Ninth Circuit Affirms Special Power Rate for Cryptocurrency Miners
On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a decision approving of Grant County, Washington’s, special power rate for cryptocurrency miners. In Cytline, LLC, et al. v. Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County Washington, a group of cryptocurrency companies sued after a Grant County utility district created a special energy rate applicable only to cryptocurrency miners. The companies had moved to Grant County because the county had some of the lowest rates for electricity in the country. (more…)
Fifth Circuit Rejects Challenge to Texas LNG Project
On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a challenge to an opinion by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) allowing a South Texas liquified natural gas (LNG) pipeline project to proceed. Sierra Club, et al. v. U.S. Department of Interior, et al. involved a proposed LNG pipeline that would pass through Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, and Kleburg counties in south Texas. (more…)
Environmental Justice Funding in COVID-19 Relief Bill
On March 11, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which allocates more than $1.9 trillion to aid COVID-19 relief. Title VI of the law specifically provides $100 million to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address health disparities resulting from pollution and COVID-19. (more…)
EPA TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule Sent for White House Review
On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent for White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepublication review a proposed rule that would require reporting and recordkeeping for the production of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). (more…)
Trump Navigable Waters Protection Rule Revived in Colorado by the Tenth Circuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has vacated a stay of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) in Colorado, reversing the one court that had stayed the Trump administration’s rule redefining the meaning of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. (more…)
Remanded Interstate Transport Rule Sent for White House Review
On February 24, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent for White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepublication review the agency’s final rule addressing “good neighbor” obligations under the 2008 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone. (more…)
White House Council on Environmental Quality Rescinds Trump-Era NEPA Guidance on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
On Friday, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) rescinded draft guidance published by the Trump administration in June 2019 discussing how agencies should consider greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when evaluating proposed major federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In that draft guidance, CEQ rescinded its 2016 Obama-era guidance and suggested that agencies may perform a more limited review of a project’s GHG emissions and impact on climate change, stating that “[a]gencies preparing NEPA analyses need not give greater consideration to potential effects from GHG emissions than to other potential effects on the human environment.” That draft guidance had further stated that agencies do not need to account for the “social cost of carbon” when quantifying the direct and reasonably foreseeable indirect greenhouse gas emissions from proposed actions.
California “GO-Biz” Unveils Zero-Emission Vehicle Market Development Strategy
On Wednesday, February 17, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) hosted a live streaming event to unveil its Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Market Development Strategy rolled out earlier this month. The 100-page strategy is one of the state’s first steps in implementing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-79-20, signed on September 23, 2020, and discussed in a prior blog post, which sets ambitious targets phasing out new sales of internal combustion engine vehicles.
Environmental Protection Agency Approves Copper Alloy for Long-Lasting Efficacy Against the Novel Coronavirus
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved, for the first time, a pesticide product for long-lasting efficacy claims (also called residual efficacy) against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Unlike standard disinfectants, “residual efficacy” products are continually efficacious against viruses or other microorganisms over a period of hours (or even months) rather than just at point of use. Based on efficacy data, EPA expects the product approved last week—antimicrobial copper alloy that contains at least 95.6% copper—to eliminate 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2 within two hours, on an ongoing basis. However, EPA has only approved antimicrobial copper alloy for supplemental residual efficacy claims; these are products that do not meet EPA’s standards for a disinfectant, but are intended to supplement the use of EPA’s List N disinfectants. (List N contains those products EPA has approved for limited claims of efficacy against the novel coronavirus.) Accordingly, antimicrobial copper alloy has been added to EPA’s List N Appendix, which catalogues those products approved for supplemental residual efficacy claims.