The EPA announced today that it is delaying the effective date of all regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but are not yet effective. There are 30 such regulations, all of which are now scheduled to become effective on March 21, 2017. The action was taken to comply with the White House’s
EPA
Subsurface Intrusion Pathway Will Now Be Considered During CERCLA Site Listing Process Under New EPA Rule
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in General Environmental
On January 9, 2017, EPA issued a final rule adding subsurface intrusion (SsI) as a component to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), which is the mechanism that is used for determining the eligibility of sites for CERCLA’s National Priorities List (NPL). The rule allows the threat of subterranean vapor migration into regularly occupied structures to…
EPA Publishes Study on the Impacts of Fracking on Drinking Water
By Ryan Rudich & Philip Comella on
Posted in General Environmental
Since the beginning of the fracking boom, the potential impact of fracking operations upon groundwater has been a hotly contested area. The most recent addition to the public debate is a new EPA report, entitled “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the…
EPA’s Newly Adopted Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule: A Much-Needed Improvement
By Ann Zwick on
Posted in General Environmental
On November 28, 2016, the EPA published its Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule, finalizing a much-needed update to the 30-year old Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste generator regulations. The Rule includes over 60 changes to the hazardous waste generator regulations to make them easier to understand, which will presumably increase compliance,…
Waste and Recycling Industry Challenges New Clean Air Act Emission Guidelines for Existing Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in Landfill News
A group of waste industry trade associations and waste management and recycling companies is challenging the EPA’s recently finalized Clean Air Act rule that revises Emission Guidelines for existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The National Waste & Recycling Association is among those that petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the District of…
New Clean Air Act Regulations for New and Existing Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in Landfill News
Beginning on October 28, 2016, new and modified municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are now subject to updated New Source Performance Standards under the Clean Air Act 81 FR 59331. The U.S. EPA has also issued new rules for existing MSW landfills, but they must be implemented through state or federal implementation plans before…
Illinois Federal Court Weighs in on the Scope of the Clean Water Act Maintenance Exemption
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in General Environmental
A federal district court for the Central District of Illinois issued an opinion interpreting the scope of the maintenance exemption to the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) prohibition of the discharge of dredge and fill material into waters of the United States. The case, Quad Cities Waterkeeper Inc. v. Ballegeer, Case No. 4:12-cv-4075, raised the…