Safeguarding Public Health and the Environment

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

White House Interferes with Smog Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced March 12 its revision to the national air quality standard for ozone, or smog. While the new standard is an improvement, EPA did not go as far as its own scientists had recommended. Last-minute changes orchestrated by the White House have also mired the rule change in controversy. In addition to the new standard, EPA proposed legislative changes to the Clean Air Act, which environmentalists and lawmakers immediately criticized.

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Polar Bear Indecision Will Be Investigated

Mar 10, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Interior's inspector general is conducting a preliminary investigation into the Department's continuing delay of a decision to protect the polar bear, according to the Associated Press. Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) missed a January deadline to decide whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

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EPA Releases 2006 TRI Data

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 2006 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data on Feb. 21. This is the fastest data release in the history of the program, although it still constitutes more than a year of lag time from the period the data refers to, and it still takes four months longer than Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory. The 2006 data, which marks the first year that facilities are allowed to stop detailed reporting on chemical waste of less than 5,000 pounds, indicates that nationwide, 4.25 billion pounds of toxic pollution were released, which was a two percent decrease from 2005.

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Disillusioned EPA Staff Walk Away from Negotiating Table

Mar 4, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Friday, EPA announced administrator Stephen Johnson's official rationale for denying the state of California's request to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Pressure from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee revealed that Johnson rejected the advice of agency scientists and legal counsel. Johnson's staff argued that California request met every criterion for receiving permission to develop regulations more strict than those of the federal government.

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Environmental, Worker Safety Rules Targeted by Industry Groups

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy has finalized a list of ten rules it will encourage federal agencies to modify. The Office of Advocacy compiled the list after receiving recommendations from small businesses and industry lobbyists.

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A Second Chance for Krill Protection

Feb 22, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is resending to the White House a proposed policy to protect krill in U.S. waters off the west coast, according to BNA news service (subscription). Krill are small shrimp-like crustaceans abundant in the Pacific Ocean and a vital link in the marine food chain.

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One Year Later, White House Still Sitting on Whale Protection Rule

Feb 20, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Today, a rule that would protect the North Atlantic right whale celebrates its one year anniversary of being stuck in the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Under Executive Order 12866, OIRA has 90 days to review regulations before they are finalized. In consultation with the issuing agency (in this case, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) OIRA may extend the review period by 30 days. NOAA submitted the whale protection rule on Feb. 20, 2007. Therefore, OIRA has exceeded the review period by about eight months, and there is no end in sight.

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EPA Bucks White House and Plans for Registry on Greenhouse Gases

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started work on a draft rule creating mandatory greenhouse gas reporting requirements, even though President Bush's proposed FY 2009 budget does not provide funding for the rulemaking.

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Federal Protections Worked to Save Pelican

Feb 12, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Department of the Interior is preparing to remove the brown pelican from the national list of endangered species because the species has made an impressive recovery. The pelican was one of the first species listed under the Endangered Species Act nearly 38 years ago. The recovery of the pelican is attributable not just to species management practices but to the elimination of the root cause of the pelican's decline — DDT. From The Los Angeles Times:

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Sign up for Reg Watch in Review

Feb 11, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Reg•Watch in Review is a biweekly email update of recent news from the regulatory world. Reg•Watch in Review highlights regulatory process issues and stories about environmental, product safety, workplace safety, and scientific integrity policy. Preview today's edition here, or sign up below. Email Address: * First Name: * Last Name: *

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