking on the shrinking Colorado River as Western states miss a key deadline
Los Angeles Times – November 11
Negotiators for seven Western states said they are making progress in ongoing talks over how to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River. A November 11 deadline set by the Trump administration to come up with initial terms of a plan to prevent the river’s giant reservoirs from declining to dangerously low levels passed this Tuesday without any region-wide agreement on water cutbacks. Participants in the negotiations said they plan additional talks in the coming weeks.
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