For Immediate Release, March 5, 2021
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EPA Reopens Consideration of National Climate Pollution Cap
Agency Withdraws Trump Administration Midnight Denial
WASHINGTON The Environmental Protection Agency has reopened consideration of a nationwide greenhouse gas pollution cap under the Clean Air Act, moving Thursday to withdraw the Trump administration’s last-day denial of a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity and 350.org.
“By undoing Trump’s denial, the Biden administration has created a chance to enact the most consequential protection we’ve ever had for our climate,” said Maya Golden-Krasner, deputy director of the Center’s Climate Law Institute. “When it comes to dealing with rising seas and tinder-box landscapes and helping polluted communities, nothing less will cut it. A national pollution cap would be a climate game-changer.”
Key Takeaways
What: In late January, EPA took the initial step of posting status reports on 25 facilities previously identified as high-risk based on known ethylene oxide (EO) emissions and facility location. EPA has committed to making community notifications regarding EO risks by May 31, 2021. On February 22, 2021, the EPA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) sent a letter to Acting Administrator Jane Nishida urging reconsideration of Administrator Wheeler’s January 4, 2021 decision that community outreach and notification regarding EO risks need not be immediate. Reconsideration could trigger community outreach on a shorter timeline and trigger concomitant community concerns (and, potentially, litigation) regarding EO.
EPA Quietly Takes Steps Toward Community Outreach on Ethylene Oxide Risks natlawreview.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from natlawreview.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
The newly proposed UCMR 5 will expand the list of monitored PFAS compounds to 29.[8] Most PWSs will be affected by this proposed rule and will be required to monitor these compounds, subject to the availability of adequate Congressional appropriations and appropriate laboratory capacity.[9] The monitoring information required under UCMR 5 will provide USEPA with data on the national occurrence of the identified contaminants in drinking water systems, which will be used, along with other available information, to inform USEPA’s future regulatory efforts including the potential establishment of federally enforceable drinking water MCLs for any of the 29 PFAS compounds identified in the rule, where the data supports the establishment of a regulatory standard.
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