I hope that I am not struck down for saying this, but EPA’s guidance on doing remedial work 
during the COVID-19 emergency is reasonable and appropriate. At the risk of oversimplifying, it basically has two requirements:
The Trump administration. The gift that keeps on giving to bloggers. After posting last week about the order requiring DOE to send its energy efficiency standards to the Federal Register for publication, I noted that that regulatory delay cases were going to have to become a regular feature in this space. Lo and behold, on the same date, Judge Jeff White rejected EPA’s “Delay Rule” that would have postponed compliance deadlines under the Formaldehyde Act. … More
If this Administration’s first year has taught us anything, it is that determining when EPA has an affirmative duty to act is going to be very important over the remaining 3 (or 7!) years of the Trump presidency. That was the subject of last week’s decision in A Community Voice v. EPA, in which the 9th Circuit ordered EPA to issue a proposed rule updating its lead paint standards 
within 90 days,… More
On Wednesday, EPA released its “First Year Implementation Plan” for the recently enacted TSCA reform legislation. 
Before getting to the details, it’s worth emphasizing what a significant accomplishment it was to get TSCA reform passed in the current Congress. It’s also enlightening, because the message of TSCA reform may be that reform of existing legislation is possible,… More
One headline in today’s Daily Environment Report stated that “EPA Considers PCB Regulatory Reform Amid State Regulator Criticism of Program.” Even my advanced sarcasm skills failed me on reading this. I’ll therefore settle for “about bloody time.”
The original fault certainly lies with Congress, not EPA. The notion that Congress needed a separate statutory regime to deal with one specific compound (ok, family of compounds) was always foolish.… More
Yogi Berra is credited with the phrase “déjà vu all over again.” Today’s environmental law manifestation of Yogi’s phenomenon stems from the current gridlock in Congress. A story last week in the Daily Environment Report noted that, following Congressional failure to enact TSCA reform, 30 states (give or take, apparently) have either passed some kind of chemical management law or issued an executive order addressing the issue of toxics control.… More
Technology geeks such as myself love nanotechnology. I think it’s the future of everything – including the solution to environmental problems ranging from climate change to Superfund cleanups. However, there are concerns about the toxicity of nanomaterials.
Last Friday, EPA took a significant step in the regulation of nanomaterials by publishing significant new use rules – SNURs – for both single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. … More