EPA

05/08/2008 -- Today California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement after meeting with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers' Board of Directors:

"I want to thank the automakers for meeting with me today. I believe there is an opportunity for us to be strong allies.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Photo courtesy California Governor's office

"In fact, California may be doing more to save the U.S. auto industry than anyone else because we are pushing them to change. The automakers need to have a long-range vision and develop the technology that will make them competitive in the world arena.    » read more »

May 7, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take additional measures to limit Americans’ exposure to lead air pollution.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, Senator Clinton urged the agency to limit lead levels in the air to no more than 0.20 micrograms per cubic meter as part of the new rule to improve the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead—the level recommended by both the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the EPA scientific staff.

Senator Hillary Clinton: Photo by Keith Kissel (CC)    » read more »

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Calls for Evaluation of Rising Food Prices, Expansion of New Feedstocks

May 5, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should uphold the ethanol standards passed by the energy bill with an expansion of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Earlier today, 23 Senate Republicans urged the agency to halt ethanol production expansion.    » read more »

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has announced that - days after he and U.S. Sen. Rosa DeLauro called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate the potential threats related to artificial turf - the agency has agreed to investigate.

Soccer players: Photo by Zach Stern (CC)    » read more »

04/24/2008 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined with 11 other governors in sending a letter to President Bush expressing disappointment that the administration has chosen not to support the states' efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Photo courtesy California Governor's office    » read more »

Senator Feinstein will continue to oppose any preemption efforts

April 23, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today stated that the Administration’s effort to preempt the right of California, and any other state, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes is “contrary to Congressional intent” and to the Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA.

Los Angeles smog: Photo by Ben Amstutz (CC)    » read more »

Excerpt Attached

April 22, 2008 -- LOS ANGELES -- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today attacked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new fuel economy rules, calling them “a covert assault” on California’s landmark tailpipe greenhouse gas regulations.

Old car exhausts: Photo by frumbert (CC)

“This fuel economy plan, while attractive on the surface, is a shameful and unlawful assault on California’s landmark vehicle emissions standards,” Attorney General Brown said.    » read more »

April 16, 2008 -- Oversight Committee Chairman Waxman issued a subpoena to compel the White House Office of Management and Budget to provide documents relating to EPA’s recent decision to establish ozone air quality standards that disregarded the recommendations of EPA staff and EPA’s independent scientific review committee.

Chairman Waxman made the following statement,

“Deadline after deadline has slipped and the White House has not provided the documents the Committee needs to understand what happened with this EPA rulemaking. We need these documents so that we can evaluate the President’s decision to overrule EPA and its panel of independent experts.”

Source: Oversight Committee

April 14 , 2008 -- Chicago – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today said that a Normal, Ill. construction company has pleaded guilty to its role in burying 55-gallon drums containing concrete sealer, hazardous waste and waste oil on property it leased in 2003.

Isaacson Construction, Inc. pleaded guilty on Thursday in McLean County Circuit Court to Reckless Disposal of Hazardous Waste and Criminal Damage to Property, both Class 4 felonies.

Waste drums: Photo by smitys (CC)    » read more »

April 09, 2008 -- Oversight Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman today issued a subpoena to compel EPA to provide unredacted copies of documents involving the White House that have been improperly withheld from the Committee regarding EPA’s decision to reject California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Tailpipe emissions: Photo by Simone Ramella (CC)

The subpoena compels production of approximately 100 EPA documents involving the White House. Chairman Waxman released the following statement:    » read more »

April 9, 2008 -- EPA today launched the Environmental Indicators Gateway Web site to provide enhanced public access to environmental and health information generated by EPA. Information is presented in the context of "environmental indicators," numerical values that provide insights into the status and trends of environmental and public health conditions over time. The Gateway establishes a single catalog of EPA's indicator work that allows browsing and searching among existing EPA Web sites and indicator materials. The site allows users to browse EPA's environmental indicator reports by geography, topic area, or time period.    » read more »

04/09/2008 -- The U.S. manufacturing sector spent $5.9 billion dollars on capital expenditures and $20.7 billion dollars on operating costs for pollution prevention and treatment in 2005. These figures represent less than five percent of total new capital expenditures and less than one percent of total revenue for the sector, respectively.    » read more »

Contest to reward reuse designs that save resources, costs

Atlanta, Ga., April 9, 2008 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partners are calling on the nation’s architects, builders, students and others to participate in the second Lifecycle Building Challenge. The competition seeks designs that facilitate building material adaptation and reuse, minimize waste, and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Ideas generated by the contest will jumpstart the building industry to help divert more of the 100 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris sent each year to landfills in the United States.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, April 9, 2008 -- Cleaner skies are coming to North Texas thanks to the robust participation of local businesses in the Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP).

TERP has awarded over $9 million in rebates to upgrade or replace 113 of the dirtiest heavy-duty diesel engines and diesel-powered equipment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The participation of a wide array of individuals and businesses from the agricultural, construction, hauling, trucking and related sectors will make it possible for North Texans to breathe cleaner air by preventing 931 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.    » read more »

States and environmental groups allege EPA ignores U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

April 2, 2008 -- Seventeen states including Iowa, and environmental advocacy groups are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to order the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action related to regulating greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

The petition asks the Court of Appeals to order the EPA to respond to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling exactly one year ago that required the EPA to make a decision on whether to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles under the federal Clean Air Act. One year after the Supreme Court ruling on April 2, 2007, the EPA has not issued a decision.    » read more »