[Source: East Bay Times] A pioneering rule approved by pollution regulators Wednesday aims to lessen the cancer risk from breathing air around Bay Area oil refineries, power plants, crematoria, sewer plants and many other businesses. An estimated 400 plants in nine counties are expected to be affected by the rule that requires reductions in toxic Read More…
Tag: regulations
Scott Pruitt blocks scientists with EPA funding from serving as agency advisers
[Source: The Washington Post] The head of the Environmental Protection Agency upended the agency’s key advisory groups on Tuesday, announcing plans to jettison scientists who have received EPA grants. The move sets in motion a fundamental shift, one that could change the scientific and technical advice that historically has guided the agency as it crafts Read More…
Small-business owners aren’t happy with government
[Source: L.A. BIZ] Washington’s ongoing showdown over tax reform appears to be doing little to buoy the nation’s small-business owners, a majority of whom say regulations and other aspects of government are far more important to their day-to-day operations. That’s according to a report released today by Thumbtack.com, a website that connects consumers with local Read More…
California leads the way in growth of climate change lawsuits
[Source: Capitol Public Radio] Lawsuits will help drive how climate change policy evolves in the years to come. More of those lawsuits are originating in California than any other state, according to a new study out of George Washington University. Not only is there a growing number of climate-change related lawsuits, but roughly 25 percent of Read More…
Stopping nasty smells at Rotterdam’s port
[Source: Port Technology] In the port of Rotterdam, work takes place to stop the unintentional release of all sorts of substances. Some gases are hazardous or irritating and not all gases are perceptible to human senses. An ‘e-nose’ (electronic nose) can do this and responds to changes in the composition of the air. The Port Read More…
Air regulators cite Russian consulate in San Francisco after mysterious illegal burning
[Source: The Mercury News] After the mysterious burning of materials at the Russian consulate on the eve of its closure earlier this month, Bay Area air quality investigators Tuesday formally cited the foreign government agency for violating burn restrictions, according to an official. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued the Notice of Violation Read More…
Requirement to collect pay data by race and gender halted
[Source: CalChamber] The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently issued an immediate stay of a rule that would have required private employers with more than 100 employees to report how much they pay employees by race, ethnicity and gender on their EEO-1 reports. “It’s enormously burdensome,” Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office Read More…
First-ever water tax proposed to tackle unsafe drinking water in California
[Source: The Mercury News] For the first time Californians would pay a tax on drinking water — 95 cents per month — under legislation aimed at fixing hundreds of public water systems with unsafe tap water. Senate Bill 623, backed by a strange-bedfellows coalition of the agricultural lobby and environmental groups but opposed by water districts, Read More…
Trump signs order rolling back environmental rules on infrastructure
[Source: The New York Times] President Trump announced on Tuesday that he had signed a sweeping executive order to eliminate and streamline some permitting regulations and to speed construction of roads, bridges and pipelines, declaring that the moves would fix a “badly broken” infrastructure system in America and bring manufacturing jobs back to the country. Read More…