United States v. Apex Building Co., Inc., No. 23-cv-7838 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2023). Under a proposed consent decree, a settling TSCA defendant that conducted unlawful renovations work must perform injunctive relief and pay a $606,706 civil penalty.

EPA granted emergency exemptions under FIFRA for the use of certain pesticides to control pest outbreaks to Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, and North Dakota, and denied emergency exemptions to Colorado and Nebraska.

EPA finalized several amendments to the PCB regulations, including an expanded set of extraction and determinative methods that can be used to characterize and verify the cleanup of PCBs waste; amendment of the performance-based disposal option for PCB remediation waste; removal of the provision allowing PCB bulk product waste to be disposed of as roadbed material; and the addition of more flexible provisions for cleanup and disposal of waste generated by spills that occur during emergency situations.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement revised certain regulatory provisions concerning blowout preventer systems and well control for oil and gas and sulfur operations in the outer continental shelf.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed new fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks and fuel efficiency standards for model years 2027-31, new fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans for model years 2030-35, and augural standards for model year 2032 passenger cars and light trucks. 

DOE proposed to amend its regulations for the timely coordination of federal authorizations for proposed interstate electric transmission facilities pursuant to the Federal Power Act.

DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management requests information regarding the launch of its “Responsible Carbon Management Initiative” to recognize and encourage project developers and others in industry to pursue the highest levels of safety, environmental stewardship, accountability, community engagement, and societal benefits in carbon management projects.

EPA established tolerances for residues of the herbicide imazapic in or on rice, bran and rice, grain.

United States v. Belle Fourche Pipeline Co., No. 22-00089-DLH-CRH and United States v. Bridger Pipeline LLC, No. 22-00043-BLG-SPW (D.N.D. July 31, 2023). Under a proposed partial consent decree, settling CWA defendants must perform injunctive relief and pay a $12,500,000 civil penalty for violations arising from pipeline failures that resulted in discharges of oil into an unnamed tributary to Ash Coulee Creek and the Yellowstone River.

EPA proposed to lower the dust-lead hazard standards from ten micrograms per square foot (µg/ft2) and 100 µg/ft2 for floors and window sills to any reportable level as analyzed by a laboratory recognized by the Agency's National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program in accordance with a 2021 Ninth Circuit opinion.