Environmental Protection Agency

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GM Hit With $146M Fine Over Emissions Standards

Claim on window stickers was 10% off, EPA says

(Newser) - General Motors will pay nearly $146 million in penalties to the federal government because 5.9 million of its older vehicles do not comply with emissions and fuel economy standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement Wednesday that certain GM vehicles from the 2012 through 2018...

Advocates, Experts See Change After Fall of Chevron Doctrine

Congressional Republicans make plans, but power over environmental policy will go to judiciary

(Newser) - The Supreme Court's ruling overturning the Chevron doctrine , a decision that curbs agencies' power to impose regulations to achieve congressional goals, does not eliminate the EPA's overall responsibility to address pollution that's driving global warming, experts said. But the particular rules it uses, included in its efforts...

SCOTUS Puts Brakes on EPA's 'Good Neighbor' Pollution Plan

5-4 ruling goes against Biden administration, blue states' attempt to rein in upwind air pollution

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency's air pollution-fighting "good neighbor" plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court's latest blow to federal regulations. The justices in a 5-4 vote on Thursday rejected arguments by the Biden administration and Democratic-controlled states that the...

EPA Cracks Down Hard on Coal Power Plants

New rules, applauded by climate groups, tell plants to capture emissions or close

(Newser) - Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency, per the AP . New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants are the Biden administration's most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming...

EPA Goes After Forever Chemicals in Your Water

Biden administration sets new, enforceable drinking water standards

(Newser) - In what some are calling a "huge breakthrough," the Biden administration on Wednesday laid out the first national standard to limit "forever chemicals" in drinking water. These long-lasting chemicals, found in the blood of nearly every American, help nonstick cookware, outdoor furniture, disposable packaging, and other products...

EPA Issues Strongest-Ever Car Pollution Standards
New EPA Rules Will Change
the 'Menu' for Car Buyers
THE RUNDOWN
Mar 20, 2024 2:30 PM CDT

New EPA Rules Will Change the 'Menu' for Car Buyers

But some restrictions have been loosened from last year's proposal

(Newser) - The Biden administration has finalized Environmental Protection Agency rules that usher in the "strongest-ever pollution standards for cars," according to the agency. The rules, described by the Washington Post as Biden's "most far-reaching climate regulation yet," require steep emissions cuts that will speed up the...

129K Kids in Chicago Exposed to Lead in Water
68% of Kids
in Chicago
Exposed to
Lead in Water
NEW STUDY
Mar 19, 2024 7:33 AM CDT

68% of Kids in Chicago Exposed to Lead in Water

That's 129K children under 6, researchers say

(Newser) - More than two-thirds of kids aged 5 or younger in Chicago are exposed to lead in drinking water, which can mean many harmful consequences, according to a new study. The Guardian previously analyzed 24,000 city water tests, finding water from a third of homes contained lead above 5 parts...

US Bans Last Type of Asbestos in Use Here

Chrysotile asbestos, a carcinogen, is used in bleach, brake pads, and more

(Newser) - The EPA on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that's still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads, and other products and that kills thousands of Americans every year, per the AP . The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016...

Smuggling Greenhouse Gases Is Now a Thing

Michael Hart is first in US to be hit with such a charge after alleged transport of HFCs from Mexico

(Newser) - A Southern California man was arrested Monday on suspicion of smuggling refrigerants into the US from Mexico, and federal prosecutors said he's the first person to be charged with violating regulations intended to curb the use of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. The indictment alleges Michael Hart...

Food Waste Accounts for 58% of Methane in Landfills

More than 50 local officials are asking the EPA to help accelerate food scrap recycling

(Newser) - More than one-third of the food produced in the US is never eaten. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it generates tons of methane that hastens climate change. That's why more than 50 local officials signed onto a letter Tuesday calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to...

Biden Administration Weakens Wetlands Protections

Feds say SCOTUS ruling left them with no choice

(Newser) - The Biden administration weakened regulations protecting millions of acres of wetlands Tuesday, saying it had no choice after the Supreme Court sharply limited the federal government's jurisdiction over them. A new rule requires that wetlands be more clearly connected to other waters like oceans and rivers, a policy shift...

EPA Allows California to Set Stricter Electric Truck Mandate

2035 deadline for EV sales is the same for cars

(Newser) - After mandating that all new passenger vehicles sold in California must be electric by 2035 , the state has gone bigger. The federal Environmental Protection Agency granted a legal waiver on Friday that lets California require that half of all heavy vehicles—including garbage trucks, tractor-trailers, and cement mixers—be electric...

Another Train Flies Off the Tracks in Fiery Accident

BNSF train carrying ethanol, corn syrup derails in Raymond, Minnesota; local homes evacuated

(Newser) - A train hauling ethanol and corn syrup derailed and caught fire in Minnesota early Thursday, and nearby residents were ordered to evacuate their homes, authorities said. The AP reports that a BNSF train derailed in the town of Raymond, roughly 100 miles west of Minneapolis, at about 1am, according to...

EPA Downgrades Air Quality in Colorado, Forcing Changes

Tweaked gasoline blend will cost consumers more

(Newser) - After missing a deadline last summer to improve air quality, Denver and the northern Front Range of Colorado are in for tougher federal regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that the areas now are classified as "severe" violators of air standards, the Denver Post reports. Refineries will have...

Supreme Court Hands Loss to Green Advocates

Justices limit EPA's ability to limit emissions from power plants

(Newser) - In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nation's main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air...

They Were Sold the American Dream, Got a Toxic Mess

Residents of NOLA's Gordon Plaza are sitting on contaminated land

(Newser) - For an egregious example of environmental injustice, look no farther than Gordon Plaza, a housing development in NOLA's Upper Ninth Ward. As Darryl Fears writes for the Washington Post, the neighborhood's story begins in the late 1970s. "Racist housing covenants, redlining, and legal racial separation" had kept...

EPA Rule for Trucks Would Cut Some Emissions by 90%

Environmental groups urge moving quickly toward 100%

(Newser) - The Biden administration is proposing stronger pollution regulations for new tractor-trailer rigs that would clean up smoky diesel engines and encourage new technologies over the next two decades. The proposal released Monday by the Environmental Protection Agency would require the industry to cut smog- and soot-forming nitrogen oxide emissions by...

SCOTUS Hears Case That Could Doom Biden Climate Plan

Case against EPA could severely restrict power of federal agencies

(Newser) - The Supreme Court heard a case Monday that could end up limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency—and every other government agency. The court heard two hours of arguments on whether the EPA should have the authority to regulate power plants, and some members of the court's...

USPS Says It Can't Afford to Make New Fleet Electric

EPA calls plan to make 90% of new vehicles gas-powered a 'crucial lost opportunity'

(Newser) - The United States Postal Service is replacing its delivery fleet for the first time in 30 years—and critics including the Environmental Protection Agency aren't happy about plans to make most of the new vehicles gas-guzzlers. Under current plans, only 10% of the fleet's 165,000 new delivery...

EPA Says New Fuel-Economy Rule Is a 'Giant Step Forward'

Biden sets ambitious new standards

(Newser) - In a major step to fight climate change, the Biden administration is raising vehicle mileage standards to significantly reduce emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases. A final rule being issued Monday would raise mileage standards starting in the 2023 model year, reaching a projected industry-wide target of 40 miles per gallon...

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