Environment Management

Be Recognized for Your Environmental Stewardship

The Ohio EPA’s Encouraging Environmental Excellence (E3) Stewardship Awards program honors businesses for environmentally beneficial activities. The E3 programs have traditionally followed strict application deadlines, but Ohio EPA has pulled those requirements due to the pandemic. OMA members can learn more here. 4/8/2020

Workshop to Address Wasted Food Strategies for Food Manufacturers

Ohio EPA reports that on April 21, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) will host a free virtual workshop for food manufacturers on how to implement a wasted food prevention, donation, and diversion program. All attendees will have access to free, one-on-one technical assistance from CET. 4/6/2021

Webinar: Keep Your Wastewater Treatment Compliant

At 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 15, the Ohio EPA will host a free webinar to offer assistance in keeping wastewater treatment facilities in compliance with the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Register here. 4/8/2021

OMA to California Environmental Office: No to Prop 65 Amendments

The OMA joined organizations across the country this week in writing the state of California to ask for the withdrawal of proposed amendments to labeling requirements under Prop. 65.

The letter said: “To … ensure that the supply chain is not disrupted at this critical time, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment should withdraw the misguided proposal to amend Proposition 65 short-form warning requirements.” 3/30/2021

OMA Submits Comments on Great Miami River Loading Analysis Plan

This week, the OMA submitted comments on Ohio EPA’s Draft Loading Analysis Plan – Lower Great Miami River and Selected Tributaries Watershed. The draft plan presents the proposed approach of Ohio EPA for the Lower Great Miami River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The OMA focused its comments on the adaptive management approach and a tailored scope for future TMDLs. 3/25/2021

Ohio EPA’s Introduction to Air Quality Regulations

Want to know more about how Ohio EPA monitors and regulates air pollution? On Tuesday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m., experts from Ohio EPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control will host a free webinar to discuss the basics of air quality in Ohio. Register here. 3/25/2021

CO2 Infrastructure Bill Introduced on Capitol Hill

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate have introduced a carbon capture and storage bill that would invest billions of dollars and create a low-interest loan program to encourage CO2 transport projects to connect emitters and storage sites. The stored carbon could be either sequestered or used in manufacturing, according to Politico. 3/17/2021

State AGs Sue Biden Administration Over ‘Social Costs’ of Greenhouse Gases

A dozen attorneys general — including Ohio AG Dave Yost — are suing the Biden administration for increasing the cost of greenhouse gas emissions. The group says only Congress has authority to boost the price tag, which has been raised from $7 per metric ton to the Obama-era level of $50 until the administration figures out what it considers the “social costs” of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions, according to TheHill.com.

The administration’s working group has established preliminary cost figures at about $9.5 trillion a year. The lawsuit says the higher costs will cause serious harm to U.S. industry. 3/9/2021

U.S. EPA Reaffirms Commitment to Environmental Self-Disclosure Audit Policy

Last month, the U.S. EPA released an updated FAQs guidance document regarding its incentives for self-policing. OMA Connections Partner Thompson Hine has published this summary of the document, saying that it reaffirms the EPA’s nearly 30-year policy of encouraging voluntary environmental compliance audits and prompt disclosure and correction of violations. The firm adds: “While not breaking much new substantive ground, the 2021 FAQ supersedes previous EPA guidance on the audit policies … and should considered as part of an entity’s environmental management or compliance system.” 3/3/2021

Analysis: Expect State Attorney General Action in Response to Federal Environmental Policy Change

With a new federal administration committed to expansive environmental policy change, a wave of state attorney general environmental action is likely also on the horizon. OMA Connections Partner Jones Day, in this new analysis, writes that state attorneys general have broad power to influence and enforce environmental policy, and that companies should be attentive to environmental compliance. 3/4/2021