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The EPA recently released a new resource for federal, state, tribal, and local government enforcement practitioners to use during all stages of environmental enforcement and compliance monitoring activities designed to eliminate harmful exposures to lead paint in housing. The Environmental Justice Toolkit for Lead Paint Enforcement Programs is a compilation of best practices and supports […]
In July 2023, the EPA proposed stronger requirements for the removal of lead-based paint (LBP) hazards in pre-1978 buildings and childcare facilities. Although LBP was banned for residential use by the federal government in 1978, it’s estimated that more than 31 million pre-1978 houses still contain LBP and more than 3 million of them have […]
To say that the EPA’s most ambitious plan to date to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger vehicles has been met with skepticism is an understatement. The overriding reason is that the plan isn’t realistic. The truth is clear, according to a variety of sources, for multiple reasons. The plan On April 12, 2023, […]
Environmental pollution is a problem that has been around for centuries. The Environmental Protection Agency has its hands full focusing on the release of toxic chemicals and other pollutants. This week’s EHSDA Song of the Week, R.E.M.’s “Fall On Me,” came out in 1986 and while its initial focus was on acid rain, its ecological […]
On August 3, 2023, the EPA announced Robert Yundt Homes, LLC, and Robert Yundt, a homebuilder based in Alaska, were assessed fines of $107,000 for alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations as part of a proposed consent decree. “From 2019 through 2021, Robert Yundt Homes, LLC and Mr. Yundt are accused of using heavy earthmoving […]
Back to Basics is a weekly feature that highlights important but possibly overlooked information that any EHS professional should know. This week, we examine chemical regulations. Depending on your industry, you may have to deal with one or more federal agencies that regulate chemicals in commerce. A variety of federal regulations apply to the production, […]
The EPA recently announced its final rule requiring reporting on all six fiber types of asbestos. Issued under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the rule requires asbestos manufacturers (including importers) and processors to report certain use and exposure information from the past 4 years, including information on asbestos-containing products (including as […]
Effective August 14, 2023, the EPA’s rescission of the Trump-era rule “Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act (CAA) Rulemaking Process” will be finalized. The rule (Benefit-Cost Rule) was rescinded “because the changes advanced by the rule were inadvisable, untethered to the [CAA], and not necessary to effectuate […]
The EPA recently announced its framework for addressing new per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and new uses of PFAS and published its final rule adding nine new PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). These actions advance the goals of the Agency’s PFAS Strategic Framework. New framework to prevent unsafe new PFAS from entering the […]
On July 24, 2023, the EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) released a Notice of Intent (NOI) announcing the first in a series of funding opportunities to monitor and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and for environmental restoration of well sites. Methane […]