Coal ash recyclers are pressing the Trump administration to revive a controversial George W. Bush-era program through which EPA and other agencies worked with the sector to promote beneficial reuse of ash, but environmentalists are warning that the program could undermine EPA restrictions on using ash as structural fill material.

EPA's top equity official says an internal task force's recommendation for overhauling the Superfund program is only a "starting point" for the effort rather than a binding agenda for reform, suggesting potentially months or even years of talks with states officials and extensive input from the advisory board before EPA issues any final plan.

Industry and environmental groups are bolstering their opposing arguments on EPA's draft Superfund financial assurance rule for the hardrock mining sector, with industry contending EPA failed to meet legal mandates to show such requirements are warranted and environmentalists stressing the need for safeguards in a time of dwindling cleanup budgets and increased waste volumes.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a unanimous July 18 ruling has remanded EPA's final rule declaring that it has met a Clean Air Act mandate to regulate 90 percent of sources of seven air toxics, agreeing with environmentalists that the agency needs to better justify its explanation for the rule.

EPA is claiming broad Clean Air Act authority for its final rule that significantly delays implementation of Obama-era revisions to the agency's facility safety policy, saying its decision to first seek public comment on the delay shields it from the legal uncertainty that led an appellate court to recently vacate a stay of an unrelated air rule.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in a unanimous July 12 opinion is agreeing with EPA's bid to transfer to the D.C. Circuit a suit over an area's attainment designation for federal sulfur dioxide (SO2) air standards, revising its precedent to make it easier to send lawsuits over "nationally applicable" rules to the D.C. Circuit.

EPA is floating a new economic analysis that could help the Trump administration make the case for scaling back federal oversight of waterbodies and defer Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction over smaller, isolated or intermittent waters to states, though sources say such a move faces an uncertain future given dwindling state budgets.

Federal regulators and several municipalities are pausing consent decree negotiations over longstanding combined sewer overflow (CSOs) noncompliance issues, hoping that Trump administration enforcement nominees will agree to provide flexible enforcement approaches as they wait for Congress to act on pending bipartisan legislation that could ease requirements.

A federal appeals court has rejected an environmentalist lawsuit seeking to block EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's reversal of an Obama administration plan to ban the widely-used pesticide chlorpyrifos, ordering petitioners to administratively appeal the agency's action, though environmentalists have another pending suit seeking to block the action on the merits.

EPA's acting toxics chief and supporters of the agency's efforts to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) say the pending draft rule imposing fees on the chemical sector could help to offset proposed EPA funding cuts in fiscal year 2018 that environmentalists and others have warned might risk hindering implementation of the law.

The draft EPA proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP) currently under review by the White House is thought to include as one justification for rolling back the Obama-era rule the argument that EPA is barred from regulating coal plants' greenhouse gases under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act because it already regulates their air toxics under section 112.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling that struck down EPA's administrative stay of Obama-era methane standards for new oil and gas operations could provide a boost for environmentalists hoping to undo similar delays on several other rules, even though the suits test different legal principles.

The California Legislature July 17 approved legislation extending the state's cap-and-trade market to 2030, clearing a key two-thirds vote threshold with bipartisan support.

House lawmakers are formally spurning the Trump administration's proposal to eliminate numerous voluntary programs at EPA, including its Energy Star and Water Sense programs, signaling congressional support for the programs even though the agency's fiscal year 2018 spending bill continues a steady erosion in funding for EPA.

The White House budget office has released new guidance for fiscal year 2019 reiterating that EPA could see a slight increase over what the administration sought for FY18, though the office touts the request as an opportunity to present a "comprehensive plan" for "reforming" the government and cutting its workforce, telegraphing continued steep cuts despite signs of Capitol Hill blowback.

EPA enforcement chief nominee Susan Bodine is dismissing earlier discussion that the Trump administration is planning to close down the agency's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and disperse its functions to program offices, embracing its mission as a centralized entity in EPA headquarters, according to her written response to senators' questions.