Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) published its report Truth In Regulating: Restoring Transparency to EPA Rulemaking, criticizing EPA for not providing critical details about the regulatory intent and true costs associated with significant Agency rulemakings. The Chamber report follows on the heels of last week’s passage of H.R. 1029, the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform
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Controversial “Waters of the US” Rule Proposal Draws Criticism as Public Comment Period Expires
The extended public comment period for the US EPA and Army Corp of Engineers’ proposed rule to redefine “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (CWA) expired November 14, 2014. The proposed rule has come under intense scrutiny for its apparent expansion of CWA jurisdiction. US EPA received nearly 500,000 public comments…
Food Information for UK Consumers – Allergen Information to Represent a Business Opportunity?
We have blogged previously on the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation (the “EU FIC”), which will apply in the UK from 13 December 2014. The EU FIC will mean a number of significant changes for the labelling of pre-packed food. However, it will also affect the provision of information on non-pre-packed/ loose foods, including…
California Adopts Historic Groundwater Laws
For a state that has 840 miles of sweet Pacific Ocean coastline, it might seem ironic that California is hurting for water. But years of drought and unregulated groundwater use have devastated groundwater aquifers, forcing the California legislature to finally step in with what some farmers in California’s Central Valley are calling “draconian”…
OSHA Announces New US Workplace Fatality and Injury Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements
Under new reporting requirements announced on September 11, 2014 by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employers will be required to notify OSHA of any work-related fatalities within eight hours, and any work-related in-patient hospitalizations, amputations or losses of an eye within 24 hours. This is a move away from OSHA’s prior, less stringent…
Trade Groups Seek Extension to OSHA Globally Harmonized System Implementation Deadline For US Chemical Hazard Communications
On March 26, 2012, the US Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) issued its final rule adopting the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) as OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS). The rule, codified at 29 C.F.R. 1910.1200, requires chemical “manufacturers, importers, distributors, and employers” to comply with the new GHS…
US EPA Memorandum Withdraws Permitting Requirements For GHG-Only Sources While Confirming 75,000 TPY Threshold For “Anyway” Sources
Last week, the heads of US EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance jointly issued a memorandum to regional administrators clarifying the Agency’s position on permitting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V programs. The memo was issued in response…
Ohio Aims to Boost Criminal Penalties for State Water Pollution Violations
Ohio Governor Kasich’s recently-introduced Mid-Biennium Budget Review Environment bill (HB 490) would revise R.C. § 6111.99 to significantly increase criminal penalties for violations of Ohio’s water pollution laws.
Under current Ohio law, certain criminal violations of Ohio’s water pollution laws, such as water pollution acts, falsification of data, or criminal violations of orders, rules or permits…
US Supreme Court Curtails US EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gasses (GHGs) Only Allowing Regulation of GHGs At Sources Already Subject to CAA Permitting
In a seminal decision, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that US EPA lacked authority to impose PSD and Title V permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) on facilities based solely on their emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), striking down much of US EPA’s plan for regulating GHG emissions under the Tailoring Rule. In the same…
New hope for successful UK Defendants to be able to recover their legal costs at commercial (rather than legal aid) rates
Since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (“LASPO”) came into force on 1 October 2012, individuals acquitted in the Crown Court have been unable to recover their legal costs from central funds, except in relation to appeal proceedings against a conviction or sentence of the magistrates’ court.
Recent case law (…