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Thomas McGarity | May 19, 2011

The McAteer Report: A Mine Safety Blockbuster

The report issued this morning by the Governor’s Independent Investigation Panel on the West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 miners at the Massey Energy Company’s Upper Big Branch Mine just over a year ago will never make the New York Times best seller list. But it should be required reading for all policymakers with […]

Rena Steinzor | May 18, 2011

Lisa Jackson Steps Back (Again) on Boiler MACT: One of the Top 12 Rules Now in Indefinite Limbo. Delay Violates the CAA

This post was written by CPR Member Scholars Rena Steinzor and Catherine O’Neill, and Policy Analyst James Goodwin. By any reasonable estimation, it should have been a jewel in the EPA’s regulatory crown. Released in February, the EPA’s final Boiler MACT rule (actually, it’s two rules—one addressing large boilers and the other addressing smaller ones) would […]

Matt Shudtz | May 13, 2011

Inventory Update Reporting Rule Delayed Following Five Industry Meetings at the White House and Some Specious Claims

EPA announced Wednesday that it is delaying the reporting period for its Inventory Update Reporting requirement. It’s not good news. EPA had announced its intention to revise (pdf) the TSCA Inventory Update Rule (IUR) back in August of last year. The TSCA Inventory is the official list of chemicals in commerce, and the IUR is the […]

Dan Rohlf | May 10, 2011

Tester: Don’t Get the (Toxic) Lead Out

In an impressive effort to demonstrate that crafting bad environmental legislation knows no partisan boundaries, Democratic Senator John Tester of  Montana – who recently spearheaded a successful effort to remove wolves from the endangered species list through a budget maneuver – last month introduced legislation to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating lead ammunition […]

Frank Ackerman | May 6, 2011

Did Environmentalists Kill Climate Legislation?

Cross-posted from Triple Crisis. Climate legislation, even in its most modest and repeatedly compromised variety, failed last year. And there won’t be a second chance with anything like the current Congress. What caused this momentous failure? Broadly speaking, there are two rival stories. It could be due to the strength of opposing or inertial forces: […]

Alexandra Klass | May 6, 2011

Will the Atmosphere Make it as the Public Trust Doctrine’s Next Frontier?

On Wednesday, Our Children’s Trust, an Oregon-based nonprofit, made headlines when it began filing lawsuits on behalf of children against all 50 states and several federal agencies alleging that these governmental entities have violated the common law public trust doctrine by failing to limit greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.  The claims seek […]

Kirsten Engel | May 5, 2011

States’ Proposal for Meeting Federal Climate Change Rules an Opportunity to Think Seriously about Regional RPS

States are seeking EPA approval to meet climate change-related standards through programs that the states themselves have pioneered. Greenwire reported last month that California, New York and Minnesota, as well as about a dozen power companies and advocacy groups, are urging U.S. EPA to let states meet the forthcoming New Source Performance Standards under the […]

James Goodwin | May 4, 2011

The Delays Get Delayier: The Sad First Year of EPA’s Coal Ash Proposal

Before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, before the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and before the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, there was the TVA coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee. It was at Kingston, during the early morning hours on December 22, 2008, that an earthen dam holding back a 40-acre surface […]

Rena Steinzor | May 3, 2011

Olympia Snowe, Deregulation, and Her ‘Small’ Business Cover

This great country of ours is quite fond of its enduring myths: poor kids are able to become rich kids by working hard, the family farm feeds us a nutritious bounty, and small business is the engine that makes our economy sing. When most of us hear that musical phrase—smaaaall business—we think of the local florist, […]