The EPA's publication of a coal ash rule on April 17, 2015, did little to resolve the debate about the proper management of the material (EPA Coal Ash Page). Members of Congress have continued to push for legislation which would change significant parts of the rule, and EPA is now being criticized by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for not providing sufficient protection to minority communities potentially affected by the issue.
Members of Congress have, for several years, attempted to regulate coal ash by statute even as EPA was proceeding with the very protracted process of ...
The coal industry has experienced substantial economic turmoil over the recent past, including bankruptcies - most recently by Peabody Energy Corporation - but also by Arch Coal, Inc., Walter Energy, Inc., and Patriot Coal Corp.
Generally, the industry and associated users of coal, have attributed these problems to the designated "War on Coal," the fashionable pejorative characterization of policies of the Obama Administration. Popular as it is among these groups to blame all the industry's woes on the Administration, this may well distract from the real cause. Business and ...
On August 3, 2015, President Obama announced the finalization of the long-awaited Clean Power Plan, a policy primarily intended to further the commitment to combatting global warming. The Plan focuses on the electric power generating sector of the nation's economy, which is responsible for approximately 31% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (primarily carbon dioxide, fluorinated gases, and nitrous oxide). The Plan intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to levels below those generated in 2005. A fact sheet provided by U.S. EPA to accompany the President's ...
December 18, 2014, marked the release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) annual environmental enforcement and compliance results. See News Release, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Announces 2014 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results (Dec. 18, 2014). According to the EPA, its enforcement actions in 2014 required businesses across the country to invest more than $9.7 billion in regulatory compliance and equipment. Additionally, EPA collected a total of $163 million in combined federal administrative, civil judicial penalties, and criminal ...