Focus

Oil industry takes hydraulic fracturing case to Supreme Court

E&E News – January 26

The fossil fuel industry is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a legal battle over hydraulic fracturing off the California coast — a fight companies say carries “enormous practical and legal significance.” This Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon Mobil Corp., and DCOR LLC filed a petition to reverse a 2022 ruling from a lower court that upheld a ban on all new permits for unconventional oil production methods on the Pacific outer continental shelf. A ruling by the Supreme Court could have significant implications for the pace of the nation’s transition away from fossil fuels. The Pacific outer continental shelf is estimated to contain about 10 billion barrels of untapped oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of untapped natural gas.

News

California proposes banning use of hexavalent chromium

Los Angeles Times – January 26

Citing the health risks of airborne emissions of hexavalent chromium generated during chrome plating processes and the disproportionate impacts of such emissions on low-income communities, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed banning the use in California of hexavalent chromium (sometimes called “chrome-6”) in decorative plating by 2027. The rule would also prohibit the chemical’s use for industrial durability — such as providing anti-corrosive coatings — by 2039. CARB will vote on the final proposal in May.

EPA proposes further leachate regulations after study finds PFAS at 95% of surveyed landfills

Waste Dive – January 24

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to develop new effluent limitation guidelines and pretreatment standards for landfill leachate due to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The agency regularly updates its effluent limitation guidelines, which are its national wastewater discharge standards. The newest version, Plan 15, calls for updating standards in the landfills category based on evidence that leachate effluent can discharge PFAS to nearby surface waters and publicly owned treatment works. The recommendation is based on a 2021 study of 200 landfills showing that PFAS was present in leachate at 95% of the locations.

White House aims to reflect the environment in economic data

The New York Times – January 20

Last Thursday, the Biden administration unveiled an effort to create a system for assessing the economic worth of healthy ecosystems to humanity. The results could inform governmental decisions on which industries to support, which natural resources to preserve, and which regulations to pass. In the past, such undertakings have been politically contentious, as conservatives and industry groups have fought data collection that they saw as an impetus to regulation. A White House report said the effort would take about 15 years.

EPA considers tougher regulation of livestock farm pollution

Associated Press – January 23

EPA will study whether to strengthen regulation of large livestock farms that release manure and other pollutants into waterways. EPA has not revised its rules dealing with the nation’s largest animal operations, which hold thousands of hogs, chickens, and cattle, since 2008. Under the Clean Water Act, EPA regulates large farms known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (“CAFOs”) under federal permits. Federal law, however, requires only those facilities known to discharge waste to obtain permits. EPA’s most recent tally shows that only 6,266 of the nation’s 21,237 CAFOs have such permits. In deciding whether to revise the rules, EPA said it would consider how well they are controlling pollution and how changing them would bring improvements.

Endangered species success stories touted off Southern California coast

Courthouse News Service – January 24

The San Clemente Island Bell’s sparrow has been removed from the endangered species list, along with four plants only found on the U.S. Navy-owned island in Southern California, thanks to population recovery. San Clemente Bell’s sparrows are small, grayish-brown birds with distinct black streaks and white eye rings. The species was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1977, declining to 38 known individuals by 1984. A celebratory announcement came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this Tuesday, highlighting the agency’s collaboration with the U.S. Navy over the last 40 years to preserve the five species under the Endangered Species Act.

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