October 2013
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EPA Updates ECHO Database
EPA has updated/revamped its Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website to be more user friendly and flexible. EPA’s ECHO website allows for users to search for facilities to assess their compliance with environmental regulations, investigate pollution sources, examine and create enforcement-related maps, or explore a specific state’s performance. The legacy ECHO website is scheduled… Continue reading
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EPA Ordered To Move Forward With Coal Ash Waste Rule
On October 29, 2013, a federal district court judge ordered EPA to submit to the court within 60 days a plan and schedule for finalizing coal ash rules under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Appalachian Voices v. McCarthy, No. 12-cv-00523 (D.D.C. Oct. 29, 2013). Coal ash, also called coal combustion residuals (CCRs), is… Continue reading
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Members Of Congress Aim To Restrict EPA’s Ability To Set Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards For Fossil Fuel Power Plants
By: Seth J. Schriftman On October 28th, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Republican House Representative Ed Whitfield (Ky.) released a discussion draft bill intended to limit the EPA’s ability to set greenhouse gas emission standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee that Rep. Whitfield chairs will hold a… Continue reading
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OSHA Issues New “Recommended” Permissible Exposure Levels For Chemicals In The Workplace
Instead of engaging in notice and comment rulemaking, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently issued new “voluntary” standards for workplace chemical exposure. These new voluntary exposure limits can be found on OSHA’s website in a tabular format, allowing for side-by-side comparisons of OSHA’s existing permissible exposure limits (“PELs”) with these new, voluntary exposure… Continue reading
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Stay Indoors–Outdoor Air (Pollution) Added To List Of Cancer-Causing Substances
The World Health Organization has now classified outdoor air pollution as a human carcinogen. According to a press release from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (“IARC”), based on its review of available scientific literature, there is now sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer. Continue reading
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EPA Proposes Increased Oversight Of State Enforcement Activities
U.S. EPA recently issued a draft strategy document intended to address a December 2011 Inspector General Report that found inadequate enforcement of environmental laws by the states. U.S. EPA’s draft “National Strategy for Improving Oversight of State Enforcement Performance” outlines several enforcement options, including U.S. EPA overfiling and/or removal of a state’s delegated authority to… Continue reading
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Alex Bandza: 2013 Stephen E. Hermann Environmental Writing Award
Incoming associate Alexander Bandza has been selected by the American College of Environmental Lawyers to receive the prestigious Stephen E. Hermann Environmental Writing Award in 2013. Alex’s law school notes “Epidemiological-Study Reanalyses and Daubert: A Modest Proposal to Level the Playing Field in Toxic Tort Litigation” was awarded first place in this legal writing competition.… Continue reading
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State Environmental Programs Feeling Effects From the Government Shutdown
By: Genevieve Essig State environmental regulators are yet another group that has felt put to the test during the government shutdown. For example, a number of state environmental agencies rely on federal grants, as well as cooperative agreements and interagency agreements with federal agencies, in the administration of their delegated environmental programs. According to… Continue reading
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Government Shutdown Sidelines 95% of EPA Personnel
By: Genevieve Essig Earlier this week, New York’s attorney general Eric Schneiderman, joined by six other states and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, filed suit against the U.S. EPA alleging violation of the Clean Air Act with respect to the regulation of new residential wood-burning heaters. These plaintiffs, however, may have to hold… Continue reading
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Governor Approves Bill That Could Curb Some Proposition 65 Claims
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a measure that may curb what many believe to be meritless Proposition 65 claims against certain businesses in California. The current modus operandi for the Proposition 65 plaintiffs’ bar in California is to hire people to visit restaurants, bars, and other businesses in the hope that the… Continue reading