A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit at Sept. 14 oral argument appeared skeptical of EPA's defense for fighting environmentalists' claim that its rule for how states should implement the 2008 ozone standard unlawfully allows "backsliding," or weakening of existing air pollution controls.

A new industry coalition including automakers, utilities and equipment manufacturers is urging the Trump administration to retain Obama-era light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy rules through model year 2025, raising prospects for an industry split because other automakers have been eying softer requirements.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit appeared dubious during Sept. 19 oral arguments of environmentalists' claims against EPA's revised guidance for how states should evaluate air pollution 'hot-spots' resulting from highway construction, focusing their discussion entirely on jurisdiction and standing issues -- not the merits of the guide itself.

Several supporters of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies told Congress that the predominant hurdle to greater deployment of the greenhouse gas controls is high up-front installation costs, though Republican senators are seeking to play up EPA's new source review (NSR) air permitting regulations as another key problem.

Stakeholders are setting out early markers of their goals for EPA's new Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction rule, with industry pointing to the late Justice Antonin Scalia's narrow standard as an easily applied, "bright-line" test the government should adopt, while defenders of the Obama-era policy say only a broad federal rule will protect water quality.

JACKSON HOLE, WY -- Even as they press EPA and Congress to reverse the Trump administration's proposed cuts to EPA's budget in fiscal year 2018, state environmental regulators are outlining top priorities for the agency's FY19 budget, including consistent funding for core programs, greater flexibility for states to use the funds and increased efficiency.

EPA is expected to take a long delay before officials begin developing an ultra-low nitrogen oxide (NOx) standard for heavy-duty trucks, which the agency late last year agreed to pursue in response to a petition by California and other state clean air agencies as well as environmental groups.

A power company is urging a federal appeals court to overturn a district court ruling extending Clean Water Act (CWA) permit mandates to some groundwater releases, warning the decision violates Congress' intent in crafting the water law and could unduly expand the law's reach -- at odds with a Supreme Court opinion on the issue.

EPA is preparing guidance to help address states' uncertainty over whether and how to enforce the Obama-era rule strengthening the agency's farmworker protection standards (WPS) given Trump administration commitments to enforce the measure even as officials take steps to delay compliance with, and potentially revise, the regulation.