EPA officials say a lack of Superfund money is hampering their ability to address fears that tens of thousands of people living on former phosphate mines in Florida are being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, according to documents obtained by Inside EPA, which activists say underscores the need to reinstate the Superfund tax on industry.1760 words

State and local officials are raising concerns about the legality and practicality of a novel EPA effort to regulate excessive water "flow" as a proxy for "sediment" in an impaired stream in Fairfax County, VA, an approach that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has encouraged but that EPA may not have authority to regulate.995 words

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is suggesting that Congress add a new subtitle to federal waste law to give EPA enforcement authority over coal waste rules without declaring the waste hazardous and to regulate beneficial reuse of coal ash, a move that could resolve a fight over how EPA should regulate the waste.1375 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- State environmental officials are criticizing a highly anticipated report crafted with EPA on the costs to states of implementing agency rules, with states claiming that the report fails to address states' calls for a comprehensive model for assessing regulatory costs that they say is key to determining future EPA budgets.937 words

A series of companies, trade associations and states have petitioned the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review EPA's recently revised national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) strengthening requirements for reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions.564 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- State environment officials have approved a resolution calling on Congress to pass legislation reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a move that could put increased pressure on lawmakers to pass reform bills introduced in the House and Senate.460 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- A major new work group including EPA, the heads of state environment departments, and key state and local air officials is vowing to pursue stricter federal air rules as a way to improve the state implementation plan (SIP) process because that would reduce the burden on states to pursue strict state-level emission rules.1054 words

EPA is granting environmentalists' petition to use the agency's existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority to collect new information on use of the metal cadmium in consumer products, saying EPA could regulate the substance if the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) fails to take action.1057 words

EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Aug. 30 unveiled a long-awaited proposal to change vehicle fuel economy labels to include plug-in hybrids and electric cars that also seeks to add a first-time letter grade to the label and makes major changes to the rating system for conventional vehicles. The proposal also includes a first-time rating of a vehicle's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.465 words

The mining industry is sharpening its attacks on draft scientific reports EPA is citing to justify its strict new surface mining limits in Appalachia, planning to detail the concerns in upcoming comments that sources say could form the basis for a Data Quality Act (DQA) challenge to EPA's policy and boost an ongoing lawsuit over the limits.982 words

Despite EPA's recent moves aimed at limiting mountaintop mining in Appalachia, environmentalists in Kentucky -- ground zero in the ongoing battle over mountaintop mining -- say the agency seems unwilling or unable to use all the tools at its disposal to curtail the practice they say is harming streams, damaging water supplies and destroying wildlife.1396 words

Industry representatives, scientists and public-health advocates are split over whether the mortality risks associated with particulate matter (PM) are strong enough to support EPA staff's work-in-progress suggestion to agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to propose a tightening of the PM national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS).872 words

EPA's proposed cap-and-trade rule to cut power plant emissions will in some states unfairly disadvantage power companies that have already invested in pollution controls by awarding more emission credits to those utilities that have not installed controls, creating an inequity that may form the basis for a lawsuit over the rule, industry says.1485 words

Environmentalists are pushing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assess what appears to be first-time Clean Water Act penalties for gas released in BP's Gulf of Mexico spill, in addition to penalties for spilled oil, a move that would require a novel interpretation of the water law and EPA's current rules and set a precedent for other offshore site releases.906 words

Texas is critiquing EPA's draft risk assessment of the ubiquitous chemical formaldehyde, questioning the scientific basis of the agency's assessment and arguing it could lead to risk-based standards that exceed naturally produced amounts of formaldehyde -- arguments similar to those made by industry.742 words

EPA is proposing to allow a nanosilver substance to be conditionally registered as an active ingredient in a pesticide, a first-time move that legal sources say could indicate the agency's approach for future registrations of pesticides containing nanoscale components.923 words

An article in the Aug. 27 issue of Inside EPA, "Utility Regulators Seek EPA Air Compliance Model To Avoid Plant Shutdowns," incorrectly said that the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) will urge EPA to design a compliance tool to model the combined impacts of Clean Air Act rules for criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases. NARUC is not planning to ask EPA for a compliance tool; rather, it is possible a NARUC task force could ask to hold a webinar with EPA on what tools and models might be available that states could use to assess the simultaneous impact of both new Clean Air Act rules and coming requirements on carbon. No discussions have been held with EPA on any modeling issues, a NARUC spokesperson says. The spokesperson also says that NARUC is not "suspending" its congressional climate advocacy as reported in the article, but is adding its EPA efforts to the mix.157 words

EPA is pushing ahead with its efforts to solicit data from power plant operators and states on its existing facility cooling water rules, despite objections from industry that the solicitation is unnecessary because the rule has been suspended.692 words

EPA will use new metrics for assessing the effectiveness of its air, waste, water, climate and other programs after the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) formally ended the use of a Bush-era tool for rating agency programs that drew criticism for being biased against some agency programs.788 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- State environmental regulators are urging EPA to work with them as "full partners" to develop new measures to regulate nonpoint sources of water pollution, saying there is no comprehensive approach for regulating nonpoint pollution even though it is the biggest water quality problem facing states.983 words

A broad coalition of water utility officials, environmental, labor and other groups is urging senators to break a long-running deadlock and approve a bill to reauthorize EPA's water infrastructure funds before the end of the 111th Congress, though sources say ongoing disputes over prevailing wage provisions make passage difficult.578 words

EPA's impending revisions to its water quality standards rules will not establish criteria by which to rank different uses that can be designated for a waterbody, as the agency encourages states to ensure all waterbodies get as close as possible to the default "fishable and swimmable" uses defined in the Clean Water Act, agency officials say.402 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- The White House is poised to soon release its guide for policymakers to consider climate change impacts in their decision-making, a move that a top administration official said shows that climate adaptation policies are moving forward even while comprehensive climate change legislation has stalled in Congress.430 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- A settlement resolving litigation over EPA's definition of solid waste (DSW) rule could be imminent, a top agency official says, though it is unclear how such a deal will address activists' concerns over the Bush-era rule that the Obama EPA is revising.291 words

North Carolina science advisers have delayed recommending a groundwater cleanup standard for the persistent contaminant perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to Tar Heel State regulators, tabling the issue until late fall when more studies -- including EPA research showing significant risks -- may be available.236 words

Environmentalists are preparing to take EPA back to court to force consideration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits at power plants, with some advocates casting the issue as a test of whether the agency is serious in regulating the emissions after the Department of Justice (DOJ) recently cited current and pending GHG rules to dismiss a common law climate change suit against major utilities.743 words

Industry officials opposed to EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations under the Clean Air Act are pressing several states to follow Texas in its refusal to implement the agency's so-called "tailoring" rules, which are intended to limit GHG controls to the largest emission sources when issuing clean air permits beginning next year.855 words

WHITEFIELD, NH -- EPA is seeking to downplay the threat of its pending takeover of some Clean Air Act permitting duties for greenhouse gases (GHGs) next year in states that cannot or will not implement its tailoring rule establishing GHG emission limits, saying that one approach could be that the agency splits permitting duties with state agencies similar to an existing agreement to share some permitting work in California.1190 words