EPA's Office of Water (OW) plans to make a decision by the middle of next year on whether to amend its effluent rules for onshore oil and gas extraction to allow for increased discharge options, but environmentalists fear OW's decision may fail to coordinate with an upcoming waste office decision about the sector.

The Supreme Court is letting stand an appellate decision that largely vacated EPA's rules restricting the use of refrigerant chemicals that act as potent greenhouse gases, rejecting without comment petitions from environmentalists and some chemical companies that support alternative substances that are less damaging to the climate.

EPA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) in its newly unveiled strategic plan for 2019-23 is vowing to quickly open audits of the agency's progress toward six goals that former Administrator Scott Pruitt set for the same time period, while also offering steps for how the OIG plans to improve its own efficiency and effectiveness.

Republican senators who are seeking legislative changes to the Clean Water Act section 401 water quality certification process are urging EPA to revise its policy on the issue and saying current agency guidance incorrectly characterizes some aspects of the law, while still touting their bill to implement some of the revisions.

EPA plans to soon send to Congress a recently completed plan for reorganizing the agency's regional offices to more closely mirror headquarters' structure and improve coordination, but an official with one of the agency's employee unions is raising concerns that the fast-moving process may not leave adequate time for employee input.

A three-judge appellate panel at Oct. 3 oral argument asked tough questions of all sides in litigation over the Obama EPA's "update" to its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), including what authority the agency has to craft interstate air pollution rules that fail to guarantee states will attain federal air standards by statutory deadlines.

President Donald Trump's issuance of a directive Oct. 9 for EPA to authorize year-round sales of 15 percent ethanol fuel (E15) is drawing contrasting reaction from biofuels advocates, their oil industry opponents, environmentalists and others, with supporters saying it will boost E15 while critics warn it risks harming vehicle engines and air quality.