Waste

A bipartisan group of six former EPA administrators is endorsing a series of recommendations from former agency staff and political officials to “reset” the agency so that it can tackle looming major environmental issues such as climate change with a forward-looking plan that includes removing politics from its scientific and economic analyses.

Two federal circuit courts have ruled recently in favor of allowing a degree of flexibility in determining the triggers for two different statutes of limitations when filing Superfund cost recovery actions or contribution actions, rejecting lower court decisions that held the actions were time-barred.

EPA and Utah have agreed to settle the state’s legal claims over the massive 2015 Gold King Mine wastewater spill that was set off by an agency-led cleanup project, with the agency agreeing to provide Clean Water Act (CWA) cleanup grants for affected areas and setting deadlines to begin cleanups under the Superfund program.

A key House lawmaker backing a measure to force EPA to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through various environmental laws is arguing the fight over the provision is not over despite its recent exclusion from a House defense bill, saying the measure is likely to reappear -- particularly if Joe Biden is elected president.