EPA Actions
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The Senate Ratifies the Kigali Amendment, Strengthening U.S. Commitment to Phase Down Hydrofluorocarbons10.20/Alert
On September 21, 2022, the U.S. Senate voted to ratify the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. In so doing, the United States formally joins 137 other nations in pledging to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are greenhouse gases commonly used in a variety of applications including refrigeration, air-conditioning, building insulation, fire extinguishing systems, refrigerated shipping and aerosols. Because individual HFCs often have significantly greater warming potential than carbon dioxide, HFCs are widely considered one of the most potent drivers of climate change.
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Supreme Court Issues Opinion in West Virginia v. EPA07.01/Alert
The Supreme Court rejected EPA’s Obama-era Clean Power Plan in a decision that has significant implications both for future attempts by EPA to regulate CO2 emissions and for other agencies attempting to promulgate rules that implicate “major questions.”
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Biden EPA Doubles Down on Chemical Regulation with PFAS Strategic Roadmap12.06/Alert
INTRODUCTION
Federal efforts to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have continued in recent months. Most notably, on October 21, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) released its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. This document promises to establish a comprehensive, whole-of-agency approach to regulating PFAS, by building off the Trump EPA’s 2019 PFAS Action Plan and related federal initiatives. The Roadmap reflects EPA’s intent to regulate a broader range of activities than those contemplated in the 2019 Action Plan, as well as to accelerate the implementation of activities identified in the earlier Agency document.
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NRC Seeking Input to Update NEPA Process for Categorical Exclusions05.21/Alert
In an important step furthering recent commitments to modernize its environmental review process, the NRC has requested input on its plan to update and expand the field of categorical exclusions in its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
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Gas Regulation 2018: United States3.30/Article
Need an update on the state of the natural gas sector in the United States? This recently published article has you covered.
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New CERCLA Brownfields Amendments03.29/Blog
Spurred by the realization there may be as many as 450,000 Brownfields sites around the country that require some financial assistance, the recently enacted bi-partisan BUILD Act reauthorizes the EPA's Brownfields program at current funding levels through 2023.
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Council on Environmental Quality Takes First Step to Implement Trump Executive Order on Streamlining Federal Environmental Reviews09.25/Blog
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which oversees federal agency compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, has announced a list of planned actions to implement President Trump’s Executive Order on streamlining federal environmental reviews. While the Order and CEQ notice have launched a process that could transform federal environmental reviews and approvals, they provide few specifics, and their impact remains to be seen.
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Time Will Tell If Trump Infrastructure Executive Order Shortens Federal Reviews08.22/Alert
On August 15, President Trump issued an Executive Order that seeks to streamline federal environmental review and approvals of major infrastructure projects by imposing new timelines and procedures. Key provisions create a two-year deadline for completing review and issuing authorizations.
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Chemicals, Compliance and the Toxic Substances Control Act08.16/Alert
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) required the compiling of a national register of chemicals that were manufactured in or imported into the United States for a non-exempt commercial purpose, and the first TSCA Inventory in 1979 included approximately 62,000 chemicals. Since then, the Inventory has been expanded to include approximately 90,000 chemicals—a rate of over 700 new chemicals per year.
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Up in the Air06.22/Alert
Trump Administration officials followed up on the President’s June 1 announcement of U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord by announcing that the Administration was reviewing U.S. participation in ICAO’s global aviation emissions offset and trading regime.