EPA's upcoming plan to repeal and eventually replace the Clean Power Plan (CPP), expected next month, is likely to return to a facility-specific approach that is being advocated by utility and labor groups that want a replacement rather than an outright repeal of the Obama-era climate rule.
A top EPA Office of Inspector (OIG) official says the office is working on several reviews of major agency air quality programs, including previously announced research into the accuracy of EPA's methods for estimating methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, and a long-pending review of ambient air monitoring data.
A utility group is urging EPA to develop a replacement for the Clean Power Plan (CPP) greenhouse gas rule, with new, scaled-back targets based on actions taken “inside the fence” of regulated power plants -- an approach that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says he is strongly considering.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a first-of-its-kind decision holding that state officials waited too long in denying a Clean Water Act (CWA) approval for a proposed natural gas pipeline, setting a precedent for similar battles brewing across the country, though the issue is likely headed to federal court.
The Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) of 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states is shifting its focus on plans for ozone reductions from its traditional targeting of power plant emissions to other ozone sources including natural gas infrastructure, cement manufacturing plants and truck idling in order to meet EPA's stricter ozone limit.
JACKSON HOLE, WY -- State environmental regulators are seeking to create a process for streamlining approvals of new oil and gas emissions control technologies for use in complying with EPA and state rules, hoping broad regulatory acceptance will spur innovation and adoption of new technologies for measuring or limiting emissions in natural gas fields.
The senators say EPA's case-by-case enforcement of its methane NSPS flouts its long-standing policy requiring officials to provide “well reasoned justifications” for choosing not to enforce rules.
The agency says it previously “inadvertently classified” its Clean Power Plan repeal rule as a “long-term action,” which is intended for policies that are expected to take more than a year to complete.
New York officials and environmentalists are strongly criticizing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for failing to consider the downstream greenhouse gas impacts of natural gas infrastructure, charging that a first-of-its-kind appellate court ruling means the commission must analyze such emissions for most fossil fuel projects.
