This item is cross-posted by permission from Legal Planet.
In March, I wrote here about EPA’s newfound boldness on mountaintop removal mining. Under current regulations, the Corps of Engineers issues permits for that practice under Clean Water Act section 404, but EPA has the authority to veto those permits. EPA, which was entirely passive on the matter under the Bush administration, had sent objections to the Corps on a couple of permits, and announced that “it would take a close loook” at others.
It is now clear that a close look doesn’t mean blanket opposition. Nick Rahall, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, has released a letter from EPA indicating that, of 48 permit applications the agency has reviewed, it has approved 42 and objected to only 6. Coal Tattoo (the Charleston Gazette’s blog on all things coal mining) has the story here. NRDC’s view is here.
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Holly Doremus | May 20, 2009
This item is cross-posted by permission from Legal Planet. In March, I wrote here about EPA’s newfound boldness on mountaintop removal mining. Under current regulations, the Corps of Engineers issues permits for that practice under Clean Water Act section 404, but EPA has the authority to veto those permits. EPA, which was entirely passive on […]
Victor Flatt | May 19, 2009
On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released its anticipated Beta version of its comprehensive GHG and energy bill. Among other goals, the new discussion draft attempts to address concerns from moderate and conservative Democrats concerning the proposed cap and trade system and how it would work. The most notable change involves the free […]
Matt Shudtz | May 18, 2009
On May 9, at the conclusion of the Fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-4) to the Stockholm Convention, negotiators from around the world agreed to add nine chemicals to the list of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are too dangerous for international trade. It was an important step toward protecting the world community from toxic […]
Ben Somberg | May 15, 2009
On Tuesday, CPR Member Scholar Catherine O’Neill testified about mercury pollution from chlor-alkali plants at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection. At least one in ten women of childbearing age in the United States has blood levels of mercury that threaten the neurological health of […]
Ben Somberg | May 14, 2009
CPR President Rena Steinzor and Policy Analyst Matt Shudtz submitted formal comments this week to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) with policy recommendations for separating science from politics. Back on March 9, President Obama issued a memorandum on scientific integrity, which outlined broad principles on the subject and requested that […]
Shana Campbell Jones | May 13, 2009
Yesterday, as the Executive Council for the Chesapeake Bay Program held its annual meeting, President Obama issued an Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration (a first), declaring the Chesapeake Bay a national treasure and signaling that EPA will play a strong role in leading Bay cleanup. For years, federal leadership on the Bay […]
Rena Steinzor | May 13, 2009
Cass Sunstein had his confirmation hearing Tuesday; it was well-attended and anti-climactic. President Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) testified for about an hour, and Senate approval of the nomination seems assured. Ironically, in a perfect example of timing being everything, at about […]
Rena Steinzor | May 13, 2009
With his attractive family and a phalanx of top aides in tow, Professor Cass Sunstein had a cordial, 45-minute hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee yesterday. He was introduced by former student and current Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who praised Sunstein as a teacher, mentor, and eclectic thinker, all qualities for […]
Ben Somberg | May 12, 2009
With Cass Sunstein’s confirmation hearing for “regulatory czar” set for today, CPR Member Scholars Catherine O’Neill and Amy Sinden have an op-ed on the subject in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer — “The cost-benefit dodge.” They write: Beginning in the Reagan administration, any regulation with a significant impact has had to pass through Information and Regulatory […]