On January 22, 2018, U.S. EPA’s Assistant Administrator issued a memorandum to all U.S. EPA Regional Administrators that contained interim guidance on enforcement of environmental violations by State EPAs and the federal EPA. The interim guidance is a significant shift away from the traditional federal/state balance on enforcement giving much greater leeway to the States.
State EPA Federal Permitting and Preemption by FERC
According to a Forbes article in 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved almost 40 major pipeline projects across the country, covering 1,200 miles, over 14 Bcf/d of new capacity (total national consumption is around 75 Bcf/d), and over $10 billion in new investment. Most of these new pipelines are being built in the
Budget Bill Fix to VAP Automatic Tax Exemption
This blog has previously detailed some of the ambiguity of the Voluntary Action Program ten year automatic tax abatement provisions set forth in Revised Code 5709.87. (See prior posts here and here). Three primary issues caused significant problems for developers attempting to leverage the VAP automatic tax abatement:
- How to value the abatement- The
Surge in Environmental Citizen Suits Anticipated under Trump Administration
The Trump Administration has made rollback of environmental regulations a top priority. Through the use of Executive Orders and the Congressional Review Act(CRA), the Administration has already undone significant Obama era regulations, including the Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS) and the Clean Power Plan.
The Trump Administration has also proposed significant budget cuts to
Ohio Senators Oppose Closing Midwest Regional Office of U.S. EPA
In the past several months, the Trump Administration has targeted U.S. EPA for major regulatory reform, massive budget cuts and a roll-back of Obama era regulations. No Administration since the enactment of the landmark environmental statutes has gone as as far as the Trump Administration in attempting to change the landscape of environmental regulation.
After
Slow Pace of Appointments and Restrictions on Decision Making at EPA
The Trump Administration has been slow to announce appointments to key positions within U.S. EPA. Administrator Scott Pruitt is in many ways is operating on a island within the Agency. As reported in the New York Times, the Administration has not nominated any of the dozen key EPA senior positions:
At the Environmental Protection
Federal EPA Budget Doesn’t Reflect Stated Priorities
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This week, President Trump released his Administration’s first federal budget dubbed the "America First- A Blueprint to Make America Great Again." Under the budget proposal, U.S. EPA current budget would be cut by 31% which amounts to a $2.6 billion dollar reduction.
This leaves the Agency with $5.7 billion to run its
Thirty EPA Rules Frozen by New Executive Action
On January 20th, Reince Preibus, President Trumps Chief of Staff, issued a broad regulatory freeze memorandum entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” halting federal rules that had not yet become effective. All rules covered by the memorandum are suspended for 60 days (March 21, 2017). On January 26, 2017, EPA published a list of
How Quickly Can President Trump Unwind Environmental Regulations?
President Elect Trump has vowed to unwind regulations which he believes are dramatically constraining economic growth. The Obama Administration’s environmental regulations are specifically being targeted, including: the Clean Power Plan, the Waters of the U.S. Rule and ozone regulations. His transition web-page even touts that for every one new regulation enacted his Administration will remove
Two Trump Administration Environmental Priorities to Help the “Rust Belt”
There is a lot of hyperbole regarding President-Elect Trump’s potential environmental agenda. During the campaign there was also a lot made about issues of employment and opportunity in the "Rust Belt" (a term I personally do no like). Here are two suggestions of how the incoming Trump Administration could bring greater opportunity to the Rust