Causes of Yellowstone River Spill Still Unknown, Montana Landowners Fear Consequences

In the July 12 edition of The Watcher, we observed how disasters like the Yellowstone River oil spill in Montana underscore the need for safeguards and oversight of industry. On Thursday, members of the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials held a hearing to investigate the Silvertip Pipeline oil spill, but received no answers as to the causes of the pipeline failure.

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Scientists and Economists Agree – Health and Safety Regulations Are Good for Our Health and Good for the Economy

Health and safety advocates have argued for decades that investments in clean energy and environmental protections help to create jobs. Time and time again, reports have shown that supporting clean energy fosters the development of new, job-creating industries, and that compliance with environmental health and safety standards encourages companies to hire new workers and invest in local economies. A host of new studies published in the past week provide even more support for those claims.

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New Critique of Crain and Crain Study Rejects Claim about Costs of Public Safeguards

An estimate of the cost of public protections often cited by regulatory opponents has been rejected by researchers from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The critique, Flaws Call for Rejecting Crain and Crain Model, concludes that because the $1.75 trillion cost estimate is heavily based on flawed methodology and flawed data, it "should not be used either as a valid measure of the costs of regulation or as a guide for policy."

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House Passes Bill That Could Undo Gains in Water Quality

A bill passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives would remove crucial federal oversight from the Clean Water Act (CWA) and leave the quality of our nation’s waters at risk. The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R.

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ExxonMobil's Pipeline Spill is a Revelation

On July 1, an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude oil poured out of ExxonMobil's Silvertip pipeline and into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Significant accumulations of oil have been found more than 40 miles downriver, and traces of oil have floated twice as far. While the cause of the spill has not been determined, speculation has centered on high river waters that could have exposed the pipe to damage.

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EPA Proposes New Expansions to the Toxics Release Inventory Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its plans to expand the industry sectors required to report to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program and to require electronic reporting for all TRI data. These steps are part of EPA's ongoing efforts to improve and reinvigorate the TRI program.

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OMB Publishes List of Upcoming Regulations

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published its spring Unified Agenda on July 7. The agenda is a compilation of regulations that agencies expect to advance between now and April 2012, as well as rules the agencies have completed in the past six months.

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EPA Issues Life-Saving Air Quality Rule, Shows Benefits Far Outweigh Costs

Despite industry pressure, EPA finalized a rule July 6 that will achieve billions of dollars in public health benefits. The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) requires over 20 states to reduce power plant emissions of air pollutants that contribute to ozone and fine particle pollution in other states. The rule will prevent 13,000 to 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks, and 400,000 aggravated asthma attacks per year by 2014.

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Agencies Will Revise Their FOIA Regulations (...Or Not)

The Spring 2011 Unified Agenda was released today, reporting agencies' regulatory changes to be considered in the next six months. According to the Unified Agenda, several agencies intend to revise their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations this year, but there are reasons to take that with a grain of salt.

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Supreme Court to Hear Wetlands Case Next Term

The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari June 28 to hear a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) issuance of an administrative compliance order under the Clean Water Act (CWA) without allowing for pre-enforcement judicial review. The case has serious implications for enforcement procedures and the timing of CWA jurisdictional challenges.

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