Energy Department Issues Final Rule on National Environmental Policy Act Reviews for Liquified Natural Gas

On December 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a final rule addressing its implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities. (more…)

EPA Draft PFAS Guidance Would Subject Range of Articles to Significant New Use Rule

On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft guidance for imported articles that may contain long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate chemical substances (LCPFAC), a subgroup of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as part of a surface coating and that would be subject to its Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) if a manufacturer seeks to resume using them. (more…)

EPA Issues Clean Air Act Cost-Benefit Rule

On December 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its Clean Air Act (CAA) cost-benefit rule. The procedural rule sets requirements for evaluating the benefits and costs of regulatory decisions, which EPA believes is necessary to ensure transparency and consistency in the rulemaking process. The main requirements are as follows: 1) EPA must prepare a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) for all significant proposed and final regulations under the CAA; 2) BCAs are developed in accordance with best practices from the economic, engineering, physical, and biological sciences; and 3) EPA must increase transparency in the presentation of the benefits and costs resulting from significant CAA regulations. (more…)

U.S. Department of Energy Implements Updated Regulations on National Environmental Policy Act Compliance for Natural Gas Act Authorizations

On December 4, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a final rule updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations applicable to its review of applications to export domestically produced liquified natural gas (LNG) to non-free-trade-agreement countries under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act. DOE has determined that these actions are categorically excluded from NEPA review because 1) DOE is required by Section 3(c) of the Natural Gas Act to authorize these exports and 2) the reasonably foreseeable environmental effects DOE must review are limited — beginning at the point of export and extending to marine transport effects only. DOE is also removing reference to the import of LNG from its NEPA implementing regulations because the Energy Policy Act of 1992 leaves DOE with no discretion in its approval of such imports.

(more…)

Environmental Protection Agency Issues Interim Strategy Memorandum to Address PFAS in Federally Issued Water Permits

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water has published a new interim strategy memorandum for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by EPA. The memorandum includes recommendations generated by a cross-agency workgroup, which conducted a review of existing Clean Water Act (CWA) section 402 NPDES permitting authorities to determine where and how currently unregulated contaminants like PFAS may fit into the permitting process. Under the CWA, the NPDES permit program regulates point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Currently, there are no CWA water quality criteria or effluent guidelines for PFAS, an umbrella category of thousands of synthetic chemicals historically used in industrial manufacturing processes for their flame-resistant and nonstick properties.

(more…)

Environmental Protection Agency Releases Draft Supplemental Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane, Chemical Byproduct in Consumer Goods

After a lengthy public comment review period, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a Draft Supplemental Analysis to the Draft Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane. EPA’s underlying Draft Risk Evaluation for 1,4-Dioxane was released in June 2019. These documents have been prepared as required by the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century Act amendments to federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  Those amendments direct EPA to conduct risk evaluations of certain chemicals to determine whether the substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, under the conditions of use, without consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, while using the best available science and ensuring that decisions are based on the weight of scientific evidence. EPA identified 1,4-dioxane in December 2016 as one of the first 10 chemicals to undergo risk evaluations under the TSCA amendments.

(more…)

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