Community-focused environmental justice conference. (Aug 23-26, Detroit, MI)

Next week (8/23 - 8/26), Detroit will play host to EPA's 2011 Environmental Justice Conference. Don't be discouraged by the registration being closed*, members of the public are still welcome to attend! 





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Boiler and incinerator regulations are so hot

In an attempt to reduce pollution from boiler and incinerator emissions, the U.S. EPA establishes new standards under the Clean Air Act.

These standards are set to cover more than 200,000 boilers and incinerators that emit harmful pollution including mercury, cadmium, and particle pollution.

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EPA: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal is disgusting!

"EPA’s investigation confirmed the widespread presence of more than a dozen contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and various metals, including mercury, lead and copper, at high levels in the sediment in the Gowanus Canal."

Why am I not surprised?

The EPA's "Human Health Risk Assessment" also found that people who eat fish and crabs from the Canal are at risk from exposure to PCBs. My question is, who the heck is eating fish from the Gowanus Canal?

As the EPA moves forward with the Draft Feasibility Study, a lot of questions remain, namely: can we really "revitalize" the Gowanus Canal? How long is this going to take? 10, 20, 30 years? How much is this costing the taxpayers? Can the EPA track down the "Potentially Responsible Parties"? And who is ultimately benefiting from the Superfund process?

MEDIA ADVISORY: Listen in TODAY (Press Telebriefing) from 1-2 pm ET - Coalfield Citizens React To EPA's Spruce Mine Decision‏

Coalfield Citizens React To EPA's Spruce Mine Decision 

Citizens from communities threatened by mountaintop removal mining and Spruce mine comment on value of veto 

 WHAT: Coalfield citizens and community members affected by destructive mountaintop removal mining host on Wednesday, January 19, 1:00-2:00 pm ET, a press telebriefing to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's historic Clean Water Act veto of the water pollution permit for the proposed Spruce No. 1 mine and the significance of this important decision to enforce basic legal protections for their health, livelihood, and the future of their communities. They also will comment on the reactions of some elected political leaders and correct mischaracterizations about this decision by some politicians. 

 WHO: Cindy Rank, Chair of the Mining Committee, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy Bo Webb, Board Member, Coal River Mountain Watch Chuck Nelson, Board Member and Retired Deep Miner, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition Joe Lovett, Executive Director and Attorney, Appalachian Center for the Economy & the Environment Bill Price, Environmental Justice Program Organizer, Sierra Club TBD, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards TBD, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment Also attending: Joan Mulhern, Senior Legislative Counsel, Earthjustice Jim Hecker, Environmental Enforcement Project Director and Attorney, Public Justice 

 WHEN: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET CALL INFORMATION Participants: (866) 548-2699 (no PIN required). Please wait for an available operator. Outside the U.S. & Canada: (904) 271-2009. Please wait for an available operator.

House Republicans waste no time in 2011, propose legislation to delay and block global warming protection

Republicans strike first in 2011 and look to block EPA from enacting global warming related regulations. 

Earthjustice did not take this lightly, firing that "these pieces of legislation are bad for the health of the American people, bad for American competitiveness in the global economy, bad for our national security, and bad for air quality across America."

Of course, republicans focused on the EPA's "job killing" regulations that "overreach." Apparently the EPA shouldn't be able to regulate carbon dioxide and methane under the Clean Air Act. Ohh, and they're going to kill the West Virginia economy.

But who should regulate CO2 and CH4 if not the EPA? I think we're beyond the point of no regulation, so why delay this?

EPA Releases the 2010 Fuel Economy Trends Report

Carbon dioxide decreases as fuel economy increases

WASHINGTON - For the sixth consecutive year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reporting a decrease in average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and a slight increase in the average fuel efficiency for new cars and light duty trucks, according to EPA’s annual report “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2010”.

EPA projects a small improvement in 2010, based on pre-model year sales estimates provided by automakers, to 395 grams of CO2 per mile and 22.5 miles per gallon (mpg), though there is uncertainty in these projections as they were made during the atypical automotive market in 2009. The 2010 final data will be available in next year’s report.

For 2009, the last year EPA has final data from automakers, the average CO2 emissions from new vehicles were 397 grams per mile and the average fuel economy value was 22.4 mpg.

See below for more on this report...




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Halliburton Subpoenaed After Failing to Meet EPA’s Voluntary Requests for Information

The EPA announced yesterday that eight of nine U.S. companies that deal in hydraulic fracturing (aka "fracking") for natural gas extraction will work with the agency in studies on fracking. Who was the ninth? Of course, our old friends, Halliburton.

Halliburton has failed to provide EPA the information necessary to move forward with this important study. As a result, and as part of the Agency's effort to move forward as quickly as possible, today EPA issued a subpoena to the company requiring submission of the information that has yet to be provided.

What a shady bunch of characters, that Halliburton. Then again, the company is a perfect fit for someone like Mr. Dick Cheney. I guess shady companies invite shady individuals.

DOT, EPA Propose the Nation’s First Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Trucks and Buses

EPA and DOT logos (2010)

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. This comprehensive national program is projected to reduce GHG emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years.

EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing new standards for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles. The categories were established to address specific challenges for manufacturers in each area. For combination tractors, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year.

EPA Proposes to Add Nine New Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund's National Priorities List

The Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) keeps getting bigger and bigger. On October 19, the EPA declared it was proposing to add another 9 contaminated sites to the list.


"To date, 1,627 sites have been listed on the NPL. There have been 346 sites deleted from the NPL with 1,281 sites remaining.   With the proposal of nine new sites and one site being withdrawn from proposal, there are 62 proposed sites awaiting final agency action:  57 in the general Superfund section and five in the federal facilities section.  There are a total of 1,343 final and proposed sites."


READ THE REST OF THE EPA PRESS RELEASE

Summer 2011 Legal Internship Opportunity with EPA Region 1 (Boston). DEADLINE for 2Ls: OCT 31st

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's office in Boston (Region 1) is accepting applications for their Summer 2011 legal internship program.

1Ls and 2Ls are encouraged to apply, but hurry! Deadlines are quickly approaching.

In 2010, 10 interns were hired for the Summer, out of over 1,000 applicants; 6 were paid and 4 were unpaid. Interns work on a range of issues involving federal environmental law and public policy.


The Summer program includes information sessions with EPA experts on homeland security, criminal enforcement, emergency response, and environmental justice; field trips to sites of environmental concern in the Region; office-wide legal retreat; and brown bag lunches with senior regional managers.





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ATTENTION RECENT LAW SCHOOL GRADUATES! DEADLINE EXTENDED: APPLICATIONS FOR EPA-REGION 9 HONORS PROGRAM.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 9 Office (San Francisco) has extended the application deadline for their Honor's Program. The application deadline has been moved to next Friday, October 15th, midnight!

CAVEAT!

You must be a recent graduate of an accredited law school with bar results or bar results pending.

For more information check out: http://www.epa.gov/region9/orc/positions.html

I can't see 1 reason why an unemployed recent graduate would NOT apply for this one. You might be what they're looking for.

Long Island Gets a Little Cleaner (according to the EPA)

The SMS Instruments Superfund Site (Deer Park, NY) gets the "green thumbs up" from the EPA.

"After completing all the cleanup work needed to address contaminated soil and ground water, and assessing recent monitoring data, EPA has determined that the cleanup was successful and that the site no longer poses a significant threat to public health or the environment."

Considering how difficult it is for SF Sites to be removed from the NPL, the residents of Deer Park should be excited about this.

SMS Instruments Superfund Site had been on the NPL for over 2 decades.