Regulations & Legislation


EPA Extends Revised Total Coliform Rule Comment Period

The agency has set the new deadline for Oct. 13 on the revisions to the total coliform rule.

Innovative State Policy for Energy Efficiency Creates Jobs Investments

A new report from the Center for American Progress and EnergyRM indicates that a robust program of smart policy incentives and investments could make a big difference for businesses looking to invest in the growth of clean energy jobs.

Growers Sign Petition for Atrazine Use

Long-standing pesticide faces government review, an activist campaign, and two lawsuits.

Parts of Texas' Air Permitting Program Not Up to Code, EPA Says

In one example, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality did not allow adequate review of impacts on total air pollution levels should changes in the Pollution Control Project Standard Permit be approved, the federal agency reported.

Lawmakers Call for Probe into Claims Handling by Enbridge

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said it has evidence that residents affected by the recent spill in Michigan are being asked to waive legal rights or sign over medical records.

New Jersey Gives Fuel Oil Industry 6 Years to Meet Sulfur Standard

By 2016, the state will require refiners to produce oil with a maximum sulfur content standard of 15 parts per million; the current standard is 2,000 to 3,000 parts per million.

Company Must Remove PCB-contaminated Materials from GM Superfund Site

Before the Motors Liquidation Company can demolish several buildings at the Massena, N.Y., site, it must decontaminate the buildings and their contents and sample and remove contaminated soil.

Air Products to Pay $1.5M for Transferring Spent Acid to Agrifos

EPA's enforcement of mining and minerals processing "leaked" over to chemical manufacturing because the company shipped spent acid to a facility not authorized to accept it.



New Fuel Economy Labels to Take GHG Emissions into Account

The Department of Transportation and EPA are offering two proposals for public comment: a letter grade to communicate a vehicle’s overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance or a label similar to the current one that uses miles per gallon but adds comparison data on fuel economy and emissions.

Neighborhood design

A 'Prefurbia' Development Solution

In a multi-part series of articles, Rick Harrison, president of Rick Harrison Site Design Studio, will explain some of the problems in land development today and how innovative methods collectively known as "Prefurbia" can help to overcome them.

EPA Takes Tonawanda Coke to Task for Additional Environmental Issues

The agency says the company is exceeding its permitted industrial wastewater discharge, which is piped to Tonawanda's sanitary sewer system.

Landowner and Excavator Failed to Contact Corps of Engineers for Dam

The landowner and the company he hired to perform excavation to create an earthen dam will pay a $30,000 civil penalty.

Emory River Opens for Recreation as Coal Ash Cleanup Continues

Federal and Tennessee agencies have determined that any coal ash remaining in the river presents minimal health risks to recreational users.

American Vanguard Files Suit for Relief from EPA Stop Sale Order

The company makes pentachloronitrobenzene, a fungicide used on turf, and was ordered to stop selling the product because it did not identify trace impurities in its confidential statement of formula.

Agency Reviewing Black Feet Tribe Application for CWA Program

EPA is taking comments through the state of Montana on the Tribe's assertion of authority.

DOE, New York Reach Cost Agreement for Nuclear Cleanup

The decree addresses the cost allocation between the federal and state governments, not the scope of the cleanup or site end-state decisions for the West Valley Demonstration Project and the Western New York Nuclear Service Center

Compliance Director Says DHS to Quicken Pace of Site Inspections

The agency has reviewed more than 38,000 Top Screens and 6,000 Security Vulnerability Assessments and is planning on conducting between 30 and 40 preliminary authorization inspections per month.

26 Groups Support EPA Right-to-Know Policy for Chemical Hazards

EPA's Lisa Jackson announced the agency's new right-to-know policy in late May.

EPA Denies Petition for Lead Ammunition Ban

The agency is not considering taking action on whether the lead content in hunting ammunition poses an undue threat to wildlife, said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

SOCMA: Inconsistencies in Boiler MACT Proposal Create Uncertainties

Some members of the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates say the EPA's proposed emission limits are unachievable.

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