The expert panel reviewing the cleanup of the Hudson River is urging EPA to slow dredging of contaminated sediment in order to limit the amount of contamination resuspended in the water column, a suggestion industry officials claim bolsters their long-standing calls for EPA to limit the dredging of historical contamination generally.1180 words

EPA is moving forward with its controversial plans to establish a new interim cleanup target for sites contaminated with dioxin, having sent the latest version of its proposal to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for review Aug. 10.331 words

The Supreme Court is poised to decide whether to review an appellate court ruling that bankruptcy is not necessarily a defense against cleanup liability -- a decision that some lawyers following the case say could prevent companies throughout the country from surviving financial hardship and inhibit cleanup at the sites where they are liable.1126 words

A new federal appeals court ruling backs EPA's authority to designate materials as hazardous without seeking public comment, which one key waste lawyer says should serve as a warning to industry to be cautious handling materials that lack an EPA definition and treat them as hazardous until the agency issues a decision that they are not hazardous.724 words

A key appellate court is strongly underscoring an earlier ruling that effectively blocked private parties from appealing remand orders issued by district courts until EPA or any other agency subject to the remand takes final action required by the order, a ruling that one legal expert says could lead to significant delays in judicial resolutions.1032 words

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging EPA and the Defense Department (DOD) to overhaul the process for cleaning up military bases in order to improve the remediation progress, including the possible creation of a new record-keeping system and revisions to an executive order to boost EPA's oversight of cleanups.943 words

Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) is urging the Army to quickly complete its enforceable agreement with EPA to direct the identification and cleanup of contaminated sites at Fort Detrick, MD, which the agency added to its National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites last year.469 words

House appropriators are once again significantly boosting funding for cleanup of military bases that closed in the first four BRAC rounds, criticizing DOD for requesting only minimal funding for these cleanups. The comments reflect previous objections to the military's funding plan to address the long-criticized backlog of cleanup projects at closed military bases.334 words

Republicans are considering using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to formally disapprove and undo EPA's pending final coal waste disposal rule if the agency classifies the waste as hazardous, with the GOP saying it expects bipartisan support for the legislative maneuver given lawmakers' existing concerns over the proposed rule.857 words

EPA is crafting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with federal mining agencies and Kentucky that offers to streamline issuance of controversial permits for mountaintop mining operations in exchange for industry minimizing the fill material discharged, providing a model that could resolve disputes over pending projects in several other states.1297 words

Mounting public concern over possible water and air pollution from hydraulic fracturing, the controversial natural gas drilling process, is prompting new tort claims against extraction companies and could pressure the industry to seek new EPA or state regulations to help head off any potential future civil liabilities.1487 words

Previous EPA objections to proposals to blend or dilute radioactive waste -- outlined in documents obtained by Inside EPA -- could bolster environmentalists' efforts to shoot down an industry petition asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to broaden the types of facilities where certain wastes can be disposed, activists say.1018 words

Environmentalists are warning that ratifying an international waste treaty without approving a separate ban on waste exports to developing countries could worsen electronic waste (e-waste) management problems, even as congressional investigators are urging lawmakers to ratify the treaty to cut environmental and health risks.857 words

The Defense Department (DOD) is warning EPA that its just-issued risk assessment of dioxane, a chemical found in industrial solvents and personal care products, is vulnerable to a Data Quality Act (DQA) challenge because EPA completed the assessment without external review of a revised version of a key study the agency relied on.1209 words

A host of major industry groups are calling for EPA to significantly revise its controversial draft risk assessment of arsenic -- and allow an expanded public and peer review process because agency deviations from its generally accepted public process when crafting and reviewing the document make it scientifically indefensible.524 words

A joint study conducted by EPA and other researchers shows harmful developmental effects from exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the ubiquitous chemical found in manufactured protective coatings, and appears poised to drive strict new EPA and state regulatory limits on the substance, sources say.898 words

A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel reviewing EPA's strict draft formaldehyde risk study is weighing whether to ask EPA to perform a "meta-analysis" to review the link between health effects and exposure to the chemical, a move that could address industry criticism that an external meta-analysis EPA used overestimates the chemical's risks.456 words

EPA is poised to hold a series of meetings with officials from other federal agencies to discuss a series of cross-cutting science policy issues, such as application of its cancer guidelines when setting safety limits for chemicals, that the agencies and industry groups have raised but which have complicated EPA efforts to complete a host of pending risk assessments.806 words

EPA research chief Paul Anastas is considering several options for addressing concerns about the data from the controversial Italian lab that has forced the agency to delay several pending risk assessments for major chemicals and withdrew two already-final assessments, all of which relied on data from the Ramazzini Institute.1106 words

A key academic group is proposing that regulators adopt a new "plausibly safer" standard for quickly reviewing and approving alternatives to controversial chemicals such as dioxin, which the group argues could help bypass EPA's stalled risk assessments for a number of substances that are mired down by uncertainty and industry data challenges.969 words

EPA is vowing to adopt key measures to address criticisms from its Inspector General (IG) that the agency has flawed methods for measuring the effectiveness of its Land Research Program (LRP), deficiencies that the IG says make it difficult to assess the program's research outcomes or identify areas for improvement.1118 words

The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) in a new report is warning that a failure by Congress to boost EPA categorical grants to states in the agency's pending fiscal year 2011 spending bill will exacerbate state budget problems, possibly triggering a need by some states to overhaul and pare back their environmental budgets later this year.711 words

A key former EPA official is questioning whether a House bill to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) would be "workable and effective," citing concerns about the bill's "over-heavy and impractical" approach to chemical testing, data requirements, and the ability of EPA to fulfill a slew of mandates with tight deadlines in the bill.1091 words

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is criticizing EPA's plan to require major onshore oil storage facilities to quickly comply with strict spill prevention rules while facilities that pose less risk would qualify for a one-year extension, warning that the one-year extension is vital for the larger facilities to review and revise spill plans.754 words

The millions of gallons of oil spilled from pipelines over the past year show that EPA must be "diligent" in enforcing environmental requirements on industry, the agency says in a recent statement announcing a $44.25 million settlement for an earlier series of spills.428 words

EPA is using funds it received in a recent supplemental spending bill to fund long-term research projects related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and broader response technologies that could be employed in future spills, EPA research chief Paul Anastas said at an Aug. 19 congressional hearing.403 words