Air Quality

Supreme Court Grants Cert on One Aspect of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Suit

Court lets stand endangerment finding, rules regulating emissions from automobile tailpipes

This morning, the Supreme Court announced that it has granted six of the nine petitions challenging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.  The Court granted cert on only a single question (petitioners had raised a number of them): Whether EPA …

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California Enacts Nation’s First Comprehensive Fracking Law—And Everyone’s Unhappy

Controversial But Promising, SB 4 Constitutes Tangible Progress on the Fracking Front

Late last month the California Legislature passed, and Governor Jerry Brown signed into law, the nation’s first comprehensive system of regulating hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas drilling technique more commonly known as “fracking.” It turns out that no one–the oil and gas industry, surface landowners or environmentalists–is particularly happy with the new law. And …

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Environmental Review of Free Trade Agreements

Why aren’t we talking about climate change?

Last week, the period for public comment on an interim environmental review of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement closed, marking perhaps the last significant opportunity for public input on the environmental impacts of the proposed agreement.  The review was conducted to identify potential environmental effects of the TPP, as required by an Executive Order …

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Follow the Sun: Mexico On Target to Pass National Climate Change Law

With Friday’s lower chamber passage of a new national climate change law, Mexico is poised to become a pioneer in climate change policy, proving the United States and the rest of the world that environmental protection and economic growth are both critical and achievable goals. On April 13, Mexico’s 500-member Chamber of Deputies passed the …

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EPA Set to Release New Mercury and Air Toxics Regulations

Later this afternoon – at 2pm ET –  EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson is expected to announce EPA’s new regulations on mercury and toxic pollution from coal-fired power plants. EPA is developing the air toxics emissions standards for power plants under the Clean Air Act (Section 112), consistent with the D.C. Circuit’s opinion (PDF) regarding …

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