Welcome to The Great Lakes Legal Foundation Regulatory Watch
The Great Lakes Legal Foundation (GLLF) is a non-profit legal foundation providing legal and policy expertise to advance economic growth and increase job opportunities in the upper Midwest. We work with our partners to develop sound policies or challenge the ill-conceived.
To support our regulatory programs, GLLF staff diligently monitors and assesses regulatory initiatives. We have developed the Great Lakes Legal Foundation Regulatory Watch to provide timely updates and analyses of federal and Wisconsin regulatory programs.
Our focus is on energy and climate change, air quality, water quality, and other policies that may affect your business or practice. We strive to provide the most relevant and timely information on proposed rules, how those rules affect your business, and when those regulations will go into effect. No other firm in Wisconsin provides this type of information in one location.
Administrative agencies continuously promulgate new rules and often do so quickly. Tracking the various proposed rules can be time intensive and complicated. Our tracking reports profile the status of entire regulatory areas.
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EPA Will Designate Kenosha County as Nonattainment for Ozone
February 3, 2012Citing 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.
EPA's Climate Change Regulations the Topic of Discussion at Upcoming CLE Event
February 3, 2012On 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.
EPA’s New Tool for Tracking Water Pollution
February 2, 2012The 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.
State Regulation of Frac Sand Mining
February 1, 2012The 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.
Boiler MACT Status Update
January 30, 2012The 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.
Gov. Walker Highlights Regulatory Review Board in State of the State
January 26, 2012Governor 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.
January Natural Resources Board Meeting
January 26, 2012The 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.
CSAPR Stay May Affect Regional Haze Requirements
January 24, 2012The 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 Sues Minnesota Over Coal Power Restrictions
January 23, 2012North 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.
