Emerging legislation and regulations

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In a highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) rejected U.S. EPA’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan in West Virginia v. EPA on June 30, 2022.  Relying upon the “major questions doctrine,” the Court found that Congress had not intended to authorize EPA to regulate emissions using “generation shifting” (i.e., requirements that power production be…

Last month, the Environmental Audit Committee (‘EAC’) launched an inquiry into a potential future carbon border adjustment mechanism (‘CBAM’) for the UK. The objective of introducing a CBAM would primarily be to address the risk of carbon leakage in the UK industrial sectors caught by the nascent UK Emissions Trading Scheme (‘UK ETS’), i.e. switching…

On 23 September, the European Commission took a step towards consumers’ convenience and minimising the environmental footprint associated with the production and disposal of chargers. A proposal to amend the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/54/EU (RED) aims to make a single charger for mobile devices mandatory. Although the number of mobile phone chargers had…

As the transition in presidential administration draws closer and COVID-19 cases continue to increase in certain parts of the country, it appears increasingly likely that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) will undertake a rulemaking relating to COVID-19.  Additionally, state plan OSHA agencies continue to revise and issue guidance relating to their own rules,…

California will ban the sale of new, gasoline-powered cars by 2035, an aggressive action by Governor Gavin Newsom to combat the causes of climate change.

The executive order Newsom signed will require that all new passenger vehicles sold in California beginning in 2035 be “zero-emission.”  That category currently includes battery-powered electric cars and those running on hydrogen fuel cells. The ban will also include hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles that still use some gasoline or diesel in addition to electricity.  Older gasoline-powered cars on the road after 2035 and sales of used gasoline-powered cars would still be allowed.  The order further directs that all new medium- and heavy-duty trucks be zero-emission by 2045, which aligns with the state’s goal to eliminate all net emissions from its economy by 2045.…

Continue Reading California going electric: Sale of new gasoline-powered cars banned in 2035

On 3 September 2020 the European Commission released an updated action plan on critical raw materials (CRMs).  In doing so, it has added bauxite, lithium, titanium and strontium to the existing list of CRMs, which now stands at 30 materials.

The Commission also released a foresight report at the same time, on raw materials for…

In 1996, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes (“Current Solid Waste Law”) was established. In 2015, almost 20 years later, this PRC Law was first revised and has since worked to take proper precautions for the environment. However, on 29 April 2020 the Standing Committee of the…

On August 31, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed the final rule (referred to as the Steam Electric Reconsideration Rule) initially proposed last year to revise the technology-based effluent limitations guidelines and standards (ELGs) for common types of wastewater discharges from electric power generating facilities. This final rule rolls back the Obama-era effluent guidelines 2015 rule, which set the first federal limitations on toxic metal discharges from power plants. EPA touts that the new final rule will significantly reduce after tax compliance costs by $140 million per year.

New effluent standards

The Obama-era 2015 rule set requirements for wastewater streams associated with several processes and by-products of steam electric power generation: flue-gas desulfurization, fly ash, bottom ash, flue-gas mercury control and gasification of fuels such as coal and petroleum coke. However, EPA’s new final rule focuses on revisions to primarily two types: flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater and bottom ash (BA) transport water.…

Continue Reading EPA administrator signs final power plant wastewater rule

The UK Government has published new guidance on the UKCA product-marking framework which replaces the current EU CE marking regime in Great Britain (i.e. England, Wales and Scotland), from 1 January 2021. The guidance is in line with expectations and brings helpful clarity for manufacturers and other affected stakeholders, albeit also bringing with it…