The Senate narrowly confirmed Andrew Wheeler as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, February 28, 2019, by a vote of 52-47. No Democrats supported the nomination and one Republican also opposed. ...more
EPA enforcement actions as reflected by the amount of assessed civil penalties have dropped substantially during the first two years of the Trump Administration. (Washington Post, January 24). ...more
The federal government, through the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), released the Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II, on the Friday following Thanksgiving. ...more
The Trump Administration announced a long-awaited proposal to roll back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan late last month. (Chicago Tribune). The action had been promised by the President and his appointees at EPA, who pursued...more
9/7/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Deregulation ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Health and Safety ,
Natural Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Rollbacks ,
Trump Administration
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...more
5/2/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Scientific Evidence ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
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...more
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...more
In late August, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced an extension of the public comment period for a proposal to recodify a pre-existing rule defining the scope of waters of the United States. The...more
President Trump is expected to announce this afternoon his decision whether to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. Several news sources yesterday indicated that President Trump has decided to withdraw....more
While the Trump Administration has taken steps to dismantle or revise many of the Obama Administration’s actions regarding climate change, there are conflicting opinions within the Administration and key businesses about the...more
5/2/2017
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Trump Administration
The past week was not a good one for the cause of science as it relates to environmental issues and may foreshadow what might be described as an Age of Un-enlightenment....more
President Trump has proposed a dramatic cut in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, the new EPA Administrator has suggested rollbacks in regulations, and there are even proposals to abolish the Agency entirely. ...more
By almost every account, the Trump Administration is likely to alter substantially the environmental regulatory landscape. Actions have already been taken to delay the implementation of regulations as well as initiating...more
2/2/2017
/ Clean Power Plan ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of the Interior ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Electric Generation Suppliers ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trump Administration
A recent article in The New York Times titled: Perils of Climate Change Could Swamp Coast Real Estate, indicates that rising seas and storm-related flooding in Florida appear to be driven by climate change and may be having...more