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." The revised 5-page document is available here. Much of the new document describes procedures for emissions test protocols and other requirements that have been in place for over thirty years. The recent change involves an added requirement that certain other test reports must now be submitted to the Department if those tests are preparatory to or linked to eventual emissions test ...
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 in the Nation's water supply. (EPA News Release: Summit Addresses PFAS). EPA already has health advisories for the presence of two particular chemicals in the PFAS family, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). (Drinking Water Health Advisories). Both PFOA and PFOS have generally been phased out or discontinued in commercial ...
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 the actions are viewed from a perspective that the Agency is becoming increasingly politicized.
Through the use of a series of guidance memoranda recently released, EPA is revamping its rules for regulating air pollution. (The Hill, April 18, 2018). We reported on two of the memos in the blog on February 6. Those relate to the change in New Source Review policy ...
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 data is not sufficient to support the standards as currently written and that they should be revised. (EPA News Release and EPA draft notice to Federal Register). The announcement reflects the continuation of a push by auto manufacturers urging the Trump Administration to roll back these particular regulations. In February of 2017, the President met with auto ...
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 covered under the Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA is also seeking comment on specific aspects of the central question. The notice can be viewed here (Federal Register 02/20/2018).
This request involves EPA policies that are not necessarily well known, but which are based on certain basic provisions of the CWA. The Act specifically prohibits discharge of any ...
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. The new guidance actually withdrew a previous guidance policy in which EPA took the position that, if a source emitting air pollutants under § 112 ever attains "major source" classification, it would always retain that classification. (EPA Reclassification Notice). This original once-in-always-in policy meant that a source would always remain classified as a major source even if subsequent changes in operations allowed ...
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 available the Agency's Statement of Priorities posted on the Office of Management and Budget's website and a more specific individualized rule assessment provided at regulations.gov.
The Agency's Statement of Priorities includes a statement of its general goals. As to its regulatory responsibilities, the Statement indicates, among other things, that EPA ...
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 change as a basis for regulatory actions. (USA Today). As an example, Pruitt has made a concerted effort to eliminate any significant restriction or limitation on the use of coal. Although interestingly, the chief of Murray Energy, the largest privately held coal mining company in the U.S., has previously advised Trump against promising a comeback for the coal ...
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 involved with developing environmental policy are skeptical of human impacts on climate, and most official discussion of the issue is being eliminated. (EPA Scientists Prevented from Discussing Climate Change: NYT & CNN). Nonetheless, investigations of the impacts of air pollution continue and results are being published on an ongoing basis. Notably, the British ...
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. (Power Blackout). The problems could be compounded because the island's electrical provider, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has previously filed for bankruptcy in July. However, the destruction caused by the storm might prompt a privatization of PREPA, giving the opportunity for greater efficiencies. (Slate)
Statistics aside, some see the ...