Citing data from the state of Illinois, the EPA has announced it intends to revise its proposed designation for Kenosha County, and recommend it be designated nonattainment for the 2008 8-hour ozone standard. This decision by the EPA is unwelcome, as nonattainment designations carry with them substantial regulatory and related economic burdens.

On February 22nd, the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies Madison, WI Chapter will host a lunch and CLE event on February 22nd titled EPA's Climate Change Regulations: Good Public Policy or Government Overreach? The discussion pannel includes Prof. Jonathan Adler, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Business Law & Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Prof. Stephanie Tai, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School. The event will be moderated by Ellen Nowak, Esq., Commissioner of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

The EPA has created a new tool that allows the public to see what data the federal government has on point source discharges into the nation’s waters. The Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool allows for easy searching and mapping of water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector, and pollutant.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this week denied a rulemaking petition by opponents of silica sand mining in western and northern Wisconsin. The same day it denied the rulemaking request, the DNR issued a comprehensive Silica Sand Mining Study.

The EPA’s Boiler MACT rules were reconsidered and stayed after their publication in March 2011. This article provides analysis of the federal court case that overturned the stay, and details on the EPA’s reconsidered rules which are now available for comment.

Governor Walker focused on job creation and improving the state’s jobs climate in his second State of the State Address. As part of the efforts to improve the state’s job climate, Walker announced he was appointing new members to the Small Business Regulatory Review Board, which has the authority to review every administrative rule.

The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board met January 24th and 25th in Madison. Important topics addressed by the Board included approval of an economic impact solicitation process, a reduction of the bear harvest quota for 2012, and discussions of EPA-identified deficiencies in the state’s water program and frac sand mining.

The stay of the Cross State Air Pollution Rule by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit casts uncertainty over an EPA proposal to allow states to rely on the Cross State Air Pollution Rule to meet the Clean Air Act’s regional haze requirements. The regional haze program modifications, announced the same day as the stay, are now uncertain.

North Dakota has filed suit against Minnesota in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota, claiming Minnesota's Next Generation Energy Act of 2007, which bars utilities from buying power from new plants that would raise carbon dioxide emissions, violates the U.S. Constitution by restricting trade between states and encroaching on Congress' power to regulate interstate power sales and carbon dioxide emissions.

Midwest Energy News recently published an interesting article discussing how different states treat hydroelectric power when it comes to renewable electricity standards. As the article explains, although hydropower is a renewable energy, it does not always count toward a state’s renewable electricity standard.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on December 29, 2011, taking the first step toward establishing a competitive process for leasing public lands for solar and wind energy development. The ANPR asks for public comments to assist the BLM as it drafts a proposed rule that is meant to foster the growth of renewable energy by establishing an efficient competitive process for issuing right-of-way (ROW) leases for solar and wind energy development.

The Assembly is expected to debate and pass Assembly Bill 426 on January 26th. Supporters of the bill argue that the bill is needed due to the uncertainty of current permitting laws and rules implemented by the Department of Natural Resources, which they say discourage investment in mining. Moreover, proponents argue that the new law will provide jobs without harming the environment. Environmental groups oppose the legislation arguing that it will harm the environment.

President Obama announced Wednesday that he was rejecting TransCanada Corp.’s application for a permit to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline.

Mandated by the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the EPA launched the GHG Reporting Program in October 2009, requiring the reporting of GHG data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. The first data reported under that rule has now been released to the public in an easy to use database.

The EPA’s online data publication tool allows users to view and sort GHG data for calendar year 2010, the first year data was collected under the mandatory rule, from over 6,700 facilities in a variety of ways—including by facility, location, industrial sector, and the type of GHG emitted. For example, the data set includes information on 136 GHG emitters in the state of Wisconsin.

One of several bills targeted at reducing uncertainty and increasing flexibility in Wisconsin’s regulatory system is Assembly Bill 463/Senate Bill 368, known as “the wetlands bill.” The bill, sponsored by Senator Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn) and Representative Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz), makes significant changes to Wisconsin’s wetlands permitting process.

Wisconsin wetlands are currently subject to a myriad of different regulations. For example, some wetlands are subject to both state and federal regulations, while others are regulated only by the state. For non-federal wetlands, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can issue an individual or general certification, and must take extra precautions if the wetland is or is near to an area of special natural resource interest (ASNRI). While the jurisdictional overlap is unavoidable, the multitude of permitting standards for non-federal wetlands results in an overly complex area of law.

The wetlands bill would require the DNR to follow specific procedures and timelines for issuing individual wetlands permits for the first time ever. The DNR will be able to focus on larger and more complex projects by increasing the use of general permits for smaller, less complex projects. The DNR would also be permitted to consider economic impacts and mitigation when making a permitting determination. Below is a discussion of the changes to Wisconsin’s wetland regulations contained in AB 463/SB368:

You know that Nissan Leaf commercial where everything runs on gas? Every time I see it I wonder how much gas it would take to do certain things. Apparently Nissan and I are not the only people thinking about these things, as Exxon Mobile recently did the math, and figured out how many gallons of gas would it take to charge an iPhone.

The Clean Water Act turns 40 this year, but despite its age, its implementation continues to raise controversial issues. Today, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an important wetlands case, Sackett v. EPA. The issue in the case is two-fold: 1. May petitioners seek pre-enforcement judicial review of an administrative compliance order pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 704; and 2. If not, does petitioner's inability to seek pre-enforcement judicial review of the administrative compliance order violate their rights under the Due Process Clause?

The public hearings and comment deadlines for the 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards issued jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are approaching. Public hearings will be held on January 17, 19, and 24, 2012, and public comments are due by February 13, 2012.

The EPA finalized the 2012 percentage standards for four fuel categories that are part of the agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard program (RFS2) just in time for the new year.

The final 2012 overall volumes and standards are:

Biomass-based diesel: 1.0 billion gallons; 0.91 percent
Advanced biofuels: 2.0 billion gallons; 1.21 percent
Cellulosic biofuels: 8.65 million gallons; 0.006 percent
Total renewable fuels: 15.2 billion gallons; 9.23 percent

On December 30th, a federal appeals court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must delay implementation of the Cross State Air Pollution Rule pending the outcome of legal challenges to the case.