Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
EPA Plans to Gut Its Ability to Curb Water Pollution
By Jon Devine, Natural Resources Defense Council Did you think that EPA buying “Tactical Pants” was the silliest thing you’d hear about Administrator Scott Pruitt this month? Hold on — there’s a new entry. EPA put out a press release announcing that Pruitt signed a memo to other EPA officials, ordering them to start drafting a proposed rule that […]
Ocean Conservation Is Still Significantly at Risk Despite Backtrack on NOAA Mission Change
By Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists Last week, following press attention to a presentation by the Acting Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) on new directions for the agency, Adm. Tim Gallaudet quickly backtracked and stated that the mission would not fundamentally change. That’s a good thing, but there are other signals coming out of […]
Scott Pruitt Wants to Pick Winners and Losers by Cooking the Books at EPA
By James Goodwin, Center for Progressive Reform Soon after his confirmation, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt quickly set out to take a “whack-a-mole” approach to advancing his anti-safeguard agenda, attacking particular rules designed to protect Americans and the environment from specific hazards – climate change, various air and water pollutants, and so on – one by […]
As World Shifts to Renewables, Methane Leaks From Oil and Gas Production 60 Percent Greater than EPA Estimate
By Grant Smith, Environmental Working Group Sixty percent more methane escapes from U.S. oil and gas operations than the Environmental Protection Agency currently estimates, according to a study led by the Environmental Defense Fund. The study, to which 15 universities and research institutions contributed, attributes the difference to the agency’s failure to account for equipment […]
LCV Interns Testify at EPA to Protect Chemical Facility Safety Standards
By the League of Conservation Voters On June 14, LCV’s government affairs interns—Michael Overton, Sydney Colopy, and Milo Donovan—testified at the EPA, opposing a proposed rule to change the chemical safety standards of the Risk Management Program (RMP), which were updated in response to the deadly 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. […]
Closing Arguments on Pruitt’s Refusal to Ban Pesticide
By Mae Wu, Natural Resources Defense Council The legal battle to get chlorpyrifos—a toxic pesticide linked to learning disabilities in children—off the fruits and vegetables we feed our families is heating up this summer. On Monday, July 9, NRDC and partner groups will deliver their final arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the […]
Labor Department Finalizes Rule Expanding Non-ACA Compliant Association Health Plans
By The Arc On June 19th, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule on Association Health Plans (AHPs), finalizing the DOL’s proposed rule released on January 5, 2018. AHPs allow groups of small business to band together and purchase health care plans for their employees. The […]
The EPA SAB Agreed to Tell Pruitt That EPA’s Restricted Science Rule Is Problematic, But Where’s the Follow-Up?
By Genna Reed, Union of Concerned Scientists The EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) met earlier this month in DC to discuss a range of issues, but perhaps most prominently, to discuss whether any of Pruitt’s deregulatory actions from 2017 had scientific issues warranting SAB review. Also on the agenda was whether the SAB should have a chance […]
Wall Street’s Biggest Banks Are Gambling and Evading Regulation Again
By Better Markets An all-star financial panel of former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, former FDIC Vice Chair Thomas Hoenig, Former Director of Trading and Markets at the CFTC (now University of Maryland Law Professor) Michael Greenberger, and moderated by Better Markets president and CEO Dennis Kelleher, assembled in New York at an event presented […]
Americans Speak Out in Opposition to Drilling in Arctic Refuge
By Steve Blackledge, Environment America June 19 closed out the first 60-day public comment period for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposal to allow oil drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Environment America joined a broad coalition of native, faith, sportsmen, veteran and other environmental organizations to deliver nearly […]
NRDC Sues EPA for Revoking Court-Approved Limits on HFCs
By Lissa Lynch, Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC filed a lawsuit today against EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for unlawfully revoking the agency’s limits on uses of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the super-potent climate-changing pollutants used in refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation, aerosols, and other products. We’re challenging a so-called “guidance” document issued in April in which the Administrator claims to […]
White House Proposal to Merge Departments of Education, Labor Carries Troubling Implications
By Craig Sandler, Public Citizen Recently, the White House released a plan to merge the Department of Education (DoE) and the Department of Labor (DoL) into a single agency: the Department of Education and Workforce. This proposal is a component of the White House’s plan restructure the federal government in order to, in the words of Office […]
Lowe’s, Sherwin-Williams, Home Depot Do the Right Thing
By Shelley Poticha, Natural Resources Defense Council Three American companies have moved to protect people’s lives from a deadly chemical that the federal government has so far refused to ban from store shelves – a major victory in the fight to stop the dismantling of protections against toxic substances in our workplaces, homes and lives. We hope this […]
Dangerous Air Alert: New Analysis Shows How the Trump Administration Could Hide the Health Risks of Bad Air Days
By Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists We all check the weather forecast for sun, rain, UV, allergies, and other information that might affect us as we spend more time outside in the summer. That includes alerts on bad air days, when air pollution levels are high enough to be potentially dangerous, especially for children, […]
CFPB Director Nominee Just the Latest Shameless Ploy to Dismantle Consumer Protection Agency
By Better Markets Trump’s Nomination of Permanent CFPB Director Is Nothing More Than a Shameless Ploy to Continue The Brazen Dismantling of the Nation’s Premier Consumer Protection Agency. In a move designed to attract as little attention as possible, the White House announced Saturday evening that it was nominating a staffer from the Office of Management and […]
Super Pollutants’ Supreme Test: Can EPA Stop Use of HFCs?
By David Doniger, Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC petitioned the Supreme Court today to reverse a lower court ruling that blocked EPA’s regulations limiting use of the super-potent climate pollutants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). We’re asking the Supreme Court to overrule a split decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Mexichem Fluor v. EPA, which derailed EPA’s […]
80 Years Later, Cosmetics Chemicals Still Unregulated
By Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group It’s been 80 years since Congress last voted to regulate cosmetics. And a lot has changed since June 25, 1938 – the day Congress passed the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938. These days cosmetics are a $60 billion-a-year business, and the average woman uses 12 products with 168 different ingredients […]
Zinke’s Plans Could Undermine the Sage-Grouse Conservation Strategy and Endangered Species Act
By Jim Lyons, Center for American Progress Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s keynote address at the Western Governors’ Association summer meeting slated for Tuesday, June 26, invites Westerners and conservationists everywhere to revisit his decision to review the Obama-era sage-grouse plans. While Zinke will likely emphasize his conservation vision in his speech, it is apparent that reopening […]
Department of Interior Buries Communications Policy After Attempting to Justify Muzzling Scientists
By Michael Halpern, Union of Concerned Scientists Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times broke the story about the new policy at the U.S. Geological Survey requiring scientists to get permission before speaking to reporters about science. In an attempt to justify the muzzling, a department spokesperson said they were just following an Obama-era communications policy (sound familiar?). After […]
Nothing to Celebrate as TSCA Reform Turns Two
By Katie Tracy, Center for Progressive Reform June 22 marks the two-year anniversary of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (colloquially referred to as TSCA reform or new TSCA). The 2016 law provided some hope that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would finally address the potential risks from tens of thousands […]