Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
What is the major message behind President Trump’s Executive Order (EO), Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth? Does it signal that the Obama administration’s so-called “war on coal is over” (Vice President Mike Pence)? Or does it “call into question America’s credibility and our commitment to tackling the greatest environmental challenge of our lifetime” (Senator […]
President Donald Trump’s bombshell Executive Order (EO) to begin the process of dismantling major actions the Obama administration took to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote renewable energy is the clearest indication yet that the president views major federal environmental regulations as a direct threat to the nation’s prosperity, energy independence and security, and […]
On Friday, March 24, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and TransCanada Corporation jointly announced that DOS has issued a Presidential Permit, which gives the company federal approval to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the Keystone XL pipeline.
In its Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again (Blueprint), the Trump administration’s preview of its full fiscal year 2018 budget request to Congress, the EPA’s funding would be cut by $2.6 billion, or 31 percent, the largest proposed reduction for any federal agency. The $5.7 billion budget request for the EPA would be the […]
On March 13, 2017, the EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed an administrative stay to delay the effective date of the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs Under the Clean Air Act (RMP rule) published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2017.
Many news outlets have reported on a leaked 23-page budget the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent to the EPA, which recommends an overall 24 percent cut to the Agency’s total annual budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018 to go along with a 19 percent reduction in EPA staff. The OMB document itself has […]
The Pebble Mine—like the Keystone XL Pipeline and North Dakota Access Pipeline, another mega project rejected by the Obama administration—may also get a second look under President Trump. That, in any case, is the expressed hope of Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. In a letter to […]
On the same day that the Senate voted to repeal requirements that large federal contractors reveal safety violations, a U.S. Senator released a new report detailing contractor safety.
An information collection request (ICR) sent by the Obama EPA, which sought data on methane emissions from existing oil and gas (O&G) facilities, has been withdrawn by Administrator Scott Pruitt. In a brief notice, Pruitt says the ICR is being withdrawn because the “EPA would like to assess the need for the information the Agency […]
Policies to reduce regulation being advanced by the Trump administration have generated tremendous excitement among the most heavily regulated sectors. Industries that have fought for decades against federal rules—and, in particular, EPA rules—now see a rare opportunity to push for sweeping reductions of their environmental compliance burdens and actually see at least some of those […]