Pollution Engineering - April 2009 - (Page 20) ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENT By Norman Wei Under the Obama EPA There are some telltale signs of what direction the new administration will take us in the next four years on key issues to environmental management. isa Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate as the new EPA Administrator. She is a chemical engineer by training and was the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. She represents a new era of enviromental control, the extent of which we are already witnessing. L Changes to regulations There will be “rollback” of some of the new regulations finalized by EPA during the last months of the previous administration. This is a rite of passage when there is a new administration. For example, under President Bush, EPA excluded spent solvents that are to be reclaimed from the definition of solid waste. That meant generators did not need to manage their ignitable spent solvents as hazardous wastes while waiting to reclaim them. This rule became final in December of 2008 and could be one of the many new rules that will be reviewed by the new EPA, and rolled back. EPA’s central purpose. Unfortunately, we have seen the agency move in a direction diametrically opposed to the mission it was established to achieve.” She went on to say that “EPA must ensure that our environmental laws protect our children first and foremost, not ignore the dangerous threats children face from pollution. When we protect our children, we protect everyone.” Increase in enforcement There will be more focus on enforcement of existing environmental regulations. Historical enforcement data from EPA (see Table 1) indicates that the number of persons charged with environmental crimes tends to be higher under a Democratic White House. You can expect another increase in enforcement under the Obama administration. Directives from the White House As with any administration – Republican or Democratic – the EPA Administrator’s background is less important than the policy directives from the White House. Even before Jackson was confirmed by the Senate, President Obama directed EPA to consider granting waiver to California and 13 other states under the Clean Air Act to adopt more stringent tail pipe emission standards for automobiles. The same waiver had been denied under the previous administration. This is just the first sign of the times. PE The push from Congress The House of Representatives and Senate are now controlled by the Democrats by a sizable margin. It is reasonable to expect this new Congress to play a much more important and active role in formulating national environmental policies. In the Senate, Barbara Boxer of California is chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that has jurisdiction over EPA. On the House side, Congressman Henry Waxman – also from California – is now chair of the powerful House Energy and Environment Committee. Here is what Boxer said about EPA in her opening statement at the confirmation hearing: “The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is very clear: ‘To protect human health and the environment.’ This is Norman Wei is the founder and principal instructor at Environmental Management and Training LLC – a consulting firm based in Union, Wash. He conducts environmental regulations seminars throughout the country. He also consults for corporations and provides litigation support to law firms. He can be reached at Norman@proactenv.com. His company website site is www.proactenv.com and his blog is http://normanswei.wordpress.com. Visit www.pollutionengineering.com and electronically forward a copy of this article to a colleague or customer. 20 Pollution Engineering APRIL2009 http://www.proactenv.com http://normanswei.wordpress.com http://www.pollutionengineering.com
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