epa

EPA to Announce Greenhouse Gases Pose Public Health Threat

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:41:33 -0500

Washington - The Environmental Protection Agency will announce Monday that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare, two senior administration officials told CNN.

The anticipated announcement by EPA administrator Lisa Jackson stems from a Supreme Court ruling which ordered the agency to determine the impact of carbon emissions not only on the environment, but on public health.

EPA Petitioned to Cap Carbon Dioxide Under the Clean Air Act

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:11:06 -0500

WASHINGTON, DC - Two advocacy groups have filed a petition asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set national limits for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. They say there is no need to wait for Congress to pass a law limiting greenhouse gases because the Clean Air Act already contains the comprehensive, science-based, flexible,and immediately available tools necessary to address the climate crisis.

It’s About Time: EPA to Probe Atrazine Again

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:03:34 -0400

by Margaret Krome

If Iowa hadn't exercised good judgment and supported Barack Obama in the caucuses nearly two years ago, I wouldn't have awakened in my Des Moines hotel last week and felt as grateful as I did.

For on the front page of the Des Moines Register last Thursday was the announcement that should have been made years ago. The Obama administration's Environmental Protection Agency is taking a U-turn and plans a yearlong investigation into the safety of the second most commonly used herbicide in the nation: atrazine.

In Reversal of Bush Policy, EPA Launches New Study of Atrazine’s Health Effects

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:21:24 -0400

by Danielle Ivory

The Environmental Protection Agency today reversed its stance on the potential hazards of atrazine, one of the most commonly-used herbicides in the country, saying it will re-examine how the chemical affects human health.

The Coalfield Uprising

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:03:02 -0400

by Jeff Biggers

When the Environmental Protection Agency declared this year on September 11 that all pending mountaintop removal mining permits in four Appalachian states stood in violation of the Clean Water Act and required further review, Lora Webb didn't have time to join in any celebrations. As she and her husband, Steve, a coal miner, packed up their possessions and left his family's ancestral property outside Lindytown, West Virginia, Lora was more concerned about finding a place to sleep that night.

EPA Wants More Oversight on Chemicals

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:29:33 -0400

by Kelly Zito

Tens of thousands of chemicals found in everyday items, from toys and cell phones to food containers and medical devices, would face high levels of federal scrutiny and control under a set of guidelines unveiled Tuesday in San Francisco by President Obama's top environmental official.

The effort to rewrite how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluates and enforces the use of potentially harmful chemicals marks the most significant overhaul of the nation's chemical policies since the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

Exelon to Quit Chamber Over Climate Bill

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:12:25 -0400

by Clifford Krauss and Kate Galbraith

Exelon, one of the country's largest utilities, said Monday that it would quit the United States Chamber of Commerce because of that group's stance on climate change. It was the latest in a string of companies to do so, perhaps a harbinger of how intense the fight over global warming legislation could become.

"The carbon-based free lunch is over," said John W. Rowe, Exelon's chief executive. "Breakthroughs on climate change and improving our society's energy efficiency are within reach."

EPA Gets Approval to Move Residents From Polluted Town

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:17:17 -0400

by Dion Lefler

Residents of Treece moved a step closer to being moved out of their lead-polluted town Thursday when the U.S. Senate approved an amendment to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to buy out and shut down the community.

The amendment was attached to the Interior and Environment Appropriations Act by Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, both R-Kan., and James Inhofe, R-Okla.

The bill passed the Senate on Thursday evening.

The Treece amendment "represents one of the rare instances of true bipartisan support," Roberts said.

EPA Turns the Lights on Mountaintop Removal

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:54:24 -0400

by Jeff Biggers

The Environmental Protection Agency made good on its promise today to assert greater scrutiny and "use the best science and follow the letter of the law" with regard to controversial mountaintop removal mining permits in the Appalachian coalfields. In a highly anticipated announcement, the agency declared that all seventy-nine pending permits in four states would "likely cause water quality impacts" and sent them on for additional review under the Clean Water Act.

Herbicide Maker Asks That Lobbying Be Excluded From Class Action Lawsuit

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:53:36 -0400

by Danielle Ivory

Lawyers representing the maker of the herbicide atrazine are asking that documents related to the company’s lobbying and trade association activities be excluded from a class action lawsuit being filed by some Illinois water utilities.