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Leaking Methane: Natural Gas, Climate Change, and Uncertainty

Recent studies suggest natural gas is significantly more carbon-intensive than previously realized, with methane having at least 25 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. If the United States is to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, it must curtail methane leakage between 30% and 90%, and leakage is anticipated to cost producers $2 billion each year in lost product. Absent regulations from the federal government and many states, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector are developing innovative solutions.

From RPS to Carbon: An Evolutionary Proposal

Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and their accompanying renewable energy credits have been adopted by 38 states and the District of Columbia. This Article argues that they have outlived their usefulness, and proposes a transition to a “carbon reduction standard” (CRS) based on a statewide target for the average carbon emissions per megawatt hour of electricity generation. It describes in detail how a CRS would work, how it aligns with changing policy goals, and how it would take advantage of RPS lessons learned.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility v. Regan

A district court granted EPA's motion to dismiss a TSCA citizen suit brought by environmental groups concerning fluorination. The groups sought to compel EPA to prohibit the company's fluorination practices, which produced per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of carcinogenic chemicals...

Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

A district court held that fluoridation of water at 0.7 milligrams per liter (mg/L), the level presently considered “optimal” in the United States, posed an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children. Anti-fluoride groups and individuals had petitioned EPA under TSCA to regulate the fluoridatio...

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation v. Shea

A district court granted summary judgment for conservation groups in a challenge to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') recent update to a program concerning the use of pesticides to suppress grasshopper and cricket outbreaks. The groups argued APHIS' 2019 EIS and five state-le...

Vinyl Institute, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency

The D.C. Circuit vacated a 2022 EPA order requiring chemical manufacturers/processors to test the chronic toxicity of 1,1,2-trichloroethane pursuant to TSCA. A trade organization representing seven entities challenged the order, arguing EPA failed to comply with several statutory requirements. The c...

Center for Environmental Health v. Regan

The Fourth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a TSCA citizen suit concerning EPA's decision on a petition to require testing for 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Four citizen groups argued that EPA's decision, which granted the petition and agreed to require testing on PFAS as a class throu...