Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
85 FR 52763
08/26/2020
Update Type
Proposed Rules

The federal agencies issued their semiannual regulatory agendas to update the public about regulations currently under development, reviews of existing regulations with small business impacts, and regulations completed or canceled since the last agenda. EPA’s agenda can be found at 85 FR 52763.

Volume
50
Issue
10
Update Volume
50
Update Issue
26
85 FR 52342
08/25/2020
Update Type
Notices

EPA entered into a proposed cost recovery settlement agreement under CERCLA concerning the Pilot Mountain Superfund site in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina.

Volume
50
Issue
10
Update Volume
50
Update Issue
26
85 FR 47372
08/05/2020
Update Type
Notices

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on an update to a chapter of its current Air Pollution Control Cost Manual that covers control measures for sulfur dioxide and acid gas emissions.

Volume
50
Issue
10
Update Volume
50
Update Issue
24
Texas: Clean Water Act (CWA)
June 2020
Volume
50
Issue
8
Update Volume
50
Update Issue
18

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality proposed to amend 30 Tex. Admin. Code §§319.1, 319.2, 319.4-.9, 319.11, 319.12, 319.22, 319.23, 319.25, 319.28, and 319.29. The amendments would clarify the procedure for alternative test procedure approval in accordance with EPA’s 2017 CWA Methods Update Rule. Comments are due July 6, 2020. See https://www.sos.texas.gov/texreg/archive/June52020/Proposed%20Rules/30.ENVIRONMENTAL%20QUALITY.html#39.

Illinois: Hazardous Substances
June 2020
Volume
50
Issue
8
Update Volume
50
Update Issue
18

The Illinois Pollution Control Board proposed to amend Ill. Admin. Code tit. 35, Parts 703, 720, 721, 722, 724, 725, 726, 728, and 733. The amendments would incorporate segments of EPA’s Hazardous Waste Pharmaceutical Rule and Universal Waste Aerosol Cans Rule. Comments are due July 20, 2020. See https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/volume44/register_volume44_issue_23.pdf (pp. 9368-9637, 9654-9860).

EPA’s Criminal Prosecution and Punishment of Environmental Crimes
Author
Joshua Ozymy and Melissa L. Jarrell
Author Bios (long)

Dr. Joshua Ozymy is Director of the Honors Program and Strategic Initiatives, and Professor of Political Science, at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). Dr. Melissa L. Jarrell is Dean, University College, and Professor of Criminal Justice at TAMU-CC.

Date
June 2020
Volume
50
Issue
6
Page
10452
Type
Comment(s)
Summary

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the difficult mission of crafting complex environmental rules and regulations while considering the economic costs of those actions. The Agency must also engage in law enforcement functions to enforce these rules and regulations to ensure compliance, punish appropriately, and deter future offenders. Most of these enforcement actions rely on civil remedies to gain compliance, such as negotiating consent decrees or issuing civil penalties. In cases of willful, chronic, or serious offenses, the Agency can seek criminal penalties. Little academic and legal research goes beyond explaining civil punishments to describing criminal punishment outcomes by EPA, particularly across regional offices. This Comment undertakes content analysis of the EPA Summary of Criminal Prosecutions database of all cases across all 10 regional offices in which EPA sought criminal sanctions against environmental offenders from 1983 to 2019  to provide insight into the Agency’s criminal enforcement efforts over the past 37 years and create a basis for understanding what the Agency does to punish offenders with its criminal enforcement apparatus.

You must be an ELR subscriber to access the full content.

You are not logged in. To access this content: