On April 21, 2014, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). The purpose of the rule was to provide clarification after a number of Supreme Court cases which had cast doubt on the existing understanding of what constitutes federal water. The proposed rule contains more than 100 exemptions from federal jurisdiction; however, critics note that the qualifications to those exemptions will mean that exempt status will have to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Click here to read the rule… Read more
Tag: Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Proposes to Increase Emission Limits in Nine States
On October 6, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a proposed amendment to its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which would increase state-wide limitations on emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in nine states. Finalized only three months earlier, CSAPR establishes an interstate emissions trading system that caps emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from electric generating units in 27 Eastern states. The goal is to reduce interstate transport of pollution to help downwind states in their efforts to attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The states affected by EPA’s October 6 proposed increases… Read more