Regulatory Activity

2015 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water is seeking comments on an information collection regarding identifying infrastructure needs of public water systems for the next 20 years, from January 2015 through December 2034. This is a renewal of an information collection that had originally been discontinued on February 28. Comments are due January 2, 2015.

New Ambient Air Quality Measures Designated

After several months of research, EPA has officially designated two new reference methods and two new equivalent methods for monitoring ambient air quality. This information may prove useful to municipalities addressing air quality attainment issues.

Fuel Economy Guide for Car Purchases

The EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) have released a 2015 Fuel Economy Guide to enable fuel economy comparisons among vehicles. The guide outlines “fuel economy estimates for more than one thousand vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles” and includes ratings of “fuel economy leaders for each vehicle class.” The agencies have pledged that the guide will be updated on a weekly basis with additional vehicle ratings.

Pollination Challenges

On November 12 and November 17, the EPA and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) will host two public listening sessions to gather information concerning pollination issues that will be used in the formulation of a federal strategy to protect honey bees and other pollinators. Specifically, the Task Force is seeking to include activities involving “public private partnerships, research, educational opportunities, pollinator habitat improvements and pesticide risk mitigation.”