In a move consistent with EPA’s recent uptick in oversight of state regulatory programs, EPA has proposed to establish federal water quality standards (WQS) for human health criteria (HHC) for Washington state. The proposal comes less than two months after the Office of Water rescinded a memorandum that directed EPA regions to comply with Clean
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Hydropower Industry Teams With Tribes, Conservation Organizations to Develop Legislative Package for Licensing Reform
On April 3, representatives of the hydropower industry, Native American tribes, and conservation organizations provided a package of proposed legislative reforms to the Federal Power Act (FPA) to the ranking members of the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee. The package, which was developed…
Petition for Rulemaking Asks EPA to Add Dams and Reservoirs to Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
On March 21, a number of international, national, regional, and local environmental and nonprofit organizations, as well as several businesses, petitioned (Petition) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to institute a rulemaking to add dams and reservoirs as a source category under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). The GHGRP requires reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG)…
Innovation in Iowa: Talking About the Future of Watershed Management With Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig
Anna and Dave welcome Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig to talk soil health, creative financing, and the future of watershed management in Iowa. They also discuss the state’s ongoing work as part of the Hypoxia Task Force.…
SEC Publishes Proposed Rule Requiring Climate Disclosures
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) published proposed rules on March 21 that, for the first time, would codify the Commission’s expectations regarding what kinds of climate-related disclosures public companies must make in their required filings to the SEC. Prior to now, companies have had to rely on 2010 guidance from the Commission…
Draft 401 Certification Rule Proposal Sent to OMB
On March 25, EPA sent a proposed Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review. Once cleared by OMB, the proposal will be published in the Federal Register for public review and comment. According to the OMB dashboard, EPA considers this proposed…
EPA Proposes Significant Expansion to Interstate Ozone Transport Regulations
In a proposed rule signed on February 28, but not yet published in the Federal Register, EPA proposed to significantly expand its current approach to regulating the interstate transport of ozone. Under the so-called “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act, states are required to submit State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to EPA containing rules…
FWS Proposes to Uplist Northern Long-Eared Bat
The listing status of the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been the subject of litigation since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) originally listed it as threatened in 2015. At that time, the Service also issued an ESA Section 4(d) rule that allowed incidental take resulting from development…
EPA Budget Includes CCS Injection Program Investment
EPA’s budget, approved by Congress last week, increases investment in the agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. A joint statement accompanying the budget specifies that $5 million is available for EPA to develop expertise and capacity in the UIC Class VI well program, and these dollars should be used to process…
EPA Issues Guidance for Use of Infrastructure Dollars
EPA’s Office of Water recently issued guidance on the Implementation of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund Provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The memorandum itself is eight pages long and covers a range of issues, including reiterating the inherent flexibility in state revolving fund programs, which allows states to…