News
Biden administration finalizes rule to streamline federal environmental review
 Courthouse News Service – April 30
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Tuesday finalized a rule to simplify and modernize the federal environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The so-called Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule implements numerous provisions that were included in last year's Fiscal Responsibility Act, CEQ said, such as giving agencies clear deadlines to complete environmental reviews; requiring designation of a lead agency (and setting specific expectations for lead and cooperating agencies); and creating a unified and coordinated federal review process. The rule establishes new and more flexible methods for agencies to create categorical exclusions, which is the fastest form of environmental review for activities that are deemed to have no adverse impact on the environment, ranging from solar storage and electric vehicle charging infrastructure to transmission improvements and broadband deployment.
Feds, state accuse San Francisco of dumping sewage into bay, ocean for years
San Francisco Chronicle – May 2
The federal and state governments on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City and County of San Francisco, alleging the city has been discharging large amounts of untreated wastewater and sewage into the San Francisco Bay and the ocean for many years in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and state environmental laws thereby endangering beach-goers and aquatic life. According to the lawsuit filed by EPA and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, “[s]ince 2016, the [c]ity has discharged an average of 1.8 billion gallons of combined sewage, which includes untreated sewage, each year from its combined sewer systems into the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.” The suit seeks court orders requiring the city to change its practices, and hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties.
Lawsuit appears to be in peril for California children harmed by climate change
Los Angeles Times – May 1
Eighteen California children who allege the United States’ climate policies intentionally discriminate against minors appeared in a California federal court this week with their landmark lawsuit in jeopardy. The children, ages 8 through 17, sued the U.S. government and the federal EPA for violating their constitutional rights, claiming the nation’s environmental policies have allowed dangerous levels of greenhouse gases to be released and accumulate in the atmosphere, knowing these emissions will endanger the children’s well-being and future. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys this week petitioned a federal judge in California to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing in part that the court did not have the authority to make sweeping public policy changes. In the coming weeks, the court is expected to rule on whether the case can proceed to trial. The outcome likely will be guided by a recent Ninth Circuit ruling, also on May 1, granting the federal government’s petition to dismiss a similar case filed in Oregon without any opportunity to amend.
EPA bans consumer use of a chemical widely used as a paint stripper but known to cause cancer
Associated Press – April 30
EPA on Tuesday said that it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems. The rule banning methylene chloride is the second risk management rule to be finalized by President Joe Biden’s administration under landmark 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The first was an action last month to ban asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads, and other products.
Biden is spending another $3 billion to replace lead pipes. Some experts say it’s not enough.
The Washington Post – May 2
The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it will start distributing an additional $3 billion to communities across the country to replace lead pipes, part of a massive push to overhaul the nation’s drinking water system. The allotment is the latest round of funding promised under the bipartisan infrastructure law, which is scheduled to dole out $15 billion to states over five years to update the country’s aging infrastructure and eliminate lead service pipes. There are two more scheduled installments under President Biden’s plan, which has to date allocated $9 billion — enough to replace up to 1.7 million lead pipes, the administration said.
Biden expands San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, adds forest rangers, funding
Los Angeles Daily News – May 2
President Joe Biden added nearly 106,000 acres to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument on Thursday, expanding the monument designated 10 years ago by President Barack Obama by nearly one-third, the White House reported. Biden also approved a 13,696-acre expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument north of Sacramento. Along with the expansion of the SGM monument, Biden promised additional resources for the area known as “L.A.’s backyard playground,” located within 90 minutes of 18 million Southern Californians. The Angeles National Forest received nearly 4.6 million visitors in 2021, more annual visitors than Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks.
|
