On March 31st, a Federal District Court in Tennessee (6th Circuit) issued the latest decision in relation to litigation stemming from New Source Review (NSR) enforcement actions against electric coal fired utilities. The TVA Bull Run decision is another example of the inconsistent application of the test for determining when projects trigger NSR.
The NSR regulatory program continues to
I have been on all sides of the fence relative to environmental enforcement actions. I have represented the State, managed Ohio EPA enforcement program and now I represent companies who find themselves the subject of enforcement. These experiences have given me valuable insight into what things to do and not to do when dealing with compliance oversight.
When speaking
On October 30, 2009 U.S. EPA finalized the first mandatory rule related to climate change- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Mandatory Reporting Rule. Beginning this year 31 industries must track and report their emissions. Overall, the original GHG mandatory reporting rule required reporting for an estimated 85 percent of the total GHG emissions in the U.S.
Only a
The President called together key Senators and members of his cabinet in hopes of re-invigorating stalled discussions in the Senate over climate change legislation. This summer the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require greenhouse gas reductions of 17 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels. Since legislative debate moved to the Senate, a viable
Today, Ohio EPA released its response to the federal court ruling which struck down the exemption from BAT for sources that emit less than 10 tons per year. The memo makes clear that it supplants the February 2nd e-mail instructing staff to not issue air permits until the ruling was evaluated.
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On February 19th, eight Democrat Senator’s wrote a letter to EPA regarding its plans for issuance of greenhouse gas regulations for vehicles, factories and power plants. This from the Wall Street Journal:
The lawmakers, including prominent Senators Max Baucus, (D., Mont.), Carl Levin, (D., Mich.) and John Rockefeller, (D., W.V), warned EPA chief Lisa Jackson
Major uncertainty surrounds Ohio’s air permtting program. I use the term "certainty" because that was the buzz word utilized when business groups fought hard for major reforms that eventually were passed in Senate Bill 265 in 2006.
Back in 2006, business groups were concerned that Ohio’s system for issuing air permits was far more onerous and unpredictable than other
On February 3rd Magistrate Judge Mark Able of the U.S. District Court in Columbus ruled that Ohio EPA (and really the Ohio General Assembly) violated that federal Clean Air Act by exempting small air pollution sources from stringent air pollution requirements. At issue was one major overhaul of Ohio’s air regulation included in state legislation (Senate Bill 265) back
The twists and turns in the saga of regulation greenhouse gases (GHGs) continue. After the State of the Union and release of the President’s budget, there is speculation that President Obama has abandoned Cap & Trade legislation.
Meanwhile, businesses face greater risk as a result of new and impending regulatory action. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued guidance telling companies
The Board of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) could vote as soon as the end of this week on whether to create a stormwater utility within its service territory. Through the imposition of a fee on homeowner’s and businesses the District would hope to tackle some of the region’s major stormwater issues.
In