Anthony Lacey

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing competing calls on its pending rule to designate two notorious “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances, with environmentalists pushing for swift issuance of the rule while industry groups are seeking exemptions to the plan.

Representatives from non-profits, water agencies, industrial sectors and more have met in recent weeks with officials from the EPA and the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) to discuss the proposed rule. In the meetings, groups have weighed in on whether or not they oppose the regulation, and offered data on several projected costs of the rule.

The Supreme Court has reinstated a Trump Environmental Protection Agency water quality certification rule that a federal district court judge had earlier vacated and sent back to the agency, reviving the regulation while an appeal over the prior ruling continues.

The district court’s October 21, 2021, order is stayed pending the conclusion of the appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and any future appeal to the Supreme Court of whatever the Ninth Circuit decides, according to an April 6 high court order.

As confirmation hearings get underway Monday for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, environmental advocates say her record provides a few clues as to how she might rule on key in energy and environmental cases as a justice.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to start the four-day nomination hearings for Jackson on Monday. If confirmed, she would be the first Black female Supreme Court justice.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing stricter standards to reduce greenhouse gases and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from model year (MY) 2027 and later heavy-duty vehicles and engines, and is seeking input on whether to issue even stricter rules in the future.

If finalized, the EPA estimates that the standards could cut truck NOx emissions by up to 60 percent in 2045, leading to as many as 2,100 fewer premature deaths, 6,700 fewer hospital admissions and emergency department visits, 78,000 fewer lost days of work, 18,000 fewer cases of asthma onset in children, and 1.1 fewer lost school days for children.

President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address largely sidestepped discussion of the climate crisis, despite the administration’s ambitious agenda that includes potential greenhouse gas rules for power plants and efforts to tackle water contamination.

Save for a few sentences, the March 1 speech to Congress was largely devoid of any in-depth mentions of energy or environmental issues. Instead, it focused heavily on healthcare, infrastructure, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and other topics.