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Daily Environmental Briefing Report
Friday, January 16, 2009
© 2009. Permission is
granted for Internal, Same-Office Distribution Only. |
In
This Issue
--
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS --
Waxman Promises House Climate Change
Bill By Memorial Day
Groups Sue To
Stop CAFO Emissions Exemption Rule
Sierra Club Sues To Block EPA CO2
Emission Interpretation
New Report On
Filling Mines With Coal Ash
Enviros
Sue To Upgrade CAA Oil & Gas Drilling
Standards
Rahall Resolution To Overturn ESA Rule
By Congressional Review
CBD Sues Six Agencies On Global
Warming & Endangered Species
Agencies Report On Sea-Level Rise In
Mid-Atlantic Region
Proposed Rule On Significant Harm
Level for Particle Pollution
USA v. Hagerman
National / International News
Waxman Promises House
Climate Change Bill By Memorial Day
- Jan 15: The House Energy &
Commerce Committee, Chaired by
Chaired
by Representative Henry Waxman
(D-CA)
held a held a major hearing focusing
specifically on The U.S. Climate
Action Partnership. The hearing
presented the perspectives of
members of the U.S. Climate Action
Partnership (USCAP) [See
WIMS 11/19/08], a coalition
of over 30 businesses and
nongovernmental organizations that
has called for Congress to pass
legislation to address the climate
change threat.
The diverse set of witnesses
testifying at the hearing included:
James Mulva, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, ConocoPhillips;
Jim Rogers, Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Duke
Energy; Fred Krupp, President,
Environmental Defense Fund; John
Rowe, President & Chief Executive
Officer, Exelon Corporation; Jeffrey
Immelt, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, General Electric; Frances
Beinecke, President, Natural
Resources Defense Council; David
Crane, President and Chief Executive
Officer, NRG Energy; Eileen Claussen,
President, Pew Center on Global
Climate Change; Peter Darbee,
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
and President, PG&E Corporation;
Jeffry Sterba, Chairman, Chief
Executive Officer and President, PNM
Resources; Preston Chiaro, Chief
Executive - Energy and Minerals, Rio
Tinto; George Nolen, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Siemens
Corporation; Mark Tercek, President
and Chief Executive Officer, The
Nature Conservancy; and Jonathan
Lash, President, World Resources
Institute.
Chairman Waxman opened the
meeting with a statement, saying in
part, "Our
environment and our economy depend
on congressional action to confront
the threat of climate change and
secure our energy independence. U.S.
industries want to invest in a clean
energy future. But uncertainty about
whether, when, and how greenhouse
gas emissions will be reduced is
deterring these vital investments.
Companies are caught in a dilemma:
they are reluctant to invest in old
polluting technologies because they
know that tougher regulations are
inevitable, but they can't invest in
new, cleaner technologies until they
know what Congress is going to
require.
"Our job is to end this
regulatory limbo and set our nation
on a responsible path for reducing
climate change and achieving energy
independence. Our Committee will be
acting quickly and decisively to
reduce global warming and end our
dependence on foreign oil. My goal
is to pass comprehensive climate and
energy legislation in the Committee
before the Memorial Day recess. . .
That is an ambitious schedule, but
it is an achievable one. We cannot
afford another year of delay. As
today's hearing will show, a
consensus is developing that our
nation needs climate legislation. .
.
Climate change, energy independence,
and health care are going to be the
Committee's highest priorities."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA) commented on the Waxman
hearing saying, "Chairman
Waxman has set an aggressive
timetable for action to reduce
global warming and our dependence on
foreign oil. I share his sense of
urgency and his belief that we
cannot afford another year of delay.
The House is fortunate to have the
leadership of Chairman Waxman and
Energy and Environment Subcommittee
Chairman Ed Markey on climate and
energy issues; their knowledge of
these issues and commitment to
finding the right solutions is
unmatched. They will build on the
work of Chairman Emeritus John
Dingell and former Subcommittee
Chair Rick Boucher on energy
independence. I look forward to
working with my colleagues in the
House, our colleagues in the Senate,
and President Obama to halt the
grave threat of climate change."
At the hearing, USCAP) unveiled
a comprehensive and detailed set of
integrated policy recommendations
for developing legislation that
would create an environmentally
effective and economically
sustainable national climate
protection program. They said
the "landmark document" -- titled
A Blueprint for Legislative Action
– echoes the sense of urgency
that President-elect Obama has
articulated regarding the need for a
cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
Developed through two years of
intensive analysis and
consensus-building among 26
corporations and five environmental
organizations, the Blueprint
offers policymakers "a clear path
forward endorsed by a coalition
representing a broad swath of the
economy and diverse environmental
interests."
Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of
GE said, "In the past, the U.S. has
proven that we have the will, the
capabilities and the courage to
invest in innovation -- even in
difficult times. Today,
cap-and-trade legislation is a
crucial component in fueling the
bold clean energy investments
necessary to catapult the US again
to preeminence in global energy and
environmental policy, strengthen the
country's international
competitiveness, and create millions
of rewarding new American jobs."
USCAP said it believes that
strong climate legislation is a
critical element of any effort to
stimulate investment and innovation
in low-carbon technologies. The
Blueprint provides specific
guidelines for the Administration
and Congress to enact legislation
that both protects the environment
and facilitates the necessary
transition to a vibrant, low-carbon
economy. That includes reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by 80
percent of 2005 levels by 2050
through an economy-wide
cap-and-trade program. They said, " every
year of delay in controlling
emissions increases the risk of
unavoidable consequences that could
necessitate even steeper greenhouse
gas reductions in the future, at
substantially greater economic cost
and social disruption."
USCAP indicated that their
Blueprint details steps for
creating a mandatory, economy-wide
cap-and-trade program, coupled with
cost containment measures and
complementary policies addressing a
federal technology research
development and deployment program,
coal technology, transportation, and
building and energy efficiency. They
said the Blueprint expands
significantly on their 2007
groundbreaking Call for
Action, and includes an
aggressive emission reduction
schedule, further details on the
scope of coverage for the
cap-and-trade program, and
recommendations for how to include
as much of the U.S. economy
under
the cap as administratively and
politically feasible.
While President-elect Obama and
many key Congressional leaders, as
well as business and environmental
interests are supporting the
cap-and-trade approach to dealing
with the climate change issue,
another organization -- U.S. Climate
Task Force (CTF) -- and some
influential leaders are advocating a
"carbon tax" approach. Dr. Robert
Shapiro, a CTF co-founder and former
economic advisor to President Bill
Clinton, along with Dr. Elaine C.
Kamarck, co-founder and former
domestic policy advisor to Al Gore,
issued their own statement, and held
a press conference calling the USCAP
Blueprint well intended, but
"misguided."
CTF
said, “The U.S. Climate Action
Partnership’s endorsement of an
aggressive cap-and-trade scheme
represents a significant misstep on
America’s path to mitigate carbon
emissions. We share their commitment
to address the risks of climate
change. However, the policy they
have chosen is one that has failed
to lower emissions in Europe and one
strongly opposed by China and other
developing nations that have become
major CO2 producers. Fortunately,
other options exist [See
WIMS 12/22/08].
“A large and growing number of
economists and others concerned
about climate change support a
carbon tax. Compared to other
similar policies, a carbon tax has
the advantage of being simple,
transparent and easy to administer.
Moreover, the revenues can be
recycled in tax relief for American
families. However, as today’s Energy
and Commerce hearing shows, a number
of influential legislators are still
narrowly focused on implementing a
cap-and-trade system -- a policy
that would make energy prices even
more volatile than today and
discourage the investments we need
to address climate change.
“We have a moral imperative to
get climate policy right. And to do
that, Congress must carefully weigh
the risks and benefits of all
potentially viable carbon policies.
By soliciting the input of leaders
in America’s academic,
environmental, and business
communities, Capitol Hill can
finally engage in a long-overdue,
serious debate over the most
environmentally effective and
economically-sound ways to reduce
our greenhouse gas emissions."
Among those supporting a carbon
tax, that WIMS has reported on in
the past include: New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg;
Peter
Orszag, former director of the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
and incoming Director of the Office
of Management and Budget in the
Obama Administration; James Hansen,
PhD, Director of NASA's Goddard
Institute of Space Studies; and
Friends of the Earth (FOE) President
Brent Blackwelder [See links below
for further information].
Access the hearing
website for links to all testimony
and Chairman Waxman's opening
statement ( click
here). Access Speaker
Pelosi's brief statement ( click
here). Access a press
release from USCAP ( click
here). Access a Blueprint
summary from USCAP ( click
here). Access the complete
Blueprint from USCAP ( click
here). Access the USCAP
website for a list of members and
more information ( click
here).
Access a CTF release (click
here). Access a release
from CTF with links to a report on
the Carbon Tax and more related
information (click
here). Access various
WIMS-eNewsUSA blog posts on the
carbon tax issue (click
here). [*Climate]
Groups Sue To Stop CAFO
Emissions Exemption Rule -
Jan 15: A coalition of groups have
challenged U.S. EPA in a lawsuit
filed regarding the a "last-minute"
Bush administration rule that
exempts Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (CAFOs) from Federal laws
requiring them to alert government
officials when they release unsafe
levels of toxic emissions into the
surrounding community. The
environmental law firm Earthjustice
filed the suit on behalf of the
groups including: the Waterkeeper
Alliance, Sierra Club, Environmental
Integrity Project, The Humane
Society of the United States,
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future
and Center for Food Safety.
CAFOs, are large-scale livestock
facilities that contain upwards of
1,000 cattle, 2,500 hogs or 125,000
chickens. The groups said the
facilities "generate a massive
amount of urine and feces, which is
commonly liquefied and either stored
under the facility or nearby in open
air lagoons. This waste is known to
release high levels of toxic
pollutants into the air such as
ammonia and hydrogen sulfide."
Earthjustice attorney Keri Powell
said, "Factory farms commonly
release unsafe levels of toxic air
pollution that can be dangerous for
workers and nearby residents. The
Bush administration's parting gift
to factory farms is to help them
guard that dirty secret."
On December 12, 2008, U.S. EPA
announced a final rule
under
CERCLA, Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know Act,
providing an administrative
reporting exemption for air releases
of hazardous substances from animal
waste at farms. EPA said the rule
would enable response authorities to
"better focus their attention on
hazardous substance releases that
require a response, while reducing
reporting burdens on America’s
farms." [See WIMS 1/15/08]. The rule
is scheduled to become effective on
January 20, 2009.
Access a release from
Earthjustice with links to addition
information (click
here). Access the final
rule (click
here). Access various
WIMS-EcoBizPort links on CAFO issues
(click
here). [*Air,
*Agriculture]
Sierra Club Sues To Block
EPA CO2 Emission Interpretation
- Jan 15: The Sierra Club filed a
lawsuit in the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to
overturn what they called "the
Bush administration's final,
unlawful effort to block
meaningful action on global
warming." On December 18, 2008, in
the wake of U.S. EPA's
Environmental Appeals Board (EAB)
ruling in the Deseret Power
Electric Cooperative case
(Bonanza, Utah), that EPA had no
valid reason for refusing to limit
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
from new coal-fired power plants [ See
WIMS 11/14/08], EPA
Administrator Stephen Johnson
issued a 19-page Memo to Regional
Administrators providing a legal
rationale for not regulating CO2
under the Clean Air Act (CAA) [See
WIMS 12/19/08]. EPA later
published the interpretation in
the Federal Register on December
31, 2008 [73 FR 80300-80301].
Sierra Club said its emergency
legal action was a response to the
Johnson memo which they said was
"designed to codify an incorrect
and unlawful interpretation of
environmental laws -- including
the Clean Air Act -- in an attempt
[to] pave the way for the improper
approval of dozens of coal-fired
power plants in states across the
country." They said the action was
"necessary to protect the
integrity of the permitting
process and the Clean Air Act
itself and to prevent permits from
being issued that could result in
tens of millions of tons of
additional global warming
pollution each year."
David Bookbinder, Sierra
Club's Chief Climate Counsel
said, "EPA Administrator Steve
Johnson has acted in brazen
defiance our nation's highest
court, Congress, his own staff and
the law for years. In a new twist,
he is now openly and unlawfully
ignoring EPA's own judges in order
to protect polluters in the waning
days of a dangerously irrelevant
administration. We have already
lost eight precious years in the
fight against global warming and
now Johnson and the Bush
administration are trying to stand
in the way of the next
administration. We can't let that
happen."
On
December 22, 2008, in a sternly
worded letter to the U.S. Attorney
General, Senator Barbara Boxer
(D-CA), Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Environment and
Public Works [See
WIMS 12/23/08],
said Administrator Johnson "has
run amok and will waste taxpayer
dollars in his most recent action
to avoid controlling global
warming pollution in Clean Air Act
permits." Boxer said Johnson's
document was a "blatantly illegal
memo" and it was
clear
that he has become a "renegade
Administrator." Boxer requested
the Attorney General to "ensure
that this illegal policy is
suspended and that more taxpayer
dollars are not wasted."
Access a release from Sierra Club
and link to additional information
(click
here). Access the EPA
interpretation published in the
Federal Register (click
here). [*Climate,
*Air]
New Report On Filling Mines
With Coal Ash - Jan 15: The
nonprofit environmental law firm
Earthjustice released a new report
which it commissioned in the wake of
the recent coal ash disasters at two
Tennessee Valley Authority power
plants [See WIMS 1/9/09]. The
report, Waste Deep: Filling Mines
with Coal Ash is Profit for Industry
but Poison for People, documents
what Earthjustice says is the unseen
threat posed by toxic coal ash
dumped in active and abandoned coal
mines. The report casts a spotlight
on minefilling, the practice of
dumping coal ash into active and
abandoned coal mines. Earthjustice
indicates, "This unregulated
disposal method has poisoned streams
and drinking water supplies across
the country with arsenic, lead,
chromium, selenium, and other
toxins."
Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans
who has tracked the issue of coal
ash for nearly a decade and
co-authored the report said, "Minefilling
coal ash is a slow-motion and
invisible counterpart to the TVA
catastrophe. There, the destruction
was unleashed in a matter of
minutes. For communities with water
poisoned by the country's hundreds
of coal ash mine dumps, the damage
has been gradual and largely unseen,
but it also presents a grave
threat."
According to a release on the
report, "Federal regulators have
puzzled over how to handle this
ever-increasing waste product, and
for years have opted to take the
easy way out: declaring it
non-hazardous and allowing utility
companies to concoct dubious
disposal methods like minefilling.
Each year, an estimated 25 million
tons of toxic coal ash are dumped in
mines. And in the absence of federal
regulations, states have taken a
misguided approach to regulating
coal ash disposal -- encouraging
minefilling by deeming it a
so-called 'beneficial use.'"
In a
related matter,
House Natural Resources Committee
Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV)
introduced legislation -- The Coal
Ash Reclamation and Environmental
Safety Act of 2009 (H.R. 493) --
requiring Federal standards to
regulate the engineering of coal ash
impoundments. He said, "Now is the
time to take that action, before any
lives are lost to a similar
disaster, which is why I am
introducing legislation to provide a
basic level of safety for our
communities and the environment from
the hazards of coal ash waste."
Access a release summarizing the
recommendations and link to the
complete 20-page report (click
here). Access a release
from Representative Rahall (click
here). Access
legislative details for H.R. 493 (click
here). [*Haz, *Water]
Enviros Sue To Upgrade CAA
Oil & Gas Drilling Standards
- Jan 15: Conservation groups filed
suit against the U.S. EPA over what
they said is "its failure to protect
communities and the climate from air
pollution emitted nationwide by oil
and gas drilling." They said
drilling releases a number of
harmful air pollutants, which are
making skies smoggier, hazier, and
more toxic to breathe throughout the
United States, and fuels global
warming. Making things worse,
federal clean air standards for oil
and gas drilling are outdated. They
said, "These standards are not only
illegal, but endanger public health
and the climate."
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA),
EPA is required to review and update
clean air regulations every eight
years. The groups said EPA has
failed to update two sets of clean
air regulations it originally issued
in 1985 and 1999, and has failed
altogether to issue a required third
set of regulations. They said, "The
result is a number of oil and gas
operations and pollutants spewed by
those operations are not limited in
any way. Even oil and gas operations
covered by the outdated regulations
are not required to use the latest
technologies to safeguard public
health and the climate."
Andrea Zaccardi, attorney with
Earthjustice said, "Oil and gas
drilling operations have been
exploding throughout the Rocky
Mountain West. Yet in the face of
this exponential growth, EPA has sat
on its hands when it comes to
issuing and updating required
regulations to safeguard our
communities from these operations.
We can't allow EPA to jeopardize
public health by failing to maintain
up-to-date clean air regulations."
Nationwide, the affects communities
in California, New York,
Pennsylvania, Texas, and a number of
other states where drilling is
occurring.
The groups filing suit against
the EPA include WildEarth Guardians
and the San Juan Citizens
Alliance. Earthjustice, a national
public interest environmental law
firm, is representing the
groups. The lawsuit was filed in
Federal court in Washington, D.C.
The suits relate to New Source
Performance Standards; Maximum
Achievable Control Technology
standards; and "Residual Risk"
standards for oil and gas drilling.
Access a release from
Earthjustice ( click
here). [*Air]
Rahall Resolution To
Overturn ESA Rule By Congressional
Review - Jan 15: House
Natural Resources Committee Chairman
Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced a
joint resolution -- with the support
of 12 co-sponsors -- invoking the
Congressional Review Act (CRA) to
overturn the highly controversial
gutting of the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) pushed through by the Bush
Administration during its waning
days in office [See WIMS 12/12/08].
Rahall said, "The Bush
Administration has had a long --
though one could hardly say proud --
history of trying to undermine the
ESA and the protection it provides
to America's most imperiled species.
Today, I introduce legislation,
using the authority granted to the
Congress under the CRA, to overturn
a rule that served as the Bush
Administration's final assault on,
and insult to, one of the Nation's
landmark conservation laws."
On December 11, 2008, the
Department of the Interior (DOI) and
the Department of Commerce sent
joint final regulations to the
Federal Register which they say will
"clarify the consultation process
under the Endangered Species Act
(ESA)." When the regulation was
announced, Interior Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne added, “When I announced
the listing of the polar bear as
threatened in May [See
WIMS 5/15/08], I agreed
with the President that the
Endangered Species Act is not the
right tool to set climate change
policy. I also announced that day
that we would propose common sense
modifications to the existing
regulations in order to provide
greater certainty that the listing
would not become a backdoor for
setting climate change policy.”
Rahall's H.J. Res. 18 seeks to
overturn what he said was "the
last-minute, ill-advised action by
the Administration to do away with
the ESA's cornerstone Section 7
consultation process, a move that
essentially gives federal agencies
an unacceptable degree of discretion
to decide on their own whether or
not to comply with the law. As a
result, federal agencies would be
allowed to undertake or permit
thousands of federal activities --
such as logging or building a dam --
on federal lands and other areas
without obtaining review or comment
from federal wildlife biologists at
the Fish and Wildlife Service."
First proposed in late August
2008 [See
WIMS 8/12/08], Rahall said
the Administration rushed a public
comment period and environmental
assessment of the proposed
regulation. Rahall, along with 80
Members of Congress, led efforts in
the House urging the Administration
to halt the changes; yet, the
Administration defied public opinion
and proceeded to review more than
300,000 public comments at a rate of
more than 6,000 per hour.
Rahall said, "As the Bush
Administration fades off into the
sunset, once and for all, they leave
behind a devastating trail of
last-minute regulatory changes that
represent the worst in public
policy. I look forward to working
with the Obama Administration to
correct course and promote a
positive resources conservation
agenda. Passage of this joint
resolution will be step one in
restoring the vigor of America's
natural heritage through this
landmark conservation law,"
The joint resolution is
co-sponsored by Reps. Ed Markey
(D-MA), George Miller (D-CA), Peter
DeFazio (D-OR), Maurice Hinchey
(D-NY), Lois Capps (D-CA), Jay
Inslee (D-WA), Rush Holt (D-NJ),
Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), John Dingell
(D-MI), Norm Dicks (D-WA), Sam Farr
(D-CA), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
Earthjustice representing
conservation and fishing groups
applauded the action and are
currently challenging the new rule
in Federal district court. They said
when legislation is signed to
overturn the weaken rule, this
litigation will no longer be
necessary. The Center for Biological
Diversity (CBD), Greenpeace and
Defenders of Wildlife also
have filed suit in the Northern
District of California to stop the
regulations.
Access a release from
Representative Rahall (click
here). Access legislative
details for H.J. Res. 18 (click
here). Access a release
from Earthjustice (click
here). [*Wildlife]
CBD Sues Six Agencies On
Global Warming & Endangered Species
- Jan 15: The Center for
Biological Diversity (CBD) filed
suit in a Washington, D.C. Federal
court against six Federal agencies
for refusing to develop nation-wide
regulations to speed the recovery of
endangered species and integrate
global warming into all major
Federal decision-making processes.
The suit charges the Department
of the Interior (including the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Park Service, and Bureau of Land
Management), Department of Commerce
(including the National Marine
Fisheries Service), Department of
Agriculture (including the U.S.
Forest Service), Department of
Defense, Department of
Transportation (including the
Federal Highway Administration) and
U.S. EPA with violating the
Administrative Procedure Act for
refusing to reply or respond to
CBD's Global Warming and
Endangered Species Initiative
petition filed in February 2007.
Bill Snape, senior counsel for
the Center and lawyer for the suit
said, “Global warming is the
fastest-growing threat to endangered
species. It is pushing hundreds of
species, including the polar bear,
walrus, black abalone, elkhorn
coral, staghorn coral, American
pika, Sonoran pronghorn, woodland
caribou, and wolverine to
extinction. Integrating global
warming considerations into all
levels of government is the
challenge of our times. Yet the Bush
administration not only refused to
provide direction on climate change
policy, it prevented federal
agencies from doing so.”
“We filed the Global Warming and
Endangered Species Initiative in
2007 to jump-start the reinvention
of federal conservation policy. The
Bush administration ignored the
petition. With this lawsuit, we
provide the Obama administration
with a legal platform to develop
integrated, government-wide policies
to speed the recovery of endangered
species and limit the impact of
global warming. We look forward to
working with the new administration
to resolve the suit and begin the
hard work of turning the ship of
state of around after eight years of
stalling.”
The petition requested the
federal agencies develop regulations
to: - Review all threatened,
endangered, and candidate species to
determine which are threatened by
global warming; - Revise all federal
recovery plans to ensure endangered
species are able to adapt to a
warming environment; - Require all
federal agencies to implement
endangered species recovery plans; -
Review the global warming
contribution of all federal projects
and require mitigation of impacts on
imperiled species; - Provide
technical and financial support to
states, local governments, and
American Indian tribes that
voluntarily agree to implement
recover plans; - Require a final
Endangered Species Act listing
decision on all candidate species
within five years; and - Prohibit
all federal actions and habitat
conservation plans from appreciably
reducing the likelihood of species’
recovery.
Access a release from CBD and
link to further information ( click
here). [*Wildlife]
Agencies Report On Sea-Level
Rise In Mid-Atlantic Region
- Jan 16: U.S. EPA, in collaboration
with other agencies, has released a
report that discusses the impacts of
sea level rise on the coast, coastal
communities, and the habitats and
species that depend on them. The
report,
Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-Level
Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic
Region,
examines multiple opportunities for
governments and coastal communities
to plan for and adapt to rising sea
levels. Sea-level rise can affect
coastal communities and habitats in
a variety of different ways,
including submerging low-lying
lands, eroding beaches, converting
wetlands to open water, intensifying
coastal flooding, and increasing the
salinity of estuaries and freshwater
aquifers. It is caused by a number
of natural and human-induced factors
and can vary by region. EPA said
that some impacts of sea-level rise
can already be observed along the
U.S. coast.
According to EPA, the primary
causes of global sea-level rise are
the expansion of ocean water due to
warming and the melting of glaciers
and ice sheets. Locally, sea-level
rise is also influenced by changes
to the geology of coastal land,
making coastal elevation mapping an
important area of future study. The
Mid-Atlantic region, the focus of
this report, is one of the areas in
the U.S. that will likely see the
greatest impacts due to rising
waters, coastal storms, and a high
concentration of population along
the coastline.
EPA led the development of the
report with significant
contributions from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the U.S.
Geological Survey. The report is one
of 21 climate change synthesis and
assessment products commissioned by
the U.S. Climate Change Science
Program (CCSP).
Access a release from EPA and
links to more information and
the complete report (click
here). [*Climate,
*Water]
Proposed Rule
On Significant Harm Level for
Particle Pollution -
Jan 15: U.S. EPA is
proposing a rule to update its Air
Quality Index (AQI) to reflect the
latest standards for fine particle
pollution (PM 2.5). The proposal
also would set a “significant harm”
level, which states use in
developing emergency episode plans.
Under the proposed changes, the AQI
would reach “code orange” --
unhealthy for sensitive groups --
when particle pollution levels reach
35.5 micrograms per cubic meter of
air (ug/m3). The changes also would
mean air quality reaches the
“unhealthy” category at a lower
particle pollution level.
EPA said the proposed changes
likely would not have a noticeable
impact on daily air quality
forecasts. States have been
voluntarily forecasting code orange
when particle pollution reaches 35
ug/m3, the same level as the revised
daily health standard. EPA revised
this standard in September 2006 [See
WIMS 9/21/06]. The proposed
rule also would set a significant
harm level equal to an AQI value of
500. States use these levels in air
quality emergency episode plans,
which set procedures for delivering
information to potentially affected
citizens and for reducing emissions
from sources in the area that are
potentially contributing to harmful
PM 2.5 levels. EPA is seeking
comment on its proposal for setting
the 500 AQI level.
The AQI is EPA’s color-coded
tool for communicating air quality
to the public. An AQI value of 50,
for example, represents good air
quality with little potential to
affect public health, while an AQI
value over 300 represents hazardous
air quality. AQI reporting is
required in cities of 350,000 and
larger; however, more than 300
cities voluntarily issue air quality
forecasts as a public health
service.
EPA will take comment for 60
days after the proposal is published
in the Federal Register and will
hold a public hearing on March 5,
2009, in Addison, Texas. In
addition, EPA will host a blog to
provide the public additional
avenues for discussing this
proposal. Comments to the blog will
not be considered official comments
for the record; however, the blog
will provide readers with easy links
for submitting official comments.
The blog will open the week of March
2, 2009, the same week as the public
hearing. EPA will notify the public
about how to participate in the blog
and how to be notified when the blog
is open.
Access a release from EPA (click
here). Access a fact sheet
on the proposed rule (click
here). Access a
prepublication copy of the proposed
rule (click
here). [*Air]
USA v. Hagerman -
Jan 15:
In the U.S.
Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit,
Case No. 07-3874 and 07-3875. In
this on-going legal wrangle [See
WIMS
12/8/08 &
9/30/08 ] , a jury
convicted Wabash Environmental
Technologies (WET) and its
president, Derrik Hagerman, on ten
counts of making materially false
statements in reports that WET was
required to file under the Clean
Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(4).
The judge sentenced Hagerman to 60
months in prison and, along with
WET, was ordered to pay $237,680 in
restitution to
the EPA for the expense of cleaning
up pollution caused by them.
Hagerman and WET now argue that the
district court erred in admitting
into evidence copies of certain
electronic spreadsheets that
recorded test results that were not
charged in the indictment but were
in conflict with what WET had
reported. The defendants argue that
the test results are evidence of
prior bad acts that should have been
excluded under Federal Rule of
Evidence 404(b).
The Appeals Court said, "The
argument has no merit. When a
defendant commits
two criminal
acts simultaneously but is charged
only with
one,
'the evidence of the "other" crime
[cannot] be disentangled from the
evidence of the charged crime,” and
therefore evidence material to prove
the charged crime 'may unavoidably
reveal' other criminal acts that are
not charged.
United States
v. Taylor,
522 F.3d 731, 734 (7th Cir. 2008).
That is the situation here."
Following numerous arguments,
Hagerman finally argues that he
should not have been given a prison
sentence. He says that the damage he
caused to the environment could not
be quantified, that in his life
outside WET he made “considerable”
contributions to his community, that
his family relies on him for
support, and that imprisonment will
make paying restitution difficult.
The judge considered but rejected
these arguments. The Appeals Court
said, "There was no abuse of
discretion." and affirmed the
decision.
Access the
complete opinion (click
here). [*Water]
Federal Register
Highlights
The following is a summary from
our Daily REGTrak
Bulletin* for:
Friday, January 16, 2009.
Federal
Register
Vol. 74, No. 11
1. TOXICS - FR. EPA.
Emamectin; Pesticide
Tolerances
2. AIR - PR. EPA.
Proposed Rule To Implement
the 1997 8-Hour Ozone
National Ambient Air
Quality Standard: Revision
on Subpart 1 Area
Reclassification and
Anti-Backsliding
Provisions Under Former
1-Hour Ozone Standard;
Proposed Deletion of
Obsolete 1-Hour Ozone
Standard Provision
3.
AIR, CLIMATE - PR. EPA.
Protection of
Stratospheric Ozone:
Allocation of Essential
Use Allowances for
Calendar Year 2009
4.
HAZ/Nuclear - ND. DOD,
DOE, EPA, & NRC.
Multi-Agency Radiation
Survey and Assessment of
Materials and Equipment
Manual
5.
WATER - NM. DOD/Corps of
Engineers. Inland
Waterways Users Board
6.
HAZ/Nuclear - ND. DOE.
Notice of Availability:
Office of Civilian
Radioactive Waste
Management; National
Transportation Plan,
Revision 0
7.
LAND - FRI. USDA/Commodity
Credit Corporation. Farm
and Ranch Lands Protection
Program
8.
WATER, HAZ - FRI.
DHS/Coast Guard. Pollution
Prevention Equipment;
Consistency with new
International Maritime
Organization (IMO)
guidelines and
specifications issued
under the International
Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution
from Ships (MARPOL) Annex
I
9.
TOXICS - PR. USDA/Animal
and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
Importation, Interstate
Movement, and Release Into
the Environment of Certain
Genetically Engineered
Organisms
10.
LAND - NM. USDA/Forest
Service. National Urban
and Community Forestry
Advisory Council
11.
WILDLIFE, LAND - FRI.
USDA/Natural Resources
Conservation Service.
Wildlife Habitat Incentive
Program
12.
ALL - FRI. USDA/Natural
Resources Conservation
Service. Technical Service
Provider Assistance
13.
ALL - FRI. USDA/Rural
Utilities Service, etc.
Rural Development
Guaranteed Loans
__________________________________
ANPR
- Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking;
FR
- Final Rule;
FRD
- Direct final rule;
FRI
- Interim final rule;
ICR
- Information Collection
Request;
ND - Notice of data,
information, reports, etc.
availability;
NF
- Notice of Funding Opportunity;
NM
- Notice of Meeting;
NS
- Notice of administrative/court
settlement;
PR
- Proposed Rule;
ROD
- Record of decision
*If you
need further information on the
above announcements you may want
to subscribe to our REGTrak
service. Subscribers receive a
complete Federal Register
summary of nationally applicable
environmental announcements,
contact information and direct
links to the full-text of each
announcement (pdf & html) before
8 AM each day for $139 per
year (click
here).
You can also access our Federal
Regulatory website and follow
the links from there (click
here).
Article Coding: [Air]
= Air; [All] = Cross-Media,
ecosystems; [Climate] Climate
Change; [Drink] = Drinking
Water; [Energy] = Energy;
[GLakes] = Great Lakes; [Haz] =
Hazardous Waste; [Land] = Land
Use, Forests; [P2] Pollution
Prevention, Sustainability;
[Remed] = Remediation,
Brownfields; [Tanks] = AST, UST;
[Toxics] =Toxics, Pesticides;
[Transport] = Transportation;
[Solid Waste]; [Water] = Water;
[Wildlife] = Wildlife,
Endangered Species.
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