As part of the measures following from US President Donald Trump’s executive order issued back in March calling for the easing of “regulatory burdens” on the energy industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency will be reviewing the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, amongst others, it was announced last Wednesday.
Specifically, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be reviewing how the two bedrock laws in question, as well as others, impact the energy industry and recent job losses. The aim is apparently to “reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens” on business.
“We are working to curb unnecessary and duplicative regulatory burdens that do not serve the American people,” explained EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in a statement.
The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank’s (IBank) board of directors on Oct. 25 approved a new Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Fund Program and an expanded microloan program to assist businesses affected by the wildfires in Sonoma County and other state declared disaster areas at Tuesday’s meeting in Sacramento.
A new option has entered the discussion of Delta water supplies: one cross-Delta tunnel instead of two.
Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is an environmental pathogen that can contaminate foods and cause a mild, non-invasive illness (listerial gastroenteritis) or a severe, invasive illness (listeriosis). Although the number of outbreaks and illnesses from this pathogen are not high compared with other pathogenic organisms, such as Salmonella, listeriosis is considered to be a significant foodborne pathogen since the illness outcome is severe and the fatality rate is high.
You have undoubtedly heard of the controversy concerning the regulatory redefinition of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It relates to the extent of the jurisdiction of federal versus state regulations relating to the Clean Water Act (CWA) implementation. It is an extremely complex and convoluted legal and policy issue. The resolution might have an impact on wastewater discharges from some of your facilities, so it might be worth at least keeping track of the legal and regulatory issues, especially if the outcome might affect your business. Certainly, hundreds of state, federal and industry lawyers, judges and their staffs have been engaged in the action. It will probably be decided ultimately by the U.S. Supreme Court.