EPA announced it is prioritizing risk evaluations for five chemicals primarily used to make plastics, signaling a growing and concerted effort to crack down on plastics. Wednesday’s announcement marks the start of a 12-month process that EPA said will likely result in each chemical’s designation as a “high priority” substance under the Toxic Substances Control Act. With that designation, regulators can then launch the intensive, 3 ½-year review process that could lead to the agency banning or restricting uses of the chemical if deemed unsafe. Each of the five chemicals has already been tied to an increased risk of causing cancer. The review process will help EPA determine if specific uses — like vinyl chloride in PVC pipes, plastic packaging or other consumer products — pose health risks.
Maya Wiliams, 17, already does what she can to tackle climate change. She’s a vegan. She elected not to get her driver’s license, and she turns down trips if they involve airplanes. Now the high school senior is also a challenger in Genesis B. v. EPA, the latest youth-led climate lawsuit that accuses the nation’s top environmental agency of failing to protect kids and teens like her by allowing the release of dangerous levels of greenhouse gases, decade after decade. Like the other young activists who agreed to join in the lawsuit, Williams, a Los Angeles resident, said climate change is increasingly disrupting her life. She loves soccer, but smoke from wildfires worsens her asthma. At one point, she and her classmates were confined in their classrooms for two full weeks because the air was too polluted to go outside.
Amazon, Target and Walmart have voluntarily stopped selling water beads marketed for children after government officials, lawmakers and public health professionals called for a ban on the toys. Water beads are tiny balls made out of extremely absorbent polymer material. When exposed to liquid, they can expand to 100 times their initial size and weight, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Because they can grow inside the body once ingested, these toys pose immense health risks to young children, say experts.
Last summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated a sweeping rulemaking process intended to enhance consumer privacy protections and address what the agency termed “harmful commercial surveillance.” The FTC’s decision to take this regulatory route made a reality of a recommendation offered in a 2022 law review article authored by Kurt Walters, now an attorney at the FTC. In his article, Walters proposed that the FTC revive a process of consumer protection rulemaking that scholars and policymakers have described as onerous and unpopular. He argued that those negative characterizations are a “myth” and that issuing these types of rules may be the most powerful option in the FTC’s toolkit for safeguarding consumers.
Citing new scientific research, a coalition of farm worker, public health and environmental advocates on Wednesday filed a legal petition with U.S. regulators demanding they immediately suspend authorization for the controversial weed-killing chemical called glyphosate. The petition, filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), alleges that the chemical does not meet the required safety standard set by federal law and the EPA has “no valid assessment demonstrating otherwise.” If the EPA fails to address the petition, the groups said they will take the agency back to court, where the groups last year successfully garnered a judicial finding that the EPA’s most recent assessment of glyphosate was deeply flawed. The legal petition comes less than 10 days after the publication of a new scientific study that lends fuel to critics who say glyphosate herbicide products can cause cancer.
Despite strong efforts to limit lead exposure from sources like paint and gasoline, the U.S. government doesn’t broadly limit lead levels in food, a blind spot that’s become all the more glaring, experts say, as cases of lead poisonings in young children linked to contaminated cinnamon applesauce continue to mount. As of Tuesday, lead poisoning had been reported in at least 65 children, all younger than 6, who ate pouches of now-recalled cinnamon apple puree and cinnamon applesauce, up from 57 cases two weeks ago, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The U.S. government proposed a crackdown on cable television companies’ billing practices Wednesday as it announced plans to ban early-termination fees and to introduce fresh rules that could lead to consumer refunds if a subscriber cancels a plan mid-month. The proposal by the Federal Communications Commission would impose new restrictions on the cable and satellite industry in an effort to fight so-called “junk fees” and improve competition, Democratic agency chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, before a 3-2 commission vote along partisan lines launching the proceeding. The new rules could help millions of Americans who simply want to switch cable providers or those who must do so because of a move. Many subscribers face subscription terms that effectively lock them into their provider, said Rosenworcel. The proposal could affect cable and satellite providers such as Comcast and Dish Network.
A federal air pollution rule successfully cut smog-forming emissions in 10 states by 18 percent this past summer, according to data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During peak ozone season, which spanned May to September, states including Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania reduced nitrogen oxide emissions coming from coal-fired power plants under the agency’s recent “Good Neighbor” rule. Nitrogen oxide emissions can travel hundreds of miles downwind into neighboring states and form ozone, the main ingredient in smog.
Investors could soon buy into companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange with a unique dual purpose: protect nature — including on public lands — and make money. The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently weighing whether to clear the way for the NYSE to offer a new kind of investment known as “natural asset companies,” or NACs. The idea proposed by the NYSE is to list companies with missions to improve ecosystems through management, maintenance, or restoration of public or privately-owned lands — and then put a dollar figure on the resulting benefits, like clean air or wildlife habitat. The proposal so far hasn’t gotten much attention but caught the notice of conservative lawmakers and property rights advocates. They’ve warned the companies could open a backdoor into strict management restrictions for public lands and waters — as well as foreign investment on federal lands — while raising questions about whether the investments are even viable. But the financial services firm Intrinsic Exchange Group, which launched the idea two years ago and has drawn support from the NYSE and groups like the Rockefeller Foundation, says it would give investors interested in preserving nature a place to put their money.
The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Chevron’s acquisition of Hess oil company, the second inquiry the independent agency has opened of a major oil industry merger. Chevron and Hess said in separate filings that the FTC is seeking additional information and documentary materials related to Chevron’s proposed $53 billion purchase of Hess, announced in October. The statements Friday follow an announcement that the FTC is reviewing ExxonMobil’s proposed $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources. Such requests for information are steps the agency takes when reviewing whether a merger could be anticompetitive under U.S. law. If completed, the Exxon and Chevron deals would be among the largest mergers in the energy industry in two decades.
Have you ever spent time browsing concert ticket websites in search of the best deal, only to find that the price listed is less than the price you will pay? Or have you looked at the receipt from a hotel stay and wondered what “resort” and “destination” charges were for? Nearly every American has incurred what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls “junk fees,” or hidden and misrepresented fees charged for goods and services. To protect consumers from unexpected financial hits, the FTC recently proposed a rule that would prohibit junk fees and hold businesses who charge such fees accountable.
Regulators have taken note that businesses are too often fighting a losing battle against foreign and domestic cyber criminality. By introducing stringent cybersecurity standards, regulators are seeking to ensure that companies treat cyberattacks as increasingly systemic threats. This December 18 marks the compliance deadline for companies to adhere to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) historic cyber incident disclosure rules. All publicly listed companies, including foreign issuers, must be prepared to make timely determinations about whether an attack under way may have a “material” effect on their enterprise.
Federal agencies are engaging more with stakeholders and members of the public in crafting regulations, the Biden administration said in its semiannual publication of upcoming rules. The new approach will lead to better outcomes for agencies and the public, the White House said, arguing its rules will be more responsive to the public’s needs and prove more effective in their impact. President Biden required the updated tactic, highlighted in the administration’s Fall Unified Regulatory Agenda, in an executive order he issued in April to modernize the regulatory process.
A planned update to OSHA’s standard on lockout/tagout has been moved to the proposed rule stage in the Department of Labor’s Fall 2023 regulatory agenda, published Dec. 6. That’s the agency’s lone change to the agenda – typically issued by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs twice a year. The agenda provides the status of and projected dates for all potential regulations listed in three stages: pre-rule, proposed rule and final rule. The revised rule, listed as a “long-term” action on the spring agenda, is expected to address computer-based controls of hazardous energy. A notice of proposed rulemaking could appear in August, but the dates listed in the agenda are often tentative.
The Biden administration has gained an unlikely ally in its efforts to charge a hefty premium for offshore drilling: major oil companies. The current proposal — which the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released earlier this year — aims to prevent the public from having to pay to clean up abandoned oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. As written, an estimated $9 billion in new cleanup insurance that would be required by the regulations would fall disproportionately to smaller oil companies, which are now scrambling to push BOEM to rewrite the provision before a final version is published next year.
President Joe Biden has set his regulatory agenda, laying out policy items that could prove crucial in winning over recalcitrant voters, as he gears up for his 2024 reelection battle. On Wednesday afternoon, the White House released the fall Unified Agenda. The document lists regulatory plans across the federal government, showing what rules dealing with climate change and water pollution as well as chemicals and public lands the administration proposes to wrap up in the months ahead. Biden’s latest rulemaking proposal takes on even greater significance as it could determine his legacy out of office. Regulations not completed soon could be left vulnerable if Republicans win the White House and make gains on Capitol Hill.
President Joe Biden‘s administration will focus on tackling climate change and finalizing revisions to the tax rules in the last year of his term, as it seeks to shield his legacy against an adversarial Supreme Court and a presidential rival who has vowed to reverse course. Biden’s list of regulations, detailed Wednesday afternoon, includes 2,524 items. The administration expects to finalize about 40% of them, according to Bloomberg Government’s analysis of the list. His administration also plans to propose new consumer protection regulations, including rules to rein in bank overdraft fees and reduce Salmonella illness caused by poultry products.
The White House released a regulatory plan Wednesday that could shape President Joe Biden’s energy legacy — as well as influence greenhouse gas emissions and the electricity mix — amid partisan gridlock in Congress. The fall agenda lays out tentative timelines for new rules affecting pipelines, energy efficiency, oil drilling on public lands and other issues ahead of a contentious presidential election cycle. It would stall some electric grid policies.
After 50 years, one of the most consequential environmental laws in U.S. history may no longer be relevant to the world we’re living in. Which makes sense: the ESA was written for a planet that was several degrees cooler by politicians who weren’t even arguing about climate change yet. So producer Aaron Scott started to wonder: if the ESA is out of date, what would it take to keep this comprehensive piece of legislation relevant going forward? The answers he found take the form of three stories, about a fish, a bird, and a bear.
House Republicans approved a bill Wednesday to block strict new tailpipe pollution limits proposed by the Biden administration, calling the plan a back-door mandate for electric vehicles. A rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency would require that up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. are electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current EV sales. The proposed regulation, announced in April, would set tailpipe emissions limits for the 2027 through 2032 model years that are the strictest ever imposed — and call for far more new EV sales than the auto industry agreed to less than two years ago. The EPA says it is not imposing an EV mandate, but Republicans say the plan favors EVs and punishes gas engines, forcing Americans into cars and trucks they can’t afford.
The Biden administration is pushing a planned end-of-the-year ban on menthol cigarettes into 2024, in a blow to health advocates who worked to limit access sooner in an effort to save lives. The White House updated its Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website Wednesday, without an announcement, stating that a final ban on menthol will not take place until March at the earliest. The decision comes after civil rights groups argued that the ban would target Black smokers.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., recently set off an internet food fight when she declared her support for the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation into whether a private equity firm’s purchase of sandwich chain Subway should be allowed to go ahead. Right-wingers found Warren’s recipe less than appetizing. They accused her of everything from ignorance of economics to tasking government bureaucrats with settling the definition of a sandwich. But Warren is quite right. If completed, the $10 billion deal will hand control of 40,000 sandwich shops across the United States -- more than twice the footprint of either McDonald’s or Starbucks — to private equity firm Roark Capital. If this deal follows other cases of corporate concentration, it will likely be bad for workers, bad for franchise owners, bad for food suppliers and bad for your wallet.
Regulators around the world also are being challenged by questions about whether traditional legal concepts can apply to artificial intelligence (AI). What laws should apply? Who should enforce them? Who should be liable for what a self-teaching AI bot does? Solving these questions can remake administrative law, criminal law, and tort law. They show the perplexing and exciting challenges that young lawyers will confront throughout their careers. I began this lecture by discussing the first administrative agency: the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC was born in a period of rapid technological advancement and innovation. More recent technology made the ICC obsolete, and it was abolished by Congress in 1995. In the 1950s, the political scientist Marver Bernstein compared the “the rhythm of regulation” to the human life cycle, with phases of “gestation, youth, maturity, and old age.” Today, this life cycle is moving at a much more rapid pace than ever before. Administrative agencies need to respond to today’s innovations and advancements, including to the ways that technology affects agencies’ own ability to operate effectively.
More U.S. oil and gas operations will be regulated for methane than ever before under sweeping new federal standards, which for the first time cover petroleum infrastructure built prior to 2015. EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the new standards on Saturday at the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The final rule aims to deeply cut methane emissions by requiring equipment upgrades and regular leak inspections. This is the third time the Biden administration has unveiled a version of the rule at the annual United Nations climate summit. EPA released a draft rule in 2021 during the summit in Glasgow, Scotland, and a subsequent proposal with more detail during talks last year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Automakers, environmentalists and some lawmakers greeted proposed rules for lucrative electric vehicle tax credits with a sigh of relief, saying the administration’s strategy will likely allow some cars and trucks to qualify for the rebates. But the Treasury Department’s proposal hit a sour note with Republicans, some mining companies and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who helped write the tax credit provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. An auto industry trade group Friday said the proposed rules, which aim to block hostile countries and companies from EV supply chains, wouldn’t undercut the 20 vehicles that currently qualify. The IRA, which set aside hundreds of billions of dollars to combat climate change, puts the Department of Energy in charge of determining whether a company is owned or controlled by a “foreign entity of concern,” and the Treasury Department administers the tax credits.
