Tag Archives: EPA

Supreme Court Rules Against EPA Reining in Power of Agencies

In a decision that will rein in agency power across the federal government, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Congress did not clearly authorize the EPA to adopt broad rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric utility power plants. Specifically, the high court held, “Congress did not grant EPA in Section 111(d) of … Continue Reading

EPA 2020 Enforcement Offers Insight

The Environmental Protection Agency’s has released the results of its 2020 enforcement and compliance efforts and those results offer significant insight that business can benefit from. In the first 5 months of fiscal year 2020, EPA was on track to significantly exceed traditional numeric metrics in many categories with more compliance monitoring activities in the … Continue Reading

EPA Proposes First Greenhouse Gas Emissions Limits for Aircraft

Last Wednesday the Environmental Protection Agency proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for airplanes used in commercial aviation and large business jets. “This standard is the first time the U.S. has ever proposed regulating greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft,” according to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. And as much as I have railed against more and regressive environmental … Continue Reading

Back to the Future with “Navigable Waters of the United States”

Last week the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of the Army finalized a rule adding an applicability date to the 2015 Rule (that never went into effect) defining “waters of the United States.” But, the 2015 Rule will now not be applicable until two years following publication of the applicability date rule in the Federal Register … Continue Reading

EPA Ends Perverse Practice of “Sue and Settle”

“The days of regulation through litigation are over,” according to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. In fulfilling his promise to end the practice of regulation through litigation that has harmed the American public, the EPA Administrator issued an agency wide directive on October 16, 2017  designed to end “sue and settle” practices within the Agency, restoring … Continue Reading

Attorney General’s End of Third Party Settlements is Good for the Environment

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo on June 5, 2017 to all Department of Justice components and 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices prohibiting them from entering into any agreement in settlement of federal claims or charges that directs or provides for a settlement payment to non-governmental, third parties that were not directly harmed by the … Continue Reading

In the Name of Clean Water Millions of Acres are Proposed for Federal Control

It has been over 40 years since the Cuyahoga River caught fire and spurred the 1972 passage of the Clean Water Act. ... efforts to use the CWA to 'clarify' a definition of navigable water from the 1899 Rivers and Harbors Act does not serve the potable water issues that the nation faces today. ... The new rule is proposed to be effective 60 days after Federal Register publication.… Continue Reading

Is the Energy Star Program Doomed?

I have previously written about informal complaints regarding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Star Program for appliances.  Based on recent findings of a Government Accountability Office report, it seems much larger systemic problems exist within the Program: "In a nine-month study, four fictitious companies invented by the accountability office … Continue Reading

Impact of EPA Endangerment Finding on Green Building

On December 7, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to human health and environment.  The finding sets the stage to allow the EPA to regulate these emissions.   What impact will this endangerment finding have on the green building industry?   In my view, the endangerment finding … Continue Reading
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