Laws & Regulations

Louisiana Flunks at Enforcing Air, Water Laws: EPA Inspector General

"Louisiana is among the worst states at enforcing federal clean air, clean water and hazardous waste laws, and the Environmental Protection Agency should either force Louisiana and fellow laggards to do a better job, or enforce the laws itself, according to a report released Monday by EPA’s inspector general."

Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, 12/13/2011

"MSHA Blocked Questions About Previous UBB Methane Incidents"

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- U.S. Labor Department officials blocked an independent state team investigating the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster from digging into questions about the federal government's response to earlier incidents where methane leaked from the Raleigh County operation's mine floor, newly disclosed records show."

Source: Charleston Gazette, 12/09/2011

"Drilling Regulators Pull Double Duty as Industry Promoters"

"State oil and gas agencies across the country are straining to prevent a flood of new drilling from harming human health and the environment. But that's not really their job. Or at least not all of it. Their job is also to promote drilling. And sometimes the law makes that their top priority."

Source: Greenwire, 12/01/2011

Calif. Law Keeps Public from Knowing About Dangerous Pipelines

The San Francisco Chronicle revealed almost all records of the state's Public Utilities Commission, which regulates pipelines, are secret — and the PUC typically asks permission from the utility companies before releasing any information. In most other states, such information is freely available to the public.

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"Behind Closed Doors" Reports on Secret Regulatory Process

The Center for Progressive Reform looked at public records on 1,080 meetings held between October 2001 and June 2011 between the White House Office of Management and Budget and lobbyists from various interest groups. Results show the Obama administration is as bad as the Bush administration when it comes to secret meetings with industry to weaken environmental health and safety regulations.

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December 9, 2011

EPA and the Economy: Seeing Green?

In this Environmental Law Institute seminar in Washington, DC  (and via teleconference), expert panelists will discuss the economic ramifications of EPA’s regulations, whether regulations create or kill jobs, and recent legislative attempts — such as the REINS Act, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011, and the use of the Congressional Review Act — to increase Congressional oversight and restrain EPA action.

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December 1, 2011

Federal Climate Change Adaptation: Current Efforts, Political Debates, and Future Potential

The Environmental Law Institute invites you to join University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Law professor Victor B. Flatt in Washington, DC (or via teleconference) for a review of what has happened so far in climate change adaptation at the federal level, what legal authority exists for further adaptation policy, and the current political debate surrounding the issue which could affect federal policy making.

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November 30, 2011

Harnessing NEPA to Manage Cumulative Impacts in the Ocean

This Environmental Law Institute seminar in Washington, DC (and via teleconference) will bring together experts to discuss methods for improving cumulative environmental impacts analysis and utilizing NEPA to enhance ecosystem-based, adaptive management of human activities in the ocean.

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November 30, 2011

TSCA Reform Series: Risk Management

This webinar, convened by the Environmental Law Institute, will examine reform of EPA authorities to control the sale, distribution, releases and use of chemicals. Topics to be addressed include: standard of proof; the role of cost/benefit analysis; private firm obligations; approaches to new technologies such as nanotech; and role of downstream users of chemicals.

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