Join us.

We’re working to create a just society and preserve a healthy environment for future generations. Donate today to help.

Donate

Blog

Showing 1,481 results

Ben Somberg | December 6, 2010

Links: The EPA at 40

With the 40th anniversary of EPA last week, there’s been some useful writing on the big picture of the history. I wanted to highlight: Steve Cochran at EDF has the first in a series on the Clean Air Act and its record of protecting us from pollutants. Post one: the acid rain program. Ruth Greenspan Bell […]

Yee Huang | December 3, 2010

Maryland Submits Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Plan; Here’s A First Look

Maryland submitted its final Phase I Watershed Implementation Plan for Chesapeake Bay restoration this afternoon. It’s the strongest blueprint of any of the states, and if implemented and funded sufficiently would allow Maryland to achieve its needed share of pollutant reductions. Maryland has pledged to implement, by 2017, the pollutant controls necessary to achieve 70% […]

Lena Pons | December 1, 2010

Procedural Maze Continues for Vehicle Efficiency Regulation

Update: EPA and NHTSA have issued the Supplemental Notice of Intent. The regulatory process is often complex: agencies must balance opportunities for public comment, complex scientific information, and economic analysis, all while trying to craft a program that fulfills a legal mandate. But when it comes to crafting proposals for vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas […]

Yee Huang | November 30, 2010

Most Chesapeake Bay Watershed States Submit Cleanup Plans; A First Look at Virginia’s

Yesterday was the deadline for Bay states and the District of Columbia to submit their final Phase I Watershed Implementation Plans (WIP). These WIPs are roadmaps that describe how Bay jurisdictions will meet their pollutant reduction obligations under the Bay TMDL. Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia submitted their plans by the deadline, […]

Dan Rohlf | November 30, 2010

FWS’ Critical Habitat Area Designation for Polar Bears is Good News, but How Much Difference Will it Make?

First the good news: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) last week designated a huge expanse of barrier islands, denning areas, and sea ice in the Arctic as “critical habitat” for polar bears under the federal Endangered Species Act. The largest such protected area in the ESA’s history, the new critical habitat covers an […]

Holly Doremus | November 24, 2010

CEQ Finalizes Guidance for Categorical Exclusions

Cross-posted from Legal Planet. The White House Council on Environmental Quality has issued the first of three expected final guidance documents for federal agencies implementing the National Environmental Policy Act. This one, which covers the use of categorical exclusions, is an excellent start. NEPA is the “look before you leap” environmental law. It requires that […]

Victor Flatt | November 17, 2010

Welcome Clarity and Few Surprises in EPA’s Guidance on Greenhouse Gas Permitting

Last week the EPA released its “PSD and Title V Permitting Guidance For Greenhouse Gases.” This Guidance was designed to give the states direction in how to implement permitting requirements for new sources for other criteria pollutants that also produce greenhouse gases on January 2, 2011, and new sources of greenhouse gases following in May, 2011, […]

Ben Somberg | November 15, 2010

EPA Moves Forward With Numeric Nutrient Criteria for Florida Waters; Plan Will Begin in 15 Months

The EPA announced this morning that it has finalized numeric nutrient criteria for Florida waters — specific limits on the amounts of nutrient pollutants allowed in the state’s water bodies. These criteria will in turn limit discharges by point and non-point sources. Currently, nutrient limits are set only by “narrative” water quality standards — which […]

Lena Pons | November 9, 2010

CPR White Paper Identifies Hundreds of Toxic Chemicals Insufficiently Studied by EPA

A new CPR white paper released today evaluates EPA’s performance in improving its database of human health information on toxic substances. The Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) contains “profiles” with bottom-line health effects information for 540 substances; federal regulators, as well as state and local governments and regulated industry itself, rely on the assessments to make […]