This week, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office released a white paper documenting the results of a symposium convened last fall to discuss how electric markets should be organized to manage the transition to a “low /...more
Last week, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court decision remanding Baltimore’s climate change litigation to state court. I wouldn’t read too much into the decision, which is founded on the niceties of...more
There has been much angst at the state level that EPA has not moved faster to develop drinking water or cleanup standards for PFAS. One of the states affected by the pace of EPA’s regulatory efforts is New Hampshire. Taking...more
The attack on science by this administration is not news at this point. Part of that attack has been to increase the number of industry scientists on EPA’s Science Advisory Board. I have no objection per se to additional...more
Almost 50 years ago, Christopher Stone published “Should Trees Have Standing,” suggesting that the natural world should be given legal rights to ensure its protection for future generations. It is not, I say with my usual...more
Earlier this week, EPA announced grants for the development of market-based programs to address water quality problems in the Great Lakes, as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. I’ve spent more than a little time...more
EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards has issued its final “Policy Assessment for the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter.” The Policy Assessment comes with the standard...more
Late last month, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, remanded to the Fish and Wildlife Service its decision to list the northern long-eared bat as threatened. The decision is...more
Yesterday, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers finalized their revisions to the definition of Waters of the United States. There’s nothing in here that everyone didn’t already know. The agencies largely sidestepped the...more
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the petition for rehearing in the “once in, always in” case. It was a one sentence order. Judge Rogers, who dissented from the original panel opinion, dissented from the denial....more
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States do not have standing. Given where we are, this is about as momentous a decision as I can imagine. I get the majority opinion....more
Ever since President Nixon visited China, significantly contributing to a thawing of the Cold War, the phrase “Nixon in China” has referred to any situation where a leader makes a policy move that would have been more...more
At the end of the December, the EPA Science Advisory Board posted the text of a letter that the SAB intends to send to Administrator Wheeler concerning the administration’s proposed revision to the WOTUS rule. The SAB’s...more
1/9/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Navigable Waters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Science Advisory Board ,
Scientific Research ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Earlier this month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a long-term failure by a state to submit to EPA a TMDL for an impaired water can constitute a “constructive submission” of no TMDL, triggering an obligation on...more
On December 17, 2019, I noted with enthusiasm the announcement that the states participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative had released a new draft Memorandum of Understanding outlining the framework of what...more
The 12 states and the District of Columbia participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative announced yesterday the release of a new draft Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the framework of what they are...more
12/18/2019
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fees ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Oil & Gas ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wholesale
The New York Citizens Budget Commission has released a report regarding the state’s ability to meet its ambitious GHG reduction targets. It’s sobering reading. The CBC states that it is “uncertain” whether New York can meet...more
EPA Administrator Wheeler has distributed a “Revised Policy on Exclusions from ‘Ambient Air’”. Here’s the short version. EPA has long defined “ambient air” as outside air “to which the general public has access.”...more
November 26, 2019, Judge William Young ruled that discharges to groundwater are not subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction, even if they ultimately reach surface waters that are unambiguously waters of the United States. He...more
Last week, Judge Richard McNamara ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their challenge to the very stringent standards for PFAS in drinking water promulgated by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental...more
Last week, Pope Francis announced that the Catholic Church was considering introducing into the Catechism “the sin against ecology, the ecological sin against the common home.”
My immediate question on seeing this...more
Last week, BioScience published the “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency.” It’s actually a nice piece of work – short, readable, to the point. In barely 4 pages, it concisely summarizes the fine mess we’ve gotten...more
According to Bloomberg Environment (subscription required), EPA’s Clean Air Science Advisory Committee cannot reach agreement whether to recommend that the NAAQS for PM2.5 be lowered. Even after two years, I guess I had not...more
10/31/2019
/ Agency Deference ,
Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Chevron Deference ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NAAQS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Assessment ,
Scientific Evidence
Last week, Federal District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill granted a preliminary injunction to various NGOs, barring the Bureau of Land Management from implementing amendments BLM had made in 2019 to protection plans for the...more
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court ruling requiring the Department of Energy to publish in the Federal Register four rules finalized by the Obama administration, but not previously...more
10/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Efficiency ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Register ,
Final Rules ,
Obama Administration ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Trump Administration