Washington, D.C. Environmental and Natural Resources Partner Peter Glaser was quoted in the Friday, October 23 ClimateWire article, “Opening day for EPA’s Clean Power Plan Rule and for litigation”. October 23 marked the EPA’s publishing of its Clean Power Plan rule in the Federal Register. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan rule is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants through a series of regulations by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030. These regulations are a key part of the Obama administration’s agenda to mandate efforts to address climate change.

The Sixth Circuit today issued an order staying the applicability of the EPA and Army Corps’ recently promulgated Clean Water Rule. The stay applies nationwide.

A coalition of private parties, industry groups, and more than 30 states challenged the Rule asserting that it unlawfully expanded the jurisdictional reach of the Clean Water Act. A coalition of state petitioners asked the Court to enter a stay with the Court today concluding that a stay was appropriate because, among other things, there was a likelihood that the petitioners would succeed on the merits.

On Monday, August 31, 2015, EPA released a pre-publication version of a proposed rule revising RCRA’s hazardous waste generator regulations. EPA’s stated goals for the proposal are to improve compliance, address regulatory gaps, give hazardous waste generators greater flexibility, and make the regulations more user-friendly. This summary highlights some of the changes proposed by EPA.

On August 21, 2015, EPA issued a final rule revising its regulations governing the development, review and approval of state water quality standards (“WQS”) (40 CFR Part 131). The revisions were prompted by requests from the states for increased clarity in the existing rule, as well as the need for greater flexibility.  The rule includes changes that expand EPA’s authority to review state WQS in several ways.

For the better part of a decade, the regulated community, policymakers, and regulators have grappled with how best to manage hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.  On August 31, 2015, the curtain rose on a new era with the pre-publication of a new proposed standard for stemming the flood of pharmaceuticals entering our water supply and streamlining waste management practices to protect our nation’s drug supply. 

On July 28, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that EPA’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule (“CSAPR”) over-regulates over a dozen states.  Although the rule was generally upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014, the Court remanded the case to the D.C. Circuit for further review in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.  In particular, the Supreme Court’s remand to the D.C. Circuit allowed petitioners the opportunity to bring as-applied challenges to CSAPR to demonstrate that the rule regulated emissions beyond the point necessary to bring all downwind states into attainment with the national ambient air quality standards (“NAAQS”).

Environmental and Natural Resources Partner Peter Glaser co-authored an opinion piece in the August 2 edition of the Wall Street Journal titled, “States Should Shun the EPA’s New Power Mandate.” Glaser and co-author Hal Quinn, president and chief executive of the National Mining Association, say that the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan will not significantly reduce climate change but will impose significant costs on all electricity rate payers for decades to come.

ICLE GA Enviromental Case Law Updates

Environmental and Natural Resources Partner Douglas Henderson will present a Georgia Environmental Case Law Update for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education of Georgia on August 25 at 2 p.m. Doug will discuss 10 federal court and 9 Georgia court opinions that will cover topics like the impact of drought…

Partner Mack McGuffey offered his perspective on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan at the Southern Legislative Conference last week, as reported in the Monday, July 20 issue of E&E News. The lawmakers signed a resolution urging state attorneys general to sue the EPA over its latest Clean Power Plan rule, which calls for a reorganization of the nation’s electric power supply with the intent of reducing carbon emission by 30 percent, as compared to 2005 levels, by the year 2030. 

In conjunction with Strafford Publications, TS Environmental and Natural Resources Partner Greg Blount will present a webinar on Pharmaceutical Waste Management: Compliance for Hospitals, Pharmacies and Other Healthcare Facilities on Thursday, July 30 at 1:00 p.m.