Regulatory Activity

Upcoming Ground-Level Ozone Hearings

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold three upcoming public hearings located in Texas, California and Washington, D.C. to address issues related to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone. The hearings will be held on January 29 in Texas and Washington, D.C. and on February 2 in California. EPA is proposing to revise the primary and secondary standard to levels to within the range of 0.065 to 0.070 ppm.

Renewable Fuels Need to Meet GHG Standards

EPA is accepting comments concerning greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of ethanol and diesel from biomass sorghum feedstock. EPA is interested in attributable emissions from the growth and transport of biomass sorghum feedstock. EPA intends to “determine whether biofuels produced from such biomass sorghum meet the necessary GHG reductions required for qualification under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) program.” Comments are due or before January 30.

EPA Releases New Standards for Oil and Natural Gas

EPA has released its final rule for new source performance standards (NSPS) for the oil and natural gas sector for well completion and storage vessel provisions. The rule was made effective on December 31, 2014.

International Advancement on Environmental Goods Agreement

The United States and thirteen other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, accounting for 86 percent of global trade in environmental goods, have been negotiating an Environmental Goods Agreement in Geneva. When reached, the agreement is expected to eliminate tariffs on all covered goods. Recently, talks produced consensus upon the categories of products that will be covered in the initial phase of the agreement. These categories of covered goods will include: air pollution control; solid and hazardous waste management; wastewater management and water treatment; environmental remediation and clean-up; noise and vibration suppressors; clean and renewable energy; energy efficiency; environmental monitoring; analysis and assessment; resources efficiency and environmentally preferable products. For additional information, see our full analysis titled,  “Emerging Environmental Goods Agreement: Opportunities For Clients.” Please contact us if you are a company interested in participating in effort to secure tariff elimination on your environmental product.