Back on August 29, 2023, U.S. EPA issued the rule to conform its regulations to the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA which significantly reduced the number of wetlands that are federally protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). (See, prior post discussing Sackett) The Court limited federal jurisdiction to only
On December 16, 2022, Governor DeWine announced $88 million in grant funding for 123 brownfield remediation projects. This marks the third round of funding. Collectively, the three rounds of funding have resulted in a total of $341 million in grant funding awarded in one year. Of the $341 million in grant funds provided $19.2 million
What action was taken?
On January 23rd, the Trump Administration released the final version of the rule which defines which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. The new rule is called the Navigable Waters Protection. It replaces the prior Obama Administration rule referred to as WOTUS- “Waters of the United States.”
Back on
The Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) has been calling attention to Ohio’s so-called “legacy cities.” These are the smaller to mid-sized cities across the state other than Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Canton and Youngstown. Cities like Portsmouth, Mansfield, and Lorain.
A recent Dispatch editorial called attention to GOPC’s efforts regarding Ohio’s legacy cities citing
A very interesting article appeared in Crain’s Cleveland Business by Jay Miller discussing “jobs sprawl” and the lack of easy access to jobs.
Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund, points to a study by the Center for Neighborhood Technologies, a Chicago nonprofit that focuses on making cities work better, that found that housing costs in
[SPECIAL BLOG POST: Ohio EPA asked to publish a guest post on the Ohio Environmental Law Blog regarding recent developments pertaining to the Agency’s response to sites with trichloroethene (TCE) and the Voluntary Action Program (VAP). The Ohio EPA response is posted below in its entirety]
In August 2017, Ohio EPA announced to Certified
.jpg)
As discussed in my prior post, in September Ohio EPA announced that it would be sending “hundreds of letters” to property owners that have trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination, including property owners that cleaned up their property under the Voluntary Action Program (VAP). At the September meeting of VAP professionals the Agency announced that it could take
Developments that have small impacts to wetlands (typically around 1/2 acre or less) or streams (typically around 300 feet or less) have been able to qualify for expedited permitting known as Nationwide Permits (NWP). Projects with greater impacts must obtain individual wetland or stream permits known as a 404 Army Corps Permit and 401 Ohio
.jpg)
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
On August 24th, Ohio EPA released new guidance that incorporates an unprecedented approach to vapor intrusion. Under the new guidance, Recommendations Regarding Response Action Levels and Timeframes for Common Contaminants of Concern at Vapor Intrusion Sites in Ohio, the Agency is for the first time demanding immediate action when contaminant levels exceed certain established