Category: Air Quality
Wildfires and its Implications for Companies
As the world grapples with the increasing impact of climate change, one pressing issue is the management of air quality in the workplace. In a recent CNBC article, I spoke with reporter Cheryl Winokur Munk to discuss the importance of companies understanding the regulations and best practices surrounding air...
California Air Resources Board Approves 2022 Scoping Plan
As we reported previously , the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has taken a highly anticipated vote on its final proposed plan for addressing climate change. CARB unanimously approved the 2022 Scoping Plan at a public meeting on December 15, 2022, thereby adopting an unparalleled blueprint for tackling climate change...
Trump Methane Rollbacks May Spark Litigation, Hinder Greenhouse Gas Regulation
Originally published on Bloomberg Law The Trump administration’s new final rules governing methane emissions in the oil and gas industry culminate a multi-year process to roll back limitations promulgated toward the end of the Obama administration. Though the rules address new sources, the changes may directly affect EPA regulation...
Even Your Parking Structure Violates Prop 65
The Prop 65 “Clear and Reasonable Warnings” updates that became effective in August 2018 contain lots of traps for the unwary, including one that you might not have noticed: tailored Prop 65 warnings are required at each of the public entrances to your enclosed parking facilities. To avail your regulated...
U.S. EPA’s Proposed Rule Would Modernize NPDES Regulations
Earlier this month, the United States EPA proposed a rule (“Proposed Rule”) that would update and revise National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) regulations. Rather than reopening the existing NPDES regulations for comprehensive revision, the Proposed Rule would make “specific targeted changes to the existing regulations” that align the...
California Supreme Court Finds that a Public Agency Cannot Inadvertently Waive Attorney-Client and Work Product Privileges
Last year, I wrote about the Second Appellate District case of Ardon v. City of Los Angeles . In Ardon , the appellate court found that a public agency can waive statutory privileges that it otherwise would have if it produces privileged documents in response to a California Public Records Act...
Proposed Rule Adding Vapor Intrusion Component to Hazard Ranking System Published in the Federal Register Today
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule in the Federal Register which would add a vapor intrusion component to the Hazard Ranking System, the system EPA uses to evaluate sites for placement on the National Priorities List (“NPL”). We forecasted and discussed the publication of this...
Proposed Rule Adding Vapor Intrusion Component to Hazard Ranking System Will Likely Appear in Federal Register This Month
A proposed rule that would add a vapor intrusion component to the Hazard Ranking System (“HRS”), the primary screening tool for the CERCLA National Priorities List (“NPL”), is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register this month. NPL listing is a prerequisite for designation as a federal Superfund site...
EPA Must Consider Costs in Deciding Whether to Regulate HAPs From Power Plants
Last week, in Michigan v. EPA , the U.S. Supreme Court held that it was unreasonable for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to refuse to consider costs in connection with its finding that it was “appropriate and necessary” to regulate hazardous air pollutant (“HAP”) emissions from power plants...
SMOG CHECK: EPA IMPLEMENTS THE 2008 OZONE STANDARDS
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took two next steps toward the implementation of the 2008 air quality standards for ground-level ozone, which is commonly referred to as smog: it finalized designations for every area of the country, with the exception of the Chicago-Naperville and Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin area and issued a final rule relating to...
Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Agrees to Air Quality Rules
In a landmark agreement, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) reached a “government-to-government” agreement with the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians to enforce some of the SCAQMD’s air quality regulations on tribal land. The SCAQMD is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and the urban...
Environmental Groups Bring Suit Against EPA to Require Air Monitoring Along So-Cal Freeways
Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Counsel (NRDC), Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles and Communities for a Better Environment brought a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for EPA’s approval of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) 2011 Annual Air Quality Monitoring Network Plan on November 1, 2011 (the Air Monitoring Plan). The SCAQMD is the...
Cali Leads Clean Car Revolution Again: Comprehensive Advanced Clean Car Rules Announced
The car-obsessed culture in California has driven (ha ha!) agencies to address the issues of climate change and air quality in more frequent, increasingly stringent and multi-faceted ways. In the latest round of regulation aimed at tackling these ever-present issues, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced a package of proposed...
A Park with a View: EPA Sets Schedule to Improve Visibility at National Parks
Last week the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in an effort to resolve ongoing litigation under the Clean Air Act with environmental groups over dozens of past due state implementation plans (SIP), agreed to a schedule for taking action on more than 40 state plans aimed at lowering haze in national parks...
EPA Rule on Carbon Monoxide Adds New Monitoring Requirement for Metropolitan Roadways, but Standards Will Stay the Same
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule this week affirming the current national air quality limits for carbon monoxide (CO), which describe how much of the pollutant is acceptable in outside air. EPA’s statement said the agency, after a careful review of the science, determined that the current standards for the...
Goodbye Perc, Hello Green Dry Cleaning: EPA approves California regulations banning PERC by 2023
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its approval of California’s regulations banning the use of perchloroethylene (also known as perc and tetrachloroethylene) in dry cleaning operations by 2023. EPA is required to regulate the use of perc by dry cleaners pursuant to the Clean Air Act. However, its approval of California’s rules...
The Clean Air Act Turns 40
Today is the 40th year anniversary of the passage of the Clean Air Act. This landmark legislation, which Congress revised and expanded in 1990, provides the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the authority to regulate air pollutant emissions. EPA is celebrating the Clean Air Act’s anniversary today, by touting the health and environmental benefits achieved under...
California Supreme Court Rules that Air District Must Use Existing Conditions as the Baseline for Environmental Review
On March 15, the California Supreme Court in Communities for a Better Environment v. South Coast Air Quality Management District ruled that the South Coast Air Quality Management District violated the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA when it failed to prepare an environmental impact report before approving a...
EPA Issues Major New Rules for Stationary Diesel Engines
On Feb. 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the first new emission guidelines for stationary diesel engines. The final rules, which were years in the making and closely watched by the industry, may affect as many as 900,000 small diesel engines used primarily in agricultural and industrial activities...
New Rule Adds New Hurdles to Development
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is considering a new rule that would create an unprecedented, additional new hurdle for real estate development in Southern California. In addition to the already cumbersome and protracted local land use permitting process every major development must navigate, the District’s proposed...
