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EPA Admits Making Math Error in Mercury Proposal
Posted by Greenwire: Gabriel Nelson on May 19th, 2011
Greenwire: After being taken to task by critics in the utility industry, U.S. EPA conceded yesterday that it made mathematical errors in newly proposed limits on mercury from coal-fired power plants.
The Utility Air Regulatory Group, a coalition of power companies that often challenges new Clean Air Act rules, recently claimed that "egregious errors" by EPA led to estimates that the cleanest power plants are releasing 1,000 times less mercury than they actually are. The mercury limits are one of the key...
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State Regulators List 33 Ways EPA Rules Aren’t Working
Posted by Greenwire: Gabriel Nelson on April 21st, 2011
Greenwire: If the administration is going to strip away some red tape, as President Obama said when he penned an executive order telling federal agencies to get rid of ineffective and outdated regulations, one group of top state officials has 33 good places for U.S. EPA to start.
The executive order, which was signed in January, asked the members of the public to air their grievances. So far, EPA alone has received nearly 1,500 comments on its rules, which have been placed under a microscope on Capitol Hill...
Judge Allows Mountaintop-Removal Lawsuit to Proceed
Posted by Greenwire: Gabriel Nelson on January 18th, 2011
Greenwire: Mining companies can proceed with their challenge to U.S. EPA's new policies on mountaintop-removal coal mining, a federal judge has ruled in a preliminary decision that says EPA may have exceeded its legal authority.
It appears EPA changed the permitting process for coal mines without following the usual procedural steps, says the ruling (pdf), which was issued Friday by Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The National Mining Association (NMA) and other...
EPA Plans to Revisit a Touchy Topic — the Value of Saved Lives
Posted by Greenwire: Gabriel Nelson on January 18th, 2011
Greenwire: How much would you pay to avoid a slight chance of death? Government economists think they have a pretty good idea, but they are thinking about a rebranding campaign to mend ties with the public, which has often bristled at the idea that bureaucrats might be putting a price on human lives. During a meeting this week in Washington, D.C., officials from U.S. EPA will meet with their economics advisers to discuss a planned makeover (pdf) for the process. At issue is the "value of a statistical life,"...