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The EPA recently released its annual air quality report, which concluded that air quality nationwide continues to improve. Our nation’s air quality is 77% cleaner today than it was in 1970, according to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
Affirmative defense provisions within state implementation plans (SIPs) have long been a controversial topic and the subject of litigation against the EPA.
The EPA proposed a new rule on June 11, 2020, that would impose specific requirements for the Agency to utilize uniform and transparent “high-quality analysis” in its statutory obligations in the rulemaking process under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Many statutes, including the CAA, include cost consideration language but do not provide exact guidelines or […]
Two recent Clean Air Act (CAA) settlements—one in Iowa and the other in Kansas—serve as a reminder for companies to review their risk management plans (RMPs) to ensure compliance with the EPA’s Chemical Accident Prevention requirements.
On March 12, 2020, the EPA finalized its rule amending the 2004 National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Organic Liquids Distribution (OLD NESHAP). Organic Liquids Distribution (OLD) air toxics standards regulate chemical and petrochemical facilities that manufacture, distribute, and store organic liquids, except gasoline and its derivatives. These standards limit the quantity of […]
In 2003, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA established the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Site Remediation (40 CFR Part 63, Subpart GGGGG). In 2006, the rule was revised to address questions and clarifications, as well as technical errors in the original version. Many years later, in 2019, the […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided in April 2020 that the EPA is required under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to set additional emissions limits on hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from pulp mills covered by the National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Recovery Combustion Sources at […]
Citing sales disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the EPA is proposing to revise a Clean Air Act (CAA) compliance deadline for residential wood heating devices.
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 […]
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).