Rand Paul recently won a big victory in the straw poll held by CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. In the environmental area, his signature measure is the Defense of Environment and Property Act. On its surface, the goal of the law is to cut back on federal jurisdiction over wetlands. The bill would drastically cut back on … Continue reading »
Clean Water Act
EPA finalizes mountaintop removal guidance
After a three-and-a-half month delay for White House review, EPA has finalized its guidance for review of mountaintop removal mining permits in Appalachia. I needn’t have worried that the White House would roll EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on this one. The final guidance maintains the strong stand EPA took last April, when it issued the … Continue reading »
EPA vetoes mountaintop removal mining permit
If EPA is afraid of the new Congress, you wouldn’t know it from the news today (Jan. 13). Assistant Administrator Peter Silva issued the Obama administration’s first veto of a Clean Water Act section 404 permit. This veto, which has been working its way through the cumbersome process for more than a year (see here, here, … Continue reading »