Institute for Policy Integrity /Contributing Authors: Michael A. Livermore, Elizabeth Piennar, and Jason A Schwart http://policyintegrity.org/publications/detail/regulatory-red-herring/ The current debate on jobs and environmental regulation too often relies on thinly-supported forecasts about jobs “killed” or “created” by public protections. In this debate, the larger costs and benefits of protections for clean air or water can get … Continue reading »
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Superfund: EPA Should Take Steps to Improve Its Management of Alternatives to Placing Sites on the National Priorities List
Government Accountability Office http://gao.gov/products/GAO-13-252 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) most commonly addresses the cleanup of sites it has identified as eligible for the National Priorities List (NPL) by deferring oversight of the cleanup to approaches outside of the Superfund program. As of December 2012, of the 3,402 sites EPA identified as potentially eligible, EPA has … Continue reading »
Assessing Risks to Endangered and Threatened Species from Pesticides
National Academies Press http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18344 The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are responsible for protecting species that are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and for protecting habitats that are critical for their survival. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for … Continue reading »
Taken by Storm: How Heavy Rain is Worsening Algal Blooms in Lake Erie
National Wildlife Federation | Univ. of Michigan http://bit.ly/Y9ol6w [Sandusky Reporter] An increasingly warm climate is worsening the problem of harmful Great Lakes algae blooms by boosting the intensity of spring rains that wash phosphorus into the waters, a scientist said Wednesday during a conference for advocates and policymakers. The trend is likely to continue over … Continue reading »
Toxic Substances: EPA Has Increased Efforts to Assess and Control Chemicals but Could Strengthen Its Approach
US Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-249 Since 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made progress implementing its new approach to managing toxic chemicals under its existing Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authority; particularly by increasing efforts to obtain chemical toxicity and exposure data and initiating chemical risk assessments..The results of EPA’s data collection activities, in … Continue reading »
Legal Fractures in Chemical Disclosure Laws: Why the Voluntary Chemical Disclosure Registry FracFocus Fails as a Regulatory Compliance Tool
Harvard Law School, Environmental Law School / by Kate Konschnik, with Margaret Holden and Alexa Shasteen http://hvrd.me/17gbfam [Business Week] FracFocus, the website used by Exxon Mobil Corp. and other energy companies to disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, fails as a compliance tool for the 11 states that rely on it, a Harvard Law School … Continue reading »
The Limits of Liability in Promoting Safe Geologic Sequestration of CO2
Duke Environmental Law Journal (2013, v22 n1) / by David E. Adelman and Ian J. Duncan http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1189&context=delpf [From a Climate Wire article by Christa Marshall, sub. req'd] The federal government should established a “two-tiered” system outlining who would be responsible in future cases of water contamination and leakage associated with the underground storage of carbon … Continue reading »
Alternatives for Managing the Nation’s Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites
National Research Council (free download with registration) http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=14668 [Description] Across the United States, thousands of hazardous waste sites are contaminated with chemicals that prevent the underlying groundwater from meeting drinking water standards. These include Superfund sites and other facilities that handle and dispose of hazardous waste, active and inactive dry cleaners, and leaking underground storage … Continue reading »
Nonresponse in Social Science Surveys: A Research Agenda
National Research Council http://bit.ly/VLijaY For many household surveys in the United States, responses rates have been steadily declining for at least the past two decades. A similar decline in survey response can be observed in all wealthy countries. Efforts to raise response rates have used such strategies as monetary incentives or repeated attempts to contact … Continue reading »
The National Flood Insurance Program: Status and Remaining Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42850.pdf [From Summary] Government payouts under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are estimated to be between $12 billion and $15 billion in flood insurance claims. In the immediate aftermath of Sandy, this amount quickly exceeded the $4 billion in cash and remaining borrowing authority from the Treasury Department. By January 2013, the … Continue reading »
