On January 12, 2012, the National Ocean Council released a Draft
National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan aimed at implementing the
nine Priority Objectives identified by President Obama's June
2010 Executive Order through more than 50 action items. The
Draft Implementation Plan is the latest step in the Council's
effort to develop and assist federal, state and local agencies with
the implementation of a National Ocean Policy that is consistent
with the Executive Order.
Background
On June 12, 2009, President Obama issued a Presidential
Memorandum creating an Interagency Ocean Task Force charged with
developing recommendations for a National Ocean Policy and a
recommended framework for effective Coastal and Marine Spatial
Planning ("CMSP"). The Task Force conducted
stakeholder meetings and briefings through fall 2009, issued an
interim report on September 10, 2009, and released an interim
framework for CMSP on December 9, 2009. On July...
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Many of the nation’s toughest environmental laws were passed in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s when it seems the American people first realized that there could be a limit to the natural resources at our disposal.
The U.S. EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has issued its draft guidance on the Fiscal Year 2013 enforcement program (FY 2013 Draft Guidance).
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released its much anticipated draft regulations addressing subsequent well operations, including hydraulic fracturing.
On April 17, 2012, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson signed final New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs) for the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries.
On April 17, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized performance and emissions standards for emissions from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells and other source categories in the oil and natural gas sector.
On April 17, 2012, The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)issued a set of comprehensive regulatory standards for the oil and gas industry under the Clean Air Act.
The Lower Fox River Superfund site continues to pump out decisions on key CERCLA issues. Most recently, the federal court in Wisconsin in "US v. NCR Corp." took on the issue of divisibility of harm in granting a preliminary injunction requiring one of the PRPs, NCR, to complete the removal of 660,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments from a portion of the Lower Fox River.
In Neighbors for Smart Rail v. Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District ruled that, when supported by substantial evidence, projected future conditions may serve as an appropriate baseline for measuring a project's impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act.
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