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California sues EPA over reclassification of vehicle emissions waivers
Spectrum News – June 22
California on Monday sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging the agency’s reclassifications of various emissions waivers are illegal. Earlier this month, EPA said the longstanding waivers that spurred the nationwide adoption of electric vehicles were subject to congressional review. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, centers around four Clean Air Act preemption waivers EPA granted California to help combat the state’s historically high levels of air pollution.
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Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against maker of Roundup weedkiller
NBC News – June 25
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Bayer, the manufacturer of the weedkiller Roundup, cannot be sued in state courts for failing to warn people that the product could cause cancer because federal regulations, which found a cancer link unlikely, do not require a warning label. Bayer said the ruling should result in the dismissal of pending failure-to-warn lawsuits, but it plans to proceed with a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement intended to resolve many remaining claims.
BLM officials green-light new oil and gas drilling in California
San Francisco Chronicle – June 24
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced Tuesday that it has met court-ordered requirements for expanding oil and gas drilling in California. BLM has identified 684,000 acres of federal land and 959,000 acres of subsurface federal mineral estate within the agency’s Bakersfield and Central Coast regions where it could offer new leases to fossil fuel companies for extraction.
States sue California over plastic recycling mandate
Courthouse News Service – June 22
Over a dozen states and a trade association sued the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery this Monday, seeking to stop a state policy that would curb access to California markets if producers do not comply with its single-use plastic recycling requirements. The group argues that the state’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which aims to shift the burden of dealing with plastic waste from consumers to producers, violates the U.S. and state constitutions.
EPA floats changes to NEPA implementation rules
E&E News – June 24
EPA has proposed amendments to its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to comply with laws passed in 2023 and 2025 to reduce the expense and time to complete new projects. Much of EPA’s work is exempt from NEPA review, except for wastewater treatment construction grants and point-source permits, but the agency reviews environmental impact statements (EISs) prepared by other federal agencies when permitting major energy, transportation, and infrastructure projects. Among other changes, the proposed amendments would require EISs to be completed within two years and be 150 pages or less. In recent years, final EISs took an average of 2.8 years to complete and were 661 pages in length.
Union Pacific Railroad to pay $155K penalty over toxic waste disposal violations in Oakland
Local News Matters – June 19
Union Pacific Railroad will pay a $155,234 penalty for alleged violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act tied to the 2022 cleanup of an Oakland property, according to a settlement with EPA announced last week. The agency alleges the railroad sent 334 tons of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil—a hazardous waste—to a landfill that was not authorized to accept it, and without properly identifying and documenting the content of the disposed soil. As part of the settlement, Union Pacific has certified that it has brought its practices into compliance with Toxic Substances Control Act regulations.
California Water Commission approves $268.9 million funding for Sites Reservoir
KRCR – June 19
The California Water Commission on June 17 approved $268.9 million in conditional supplemental funding for the Sites Reservoir Project, a proposed water storage project in Colusa County. Project officials say the reservoir would capture and store excess Sacramento River flows during wet periods for use during droughts and other water shortages.
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