Tag Archives: EPA

Court Tosses EPA Ban On “Brain Damage” Pesticide

The Hill reports: A federal appeals court on Thursday is tossing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ban on a pesticide that has been linked to brain damage in children. The decision from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to send the rule back to the agency does not preclude the agency from reinstating the ban in the future. Chlorpyrifos has …

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SCOTUS Curbs EPA’s Power To Conserve Wetlands

CBS News reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate certain wetlands that qualify as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, curbing what has long been seen as a key tool to protect waterways from pollution. The high court ruled against the agency in a long-running dispute with Idaho landowners …

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Manchin Rips EPA Rules That Would Imperil His Income

Politico reports: When Sen. Joe Manchin upbraided EPA on Wednesday for requiring power plants to reduce their carbon emissions, he didn’t mention that the agency’s rules could threaten his personal income. The West Virginia Democrat vowed to oppose Biden’s EPA nominees because the agency’s rules being proposed Thursday could push coal- and gas-fired power plants “out of existence,” he said. …

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EPA Proposes Limits On “Forever Chemicals” In Water

USA Today reports: The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed limiting the amount of harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water to the lowest level that tests can detect, a long-awaited protection the agency said will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. The plan marks the first time the EPA has proposed regulating a toxic group of …

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Rail Firm Will Pay To Temporarily Relocate Residents

The Hill reports: Norfolk Southern will pay for temporary relocation for people who live within a mile of the site of a train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals, amid ongoing cleanup efforts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a Sunday update that the company will provide “additional financial assistance” that may include “ temporary lodging, travel, food, clothing, and …

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Biden Orders Health Surveys In Wake Of Rail Disaster

Bloomberg News reports: President Joe Biden instructed federal agents responding to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to go door-to-door to conduct health surveys with impacted families, a White House official said Monday. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited approximately 350 household over the weekend, according to …

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Rail Company Ordered To Clean OH Site, Pay All Costs

NBC News reports: The Environmental Protection Agency announced a sweeping enforcement action against Norfolk Southern on Tuesday, compelling the rail company to conduct and pay for cleanup actions associated with the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. “The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’s order …

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Aunt Lydia Sues To Block EPA Regulations In Arkansas

The Associated Press reports: Arkansas filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to reject its plan to comply with federal rules that are supposed to assure that the state’s coal-fired power plants and industrial sites don’t pollute the air in other states. The state filed a petition with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over the …

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SCOTUS Strikes Down EPA Rules On Greenhouse Gases

USA Today reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against an Environmental Protection Agency effort to regulate power plant emissions, dealing a blow to the Biden administration in one of the most significant climate cases decided by the high court in more than a decade. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority. The court’s three liberal …

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Biden Restores Environmental Rules Axed By Trump

The Washington Post reports: The White House on Tuesday announced it has restored key protections to a landmark environmental law governing the construction of pipelines, highways and other projects that President Donald Trump had swept away as part of an effort to cut red tape. The new rule will require federal agencies to scrutinize the climate impacts of major infrastructure …

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Court Strikes Down Trump Rule On Water Pollution

The New York Times reports: A federal judge on Monday struck down a Trump-era environmental rule that drastically limited federal restrictions against pollution of millions of streams, wetlands and marshes across the country. The Biden administration had already begun the lengthy process of undoing the policy, which President Donald J. Trump established in 2020 to please real estate developers and …

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West Virginia GOP Gov Owes Millions In EPA Fines

ProPublica reports: The federal government is seeking to collect nearly $3.2 million in fines from coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after the firms violated the terms of a major water pollution settlement, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court. Justice, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the richest person in the state, owns a vast …

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Michael Regan Confirmed As EPA Chief In 66-34 Vote

CNN reports: The Senate voted to confirm Michael Regan as President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, where he’ll join an administration that has pledged aggressive action on tackling the climate crisis. With a bipartisan confirmation vote of 66 to 34, Regan will become the first Black man to lead the EPA in the agency’s …

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Trump Admin To Drop Controls On Methane Emissions

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is expected in the coming days to lift Obama-era controls on the release of methane, a powerful climate-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells. The new rule on methane pollution, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been expected for months, and will be made …

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EPA Unveils Plan To Weaken Air Pollution Regulations

Roll Call reports: Environmental advocates are warning that changes to the way the EPA calculates public health benefits of the rules it writes would make it harder to regulate air pollution, even as industry groups cheer the overhauls they have long sought. The EPA on Thursday evening proposed overhauls to its metrics for weighing the public health and environmental benefits …

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EPA Suspends Enforcement Of Environmental Rules

Never let a national crisis go to waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a sweeping suspension of its enforcement of environmental laws Thursday, telling companies they would not need to meet environmental standards during the coronavirus outbreak. The temporary policy, for which EPA has set no end date, would allow any number of industries to skirt environmental laws, with …

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Trump Admin To Finalize End To Wetlands Protections

Time Magazine reports: The Trump administration on Thursday will finalize a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and other water bodies, handing a victory to farmers, fossil fuel producers and real estate developers who said Obama-era rules had shackled them with onerous and unnecessary burdens. From Day 1 of his administration, President Trump vowed to repeal President …

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REVENGE: EPA Threatens California’s Highway Funding

The Sacramento Bee reports: The Trump administration is ratcheting up its threats against California with a letter warning the state faces sanctions – including cuts in federal highway funding – over its “failure” to submit complete reports on its implementation of the Clean Air Act. In the letter to the California Air Resources Board, Andrew Wheeler [photo], administrator of the …

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Trump Admin Finalizes Repeal Of Clean Water Rules

The Washington Post reports: Weakening the Obama-era water rule had been a central campaign pledge for Mr. Trump, who characterized it as a federal land-grab that impinged on the rights of farmers, rural landowners and real estate developers to use their property as they see fit. Environmentalists say Mr. Trump’s push to loosen rules on clean water regulations represents an …

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EPA Won’t Remove Lies On Its Blog Because Its Public Blog Doesn’t Contain Info “Disseminated To The Public”

We have always been at war with Eastasia. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) won’t tweak a recent blog post environmentalists say is inaccurate because the agency argues its blog is not considered public information. The tension stemmed from a June post on the agency’s blog that included apparent praise for EPA action on pesticides considered harmful to bees. “The Washington …

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