Category: Regulatory Developments

white house

EPA Looks to Regulate Guidance Documents

Responding to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 13891, as well as instructions from the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on how to comply with the EO, the EPA has proposed regulations specifying how the Agency will manage the issuance and administration of guidance documents.

Streamlined Gasoline Regulations Proposed by EPA

The EPA is proposing a major reorganization of its Clean Air Act (CAA) Fuels and Fuels Additive regulations (40 CFR Part 80). In the proposed revisions, the Agency says it seeks to adopt a “holistic” approach that consolidates many different and overlapping regulations in Part 80 into a new Part 1090. The revisions “will better […]

FMCSA Issues Final Rule Amending Hours of Service

The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released a final rule amending the hours of service regulations for commercial motor vehicle drivers. The amendments expand the driving window for both short-haul and long-haul drivers.

Chemical manufacturing facility

TSCA Definition of Small Manufacturer Broadened by EPA

Stating that compliance with the reporting requirements of Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) places a particular burden on small businesses, the EPA has finalized a new definition of small manufacturer to include more entities. TSCA Section 8(a) generally excludes small manufacturers and processors of chemical substances from the reporting and recordkeeping […]

EPA Does Not Seek Change for Particulate Matter Standards

Asserting that there is no clear scientific evidence that more stringent standards would produce additional human health and environmental benefits, the EPA is proposing to retain without change the 2012 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM).

EPA Reverses Coal Plant Mercury Finding, But MATS Stays in Place

In a final action, the Trump EPA has reversed a finding the Agency made in 2000 (and affirmed by the Obama EPA in 2012) that it is appropriate and necessary (A&N) to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from coal- and oil-fired electric generating units (EGUs) under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act […]

Sewage treatment plant

Two Big Water Bills Approved by Senate Committee

On May 6, 2020, the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) unanimously approved—by identical votes of 21–0—two bipartisan bills that, combined, would invest nearly $20 billion in wastewater infrastructure projects and community drinking water improvements.

Air emissions, pollution

During Pandemic, EPA Relaxes Clean Air Act Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic may be restricting travel, access, and safety for personnel who perform required Clean Air Act (CAA) monitoring and related tasks at power plants. Accordingly, the EPA has issued an interim final rule that provides flexibility intended to cut compliance costs under three 40 CFR Part 75 programs: the Acid Rain Program, the […]

Coal Plant

Small Coal Plants Benefit from MATS Amendment

It has been clear for some time that deregulatory actions at the federal level will slow but not stop the decline of coal as an energy source in the United States. Still, the EPA continues to do what it can to ensure that coal remains a key component of the nation’s energy portfolio.