Environment Management

Compliance Guidance: EPCRA Reporting

Deadlines are approaching for the U.S. EPA’s Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). OMA Connections Partner BSI has published this guidance to help businesses that handle hazardous chemicals prepare for compliance obligations and to understand how EPCRA data affects sustainability efforts. 1/22/2024

SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule Still a Threat

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s pending climate disclosure rule — opposed by the OMA — recently received another hearing on Capitol Hill. This story provides a summary.

The proposal would raise the business cost of complying by an estimated $10.2 billion nationwide. Read more from the National Association of Manufacturers. 1/23/2024

SCOTUS Signals It Will Claw Back Federal Agency Power

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case that may significantly rein in federal agency power. The case — Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo — asks the Court to revisit precedent that gives the benefit of the doubt to agencies when Congress has been silent. Justices are expected to issue a ruling by June. 1/23/2024

Bill Seeks Study of Manufacturing’s ‘Emissions Intensity’

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved legislation that would direct the U.S. Department of Energy to measure “emissions intensity” of U.S.-manufactured products and compare it to that of foreign-made goods. Proponents say this would give the U.S. a competitive edge in manufacturing; opponents say it would lead to a carbon tax. 1/23/2024

Ohio EPA’s Hazardous Waste Report Due March 1

Ohio EPA’s biennial Hazardous Waste Report is due March 1. The report is required of any facility that generated more than 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste (or more than 2.2 lbs. of acute hazardous waste) during any one calendar month in 2023. See more details and how to file.

You can register now for the Ohio EPA’s complimentary Feb. 5 webinar to bring your team up to speed on the report requirements and process. 1/17/2024

DeWine Signals Support for Long-Term H2Ohio Funding

Gov. Mike DeWine this week expressed support for a long-term funding solution for H2Ohio, the DeWine administration’s water quality initiative.

In this editorial, The Blade (Toledo) reports the governor wants to resurrect efforts to fund the H2Ohio program with a 10-year, billion-dollar bond program to bring more ag producers into the voluntary program and create more wetlands as a natural filter of farm runoff. 1/18/2024

U.S. Emissions Fell Nearly 2% in 2023

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell by nearly 2% in 2023 even as the nation’s economy grew 2.4%, reports say. The new analysis says this result is due largely to emissions reduction in the power sector, which fell 8% in the last 12 months. 1/17/2024

Seven New PFAS Added to Key EPA List

The U.S. EPA has announced the automatic addition of seven PFAS to the agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), according to OMA Connections Partner Vorys.

Reporting on these additional PFAS is required for TRI Reporting Year 2024 (reporting forms due by July 1, 2025), bringing the total PFAS subject to TRI reporting to 196. 1/18/2024

Brown Urges EPA to Revisit Carbon Capture Rule

Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is urging the U.S. EPA to reconsider a proposed rule that would require power companies to install yet-to-be developed pollution control technology on generation facilities powered by fossil fuels.

Read Brown’s press release and this story by The Plain Dealer.

The proposed rule would give power companies roughly eight years to use carbon capture and storage technology. The rule would also require natural gas power plants to start using hydrogen in the early 2030s — and eventually convert to almost all hydrogen. 1/11/2024

U.S. EPA’s New Climate Change Damage Metric

At the end of 2023, the U.S. EPA significantly increased its estimates for what is commonly called “the social cost of greenhouse gases.” E&E News reports that higher social cost values “are likely to help the Biden administration make the case that stricter climate rules are justified, even if they come at some cost to regulated industry.” Read more. 1/11/2024