Two federal appeal courts (Fifth and Second Circuits) have issued decisions that will allow lawsuits to proceed that assert common law tort claims based on business contribution to climate change. Comer v. Murphy Oil USA Inc. is the second decision in the last two months to allow claims to proceed. Earlier in October, the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Money Could Sit Idle
The Obama Administration proposal for funding the Great Lakes, known as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), has cleared a key House-Senate conference committee. The legislation would provide $475 million for a comprehensive Great Lakes restoration and protection initiative. The funding would be targeted toward the most critical environmental concerns facing the Great Lakes, including invasive species
Expert Environmental Traders Discuss Climate Bills
The past two days I have been in Houston at the Environmental Markets Association (EMA) fall conference. If you are not familiar with the EMA, it is an organization that supports the use of market-based solutions to environmental issues. The members are largely made up of consultants, traders of environmental credits and project developers.
Many
Federal Tax Incentive For Environmental Clean Ups Provides Advantages Through End of 2009
Any business spending money on an environmental investigation or on clean up at property they own examine closely a federal tax incentive which is set to expire December 31, 2009. The incentive allows environmental clean up costs to be fully deductible in the year they are incurred, rather than having to be capitalized and spread over a
EPA Begins Process of Determining BACT for CO2
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U.S. EPA has initiated the process for determining what controls it will require should it finalize its proposal to regulate large industrial sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs). As discussed in a prior post, the first phase of the program would cover sources emitting more than 25,000 tons of CO2 or equivalent emissions. In subsequent phases of the program smaller sources would likely be covered.
Under EPA’s proposal GHGs would become a pollutant covered under its New Source Review (NSR) program. NSR requires new or modified sources that emit over established thresholds to install Best Available Control Technology (BACT). The question is…what are the "best available" controls for reducing GHG emissions?
I was interviewed for a story appearing in Climatewire that discussed the complexities involving in determining BACT for GHGs. Unlike many mainstream media newspaper articles, the Climatewire article does an excellent job of providing an analysis of the issues related to implementation of this complex regulatory program.
Two major issues:
- What is BACT going to be for non-utility pollution sources?
- How on earth will EPA determine BACT for a wide variety of sources by its stated deadline of March 2010?
Efficiency improvements co-firing biomass are the two most likely candidates for utility sources. But less analysis is known regarding potential methods to reduce GHGs emissions from other potentially covered sources like cement and steel production facilities.
The preamble to U.S. EPA’s proposed NSR GHG regulations makes clear the Agency believe the rules must be finalized by March 2010 because they must coincide with the rule regulating GHGs from light duty vehicles. It seems like an impossible task to determine BACT for the range of sources that will be potentially covered in less than six (6) months. Without established BACT standards, there is likely to be massive uncertainty and delays in permitting.
[A complete re-printing of the Climatewire article is available in the extended entry with their permission]
photo: everystockphoto- cjohnson7
Continue Reading EPA Begins Process of Determining BACT for CO2
Court Orders Full Hearings in Ohio Environmental Appeals
The saga involving the Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC) appears to have come to a conclusion (see prior post). ERAC had limited all administrative hearings to 1-hour in response to deadlines imposed by the Ohio General Assembly. Today, a Franklin County Common Pleas Court issued an judgment entry today ordering ERAC to:
- Vacate all one hour hearings;
- Require
EPA Announces Risky Regulatory Approach on Climate Change
On September 30th, U.S. EPA announced the release of its proposed rule regulating emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from large industrial sources. The proposal represents a risky move by U.S. EPA in the event climate change legislative efforts fail and U.S. EPA is forced to move forward with the rules. The risk is two fold: 1)
Ohio Environmental Appeals Proceed with 1-hour Hearings Despite Court Actions
The latest developments in the saga involving current hearing process in the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC) shows chaos rains for the hundreds of appeals pending before the Commission. As previously covered on this blog (see, A Dozen Companies File Constitutional Challenges to 1-hour Hearings), in response to legislative deadlines imposed on the
Implications of U.S. EPA Mandatory Greenhouse Gase Reporting Rule
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The first step to establishment of a comprehensive climate change regulatory program has been completed by U.S. EPA . On September 22nd, the Agency finalized its rule on mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The rule give the initial glimpses into what the potential overall control program will look. The most important insight- which industries
U.S. EPA’s Proposal to Extend Costly Shipping Regulations to the Great Lakes Raises Questions
In March of this year Canada and the United States submitted a bi-national proposal to reduce emissions from ships at ports. The proposal marked the culmination of years of study of the costs and benefits of requiring emission reductions from ocean going vessels. However, the proposal never mentions the Great Lakes and includes no analysis of the costs or