Category: EPA

flammable liquid
Emerging Issues / EPA
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EPA Proposes Ban on Common Solvent and Processing Aid Methylene Chloride

In a proposed rule published on May 3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended a ban on most uses of methylene chloride (also called dichloromethane), a common solvent and processing aid. It is used in a variety of consumer and commercial applications including adhesives and sealants, automotive products, and paint and coating removers. The chemical was manufactured in significant volumes — the total aggregate production volume ranged from 100 million to 500 million pounds between 2016 and 2019, according to Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) – …

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Various types of plastic trash on the grass. Plastic for recycling.
EPA / Plastic
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Pitching the Plastic: A Call to Reduce Plastic Pollution

On the eve of Earth Day, the Biden Administration announced a new “White House Interagency Policy Committee (“IPC”) on Plastic Pollution and a Circular Economy.” The IPC is tasked with coordinating federal efforts on plastic pollution, prioritizing public health, economic development, environmental justice, and equity to ensure that the benefits of acting on plastic pollution are available to all.

Alongside the IPC, the Environmental Protection Agency also released a draft “National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution” for public comment, which seeks to eliminate the release …

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United States Environmental Protection Agency
Clean Air Act / EPA
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Highly Anticipated Proposed EtO Rules the EPA Just Announced: Were They Worth The Wait?

After years of delays – largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic – on April 11, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finally issued two proposals that would reduce ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions affecting fence-line communities neighboring EtO sterilization facilities and establish direct protections for facility employees likely to be regularly exposed to this sterilizing chemical. The proposals, which fall under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), are expected to dramatically reduce EtO emissions by a whopping 80% …

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coal power plant emissions
EPA / Wastewater
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The EPA Proposes New Wastewater Discharge Standards on Coal-Fired Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency announced on March 29, 2023 new proposed wastewater discharge standards to reduce discharges of toxic metals and other pollutants from coal-fired power plants. Steam electric power plants use heat to create steam that produces electricity. These plants use large amounts of water – approximately 133 billion gallons a day. This water is drawn from rivers, lakes, and estuaries. The plants use this water for various processes including cooling and generating steam. Over the last thirty years, new technologies have been developed …

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drinking water
EPA / PFAS
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On the Heels of EPA’s Proposed Rule, New York State DEC Releases Final Ambient Water Quality Guidance Values for PFAS

Just two days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish legally enforceable drinking-water levels for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), reported by ELM here, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released final ambient water quality guidance values for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane in New York State waters.

In a March 15 press release the DEC said “[t]he finalized guidance values support the State’s ongoing efforts to protect public health and the environment and prevent …

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drinking water
EPA / PFAS
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EPA Brings Down The Hammer On PFAS: Proposed Drinking Water Regulations Push The Limit

Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled, PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Rulemaking. 

In keeping to its commitments in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap, the EPA took a significant step by proposing to establish legally enforceable drinking-water levels for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known to occur in drinking water: PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, GenX Chemicals, PFNA, and PFBS.

“Through this proposed rule, EPA is leveraging the most recent science and building on existing state efforts …

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concept of cyber attack Cyber security is compromised. when the armor is destroyed The red key and the structure explode the polygon into smaller pieces. Computer system technology has been hacked.
Cybersecurity / EPA
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Cyber-Waterfare: the EPA Moves to Protect Key Infrastructure from Hackers

In 2021, an unidentified person hacked the computer controlling the water system in Oldsmar, Fla., and increased the concentration of sodium hydroxide 100 times the normal amount, in an attempt to poison people. 

That same year, an unidentified hacker used a stolen password to delete certain programs from a water treatment program in the San Francisco Bay area.

Part of the reason attacks like these are increasing in number and sophistication is because there quite simply may not be a sufficient apparatus to prevent them. …

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detail of white smoke polluted sky
Emissions / EPA
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Court Denies Challenge to EPA Emissions Rule, Defers Due to Rule’s “Complex and Technical” Nature

Companies operating in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia – whose operations involve the release of emissions — will need to consult the Environmental Protection Agency’s Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Update Rule to determine whether their operations might be affected by the Federal Implementation Plan.

The rule requires power plants and other high-emitting machinery to install emission-reduction equipment and update pollution controls.

The District of Columbia Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals unanimously …

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Close up view of railroad, transport background
Emerging Issues / EPA
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What We Know – and Might Never Know – about the East Palestine, Ohio, Train Derailment

A few hours after dinner time on Feb. 3, and approximately 20 miles following a dramatic slow-down from a speed of 50 miles per hour to about half that, a Norfolk Southern freight train consisting of 38 cars – 11 of which were carrying hazardous materials – derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.

Although the derailment released several types of chemicals, many of which can break down or react with elements in the environment, five of those 11 cars contained vinyl chloride, a highly flammable chemical …

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blurred river
EPA / WOTUS
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New Year, New WOTUS: Is There Resolution in Sight?

The Environmental Protection Agency’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’”(WOTUS) rule will become final on March 20. This latest iteration codifies the agencies’ pre-2015 approach to defining WOTUS and attempts to establish a bridge between the interpretations offered by the prior two administrations. In particular, the rule’s preamble specifically states that in “developing this rule, the agencies considered the text of the relevant provisions of the Clean Water Act and the statute as a whole, the scientific record, …

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