• • History of the Clean Water Act

  History of the Clean Water Act

  Sep. 12, 2019  (EPA)- The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was the first major U.S. law to address water pollution. Growing public awareness and concern for controlling water pollution led to sweeping amendments in 1972. As amended in 1972, the law became commonly known as the Clean Water Act (CWA).

  The 1972 amendments:
  
  • Established basic structure for regulating discharges into the waters of the U.S.
  • Gave EPA the authority including setting wastewater standards for industry
  • Maintained requirements for water quality standards
  • Illegalized discharge any pollutant into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions
  • Funded the construction of sewage treatment plants
  • Recognized the need for planning to address the critical source pollution problems

  Click now for a full explanation.

• • Is Ethanol Really a Good Idea?

  Food Vs. Fuel: What
  Trump's Ethanol Policy
  Means For The Food System

  Forbes Magazine -The EPA moved forward with President Trump’s directive to lift a federal ban on high ethanol blended gas during the summer months, though not quickly enough for Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who Reuters reports is urging the EPA to lift the ban on a much quicker timeline.

  Lifting the ban is a policy shift that’s being celebrated by large-scale corn growers and decried by biofuel opponents. But the policy has implications for the food system too, as many food system reformers say the last thing U.S. farmers should be growing is more corn.

  Surprised? Click now for the story.

• • EPA to Halt Fuel Economy Standards

  California Getting Ready
  to Fight Back

  Mar. 29, 2018 - The Trump administration is poised to abandon America's pioneering fuel economy targets for cars and SUVs, a move that would undermine one of the world's most aggressive programs to confront climate change and invite another major confrontation with California.

  The EPA is expected to announce in the coming days that it will scrap mileage targets the Obama administration drafted in tandem with California that aim to boost average fuel economy for passenger cars and SUVs to 55 miles per gallon by 2025, according to people familiar with the plans.

  Click now for the LA Times story.

• • The E.P.A is a Sinking Ship

  E.P.A. Officials,
  Disheartened by Agency’s
  Direction, Are Leaving in Droves

  Dec. 22, 2018 - More than 700 people have left the Environmental Protection Agency since President Trump took office, a wave of departures that puts the administration nearly a quarter of the way toward its goal of shrinking the agency to levels last seen during the Reagan administration.

  Click now for the New York Times/ProPublica story.

• • How Low Can the EPA Go?

  EPA Reverses Policy on
  'Major Sources' of Pollution

  Jan. 25, 2018 - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it was withdrawing a provision of the Clean Air Act that requires a major source of pollution like a power plant to always be treated as a major source, even if it makes changes to reduce emissions.

  The decision to withdraw the "once-in always-in" policy is part of President Donald Trump's effort to roll back federal regulations and was sought by utilities, the petroleum industry and others. Never mind about the health of the American people.

  Click now for the story.

• • Trump Imposes Tariffs on PV Imports

  30% Tariff Disappoints
  Trade Industry

  Jan. 22, 2018 - Trump has agreed to a recommendation by the International Trade Commission (ITC) to grant U.S. solar manufacturers relief from unfair trade practices in the form of tariffs on solar cells and modules imported to the U.S.

  This will hurt the solar industry which currently employs over 250,000 workers.

  Click now for the story
  from Renewable Energy World.

• • Fed. Compromise on Anti-PACE Law

  Industry, Lawmakers Compromise
  on Anti-Property Assessed
  Clean Energy Legislation

  Dec. 27, 2017 - A financing program that’s let more than 180,000 homeowners pay for solar panels and clean-energy appliances through their local tax bills is poised to survive an effort by Republicans to add regulations that would have effectively shut it down.

  Click now to read more
  from Renewable Energy World.

• • The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

  Summary of the National
  Environmental Policy Act

  Originally Passed in 1968 (EPA) — NEPA was one of the first laws ever written that establishes the broad national framework for protecting our environment. NEPA's basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment.

  NEPA requirements are invoked when airports, buildings, military complexes, highways, parkland purchases, and other federal activities are proposed. Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), which are assessments of the likelihood of impacts from alternative courses of action, are required from all Federal agencies and are the most visible NEPA requirements.

  Click now for more,
  including a history of this act.

• • Shouldn’t We Abolish Fossil Fuel Subsidies?

  America Spends Over $20Bn Per
  Year On Fossil Fuel Subsidies.

  July 30, 2018 (The Guardian) -Imagine that instead of taxing cigarettes, America subsidized the tobacco industry in order to make each pack of smokes cheaper.

  A report from Oil Change International (OCI) investigated American energy industry subsidies and found that in 2015–2016, the federal government provided $14.7bn per year to the oil, gas, and coal industries, on top of $5.8bn of state-level incentives (globally, the figure is around $500bn). And the report only accounted for production subsidies, excluding consumption subsidies (support to consumers to lower the cost of fossil fuel use – another $14.5bn annually) as well as the costs of carbon and other fossil fuel pollutants.

  Click for the full story.

• • The D.O.E. Solar Decathlon

  How To Shine In The Solar Village

  October 6, 2017 - At noon Eastern Standard Time today — the second day of competition for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in Denver — the Northwestern University team was sitting in first place, according to scores released on the competition website.

  The Solar Village, where all 13 teams’ houses are standing for the competition, is now open to the public.

  With scoring under way on three of the 10 competition categories — Heath & Comfort, Appliances, and Home Life — Northwestern was tied with Swiss Team and UC Berkeley/U of Denver on the three segments in Health & Comfort — temperature, humidity and indoor air quality.

• • Budget Slashed for Clean Energy

  Trump’s Budget Expected
  to Massively Slash Research
  On Renewable Energy
  — And ‘Clean Coal’

  May 18, 2017 -The Trump administration is expected to propose massive cuts to federal government research on wind and solar energy next week, according to current and former Energy Department officials familiar with budget discussions.

  The department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), which funds research on advanced vehicles as well as other aspects of clean energy, would face a roughly 70 percent cut in 2018, carving about $ 1.45 billion from its $2.09 billion 2017 budget.

• • The SunShot Initiative

  What is the SunShot Initiative?

  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office focuses on achieving the goals of the SunShot Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of the decade.

• • The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

  Notes from the Solar Underground:
  US Solar’s Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

  The global solar industry relies on mandate. Let's hope it doesn't go away.

• • Carbon Tax Center

  What is the Carbon Tax Center?

  Why revenue-neutral carbon taxes are essential,what’s happening now, and how you can help.

  In a carbon-constrained world, a permanent U.S. carbon tax is essential to reduce emissions that drive global warming.

• • EPA Awards $2.23 Million For “Clean Diesel” Projects

  Clean Diesel? Yeah, Right

  (CleanTechnica), Oct. 27, 2020 -If you thought “clean diesel” was a scam long left in our automotive past, you haven’t met the Donald Trump “Environmental Protection Agency” being run by former fossil fuel lobbyist Andrew Wheeler.

  The EPA is awarding over $2.23 million for supposed “clean diesel” projects in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Nine organizations in EPA Region 7 were chosen to receive the funding from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants Program funding.

  EPA Administrator and former fossil fuel lobbyist Andrew Wheeler announced over $73 million in grants and funding were expected to be awarded to support numerous “clean diesel” programs and projects across the country at both the state and local level.

  
  Click now to cheer them on (NOT).
• • EPA Reapproves Dozens of Ultra-toxic Pesticides

  Some of World’s Most Dangerous Pesticides Were Included

  (Center for Biological Diversity), Oct. 22, 2020 -The Environmental Protection Agency reapproved dozens of toxic pesticides today that are known to cause serious harm to people, wildlife and the environment.

  The pesticide reapprovals, known as interim decisions, finalize the EPA’s own assessments of human and environmental impacts, which have found far-ranging harms from these chemicals.

  The hasty reapprovals include paraquat, which is extremely toxic to people and has been shown to double the risk of Parkinson’s disease in farmworkers. They also include most of the extremely dangerous pyrethroid insecticides that are linked to autism, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and are highly toxic to pollinators and fish.

  
  Click now for more.
• • EPA: Radioactive Road Surfaces Are Good For Your Health

  EPA Approves Use of Radioactive Phosphogypsum in Roads

  Lisa Friedman,(Tampa Bay Times), Oct. 14, 2020 -Reversing a strict, decades-old policy, the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced it will allow limited use of a radioactive byproduct of phosphate mining to build roads.

  Supported by the fertilizer industry, the change holds major ramifications for Florida, at the core of America’s phosphate production. A billion tons of the solid substance, phosphogypsum, sits piled in high mounds called stacks, including several around greater Tampa Bay.

  “The approval of this request means that phosphogypsum, which already requires significant engineering and regulatory controls to be disposed of in stacks, can now be put to productive use rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure,” said the agency’s administrator, Andrew Wheeler, citing a “commitment to working with industry in a way that both reduces environmental waste and protects public health."

  
  Click now for the story.
• • New Jersey Legislature: No More Neonics

  An Important Step in
  Preventing Bee Die-Off

  (Environment New Jersey), Oct. 8, 2020 -The New Jersey Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee just passed legislation (A2070) by a 4-1-1 vote to classify neonicotinoids, AKA neonics, as restricted use pesticides and establish a list of chemicals belonging to this class of pesticides.

  New Jersey is on its way to joining other states, including Maryland, Connecticut and Vermont, that have implemented similar restrictions on neonics.The restriction would limit application of the pesticide to certified and licensed applicators, removing use in non-agricultural settings such as gardens, lawns and golf courses.

  
  Click now to get a buzz.
• • Energy Innovation Act

  100+ Local Governments Support It

  National Resources Defense Council(NRDC), Aug. 10, 2020 -One of the most powerful actions our volunteers are taking, even during the pandemic, is generating local government resolutions in support of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. We can think of local government resolutions as “endorsements on steroids,” since they are made on behalf of the entire population of a village, town, city, county or tribal entity and send a strong signal of support to our members of Congress.

  As of last week, with the addition of the Town Council of Chapel Hill, NC, CCL volunteers have been successful in passing 100 municipal, county and tribal resolutions in support of the Energy Innovation Act in 25 states across the country. These local governments represent a total population of 21,567,912. From small towns to large cities and counties, it’s clear that local governments are ready to push forward on climate action, even under difficult conditions, and that they are asking Congress to join them by enacting legislation which puts a national price on carbon and returns the net revenue to citizens.

• • Intensive Oil and Gas Drilling Permitted
  Around Chaco Culture National Historical Park

  Beloved Dark-Sky Park
  Lost to Oil and gas Drilling

  (SKYTRUTH), Aug. 6, 2020 - Reminders of an ancient civilization dominate the desert landscape in northwestern New Mexico. Ruins of massive stone “Great Houses,” once several stories high with hundreds of rooms, remain at Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

  Their complexity and numbers reveal that a sophisticated culture thrived in this place a thousand years ago. Descendants of those native peoples — today’s Pueblo tribes and several Navajo clans — say that Chaco was a central gathering place where people shared ceremonies, traditions, and knowledge. Yet much about Chaco remains a mystery. During the late 1200s, construction of buildings and monuments slowed and the Chacoan people moved from the area. However, Chaco is still considered to be a spiritual and sacred place by many Native Americans.

  Parts of Chaco were first designated as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. Eighty years later the United Nations recognized the monument as a World Heritage Site because of its unique cultural significance.

  
  Click now for the story and graphs.
• • The Inspector General Giving the E.P.A. a Conscience?

  E.P.A. Inspector General to Inves-
  tigate Trump’s Biggest Climate Rollback

  July 27, 2020,(NY Times Climate Forward)-The Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog said Monday it had opened an investigation into the agency’s weakening of Obama-era regulations that would have limited automobile emissions by significantly raising fuel economy standards.

  The inspector general demanded that top E.P.A. officials turn over briefing materials and other documents pertaining to the regulation, which was finalized in late March as the Trump administration’s single largest rollback of federal climate change rules.

  Click now to read all about it.

• • States Vs. Trump on Water Rule Rollback

  In Latest Lawsuit, U.S.
  States Take on Trump
  EPA for Water Rule Rollback

  July 21, 2020,( REUTERS )-California, New York and Washington on Tuesday filed a lawsuit with 17 other states against the Trump administration for undercutting their ability to deny permits for projects that could harm their waterways.

  California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in the Northern District court of California against the Environmental Protection Agency, which last month finalized a rule limiting state powers to block energy infrastructure projects by curtailing their authority under the Clean Water Act.

• • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acts Wisely

  Dismissing New England Ratepayers Association Petition

  July 16, 2020,(Environment America) -The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) dismissed a petition Thursday from the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) that threatened crucial state net metering policies and states’ long-held jurisdiction over solar rights.

  This decision comes after more than 57,000 comments from utility commissions, advocacy organizations, state officials, members of Congress and the public were submitted in opposition to the petition. In contrast, there were only 22 public comments in support of the NERA petition.

• • Wildlife Services Is Not Helping

  The Secretive Government Agency Plants
  'Cyanide Bombs' Across the US

  June 26, 2020,(The Guardian) -Wildlife Services kills thousands of animals at ranchers and farmers’ behest. But it operates with little oversight – and critics describe it as out of control

  The call came over Tony Manu’s police radio one March day in 2017: some sort of pipe had exploded in the hills outside Pocatello, Idaho and the son of a well-known local doctor was hurt, or worse.

  Manu, a long-time detective with the county sheriff’s office, was shocked. A pipe bomb in Pocatello?

• • Atlantic Coast Pipeline-1, Appalachian Trail-0

  Supreme Court Hands Win to
  Atlantic Coast Pipeline

  June 15, 2020,(National Resources Defense Council(NRDC)) -In a 7–2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with developers of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline today, ruling that the proposed project can legally cross underneath a federally owned portion of the Appalachian Trail. Despite the setback for environmental groups and the roughly three million people who hike parts of the treasured trail each year, the court’s ruling only impacts one of the project’s multiple required permits—many of which have not yet been granted.

  “This decision doesn’t green-light or advance the dangerous Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” says Gillian Gianetti, an attorney in NRDC’s Climate & Clean Energy Program who helped prepare an amicus brief against the pipeline developers. “The fact remains that the developers cannot move ahead without securing eight crucial federal and state permits required for construction—concerning air pollution, endangered species, rights of way, and clean water.”

• • Can We PLEASE Prevent Trump from Nuking Hurricanes?

  Bill Introduced That
  Would Prevent the President
  from Nuking Hurricanes

  (Nextgov.com)June 4, 2020, -Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, on Monday unveiled legislation that would forbid President Trump from dropping nuclear bombs into hurricanes to disrupt their paths and stop them from hitting the U.S., a recommendation the president reportedly made to advisers last year.

  Introduced on the first day of the 2020 hurricane season, Garcia’s Climate Change and Hurricane Correlation and Strategy Act would require the administration to produce and submit to Congress a comprehensive government-led strategy and five annual reports that outline how to properly confront increasing hurricane activity. Further, the legislation would also prohibit the president from unleashing any strategic weapon to alter weather patterns or respond to climate change.

  “Normally I wouldn’t think we’d need to legislate something so obvious, but given remarks this President made in August 2019, apparently, we do,” Garcia said in a statement. “Such use would result in radioactive fallout and cause significant public health and environmental harm.”

• • Trump Land Rule: Ok to Kill Bear Cubs in their Dens

  New Trump Public Land
  Rules Will Let Alaska Hunters
  Kill Bear Cubs in Dens

  May 29, 2020 (The Guardian)- The Trump administration is finalizing rules that will allow hunters in Alaska’s national preserves to shoot bears and wolves, and their cubs and pups, while they are in their dens.

  The National Park Service is reversing regulations written by the Barack Obama administration, which banned some of the much-criticized practices for hunting the predators, including luring bears with food like doughnuts.

  Jesse Prentice-Dunn, policy director for the Center for Western Priorities, called the rule change “amazingly cruel” and said it was “just the latest in a string of efforts to reduce protections for America’s wildlife at the behest of oil companies and trophy hunters”.

  The park service’s deputy director, David Vela, said the change would “more closely align hunting and trapping regulations with those established by the state of Alaska”.

• • Sorry Oil Companies - Gimme' Shelter Won't Work for You

  States Sue EPA Over Emissions Rollback
  9th Circuit Refuses To Allow
  Oil Companies To Seek Shelter

  May 28, 2020 (CleanTechnica)-Litigation is a poor way to handle policy disputes. It takes forever, the appeals never end, and the results are often a mishmash that satisfy none of the litigants. Nevertheless, sometimes going to court is the only option available when everything else fails. We have followed the long and tortured history of how the Environmental Protection Agency, under first Scott Pruitt and later Andrew Wheeler, has tried every trick in the book to invalidate the exhaust emissions standards for cars and light trucks put in place by Barack Obama.

  The new rules have finally been made official. Now a coalition of states and cities has filed suit in federal court to block those rules from taking effect.

  The legal action is spearheaded by California, but includes the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington as well at the District of Columbia and the cities of Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Denver.

• • "Not So Fast, Keystone Pipeline," a Judge Says

  Major Blow to Keystone XL Pipe-
  line as Judge Revokes Key Permit

  May 28, 2020 (The Guardian)- The controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline has been dealt a major setback, after a judge revoked a key permit issued by the US army corps of engineers without properly assessing the impact on endangered species.

  In a legal challenge brought by a coalition of environmental groups, a federal judge in Montana ordered the army corps to suspend all filling and dredging activities until it conducts formal consultations compliant with the Endangered Species Act.

  The ruling revokes the water-crossing permit needed to complete construction of the pipeline, and is expected to cause major delays to the divisive project.

• • Rolling Back the Trump Fuel Emissions Rollbacks

  Oregon And Washington Join
  Multi-State Lawsuit Over
  Federal Fuel Emissions Rollback

  May 27, 2020 (Oregon Public Broadcasting)-Oregon and Washington have joined 26 states and cities in suing the Trump administration over a new rule that weakens emission standards for cars and trucks.

  In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the states argue the new federal rule relaxing fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks isn’t scientifically sound, increases public health risks and violates the federal Clean Air Act.

  In a statement, Washington Department of Ecology Director Laura Watson said the federal government “cooked the books” in its rush to pass a rule that was “rife with flawed science, shaky math, and faulty conclusions.”

  Environmental regulators in Oregon and Washington say the rule undermines their ability to reach state goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.

• • New Jersey Legislature: No More Neonics

  An Important Step in Preventing Bee Die-Off

  (Environment New Jersey), Oct. 8, 2020 -The New Jersey Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee just passed legislation (A2070) by a 4-1-1 vote to classify neonicotinoids, AKA neonics, as restricted use pesticides and establish a list of chemicals belonging to this class of pesticides.

  New Jersey is on its way to joining other states, including Maryland, Connecticut and Vermont, that have implemented similar restrictions on neonics.The restriction would limit application of the pesticide to certified and licensed applicators, removing use in non-agricultural settings such as gardens, lawns and golf courses.

  
  Click now to get a buzz.
• • What's a Little Rocket Fuel In Your Drinking Water?

  EPA Won’t Regulate Rocket
  Fuel Additive Perchlorate

  May 14, 2020,(THE HILL)-The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not set a limit on a chemical used in rocket fuel that has been linked with brain damage, The New York Times reported Thursday, though the agency said it has not yet made a final decision on the rule.

  The EPA in May 2019 proposed limits for perchlorate in drinking water that critics said were 10 to 50 times higher than what experts recommend.

  A court order required the EPA to set a new perchlorate standard by June, but according to the Times, the agency plans to send a rule to the Office of Management and Budget arguing any regulation of the substance is unnecessary.

  Click now to read all about it.

• • Germany and the UK Have Learned Something From the Coronavirus

  Germany and the UK Call For Green Stimulus After the Coronavirus Crisis

  Apr. 29, 2020 (ZME SCIENCE) -With the coronavirus epidemic affecting a large part of the world, many are starting to think of the day after and the need to get the economy back on track. The lockdown in most countries has affected businesses across-the-board, putting jobs at risk.

  Activists, academics, and politicians are drawing attention to the need for the economic recovery to be a green one that can help the world to tackle climate change — with some of the most recent claims coming from Germany and the UK.

  Speaking in a virtual climate conference, Germany’s Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said economic recovery programs should invest in future-proof jobs that would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, rather than aim for a return to business as usual.

• • Coronavirus Could Raise Cities’ Risk for Climate Disasters

  Here's How

  Apr. 24, 2020 (NY Times Climate Forward) -WASHINGTON — The economic toll of the coronavirus is forcing cities and states to redirect money away from projects that provide climate resilience, in a shift that threatens to tackle one crisis at the expense of another.

  Officials in San Francisco, Miami Beach and New York City have said they are likely to delay climate-related projects like sea walls because of the virus, which has slashed tax revenue and increased demands for emergency services, housing and other immediate needs. Washington State has cut funding for resilience projects, and people who work on climate adaptation in other cities and states said they worried about similar cuts.

• • Solar Support in the Next Relief Bill - What a Bright Idea

  Why 30 million
  Solar Rooftops Should
  Be In the Next Relief Bill

  Apr. 14, 2020 (Renewable Energy World) -As the federal government looks to a second (or even third) stimulus bill, Congress should consider a huge opportunity to pay Americans that pays back: solar rooftops. More than one in three home or business rooftops in America is suitable for solar; sunny with sufficient space to host a few panels. By investing $450 billion in rooftop solar, the federal government could slash energy bills for Americans, cut air pollution and create over 3.7 million jobs. The government could also get paid back.

  Rather than compounding the problems of the most recent stimulus bill, which was tilted heavily in favor of large corporations, this solution addresses local needs — for jobs, lower energy bills and sustainable energy sources — while promoting equitable, thriving American communities.

  This proposal could pay for itself.

• • The Clean Water Act: How is Doing Today?

  50 Years Ago, American
  Waterways Got More Protections

  Apr. 11, 2020 (Science News) -That bill laid the foundations for the Clean Water Act of 1972, establishing U.S. regulations for releasing pollutants into navigable waters. While the law protects “waters of the United States,” the definition of what “waters” meant remained vague until a 2015 regulation defined eight categories of protected waters, which included headwater streams, lakes and wetlands.

  President Donald Trump’s administration revised that definition in 2020 to exclude groundwater and some streams. The change also reduces the number of protected wetlands by roughly half.

• • A New Excuse For the EPA to Stop Protecting the Environment

  EPA Suspends Rules for
  Polluters Citing Coronavirus

  Mar. 27, 2020 (GreenAmerica) - On Thursday, the agency issued a memo essentially giving companies a pass on polluting, stating that it will not “seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations.”

  This announcement creates a loophole for companies to pollute if they can cite the coronavirus as a reason for violating environmental laws.

  This uses COVID-19 as an excuse to allow polluters to stop following environmental rules set in place to protect human and environmental health. This new policy is “temporary,” but there is no end date set.

• • Climate and the $2 Trillion Stimulus Package

  How the $2 Trillion Stimulus
  Package Could Effect Climate

  Mar. 25, 2020 (NY Times Climate Forward) -The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday afternoon on a $2 trillion stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the provisions are a mixed bag for climate change.

  The measure does not include $3 billion for the government to buy oil and fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a provision sought by Republicans and President Trump. But it also does not have an extension of federal tax credits for wind and solar energy that Democrats had tried to attach.

  The package also has been stripped of language that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to include to require airlines receiving more than $50 billion in aid to cut greenhouse gas emissions, multiple lawmakers confirmed.

• • A New Rule Would End Penalties for Bird Deaths

  Ending Penalties for Bird Deaths

  Mar. 4, 2020 (Allegheny Front) -At more than 100 years old, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is considered the first conservation law in the United States. It protects over 1,000 species of birds from a host of threats, including disruption of nesting sites and illegal trade. Until recently, power companies and other industries could be prosecuted by the federal government for causing egregious bird deaths, even accidentally. Not anymore.

  In 2018, the Interior Department issued internal guidelines weakening the Act. And in January, the Department proposed a rule clarifying that only the intentional killing of birds would be prohibited under the act.

  This despite recent research that finds a nearly 30% decline in birds from North America – that’s a loss of nearly 3 billion birds – over the past 50 years.

  Click now to read
  or listen to the story.

• • PA to Join 10 States in Regional Cap-and-Trade Agreement

  Gov. Wolf’s Cap-and-Trade
  Proposal Takes a Step Forward

  Feb. 13, 2020 (Allegheny Front) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to have Pennsylvania join 10 other states in a regional cap-and-trade agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions ?is moving slowly through the vetting process.

  Wolf cast the agreement as a way to get the state on a clear path to cleaner air — and one he could launch unilaterally, thanks to the Clean Air Act.

  Many Republicans ?are challenging his authority to do that, and ?a number of energy companies oppose the plan.

  On Thursday, the Department of Environmental Protection released a draft of its proposed rules for the program, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Broadly, ?those rules would require polluters — coal-fired power plants in particular — to pay for their ?carbon emissions over a certain level.

• • Emitting Cancer-Causing Chemicals -Exceeding EPA Guidelines

  Ten U.S. Refineries
  Emit Cancer-Causing
  Chemical Above EPA Limits

  Feb. 6, 2020 (YaleEnvironment360)—Ten oil refineries in the United States are emitting levels of the pollutant benzene well above the federal government’s “action level” limit, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, an environmental watchdog group. Long-term exposure to benzene can cause blood disorders and leukemia, Reuters reported.

  Oil refineries with high levels of benzene are not technically breaking the law. But these facilities are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the pollutant and take action if levels exceed EPA’s limit of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged over a year. Benzene is a colorless or light yellow chemical that evaporates from gasoline and oil. Exposure to it can cause vomiting, headaches, anemia, and an increased risk of cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

State Agencies (continued)

Florida Dept. of
Environmental Protection

Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency

• 

Maine Department of
Environmental Protection

• 

Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection

• 

NJ Board of Public Utilities

NJ Department of
Environmental Protection

• 

NY: NYSERDA

Ohio EPA

• 

Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality

• 

PA Department of
Environmental Protection

• 

Sarasota County (Fla.) Government

Roadmap to Sustainability.

•