FWS reopened the comment period on its October 18, 2022, proposed rule to list the Kern Canyon slender salamander and the relictual slender salamander under the ESA and to designate critical habitat, in order to allow opportunity for interested parties to comment on the new areas the Agency is considering for relictual slender salamander critical habitat, small changes to Kern Canyon slender salamander critical habitat, and updates to the physical or biological features for the Kern Canyon slender salamander.

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on a white paper describing the benefits of the creation, submission, review, approval, and distribution of structured content and digital pesticide labels.

United States v. ACF Industries LLC, No. 3:23-cv-1603 (D. Or. Nov. 1, 2023). Under two proposed consent decrees, settling CERCLA, CWA, and OPA defendants whose facilities along the Willamette River released hazardous substances must pay cash and/or purchase restoration credits in one or more restoration projects approved by the Natural Resource Trustees to create habitat for injured natural resources, and make payments for the public’s lost recreational use of the river, for monitoring of culturally significant plants and animals, and for reimbursement of the Natural Resource Trustees’ costs. 

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on a document that announces several proposed changes to the Agency's Safer Choice Standard, including a name change to the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Standard.

FWS established a nonessential experimental population of the gray wolf in Colorado under the ESA. 

FWS removed the plants island bedstraw and Santa Cruz Island dudleya from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants on the basis of recovery. 

In order to comply with a district court order, FWS reinstated regulatory protections under the ESA for the gray wolf in all or portions of the 45 U.S. states and Mexico, where the species was listed at the time the delisting rule was issued. 

FWS reclassified Mitracarpus polycladus from endangered to threatened under the ESA, and issued a rule under §4(d) of the Act that provides for the conservation of the species.

EPA proposed to prohibit all manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of trichloroethylene (TCE) and industrial and commercial use of TCE for all uses, with longer compliance time frames and workplace controls for certain processing and industrial and commercial uses (including proposed phaseouts and time limited exemptions); prohibit the disposal of TCE to industrial pretreatment, industrial treatment, or POTWs, with a time limited exemption for cleanup projects; and establish recordkeeping and downstream notification requirements.

EPA added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances subject to reporting under EPCRA and the Pollution Prevention Act pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 to the list of Lower Thresholds for Chemicals of Special Concern.