Focus
Biden administration to restore climate criteria to NEPA
The New York Times – October 6
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that it would restore climate change protections to the nation’s bedrock environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which former President Donald Trump had relaxed in an effort to speed the approval of projects like mines, pipelines, dams, and highways. The proposed changes would require the federal government to evaluate the climate change impacts of major new projects as part of the permitting process. The Trump administration had freed agencies from considering the ways in which a proposed project might lead to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions, requiring agencies to analyze only “reasonably foreseeable” impacts. The Biden administration published its proposed rule in the Federal Register on Thursday and will take public comments for 45 days.
|
News
California sets nation's strictest rules on recycling labels and bans PFAS in food packaging and products for infants and children
North Bay Business Journal – October 5
Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed into law nine bills aimed at reducing plastic waste and the use of PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in certain consumer products. One law, intended to reduce confusion about which items can properly be placed in curbside recycling bins, sets the nation's strictest standards for use of the “chasing arrows” recycling symbol. Governor Newsom also signed a bill that will ban the use of PFAS in food packaging starting January 1, 2023, and, by 2024, will require cookware manufacturers to disclose if hazardous materials are used in their products. A separate law signed by Newsom bars the use of PFAS in products intended for infants and children, such as cribs and playpens, starting July 1, 2023.
Orange County oil spill renews calls to ban offshore drilling
Los Angeles Times – October 5
A massive oil spill off the Orange County coast that was reported last Saturday and fouled beaches and ecologically sensitive wetlands has renewed calls to ban offshore drilling. The spill originated from a pipeline running from the Port of Long Beach to an offshore oil platform known as Elly. As much as 144,000 gallons of oil were released from the pipeline into the Catalina Channel, killing fish and birds and threatening sensitive marine habitats.
Companies to pay nearly $78M to clean California toxic sites
Associated Press – October 5
Settlements approved by a federal court on September 30 will provide nearly $78 million to clean up two Superfund sites in Los Angeles County and resolve lawsuits that have been pending for more than 30 years, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement. Pesticides and rubber products were once produced at the Montrose Chemical Corp. and Del Amo Superfund sites, located south of downtown Los Angeles. The two sites are among several former industrial areas in Southern California that are on the National Priorities List of sites with known releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.
Jury rejects Roundup cancer link in Los Angeles trial
Bloomberg Law – October 6
For the first time, Bayer AG prevailed at a trial involving claims that Roundup causes cancer. The decision came in a California case focusing on a child whose non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was blamed on the weed killer. A Los Angeles jury found on Tuesday that Bayer’s Monsanto unit was not liable for the boy’s cancer. Although Bayer has argued that numerous studies show Roundup is safe, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded the main ingredient in the product – glyphosate – is not a carcinogen, the company lost three earlier trials in the state and said in July it will set aside an additional $4.5 billion for all lawsuits tied to the herbicide. Another trial is underway in San Bernardino County. Roundup will be pulled from the U.S. consumer market in 2023.
President Biden will restore protections for Bears Ears and other monuments
NPR – October 7
President Joe Biden will restore the boundaries of Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts national monuments, the administration announced on Thursday. The Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase are located in Utah. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, off the New England coast, was established by former President Barack Obama in 2016 as the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. In 2017, then-President Donald Trump signed an executive order that dramatically downsized Bears Ears by 85% and cut Grand Staircase in half; it was the largest reversal of U.S. land monument protections in history.
|