As we come to the end of 2011 and roll into a New Year—an election year—we asked BLR’s in-house environmental experts to tell us what you can expect to see happen on the EHS horizon for 2012.
* Air
- BLR® air expert, Tim Fagan, tells us that in 2012, EPA will continue to regulate air emissions from the largest sources of pollution, as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule controlling NOx and SO2 from power plants will go into effect; the utility MACT controlling mercury emissions from power plants will be final; and GHG standards for boilers and refineries are expected. However, significant regulatory actions will be met with substantial opposition and litigation as critics, especially in an election year, present their case that EPA’s over-regulation is stifling the country’s economic recovery.
- Also, possibly, expect some revisions to NSR/PSD regulations, to the GHG reporting requirements as the kinks continue to be worked out of this relatively new program, and, possibly, to certain NESHAPs as more residual risk reviews are completed.
* Water
- Legal editor Amanda Czepiel says that in the beginning of 2012, we will see EPA issue the 2012 Stormwater Construction General Permit (CGP). It will include a number of changes due to the implementation of the Construction and Development Rule, as well as changes to the appearance of the permit, new requirements for site inspections, and the new requirement that EPA’s Notice of Intent electronic process (eNOI) be used to obtain permit coverage.
- Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) will continue to be in the news, and we can expect more regulation out of the states and scientific studies on impacts to groundwater and drinking water sources from EPA.
- EPA will finalize a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) reporting rule in mid to late-2012. The final rule will allow EPA to obtain facility-specific information to help address water quality concerns related to CAFOs.
- Lastly, EPA will be finalizing the cooling water intake structure rule by July 2012. This rule affects existing power plants and manufacturing facilities that generate electricity or manufacture other goods and that also withdraw at least 2 million gallons per day of cooling water.
* Waste
- BLR waste expert Liz Dickinson, says several rules proposed by EPA may come to fruition in 2012. In November 2011, EPA closed public comment on a rule concerning the disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric facilities, first proposed in 2010. EPA is considering two possible options for the management of coal ash. Under the first proposal, EPA would list these residuals as special wastes subject to regulation under subtitle C of RCRA, when destined for disposal in landfills or surface impoundments. Under the second proposal, EPA would regulate coal ash under subtitle D of RCRA, the section for non hazardous wastes.
- In 2011, EPA proposed the revision of certain exclusions from the definition of solid waste for hazardous secondary materials intended for reclamation that would otherwise be regulated under Subtitle C of RCRA. The proposal modifies EPA’s 2008 Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) rule, which revised hazardous waste regulations to encourage recycling of hazardous secondary materials. Under a settlement agreement with the Sierra Club that has been filed with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, EPA has committed to take final action on this proposed rulemaking on or before December 31, 2012.
- EPA has proposed to add hazardous pharmaceutical wastes to the Universal Waste Rule in order to provide a system for disposing hazardous pharmaceutical wastes that is protective of public health and the environment. However, although EPA does not have a projected date for the finalization of the rulemaking to add hazardous pharmaceutical wastes to the federal universal waste program, it may occur in 2012.
* USTs and Chemicals
- Legal editor Nancy Teolis says that in 2012 EPA’s underground Storage Tank (UST) program will be updating the federal regulations to incorporate Energy Policy Act provisions and update additional provisions of the regulations based on suggestions from extensive stakeholder outreach.
- Mandated by a 2009 court decision, EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP) went into effect for point source discharges from pesticide application to U.S. waters.
- EPA will continue to issue test orders to screen pesticides and other chemicals as potential endocrine disruptors; chemicals that interact with hormones produced by the human or animal endocrine system.
- In 2012, EPA will continue to require manufacturers and processors of existing chemicals to test their chemicals for health and environmental effects and submit the data to the Agency. Chemicals produced in annual volumes above 1 million pounds are considered High Production Volume or “HPV” chemicals. This subset of HPV chemicals is the main focus of EPA’s existing chemicals testing activities.
- In addition, EPA will continue to review confidentiality claims for chemical identity in health and safety studies. EPA is moving to declassify many chemical identities so they are no longer secret. More chemical names connected with health and safety studies will be released in the future. The agency plans to deny confidentiality claims for chemical identity in health and safety studies provided to the Agency under TSCA unless the chemical identity contains process or mixture information that is expressly protected by the law.
- Expect more states to pass hydraulic fracking regulations requiring substantial disclosure of the chemicals used in the underground injection of water, sand, and chemicals in natural gas production.
Visit Enviro.BLR.com for additional insights.
Happy New Year!