May 2015
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EPA Denies Request to Ban Trisclosan
EPA has denied the January 14, 2010 petition submitted by the Food & Water Watch and Beyond Pesticides to ban the antimicrobial pesticide triclosan. Continue reading
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Final Version of Controversial Clean Water Rule Announced: Does EPA Have Jurisdiction Over Your Ditch?
By Allison A. Torrence On May 29, 2015, the Obama administration released the final version of its highly controversial Clean Water Rule. President Obama declared that the new rule “will provide the clarity and certainty businesses and industry need about which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act, and it will ensure polluters who knowingly threaten… Continue reading
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Back to the Future: EIA’s Analysis of EPA’s Clean Power Plan Concludes that Power Sector CO2 Emissions May Drop to 1980s Levels
By Alexander J. Bandza In June 2014, EPA issued its proposed Clean Power Plan to regulate CO2 emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Power Plan proposes to limit carbon emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units, including steam generating, integrated gasification combined cycle, or… Continue reading
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EPA Revises Its Regulatory Agenda, A Flurry of Activity Expected in the Next Few Months
By Alexander J. Bandza Last week, the EPA-specific listing on the website of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs was updated with timelines on the EPA’s regulatory efforts. Of potential interest, in chronological order of expected release, are the following rules: May 2015 (Final Rule). Clean Water Rule: Definition of “Waters of the… Continue reading
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New Jersey Assembly Unanimously Passes Bill Broadly Allocating Liability and Damages for Hazardous Substance Discharges from Offshore Drilling Platforms
By Alexander J. Bandza Last week, the New Jersey Assembly unanimously passed a bill, A4258, which is notably broad in its language on allocating liability and damages for releases of hazardous substances from offshore drilling platforms. The bill would supplement N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11, the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act, which defines hazardous substances to… Continue reading
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EPA Lacks Authority to Regulate Plastic Microbeads in Water
Tiny microbeads are introduced everyday into waterways from many personal care products and over the counter drugs. Last week, EPA’s Janet Goodwin, Chief of the EPA Office of Wastewater’s Technology and Statistics, advised that EPA lacks regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate consumer use of plastic microbeads entering wastewaters, despite growing concern… Continue reading
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New Report Confirms Environmental Sustainability is Good Business
A new study released by Morgan Stanley confirms that investors appear to place a premium on sustainability yet believe that sustainable investments require some financial sacrifice. Continue reading
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Minnesota House and Senate Each Pass Bills Banning The Sale and Manufacture of Products Containing Plastic Microbeads
By Alexander J. Bandza "Microbeads" are synthetic microspheres widely used in cosmetics, skin care and personal care products, which are added as exfoliating agents. Public interest groups have expressed concern that, because wastewater systems may be unable to filter microbeads from effluent released into public waterways, microbeads are entering the marine food chain. This week,… Continue reading
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CO2 Levels Cross Symbolic Threshhold
According to recently released data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the monthly average carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere exceeds 400 parts per million. Continue reading
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Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015
President Obama signed the bipartisan Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 on April 30, 2015, which encourages energy and water efficiency through a variety of measures. Continue reading