UPDATE to previous article: EPA Confirms Uncertainty Over Timing Of Final Coal Ash Rule
As anticipated in a previous posting, President Obama has formally nominated Gina McCarthy to be the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy brings to the position notable experience at both the state and federal levels. She joined EPA in 2009, and currently serves as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. Prior to joining EPA, she served as Director of state environmental agencies in both Connecticut and Massachusetts, the latter in the ...Previously, we referenced an article in Bloomberg BNA reporting on an interview with an EPA representative who indicated that the Agency could not provide a definitive timeline for promulgating final regulations on the management of coal ash generated by power plants. EPA has now more formally confirmed this uncertainty. Recently, in announcing projected publication dates for a wide range of rules in various stages of development, EPA effectively acknowledged that there is no target date for the final rule. This is also reflected on EPA's web page which tracks the history of the ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it has reached an agreement with the Wisconsin Builders Association, the National Association of Home Builders and others to settle litigation challenging revised standards regulating construction stormwater discharges, including a regulation establishing numerical turbidity limits. The standards were initially adopted in 2009 and then included in the Agency's final construction stormwater permit in 2012.
The Settlement Agreement, which was filed in December, addressed a number of issues raised in the ...
A recent article carried by Reuters News Service reports that President Obama favors Gina McCarthy to replace Lisa Jackson as Administrator of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. In December, Jackson indicated a desire to step down from the position.
McCarthy currently heads EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. Prior to going to EPA, she led State environmental agencies in Massachusetts and Connecticut. These state agency positions included her involvement with the Northeastern states' Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. That, coupled with her current role in air policy ...
On January 15, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized revisions to standards to reduce air pollution from stationary engines that generate electricity and power equipment at industrial, agricultural, oil and gas production, power generation and other facilities. The final amendments to the 2010 "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE)" reflect new technical information submitted by stakeholders after the 2010 standards were issued. According to EPA, the final amendments ...
A recent article in Bloomberg BNA reports that the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is currently unable to provide a definitive timeline for promulgating final regulations on the management of coal ash generated by power plants. This continues a protracted rulemaking process, which has prompted an extraordinary number of public comments, approval of legislation by the House of Representatives to limit EPA's options, and litigation to force a final decision. The rulemaking history to date has been a mix of complexity, indecision, and contentiousness. It has its origin ...
It's almost never easy to fathom federal environmental regulations and this held true when a set of regulations was recently issued by the U.S. EPA. On December 20, 2012, the Agency issued a series of rules, primarily under the Clean Air Act, to address emissions from sources generally classified as boilers or incinerators. Part of the regulatory package also included revisions to standards and procedures enacted under authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA") that will determine whether non-hazardous secondary materials constitute waste when burned in ...
The United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling, has acted to limit a potential liability of municipalities and other stormwater permit holders with respect to the condition of waters entering and passing through their jurisdictions. In a short opinion issued on January 8, the Court ruled in LOS ANGELES COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT v. NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC., ET AL., that the Flood District could not be held responsible under its municipal separate storm sewer system (stormwater) permit for the polluted condition of waters passing through its ...