Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park in Canada.

As we reach the close of 2022, eyes are on Washington, D.C., as both the White House and the Supreme Court are reviewing the definition of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). On Nov 30, the White House concluded its review of the proposed revised definition of WOTUS within the Clean Water Act (CWA) that the EPA submitted in September. At press time, it was not clear whether a final rule will need to be adjusted following the forthcoming Supreme Court Sackett v. EPA decision.

We are also keeping a close watch on continued memoranda and proposed regulatory updates around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been in the news over the last few weeks. Look for more information on these important updates and their potential impacts from us coming soon.

From all of us at BC’s Compliance News, we wish you happy, safe and healthy holidays!

In other environmental updates, we highlight the following in our Compliance News:

More stringent heavy-duty emissions standards on the way

The U.S. EPA announced plans to issue tougher greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy-duty trucks and other larger vehicles through at least the 2030 model year by the end of 2023, which is a change from its March 2023 proposed rule.

EPA seeking comments on proposed PFAS regulatory updates

The EPA is proposing regulatory updates that would add PFAS to supplier notifications for chemicals of special concern, causing changes in reporting stipulations. Comments are open until Feb. 3.

New ASTM standard covers stormwater testing

The stormwater control measures committee of ASTM International has developed a new standard on characteristics of sediments used in laboratory performance testing of stormwater-treatment devices. The new standard, soon to be published as E3317, describes the minerology, specific gravity and particle size distributions of silica-based sediments used in the testing of these devices.