Bureau of Land Management Announces Plans to Assess Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Oil and Gas Lease Sales
On October 29, 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that state offices will solicit feedback from the public this week on proposed oil and gas lease sales to be held in early 2022 through draft environmental assessments. In addition to analyzing the effects of lease sales on air and water quality, wildlife habitats, and community impacts, these environmental assessments will also analyze greenhouse gas emissions on a national scale, including the social cost of carbon. (more…)
EPA Grants States’ Petition for Reconsideration of Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted petitions to reconsider air quality standards for ground-level ozone pollution set under the Trump administration in December 2020. Petitions were filed by a number of states, including New York, California, and the District of Columbia as well as various environmental groups. Currently, both primary and secondary ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards remain at their 2015 levels of 70 parts per billion (ppb) over an eight-hour period. (more…)
EPA to Initiate Rulemakings Addressing PFAS Under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as “Hazardous Constituents”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) announced that it will initiate two separate rulemakings to address PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances) under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) — the law that provides EPA with authority to address hazardous waste from “cradle to grave.” EPA announced these policy proposals in response to a petition submitted to Administrator Michael Regan by New Mexico Gov, Michelle Lujan Grisham on June 23 requesting that the Agency take regulatory action to list PFAS either collectively or individually as “hazardous waste” under Subtitle C of the Act. (more…)
PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA Releases Human Health Toxicity Assessment for “GenX” PFAS Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has released its final human health toxicity assessments for a subgroup of PFAS chemicals known as GenX (i.e., hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt). GenX is the trade name for a set of chemicals intended to replace another PFAS chemical called PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). (more…)
Five Key Takeaways: EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap
On Monday, October 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) released its Strategic Roadmap for PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances). As we summarized in our previous post, the Strategic Roadmap outlines a number of key actions EPA intends to take over the next three years to address the human health and environmental effects of PFAS. (more…)
EPA Releases PFAS Strategic Roadmap, Commits to Numerous Regulatory and Technical Goals Through 2024
On Monday, October 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) released its Strategic Roadmap for PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances). The Strategic Roadmap outlines a number of key actions EPA intends to take over the next three years, including rulemakings and technical reviews that will involve a number of the Agency’s offices. EPA’s Strategic Roadmap builds on the work of EPA’s Council on PFAS, convened by EPA Administrator Michael Regan in April 2021. (more…)
Global Reporting Initiative Revises its Universal Standards on Sustainability Reporting
On October 5, 2021, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) revised its Universal Standards on sustainability reporting. GRI is one of several stakeholder-led organizations that publishes voluntary standards for sustainability reporting. Through its standards, GRI seeks to promote standardized environmental, social, and governance reporting by companies and industries to their stakeholders. (more…)
California to Ban PFAS in Certain Consumer and Children’s Products
On October 5, 2021, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed A.B. 1200, which bans per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in paper-based food packaging by January 1, 2023, while requiring cookware manufacturers to begin disclosing PFAS and other toxic chemicals used in their products by 2024. The bill also requires manufacturers to use “the least toxic alternative” when replacing PFAS in the food packaging. (more…)
Environmental Marketing Claims Receive Business Scrutiny
Consumers and governments have applied greater scrutiny to environmental marketing claims. Enforcement for environmental marketing claims has typically come from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), under its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims at 40 C.F.R. Part 260, also called the “Green Guides.” But last week the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs issued a decision on environmental marketing, reminding manufacturers of actors outside the federal government that can affect environmental claims for products. (more…)
U.S. EPA Announces Further Regulation of Manufactured Goods Under Toxic Substances Control Act
In an announcement that portends substantial regulatory changes, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chemicals office announced a shift in policy to further regulate chemicals within manufactured goods or finished products. The change would mean that importers, manufacturers, and processors will need to know the chemicals in manufactured or finished goods and assess whether EPA restricts those chemicals. (more…)