FILE - A sign is posted outside a water well indicates perchlorate contamination at a site in Rialto, Calif., March 28, 2005. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, May 9, 2023, that the Environmental Protection Agency must regulate perchlorate, reversing a Trump-era rollback on a drinking water contaminant linked to brain damage in infants. (AP Photo/Ric Francis, File)
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Energy & Environment
Energy & Environment
The Big Story
EPA must regulate perchlorate, court says
A federal court on Tuesday tossed a 2020 decision from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to regulate a chemical that’s used in rocket fuel and linked to thyroid issues.
The Trump administration in 2020 said there was not a “meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction” for addressing perchlorate, which may also harm fetal brain development.
The Biden administration upheld that decision last year.
But a court on Tuesday nixed that determination. The court decided that the Safe Drinking Water Act did not give the EPA the authority to reverse a 2011 decision in favor of issuing drinking water standards for perchlorate.
A concurring opinion from the court disagreed on the statutory authority question but said that the agency was working with a “biased dataset that was selectively updated” and that its decision was based on inadequate health goals.
The EPA said in 2020 that the number of people who could be consuming the chemical at concerning levels could be between 26,000 and 620,000.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Tuesday announced it issued an interim license for a facility in New Mexico to store spent nuclear fuel.
Southern California’s Port of Long Beach unveiled plans Tuesday to build the biggest offshore wind manufacturing facility at any U.S. seaport, aiming to churn out turbines as tall as the Eiffel Tower. The future Pier Wind hub will accommodate the assembly of floating offshore turbines — a relatively new technology deployed in coastal zones where the water is too deep to support conventional structures fixed to the seafloor.
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (WPIX) – A metallic object believed to be a meteorite struck the roof of a home Monday in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, police said.
News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
An Illinois law required schools to test water for lead. They found it all over the state(The Chicago Tribune)
Climate Change Forces a Rethinking of Mammoth Everglades Restoration Plan (Inside Climate News)
Chinese investment in Europeshifts to greenfield battery projects – report (Reuters)
‘Mind-boggling’ methane emissions from Turkmenistan revealed (The Guardian)
On Tap
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
EPA Administrator Michael Regan will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in hearing on the agency’s budget.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committeewill hear from state attorneys general on ESG.
Officials will the Energy Departmentwill testify before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS bill.
The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing on climate change featuring former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R), former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and former U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad.
President Biden on Tuesday said he has been looking at the 14th Amendment as a way to unilaterally work around the debt ceiling, though he acknowledged it will not be a viable short-term solution with the nation on track to default without congressional action by June. Read more
