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EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s commitment to easing up on the federal government’s implementation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act’s (CAA) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) received a strong endorsement with a new memo from President Donald Trump.
Stating that the Trump administration “will always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced that the president will impose safeguard tariffs on imports of solar cells and modules. The tariffs will apply over 4 years—30 percent in year 1; 25 percent in year 2; 20 percent in year 3; […]
During a nomination hearing, Kathleen Harnett White, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was asked to explain multiple past statements that troubled Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW). In a subsequent vote, the EPW approved White for a full Senate vote; all Democrats […]
As with his other choices to fill top environmental and energy positions, President Donald Trump’s announced intention to nominate Andrew Wheeler to be EPA’s deputy administrator earned both praise and criticism.
Nine months after President Donald Trump entered the White House carrying a campaign promise to eliminate the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the Obama EPA’s most significant environmental regulation, the Trump EPA has taken its first rulemaking action to fulfill President Trump’s pledge.
President Trump announced that he intends to nominate William Wehrum, a Washington D.C. environmental attorney with a lengthy list of industry clients, to be EPA’s next assistant administrator (AA) for the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). Wehrum is currently a partner in the powerhouse law firm Hunton & Williams where he leads the Administrative […]
Stays, delays, proposals in abundance Five months into his term, President Donald Trump announced that no other president—with the exception of Franklin D. Roosevelt—accomplished so much in the same period of time. As of June 26, 2017, the president has signed 40 pieces of legislation and about an equal number of Executive Orders (EOs). Critics […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is an independent body that adjudicates disputes between OSHA and employers over OSHA citations. When an employer contests an OSHA citation, the case is initially heard by an administrative law judge with the Commission. If that judge’s decision is appealed, the three-member Commission may select it for […]
In possibly the most momentous environmental announcement ever made by an American president, Donald Trump told the world on Thursday that the United States is withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. A nation’s actual withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is not as simple as standing up and walking out, and the process of separation […]
A Trump administration change in how OSHA enforcement actions are communicated continues to attract attention, and criticism, among some in the safety community.