Regulation
Mick Jagger on Chemical Reform
Vermont’s new chemical program looks to be a mixed bag
Vermont just joined the posse of states taking chemical regulation reform into their own hands in the face of inaction in Congress. Last week the Green Mountain State enacted a new law covering chemicals in children’s products. (A children’s product is defined as “any consumer product, marketed for use by, marketed to, sold, offered for …
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CONTINUE READINGUARG Decision — Due Any Day Now — Should Not Undermine the Legality of CAA Section 111d Rules
Case involves statutory interpretation questions not relevant to power plant rules
The U.S. Supreme Court should issue a decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) v. EPA very soon, perhaps as early as Monday (the Court typically issues its opinions on Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. EST). The case involves an important set of regulations designed to regulate greenhouse gases from large new “sources” (industrial facilities, chemical …
CONTINUE READINGDoes OIRA Live Up To Its Own Standards?
OIRA should conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its own activities and explore alternatives to its current oversight methods.
A White House office called OIRA polices regulations by other agencies in the executive branch. OIRA essentially performs the role of a traditional regulator – it issues regulations that bind other agencies, and agencies need OIRA approval before they can issue their own regulations. Essentially, then OIRA regulates agencies like EPA the same way that …
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CONTINUE READINGAnd Now For Something Completely Different: Chemical Facility Safety?
For the past few days we have all been focused—justifiably—on the EPA’s proposed carbon rule for power plants. But that’s not all EPA and the rest of the federal government have been up to recently. Today a federal interagency working group established under Executive Order 13650, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security (“EO 13650”) issued …
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CONTINUE READINGLegislative Tantrums Over EPA’s Proposed Carbon Rule
Politico reports that eight state legislatures have passed bills protesting EPA’s proposed power plant regulation, in at least one case refusing to comply with any eventual regulations. This was a childish tantrum rather than an adult response. The ultimate hope, according to Politico, is that many states will refuse to submit compliance plans, and that this …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia, climate change, and 111d
Four things the Golden State will note about EPA’s power plant proposal
Here are four aspects of the 111d proposal of particular note to Legal Planet’s home state. (1) California played a key role in helping to inspire — and to justify as lawful — EPA’s building-blocks approach to setting state goals. EPA frequently refers to California’s suite of successful greenhouse gas mitigation programs as a partial model for …
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CONTINUE READINGJudicial “Smoke Signals” and the 111(d) Rule
In an earlier post, I suggested that EPA’s decision about how broadly to write the final version of the 111(d) rule might be affected by the Supreme Court’s decision in the pending UARG case. I made the suggestion without much explanation, and it apparently didn’t come across very clearly. So I thought it would be worth …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Legal Basis for the 111(d) Rule
EPA has structured the rules to protect against legal challenges.
Megan has done a great job of explaining the background of the rules and summarizing the proposal in her blog posts. I just wanted to add a quick note about how EPA has structured its rules in light of possible legal challenges. The fundamental issue facing EPA is how to define the “best system” for reducing …
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CONTINUE READINGObama’s Section 111d Plan Has Support From George H.W. Bush’s EPA General Counsel, Utility Executives
E. Donald Elliott calls EPA’s approach
When President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency releases its Clean Air Act Section 111(d) regulations to control greenhouse gases emitted by the electricity sector on Monday, we can expect howls of protest from the usual suspects: Congressional Republicans, industry groups representing big coal interests, even some coal-state Democrats. But the Obama approach is already receiving praise …
CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Kate Konschnik: EPA’s 111(d) Authority – Follow Homer and Avoid the Sirens
Kate Konschnik is the Director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental Policy Initiative. The views expressed in this blog post are her own. Thirty years ago, Chevron v. NRDC set the standard for judicial deference to an agency’s statutory interpretation. In that case, the Supreme Court upheld EPA’s interpretation of Clean Air Act language. This month, …
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