EPA proposed revisions to the preconstruction permitting regulations that apply to modifications at existing major stationary sources in the new source review program under the CAA. 

EPA finalized amendments to the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under TSCA to better align with the statutory text and applicable court decisions, to reflect the Agency's experience implementing the risk evaluation program following enactment of the 2016 TSCA amendments, and to allow for consideration of future scientific advances in the risk evaluation process without need to further amend the Agency's procedural rule.

United States v. Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., No. 1:24-cv-00238-SJD (S.D. Ohio Apr. 29, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CWA defendant must pay a civil penalty of $550,000 in addition to $1,250,000 to compensate for harm to natural resources in connection with crude oil escaping from a ruptured pipeline, contaminating waters of the United States, and causing damage to natural resources.

SIP Proposal: California (revisions concerning emissions of volatile organic compounds from crude oil and natural gas facilities). 

EPA withdrew from Agency regulation and management two designated ocean dredged material disposal sites, the Nome East and Nome West Sites, located near Nome, Alaska, pursuant to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act.

United States v. French Limited, Inc., No. 4:89-cv-2544 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 26, 2024). A fourth modification to a 1990 consent decree under CERCLA concerning contamination at the French Limited Superfund Site near Crosby, Texas, revises work requirements, provides for the reimbursement to EPA of certain response costs, and provides for the disbursement to members of the working group of funds received by EPA in a bankruptcy settlement payment for the site.

EPA made an interim final determination that the California Air Resources Board has submitted a revised rule and has also submitted revised rules on behalf of the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, and South Coast Air Quality Management District that correct deficiencies in its CAA SIP provisions concerning ozone nonattainment requirements for controlling volatile organic compounds at crude oil and natural gas facilities. 

The U.S. Sentencing Commission announced that it has promulgated amendments to the sentencing guidelines, policy statements, commentary, and statutory index.

FWS established a nonessential experimental population of the grizzly bear within the U.S. portion of the North Cascades Ecosystem (NCE) in the state of Washington under §10(j) of the ESA in order to support the reintroduction, recovery, and conservation of the species within the NCE. 

EPA revised the water quality standards (WQS) regulation under the CWA to add requirements for states establishing WQS in waters where tribes hold and assert rights to CWA-protected aquatic and aquatic-dependent resources reserved through treaties, statutes, or executive orders.

United States v. Dow Silicones Corp., No. 19-11880 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 24, 2024). A proposed consent decree modification extends a deadline for a settling CWA defendant’s implementation of a stormwater capacity and pollutant evaluation from January 24, 2023, to January 24, 2026, and also includes requirements to mitigate any environmental harm associated with the extension of the deadline.

NMFS proposed to modify the regulations for Marine Mammal Protection Act §104 permits, including scientific research, enhancement, photography, and public display permits and letters of confirmation.

DOE amended its regulations for the timely coordination of federal authorizations for proposed interstate electric transmission facilities pursuant to the Federal Power Act.

BLM updated procedures governing the Bureau’s renewable energy and right-of-way programs, focusing on two main topics: solar and wind energy generation rents and fees; and agency discretion to process applications for solar and wind energy generation rights-of-way inside designated leasing areas. 

EPA entered into a proposed settlement agreement under the CAA in Nevada Cement Co., LLC v. EPA, Nos. 23-682 and 23-1098 (9th Cir.), that would establish a process and deadlines by which plaintiff would apply to EPA for a case-by-case emissions limit request for its Fernley, Nevada, facility, in exchange for agreeing to lift a judicial stay. 

DOE established energy performance standards for the new construction and major renovation of federal buildings per the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. 

CEQ finalized its “Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule” to revise its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA. 

EPA granted a treatment variance, requested by DOE, from the Land Disposal Restrictions treatment standards for approximately 2,000 gallons of mixed hazardous low-activity radioactive waste from DOE’s Test Bed Initiative for the Hanford Site in Washington State. 

EPA announced the availability of proposed interim registration review decisions and amended decisions for the following pesticides: Acephate, Captan, Ferbam, Thiram, and Ziram. 

SIP Proposal: California (revisions to San Diego County Air Pollution Control portion of plan to expand existing provision that exempts tub grinders and trommel screens that process green material from permit requirements to include horizontal grinders and processing of mixtures of green material and food material). 

SIP Approval: New Hampshire (revisions to establish nitrogen oxide reasonably available control technology requirements for coal-fired cyclone boilers). 

DOE revised its NEPA implementing procedures to add a categorical exclusion for certain energy storage systems and modify categorical exclusions for upgrading and rebuilding powerlines and for solar photovoltaic systems, as well as to make conforming changes to related sections of the Department’s NEPA regulations. 

SIP Approval: New Hampshire (amendments to motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program regulation).

EPA entered into proposed consent decrees in Community In-Power and Development Ass'n Inc. v. EPA, No. 1:23-cv-02715 (D.D.C.) and ACC v. EPA, No. 1:23-cv-03726 (D.D.C.), that would establish deadlines for EPA to take action on subject risk evaluations under TSCA. 

EPA finalized national primary drinking water regulations for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS); the Agency also finalized a Hazard Index of 1 as the maximum contaminant level goal and maximum contaminant level for any mixture containing two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS.

United States v. San Diego, City of, No. 3:23-cv-00541-LL-BGS (S.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CERCLA defendants must collectively pay $2,412,029.89 for reimbursement of response costs incurred in connection with the release of hazardous substances at the former Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. 

EPA proposed to approve a CAA §111(d)/129 state plan submitted by South Carolina for implementing and enforcing the emissions guidelines applicable to existing commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units. 

EPA denied a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity requesting that discarded polyvinyl chloride be listed as a hazardous waste under RCRA. 

United States v. General Dynamics Corp., No. 6:24-cv-00722 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 18, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CERCLA defendants that released and/or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment at the General Dynamics Longwood Superfund Site located in Longwood, Florida, must perform a remedial design and remedial action for the site, reimburse EPA for its past response costs for the site, and pay future costs related to the work. 

SIP Approval: Indiana (temporary alternative opacity limitations at the BP Products North America, Inc. facility in Whiting, Indiana, during startup and shutdown). 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) adopted the Department of the Air Force's categorical exclusion for supersonic flying operations over land and above 30,000 feet mean sea level, or over water and above 10,000 feet mean sea level and more than 15 nautical miles from land under NEPA to use in NASA’s program and funding opportunities. 

EPA approved a request from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for delegation of authority to implement and enforce the federal plan requirements for municipal solid waste landfills that commenced construction on or before July 17, 2014, and have not been modified or reconstructed since July 17, 2014. 

The Federal Transit Administration announced the availability of a programmatic assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from transit projects. 

EPA amended specific provisions in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule to improve data quality and consistency. 

NOAA announced the availability of final evaluation findings for seven state and territory coastal management programs and four national estuarine research reserves under the CZMA. 

SIP Proposal: Michigan (revisions to state air pollution control rules concerning air use approval). 

EPA announced an opportunity for public input on ENERGY STAR product specification development activities. 

The Federal Aviation Administration adopted standards for measuring non-volatile particulate matter exhaust emissions from aircraft engines.

EPA entered into a proposed settlement agreement in Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 16-2643 (8th Cir.), that would establish deadlines for EPA to take certain, specified actions regarding final rules promulgated by the Agency under the CAA related to regional haze best available retrofit technology determinations for taconite facilities in Michigan and Minnesota. 

EPA entered into a proposed settlement agreement in United States Steel Corp. v. EPA, Nos. 13-3595, 16-2668, and 18-1249 (8th Cir.), that would establish deadlines for EPA to take certain, specified actions regarding final rules promulgated by the Agency under the CAA related to regional haze best available retrofit technology determinations for taconite facilities owned and operated by U. S. Steel in Minnesota. 

EPA entered into a proposed consent decree in Our Children’s Earth Foundation v. Regan, No. 1:23-cv-2848 (D.D.C.), that would establish deadlines for EPA to act on certain SIP submissions by Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas. 

BLM revised its oil and gas leasing regulations by implementing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act pertaining to royalty rates, rentals, and minimum bids; updating the bonding requirements for leasing, development, and production; and revising some operating requirements.

FWS announced a 12-month finding on a petition to list the lake sturgeon as an endangered or threatened species under the ESA, finding that listing is not warranted at this time. 

The General Services Administration (GSA) adopted DOE’s electric vehicle charging stations categorical exclusion under NEPA to use for proposed GSA actions. 

EPA promulgated new greenhouse gas emissions standards for model year (MY) 2032 and later heavy-duty highway vehicles that phase in starting as early MY 2027 for certain vehicle categories, updated discrete elements of the Averaging Banking and Trading program, and added warranty requirements for batteries and other components of zero emission vehicles. 

EPA made an interim final determination that the California Air Resources Board submitted a revised rule on behalf of the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District that corrects deficiencies identified in its SIP provisions concerning rules submitted to address nonattainment fees for the 1979 one-hour ozone NAAQS. 

SIP Proposal: California (revisions concerning nonattainment fees for the 1979 one-hour ozone NAAQS in the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District and Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District). 

SIP Approval: California (revisions to nonattainment new source review requirements for the 2015 ozone NAAQS in the Feather River Air Quality Management District). 

United States v. PPG Industries, Inc., No. 2:24-04771 (D.N.J. Apr. 11, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree concerning the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund Site in Newark, New Jersey, a settling CERCLA defendant must design and implement the components of the remedy selected for the site in EPA's September 28, 2021, record of decision that relate to waste material, sewer water, soil gas, and soil/fill material; perform groundwater monitoring and implement institutional controls; reimburse the United States $2,883,120 and New Jersey $116,880 for past response costs relating to the site; and pay for future response costs to be incurred.

EPA announced the availability of data on emission allowance allocations to certain units under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule trading programs. 

NMFS announced a 90-day finding that a petition to list the whitespotted eagle ray as a threatened or endangered species and to designate critical habitat concurrent with the listing does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. 

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on the Agency’s draft human health and ecological risk assessments for the registration review of formaldehyde and paraformaldehyde. 

SIP Approval: Iowa (updates to incorporations by reference to methods for performance testing, updates to definitions, and adoption of most recent ozone NAAQS). 

FWS announced the updated planning policies for the National Wildlife Refuge System to incorporate landscape conservation plans and consideration of climate change and other anthropogenic forces in refuge management. 

EPA established new emissions standards for criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) for light- and medium-duty vehicles that will phase in over model years 2027 through 2032; finalized revisions to the GHG program; established new standards to control refueling emissions from incomplete medium-duty vehicles, as well as battery durability and warranty requirements for light- and medium-duty electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; and finalized minor amendments to update program requirements related to aftermarket fuel conversions, importing vehicles and engines, evaporative emission test procedures, and test fuel specifications for measuring fuel economy. 

SIP Proposal: Iowa (revisions to definitions, references to federal rules, and methods and procedures for performance test/stack test and continuous monitoring system). 

The Mine Safety and Health Administration amended its existing standards to better protect miners against occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica, a significant health hazard, and to improve respiratory protection for miners from exposure to airborne contaminants.

NMFS announced its intent to conduct a five-year review of the endangered western distinct population segment of the Steller sea lion. 

EPA finalized a rule to remove the Title V permitting requirements for air curtain incinerators that only burn wood waste, clean lumber, yard waste, or a mixture of those, and are not located at title V major sources or subject to Title V for other reasons. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed to establish two new federal motor vehicle safety standards specifying performance requirements for all motor vehicles that use hydrogen as a fuel source. 

United States v. Colonial Oil Industries, Inc., No. 4:24-cv-00069-RSB-CLR (S.D. Ga. Apr. 10, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CAA defendant that allegedly failed to meet renewable fuel volume obligations for fuel it supplied to certain marine vessels and produced and sold gasoline that exceeded the applicable volatility standard must purchase and retire over 9 million renewable identification number credits, estimated to cost approximately $12.2 million, and pay a civil penalty of approximately $2.8 million.  

SIP Proposal: California (revisions to meet requirements for the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS in the Riverside County nonattainment area). 

United States v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, No. 5:06-cv-386-KSF (E.D. Ky. Apr. 10, 2024). A proposed material modification to a consent decree concerning alleged violations of the CWA stemming from the settling defendant's operation of its sanitary sewer system and wastewater treatment plant extends the final compliance deadline for remedial projects by four years to December 31, 2030, and makes changes to reporting frequency and methods.

EPA finalized changes to its test procedures required to be used by industries and municipalities when analyzing the chemical, physical, and biological properties of wastewater and other samples for reporting under the NPDES permit program. 

United States v. Villegas, No. 1:24-cv-962 (D. Colo. Apr. 10, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CWA defendants that discharged pollutants without a permit into waters of the United States must restore impacted areas. 

United States v. PPG Industries, Inc., No. 2:24-04771 (D.N.J. Apr. 11, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CERCLA defendant must design and implement the components of the remedy selected for the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund Site in Newark, New Jersey, that relate to waste material, sewer water, soil gas, and soil/fill material; pay a total of $3,000,000 for past response costs; and pay for future response costs.

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on an update to the interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and materials containing PFAS; the updated guidance builds on information pertaining to technologies that may be feasible and appropriate for the destruction or disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials, and identifies key data gaps and uncertainties that must be resolved before EPA can issue more definitive recommendations about PFAS destruction and disposal technologies.

SIP Proposal: Arizona (revisions concerning emissions of volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and sulfur oxides for the Maricopa County Air Quality Department).  

United States v. Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California, No. 2:24-cv-01044-KJM-CKD (E.D. Cal. Apr. 9, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling SDWA defendant must pay a civil penalty of $8,963 and perform injunctive relief measures including demonstrating compliance with surface water treatment requirements, providing boil water notices and alternative water supply, and developing and implementing an extensive operation and maintenance plan for the Grindstone Indian Rancheria Public Water System. 

EPA proposed to revise the existing secondary sulfur dioxide NAAQS, to retain the existing secondary standards for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, and to revise the data handling requirements for the proposed secondary sulfur oxide NAAQS.

EPA adopted FWS' categorical exclusion for restoration activities of wetland, riparian, instream, and native habitats under NEPA to use in certain water grants and loan programs administered by the Agency. 

SIP Proposal: Ohio (particulate matter rules).

SIP Proposal: New Jersey (partial approval and partial disapproval of revisions to 2015 ozone infrastructure requirements). 

FWS revised regulations concerning the issuance of enhancement of survival and incidental take permits under the ESA. 

SIP Approval: Virginia (second maintenance plan for the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS in the Fredericksburg area). 

SIP Proposal: North Carolina (revision to approved motor vehicle emissions budgets). 

United States v. Flint Hills Resources Ingleside, LLC, No. 2:24-cv-00079 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 8, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CWA and OPA defendant that allegedly discharged about 14,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled into Corpus Christi Bay from a ruptured pipe on a dock at the defendant's crude oil storage terminal in Ingleside, Texas, must pay a total of $989,212.80. 

SIP Proposal: Georgia (removal of requirement for enhanced Stage I gasoline vapor recovery systems at existing gasoline dispensing facilities in Catoosa, Richmond, and Walker Counties). 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration amended and updated its regulations for implementing NEPA, and incorporated updates to its categorical exclusions. 

SIP Proposal: Kentucky (updates to geographical boundary description and attainment status designation for the Henderson-Webster nonattainment area for the 2010 sulfur dioxide primary NAAQS).

United States v. D.R. Horton, Inc., No. 2:24-cv-00428-AMM (N.D. Ala. Apr. 8, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CWA defendants that violated stormwater management requirements at 16 homebuilding construction sites must implement specified stormwater management practices, implement a supplemental environmental project that will cost $400,000, and pay a civil penalty of $400,000. 

EPA entered into a proposed administrative settlement agreement under CERCLA for past response costs associated with the Chemical Recycling Inc., Superfund Site in Wylie, Texas. 

SIP Proposal: Wyoming (regional haze). 

EPA proposed to grant a second one-year extension of the attainment date for the Uinta Basin, Utah marginal nonattainment area under the 2015 ozone NAAQS, and to determine that the area attained the standard by the extended attainment date of August 3, 2023. 

SIP Proposal: Colorado (base-year emissions inventory for the Denver Metro/North Front Range 2015 eight-hour ozone nonattainment area, certification that existing Air Pollutant Emissions Notice (APEN) program fulfills the CAA’s emission statement rule requirement, and new requirement for annual certification of APEN reported emissions). 

BLM finalized a rule to reduce the waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and gas production activities on federal and Indian leases and to ensure that, when federal or Indian gas is wasted, the public and Indian mineral owners are compensated for the wasted gas through royalty payments. 

EPA proposed to promulgate a CWA chronic aquatic life ambient water quality criterion for waters under the state of Idaho’s jurisdiction to protect aquatic life from exposure to harmful concentrations or levels of total mercury.

United States v. Intercontinental Terminals Co., LLC., No. 4:24-cv-01207 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 2, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CERCLA defendant must pay $6,645,000 to restore, replace, rehabilitate, or acquire the equivalent of those resources injured by the releases of hundreds of thousands of barrels of a mixture of petrochemical products and firefighting foam and water into the environment as a result of a fire that ignited at a terminal facility in Deer Park, Harris County, Texas. 

United States v. Abex Aerospace, No. 2:16-cv-02696 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2024). Under a third amendment to a proposed consent decree, additional settling CERCLA defendants must pay $20,500,000 toward cleanup of environmental contamination at the Omega Chemical Corporation Superfund Site in Los Angeles County, California. 

SIP Approval: District of Columbia (removal of requirements for gasoline vapor recovery systems installed on gasoline dispensers). 

EPA finalized the residual risk and technology review conducted for the Commercial Sterilization Facilities source category regulated under NESHAPs; took final action to correct and clarify regulatory provisions related to emissions during periods of startup, shutdown, and malfunction; and took final action to require owners and operators to demonstrate compliance through ethylene oxide continuous emissions monitoring systems. 

FWS and NMFS finalized revisions to portions of their regulations that implement §4 of the ESA, concerning procedures and criteria used for listing, reclassifying, and delisting species on the lists of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants and designating critical habitat.

SIP Approval: Nevada (second ten-year plan for maintaining the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS in Clark County). 

FWS revised its regulations concerning protections of endangered and threatened species under the ESA by reinstating the general application of the "blanket rule'' option for protecting newly listed threatened species pursuant to §4(d) of the Act, with the continued option to promulgate species-specific §4(d) rules, and extending to federally recognized tribes the exceptions to prohibitions for threatened species that the regulations currently provide to the employees or agents of FWS and other federal and state agencies to aid, salvage, or dispose of threatened species.

EPA entered into a proposed consent decree in Sierra Club v. Regan, No. 1:23-cv-00424-RCL (D.D.C.), concerning the Agency’s alleged failure to issue final federal plans implementing emissions guidelines for commercial and industrial solid waste incinerators and other solid waste incinerators in states that had not submitted approvable state plans that constituted unreasonably delayed agency action. 

United States v. Kyocera AVX Components Corp., No. 1:24-cv-305 (W.D.N.Y.  Apr. 1, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling CERCLA defendant must perform remedial action at the Olean Wellfield Superfund Site in the City of Olean, the Town of Olean, and the Town of Portville, New York, and reimburse EPA for its past and future costs regarding the remedial action.

FWS and NMFS finalized revisions to portions of their regulations that implement §7 of the ESA concerning interagency cooperation procedures.

SIP Approval: Pennsylvania (revisions to particulate matter emission mitigation requirements for industry operating in the portion of Allegheny County known as the “Mon Valley” during weather-related pollution episodes, and revisions to open burning regulation in Allegheny County). 

EPA gave notice that it has responded to petitions for reconsideration and administrative stay of a final action under the “good neighbor” or “interstate transport” provision of the CAA published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2023, titled "Federal 'Good Neighbor Plan' for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards." 

EPA finalized proposed amendments to remove the force majeure exemption for pressure relief devices and emergency flaring, incorporate clarifications for the degassing requirements for floating roof storage vessels, and address other corrections and clarifications for various NESHAPs.