TSCA/FIFRA/TRI
“Environmental Justice: Operationalizing TSCA to Fulfill Its Destiny,” By Lynn L. Bergeson For The American College Of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) Blog: The Biden Administration has embraced environmental justice with unprecedented gusto. In its July 2020 Plan to Secure Environmental Justice and Equitable Economic Opportunity, the Biden Administration sets out in broad terms how it intends to use an “All-of-Government” approach to “rooting out systemic racism in our laws, policies, institutions, and hearts.” Read the full article online.
EPA Issues Final Compliance Guide Addressing Surface Coatings Under PFAS SNUR: On January 19, 2021, EPA announced the availability of a final compliance guide that outlines which imported articles are covered by EPA’s July 2020 final significant new use rule (SNUR) that prohibits companies from manufacturing, importing, processing, or using certain long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) without prior EP
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Biden-Harris Administration Freezes Rules Pending Review
On January 20, 2021, Ronald A. Klain, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, issued a memorandum regarding “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” 86 Fed. Reg. 7424. For rules that have not yet taken effect, the memorandum directs the heads of executive departments and agencies to consider postponing the rules’ effective dates for 60 days from the date of the memorandum for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy the rules may raise. For postponed rules, during the 60-day period, the memorandum asks agencies to consider opening a 30-day comment period to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of fact, law, and policy raised by those rules, and consider pending petitions for reconsideration involving such rules. Where necessary to continue to review these questions of fact, law, and policy, agencies should consider further delaying, o
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President Biden campaigned on prioritizing climate change in his Administration, with an ambitious $2T plan to invest in clean energy and setting a target for a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. His “Build Back Better” plan centered around accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies like electric vehicles, solar, wind, and energy efficient buildings. It is no surprise then that the new Administration has taken swift action on clean energy and climate in the early days of Biden’s tenure. Below is a summary of the key personnel President Biden has chosen to implement his clean energy and climate agenda, along with the actions he has taken in his first few weeks in office.
“We are proud to join the EPA team of dedicated career professionals,”
said Dan Utech, EPA’s incoming Chief of Staff. “EPA will be at the heart of President Biden’s commitment to protect public health and the environment while building a clean energy future that creates good paying jobs. We will be guided by science as we work together to achieve these goals on behalf of all Americans.”
EPA’s leadership team comes with a broad range of expertise and knowledge, including decades of experience in federal, state, and local governments; academia; and non-profit and advocacy organizations. The EPA team also reflects the Biden-Harris commitment to diversity. Additional members of the EPA appointee team will be named in the days and weeks to come.
Governors Wind Energy Coalition
DOE program may save or thwart Biden’s energy plan Source: By David Iaconangelo, E&E News reporter • Posted: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), President Biden’s nominee for secretary of Energy. Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS/Newscom
A Department of Energy program considered critical to President Biden’s clean energy agenda is changing focus and may open the administration to political attack, analysts say.
When Biden was vice president, the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) distributed tens of billions of dollars in loans and loan guarantees intended to scale up new clean technologies. The office helped launch the first utility-scale wind and solar farms in the country. And it made a $535 million loan to Tesla Inc., now the world’s most valuable automaker, to open its first factory in Silicon Valley.