News and Events Involving Environmental Law, Published by Chicago Environmental Attorney Dave Scriven-Young
of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. -- (312) 881-6309

U.S. EPA Publishes Spring 2011 Regulatory Agenda and Provides Glimpse of New Regulations

On July 7, 2011, U.S. EPA published in the Federal Register its 2011 Spring Regulatory Agenda. This document is interesting because it provides a look at U.S. EPA’s goals and how those goals are being met through the Agency’s regulations. The Regulatory Agenda identified “the five over-arching strategic goals and five cross-cutting fundamental strategies” for how U.S. EPA approaches its work.

The five strategic goals are: (1) taking action on climate change and improving air quality; (2) protecting America’s waters; (3) cleaning up communities and advancing sustainable development; (4) ensuring the safety of chemicals and preventing pollution; and (5) enforcing environmental laws. U.S. EPA’s five “fundamental cross-cutting strategies” are: (1) expanding the conversation on environmentalism; (2) working on environmental justice and children’s health; (3) advancing science, research, and technological innovation; (4) strengthening state, tribal, and international partnerships; and (5) strengthening the EPA’s workforce and capabilities.

EPA also says that it has begun conducting a retrospective review of existing significant regulations under President Obama’s recent Executive Order. The review is “intended to determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed, so as to make the Agency’s regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives.”

Finally, the Regulatory Agenda describes regulations that are in the pipeline, as well as those that have been proposed and finalized by the Agency under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

For example, the U.S. EPA identifies several regulations that it is working on but has not yet been formally proposed or finalized. These regulations include: emission limits for hazardous air pollutants emitted from brick and clay ceramic kilns and glazing operations, supplemental determinations for renewable fuels, changes to regulations that guide the certified pesticides applicator program, modifications to the minimum risk pesticide exemption, revisions to regulations guiding agricultural worker protection, financial responsibility requirements for the hard rock mining industry, and revisions to the storm water program.

This document gives us a glimpse into what U.S. EPA will be working on in the near future and how industry will be affected by environmental regulations.

Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments. To set up a free initial consultation to discuss your legal matter, please contact Dave Scriven-Young at (312) 239-9722 or dscriven-young@pecklaw.com.





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