Focus
EPA reverses landmark climate policy, California could lead a resistance
Los Angeles Times – July 29
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 29 proposed to repeal its landmark finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. The EPA’s so-called endangerment finding, issued in 2009, is a formal determination by the agency that planet-warming greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane pose a threat to human health and the environment. It forms the legal and scientific basis for regulating these emissions under the Clean Air Act. EPA’s July 29 proposal would also revoke the standards the agency has set for greenhouse gas emissions from all motor vehicles. The proposal will undergo a public comment period and review process before being finalized. Multiple environmental groups said they are prepared to challenge the rule in court. According to Ann Carlson, director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA, by curtailing the federal authority to regulate greenhouse gases, the rule could relinquish regulatory powers to California and other states to carry out their own climate agendas.
News
EPA delays methane restrictions for oil and gas
The Hill – July 30
Yesterday, EPA issued an interim final rule delaying implementation of restrictions on planet-warming methane emissions from oil and gas drilling, as it considers unwinding the requirements entirely. In 2023, EPA issued a rule designed to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas wells by limiting leaks, requiring monitoring and repairs, and phasing out the routine burning of excess gas, known as flaring. Under the interim final rule, companies will have 18 months before they need to install certain of the previously-required pollution controls.
EPA director announces ‘permanent 100% solution’ on Tijuana River sewage crisis
The San Diego Union-Tribune – July 25
EPA announced on July 24 that the agency has brokered a “100% permanent solution” to the Tijuana River sewage crisis. A memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the United States and Mexico calls for increases in funding, reduced construction timelines, and adjustments to the scope of existing projects “to account for future population growth in Tijuana.” The six-page document calls for a range of infrastructure projects that must be completed no later than Dec. 31, 2027, a date that the administration says is “four years ahead of schedule.”
White House rescinds $20M for clean water in pesticide-contaminated rural California
The Guardian - July 24
For decades, thousands of residents in Monterey County, California couldn’t use their wells because the water was too contaminated with pesticides. In December 2024, EPA stepped in with a long-awaited $20 million grant to provide clean water, improve municipal sources, and relieve the region’s financial and health burden. EPA just took the money away, labeling the grant a “wasteful DEI program.” The funding, along with California state money, would have improved drinking water quality for about 5,500 people. The cuts are part of the Trump administration’s broader elimination of approximately $2 billion in environmental and climate justice initiatives made available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
EPA to allow new dicamba herbicides despite two court bans
C&EN – July 25
EPA plans to register three new dicamba herbicides for use on soybeans and cotton that are genetically modified to tolerate the weedkiller. The proposal, announced July 23, comes despite two court orders, in 2020 and 2024, to ban such uses because dicamba is prone to volatilizing, making it more likely to drift off-site and harm nontargeted plants on neighboring land.
White House delays limits on gas used to clean medical equipment
Laist – July 29
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation this month that delays a 2024 EPA rule meant to tighten emissions of ethylene oxide, a carcinogen, at companies that use the gas to sterilize medical equipment. The decision grants two-year exemptions to several facilities, including two in Vernon, a city in southeast Los Angeles County. These facilities are currently involved in a lawsuit with local residents relating to alleged releases of the chemical to the environment.
In rare move, California steps in to find buyer for Valero refinery to avoid closure, sources say
Reuters – July 23
California government officials are trying to find a buyer for Valero Energy’s Benicia refinery near San Francisco, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the clock ticks down on the company's planned closure of the facility in April 2026. The rare attempt by a state government to broker the sale of privately-owned infrastructure reflects its growing concerns over protecting fuel supplies in the most populous U.S. state and keeping a lid on prices, where California’s nearly 28 million drivers already pay among the highest prices for gasoline in the country.
Organization sues Coastal Commission over Ballona Wetlands gas project
Yo Venice – July 29
A community coalition filed a lawsuit on July 25 against the California Coastal Commission, alleging the agency unlawfully approved a natural gas project that threatens the ecologically sensitive Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in Playa del Rey. The suit alleges that the agency violated state environmental laws by allowing a gas company to plug and abandon two natural gas monitoring wells without proper review. The California Coastal Commission declined to comment due to the pending litigation but referred to its April 11 staff report, which asserted the project aligns with the California Environmental Quality Act and Coastal Act policies.
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