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Tag: climate change

Apr 28, 2021

Biden Administration to Restore California’s Authority to Limit Auto Emissions

The Biden administration is set to begin reversing Trump era policies that limited California’s ability to set vehicles’ emissions standards at a more stringent level than required by the federal government.  The Environmental Protection Agency is set to propose a waiver empowering California to mandate zero emission vehicles and to regular greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes.  Before being blocked by the Trump EPA, California’s requirement set a model for the nation and was expected to be followed by states representing more than one-third of the U.S. auto market.  The transportation sector is now the largest single source of greenhouse gas… Read more

Apr 13, 2015

U.S. EPA Outlines National Strategy for Use of Green Infrastructure by Local Governments

Guidance recently issued by the U.S. EPA details the Obama administration’s national strategy for encouraging municipalities to utilize existing and new green infrastructure to help alleviate climate change. The EPA guidance document, which was released on February 22 and can be read in its entirety here, encourages municipalities to review local ordinances and planning documents to encourage the use of green infrastructure techniques which mimic natural processes such as the use of vegetation to slow down the flow of stormwater and to capture runoff before undiluted pollutants from paved surfaces can enter stormwater and combined sewer sanitary systems. Such techniques… Read more

Feb 16, 2015

New Draft Guidance Proposed by CEQ Encourages Climate Change Evaluation in Environmental Impact Statements

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on December 19 proposed updated guidance for assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). CEQ has responsibility for providing guidance to federal agencies on compliance with NEPA’s environmental assessment requirements. The new proposed guidance updates CEQ’s 2010 draft guidance on how agencies should assess projects’ GHG impacts. The draft guidance for the first time includes guidance on the so-called “reverse environmental impact” assessment of the impacts of climate change on proposed projects. The draft also details how federal agencies should analyze and mitigate… Read more

Oct 5, 2010

More Challenges to EPA Greenhouse Gas Rulemaking

Beginning last December and continuing through this past May, EPA has issued four main rules regarding regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since that time, more than 150 businesses, advocacy groups, trade associations and government entities have challenged EPA’s decision-making. With so many litigants involved, and with Senator Kerry announcing a climate bill is unlikely to be passed in the near future, it is becoming more likely that the nation’s climate policy will be shaped in the courtroom. The EPA rules being challenged in the courts include: (1) the December 2009 “endangerment finding,” where EPA determined GHGs are a threat… Read more