Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
Improving Infrastructure to Benefit Communities—Without Harming the Environment
By Jim Lyons, Center for American Progress Improving and upgrading U.S. roads, bridges, and transportation networks; energy production and transmission systems; and other elements of human-made infrastructure is long overdue. As the new Congress begins its bipartisan, bicameral effort to pass an infrastructure bill, it’s important that it not come at a cost to the […]
Trump’s WOTUS Puts Cape Fear at Risk
By Ellen Simon, Waterkeeper Alliance Stocking Head Creek’s headwaters are a forest spring. Once this tributary to North Carolina’s Cape Fear River leaves that forest, however, its sources become considerably less pristine. Part of a watershed where 94,000 swine and 1.3 million broiler chickens live in confinement, Stocking Head swells with waters from small streams, […]
PFAS in Drinking Water: Hazardous at Ever-Lower Levels
By Olga Naidenko and Dave Andrewst, Environmental Working Group Last week, as he unveiled the Environmental Protection Agency’s toothless “action plan” on fluorinated chemicals, acting EPA chief Andrew Wheeler maintained that the current guideline of 70 parts per trillion, or ppt, for the compound PFOA is a safe level in drinking water. Says who? Independent scientists and other […]
120 Countries Discuss Climate-Friendly AC & Fridge Standards
By Alex Hillibrand, Natural Resources Defense Council Energy and environment regulators from 120 of the world’s developing countries are gathering this week in Paris to tackle a growing climate threat – cooling in an increasingly warming world. They’ll be reviewing a suggested template for reducing the energy use of new air conditioners and refrigerators, as […]
Agribusiness’ Secretive Plans to Unravel Food Safety and Worker Protections
by Sharon Anglin Treat, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy As Congress and the public debate the pros and cons of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), or New NAFTA, behind the scenes and in the shadows transnational corporations are doubling down on their plans to weaken and eliminate public protections through a related entity, the […]
EPA’s PFAS Indecision Hurts Military Families
By Kara Cook-Schultz, U.S. PIRG On Valentine’s Day this year, consumer and environmental groups waited with excitement to hear the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s much-touted national plan to crack down on PFAS contamination. EPA’s national plan to address public health risks caused by PFAS chemicals fell far short of the actions that EPA has promised to take to […]
Rubio’s Bill Is an Empty Promise
By Sean Davis, National Consumers League Last month, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined the growing list of Members of Congress, advocacy groups, and industry players who have released privacy bills. Rubio’s bill, the American Data Dissemination Act (ADD Act), exists primarily to relieve Congress of the January 20, 2020 deadline when the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) […]
Five Things You Should Know About D.C. Circuit Nominee Neomi Rao
By Theresa Lau, National Women’s Law Center Neomi Rao is Trump’s pick for a lifetime position on the D.C. Circuit. Rao has been in the spotlight recently because of her appalling writings that range from rape apologist pieces from college to defending the cruel practice of dwarf-tossing to doubting the legal framework of Roe v. Wade. If these disturbing opinions don’t raise enough red […]
PFAS “Action” Plan Is a Toxic Valentine for Water Drinkers
By Daniel Rosenberg, Natural Resources Defense Council When it comes to protecting the public from cancer-causing chemicals, Andy Wheeler, EPA’s Acting Administrator is afraid of commitment. The “action plan” to address PFAS chemicals—released by the Agency today in an effort to stem the rising tide of scrutiny and criticism (and oversight)—offers little if any concrete […]
Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue, Wheeler Claims Action on PFAS, How Much Is True?
By Genna Reed, Union of Concerned Scientists At a press conference in Philadelphia this morning, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the long-awaited action plan for the class of toxic chemicals known as PFAS. During an ABC News interview last night, Wheeler called the chemicals “a very important threat.” Indeed, the scientific literature points to associations between PFAS exposure to […]
The PFAS Crisis: Will the EPA Act?
By Erik D. Olson and Anna Reade, Natural Resources Defense Council The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue its “PFAS management plan” tomorrow. PFAS, or poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, are a widely used large class of highly toxic chemicals. This is an opportunity for the agency to prove its worth and make sure that we’re protected from these […]
The Clean Water Act Depends on You
By Larissa Liebmann, Waterkeeper Alliance The Trump administration is implementing its treacherous strategy to eliminate Clean Water Act protections for waters—and communities—across the country through a rulemaking that removes historically protected rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and other waters from its “Waters of the United States” definition. This rulemaking by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and […]
Action Needed to Protect Americans From Toxic EtO Pollution
By Dan West, Natural Resources Defense Council Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a common, highly hazardous industrial chemical linked to breast cancer and immune system cancers like non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia (see EPA IRIS Exec Summary, Dec 2016). Concerned community members in Illinois made it a 2018 campaign issue after two federal agencies released studies showing elevated cancer risks […]
5G and the FCC: 10 Reasons Why You Should Care
By Sharon Buccino, Natural Resources Defense Council As an environmental lawyer for over 25 years now, I have become intimately familiar with the workings of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. I didn’t have occasion to watch what was happening across town at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Now I do. Here […]
Will Trump’s EPA Protect Americans From Toxic PFAS Chemicals?
By Melanie Benesh and Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group The toxic chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a national crisis demanding action. They’re found everywhere we look. They’re in the blood of virtually all Americans, including newborn babies. They persist forever in the environment. Ever-growing reams of studies link them to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened childhood […]
“New NAFTA” Would Worsen the Family Farm Crisis and Keep Consumers in the Dark About Their Food
By Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy The economic state of U.S. agriculture is dire. The Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City, Minneapolis and Chicago report that a growing percentage of U.S. farmers cannot pay the interest on their loans. Five years of falling cash receipts for agricultural commodities is eroding equity for […]
EPA Head Lies About Fuel Economy Fines in Push for Weaker Car Standards
By Dave Cooke, Union of Concerned Scientists In an interview with Bloomberg Media on February 4th, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler stated that manufacturers have paid $77 million in fines for not complying “with the current Obama numbers,” going on to say that “it’s incorrect to say that the automobile manufacturer can comply with the Obama numbers. […]
‘State of Tobacco Control’ – A Wakeup Call About the E-cigarette Epidemic
By Harold P. Wimmer, American Lung Association Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 Americans a year. For 17 years, our “State of Tobacco Control” report has tracked and graded efforts to reduce tobacco use by state and federal governments. Over this time, the […]
Comcast Just Got 3 Gifts from the GOP
By Free Press Republicans in Congress just dropped three totally B.S. fake Net Neutrality bills — and we need to expose them for what they really are and stop them in their tracks. We’ve seen these fake compromises masquerading as real Net Neutrality before, and these bills are all lies, all around. They all create massive loopholes […]
DOE Lighting Rollback Proposal Will Cost Consumers Billions
By Noah Horowitz, Natural Resources Defense Council The U.S. Department of Energy’s proposal to dramatically narrow the scope of light bulbs covered by the upcoming federal 2020 energy efficiency standards will cost consumers up to $12 billion on their utility bills and cause up to 25 more coal burning power plants worth of electricity to be generated […]