Back on December 14, 2012, EPA strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particle pollution. The standard was strengthened from 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) to 12.0 ug/m3.
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA first asks States to propose which counties should be deemed as not meeting the standard (i.e.
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Last week, we hosted a very successful seminar covering commercial and industrial property redevelopment. I participated on a panel that included JobsOhio, the City of Cleveland and TeamNEO discussing brownfield redevelopment, in particular, incentives. A major focus of the discussions was the relatively new JobsOhio Revitalization Program.
I have worked with JobsOhio on
In Ohio, the primary brownfield cleanup program is known as the Voluntary Action Program (VAP). Volunteers can cleanup their site to commercial/industrial or residential standards. Upon completing the cleanup the volunteer can receive a legal release from the State of Ohio (called a "Covenant-Not-to-Sue" or CNS).
The CNS under the VAP does not include a
On January 7th, Scott Nally resigned as Director of Ohio EPA after a three year stint. Local media coverage of his resignations raised questions regarding the abrupt and surprise announcement. Speculation included the fact that it was tied to the Nally’s firing of long-time Division of Surface Water Chief George Elmaraghy earlier this year. This
This past summer the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 59 which changed various aspects of the regulatory approach toward oil & gas waste material management. One aspect dealt with under H.B. 59 was the regulation of oil & gas related waste that may be considered technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM). H.B. 59
Pardon the pun, but toxic algae has been a growing problem in Ohio. Significant issues with toxic algae have occurred in Lake Erie, Grand Lake St. Marys and elsewhere. In fact, Ohio EPA recently added a new feature to their webpage in which you can track and identify toxic algae issues around the state:
Back in 2006, when I was Ohio EPA, I worked on Senate Bill 265 which was the first major overhaul in air pollution regulation in Ohio in over a decade. One component of S.B. 265 was to provide authority to Ohio EPA to regulate air toxics.
Prior to enactment of S.B. 265, Ohio EPA
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On December 6, 2012, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a rare opinion pertaining to the proper calculation of civil penalties in the context of an environmental enforcement action. The decision has serious ramifications for any company that is required to perform stack tests to demonstrate compliance with air emission standards. It also may impact any
Under increasing pressure from the Courts, EPA announced on June 14th its proposed revision to the federal air quality standard for fine particles (microns less than 2.5). The last standard was 15 ug/m3 which was established in 1997. EPA is now proposing to lower the standard somewhere between 12 and 13 ug/m3.
Back in 2009, the Court
Back in 2006, the Ohio Legislature passed Senate Bill 265 which was hailed as the biggest change to air pollution control regulations in Ohio in several decades. The center piece of the legislation was an exemption for smaller sources of air pollution (10 tons per year or less) from having to comply with Ohio’s Best Available