environmental protection agency Archives

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is advocating to cancel out a $20 billion climate slush fund approved under the Biden administration.

Marshall, who is also a candidate for the U.S. Senate, joined a coalition of states Tuesday supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) effort to shut down a Biden-era climate grant program.

EPA officials admitted the administration rushed nearly $20 billion in taxpayer funds out the door like “gold bars off the Titanic,” prioritizing political timing and ideological goals over accountability, oversight, and the rule of law.

“When federal officials admit they were throwing taxpayer money overboard like ‘gold bars off the Titanic,’ that’s not climate policy, it’s reckless mismanagement,” Marshall said. “Forcing EPA to keep paying out these grants would mean ordering the agency to violate federal law and the Constitution.”

https://x.com/AGSteveMarshall/status/2013694418096693293

According to the brief, the Biden administration funneled nearly $20 billion to just eight nonprofit entities, many with little to no financial track record, through a novel funding structure that stripped EPA of meaningful control over taxpayer dollars.

Internal admissions revealed officials viewed the program as an “insurance policy” against losing power, hastily rewriting grant agreements after the 2024 election to limit EPA’s authority to intervene.

“That’s not how government is supposed to work, and it’s not something the courts should endorse,” Marshall added. “EPA has a duty to stop a scheme designed to evade oversight and lock in billions before voters could hold anyone accountable.”

The states argue the grants violated the Inflation Reduction Act’s requirement that funds be awarded on a competitive basis and failed to serve the general welfare, as required by the Constitution.

The brief also details how the program disproportionately harmed energy-producing states like Alabama by directing taxpayer dollars toward ideologically driven projects while undermining reliable, affordable energy and local economies.

The coalition is asking the court to allow EPA to proceed with rescinding and reassessing the grants to ensure federal funds are spent lawfully, transparently, and in accordance with Congress’s intent.

The West Virginia led coalition included Alabama and attorneys general from: Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) is taking aim at a new regulatory sprawl in Washington with a new bill he says would end the “slow-pour” gas can era in America.

Moore, who is also a candidate for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026, introduced the Freedom to Fuel Act alongside U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND).

Moore says the proposal is meant to restore common sense to the federal rulemaking process by stopping the EPA from imposing unnecessary and burdensome regulations on something as basic and essential as a gas can.

“For years, farmers, construction crews, small businesses, and homeowners have been forced to use government-mandated, slow-pour, spill-prone gas cans that break easily and make simple tasks harder,” Moore said.

The issue stems from a 2007 EPA rule that imposed strict evaporative-emissions limits on all portable fuel containers made after January 1, 2009.

“From day one, President Trump and Republicans have been committed to cutting red tape, empowering American workers, and restoring common sense,” Moore continued.

“The Freedom to Fuel Act is one more step toward eliminating outdated rules and bringing policy that makes the American people’s lives easier back to Washington.”

The rule pushed manufacturers toward complicated, vent-less designs that hinder fuel flow, cause spills, and increase breakage. It also saddled small manufacturers with costly testing and certification requirements – all without delivering meaningful environmental benefits.

“Who hasn’t had the maddening experience of filling up a lawnmower or snowmobile with gas only to spill it everywhere because of the terrible nozzles? Gas cans contribute only a tiny share of emissions, yet the Biden administration created an emissions mandate that resulted in this frustrating design,” Fedorchak said. “Glad to work with Rep. Moore on the Freedom to Fuel Act to roll back this nonsense.”

Key Provisions of the Freedom to Fuel Act:

Amends the Clean Air Act to clarify the definition of “consumer or commercial product.”
Explicitly excludes portable fuel containers, fuels and fuel additives regulated under Section 211, and motor vehicles, non-road vehicles, and engines already regulated elsewhere in federal law.
Prevents duplicative or inappropriate EPA oversight so that portable gas cans are no longer subject to unnecessary consumer product emissions controls.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

In an op-ed published early this morning in Fox News, U.S. Senator Katie Britt addressed the Biden Administration’s failures in relation to inflation and domestic energy production. The Alabama lawmaker also emphasized that she has complete faith in President Donald Trump’s ability and potential to solve many of the issues now presented.

“Since January 2021, over the course of former President Biden’s tumultuous time in the White House, the American people have suffered from very similar conditions to those in the late 1970s,” wrote Britt.”The rate of inflation in 2022 hit a 40-year high, and everyday goods and services, like margarine (56.8% increase), car insurance (47.3% increase), and eggs (40.1% increase), cost significantly more than they did in 2020.”

“The United States has been in embarrassing decline on the international stage over the past four years, with Afghanistan falling in disastrous fashion, Russia invading Ukraine, Iran sponsoring large-scale terrorist attacks that killed American citizens, and Communist China threatening territorial expansion.”

Britt drew a parallel between Trump’s election and that of Ronald Reagan, noting the positive effect that the President is already having on national and global affairs just days into office.

“Just as in 1980, the American people in November elected a Republican to utilize the time-worn principle of peace-through-strength policies that restore credible American deterrence in the face of regimes that would do us harm,” she continued.

“Before even taking office, President Trump has demonstrated he will foster a prosperous economy, a vigorous national defense, and – importantly – unleash the power of American energy, where there’s a laundry list of ways to solve the problems government created over the past four years.”

The Environmental Protection Agency under Biden, according to Britt, had consistently harmed both domestic energy producers and consumers.

“The Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seems to have confused protecting the environment with punishing productivity. The regulations the current iteration of the EPA has proposed are neither constitutional nor coherent; they run afoul of U.S. Supreme Court rulings and would spell disaster for energy producers and consumers – from families and small businesses to farmers and manufacturers.”

“For example, take the agency’s vehicle emissions standards, effectively a heavy-handed plan to phase out gas-powered automobiles and replace them with electric cars. Those punitive rules set targets for the number of electric models produced in the U.S. as a percentage of all light- and medium-duty vehicles created each year. Those standards, as you might imagine, are the strictest in American history.”

Britt revealed data detailing the EPA’s ill intent and nonsensical regulations relating to electric vehicles and high-methane-emitting oil and gas facilities.

“By 2032, two-thirds of new vehicles would have to be electric,” wrote Britt. “For reference, electric vehicles accounted for just 5.8% of new cars sold in the U.S. in 2022. The Biden-Harris EPA wants to kill the gas-powered car industry.”

“The EPA hasn’t stopped with regulations. It issued a rule this past November to institute a “waste emissions charge” on high-methane-emitting oil and gas facilities as part of the poorly named Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The “charge,” a tax by another name, starts at $900 per metric ton of “wasteful” emissions in 2024 before increasing to $1,200 in 2025 and $1,500 in 2026 and beyond.”

“While companies could reduce or even eliminate the penalty through using methane-reduction technology, in doing so they would incur expenses that in some cases would be higher than the tax itself.”

She explained that problems with the tax “do not end with energy producers.”

“The costs will – as always – be passed on to the consumer, meaning energy would be more expensive for all Americans if this provision is allowed to stand. It’ll be bad for Alabama, too: The tax applies to offshore and onshore petroleum and natural gas production, two resources with which our state has been blessed.”

The Senator pointed to two possible nominees on Trump’s cabinet that could be game changers in the production and regulation of domestic energy should they be confirmed.

“I firmly expect President Trump’s EPA pick, former Congressman Lee Zeldin of New York, to work to dismantle the agency’s red tape regime of stifling regulations and inflationary taxes. And he will not be the only one working to reverse the unlawful, unnecessary, and undeniably harmful policies of the Biden administration.

“Doug Burgum, the former North Dakota governor and incoming secretary of the Interior who will also lead the newly formed National Energy Council, will unshackle our country’s pioneering spirit and launch us into a new era of American energy dominance just as he’s done in his home state.”

“The nominees and appointees President Trump has chosen to power energy policy in his new administration demonstrate his commitment to fixing the problems ailing us. President Trump will lead us to morning in America once again, and my colleagues and I are ready to help make it happen.”

Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten

On Friday, Congressman Gary Palmer and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville both announced their opposition to a new Biden administration executive order freezing the construction of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Palmer said that this comes at a time where the United States became the world’s leading exporter of LNG in 2023.

The Biden Administration stated the pause was necessary for the government to study the impact of new terminals on climate change.

Palmer (R-Hoover) said the Biden Administration’s policy will cause the deaths of more Europeans.

“The Biden administration’s energy policies are not only draining people’s income; they are also dangerous to the peoples’ health. Just last year, it was reported that 68,000 people died in Europe classified as ‘excess winter deaths’ because they could not afford to keep their homes adequately warmed,” said Rep. Palmer.

“These were generally older people with respiratory or cardiovascular issues who could not afford their food and medicine and their high utility bills to keep their residences at a safe temperature. This decision to freeze construction of LNG facilities will make natural gas more expensive and put more lives in jeopardy in Europe and in the U.S., but that is where the Biden administration and their Democrat collaborators in Congress are leading us. They believe climate change is an existential threat, but their policies have made them a threat not only to Americans’ economic and physical well-being, but also to the well-being of our allies. I will work with my Republican colleagues to roll back these dangerous policies being forced upon the American people and to bring forth policies that make energy reliable, affordable, and cleaner.”

Sen. Tuberville joined Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and 24 other Republican colleagues in a letter blasting the Biden administration’s halt of all liquified natural gas (LNG) export permit applications in their effort to placate the climate lobby.

The letter was sent to President Biden and Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

“This ‘LNG Plan’ drafted without input from Congress could have significant economic, environmental, and national security consequences domestically and globally,” Tuberville and the other Senators wrote. “It would be reckless to jeopardize our advantage, especially in a world where energy is frequently being used as a geopolitical weapon.”

“U.S. LNG exports have served as a vital lifeline for countries in Europe and across the globe. Nearly half of U.S. LNG exports have been delivered to Europe to date, with a significant increase in exports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the Senator continued.

“When European imports of LNG increased by 60 percent in 2022, U.S. LNG met that demand. Without U.S. LNG exports, European leaders would have to decide between depriving their own citizens of energy or actively funding Russia’s war on Ukraine.”

Rep. Palmer dismissed claims by the environmental left that the U.S. is facing an environmental crisis.

“Just two weeks ago, the House Republican Policy Committee produced a report proving our environment has, in fact, improved since the 1980s,” Rep. Palmer continued. “The American people should look at the evidence themselves because the Biden administration can’t be trusted to have their best interests in mind.”

According to the report, by most standards, air quality in the United States is cleaner than 40 years ago. Since 1980, total emissions of the six principal air pollutants measured by the EPA have decreased by 60% even while American energy production has increased. Over this period, the percentage of AQI readings listed as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or worse in the nation’s Core-Based Statistical Areas has declined by 91%.

Sen. Tuberville has also joined a letter requesting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Michael Regan, withdraw the Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposed rule which will make electricity much more expensive for many Americans.

Tuberville also joined in a bipartisan letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm, raising their concern about a proposed rule by the DOE that increases efficiency standards on distribution transformers – critical grid products – at a time when the availability of essential grid components remains a significant challenge for the electric power industry, and while the industry is struggling due to a substantial increase in demand, supply chain issues, and skilled workforce shortage.

To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com

The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year of 2024 passed the House that included and amendment by U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer that bans the weaponization of the EPA.

We should not be arming the EPA to harass American businesses, farmers, and landowners.

My amendment would prevent the EPA from continuing to purchase weaponry better suited for the military. pic.twitter.com/U1n5nyexLI

— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) November 3, 2023

“It is baffling to me that Democrats call for defunding the police, yet desire for EPA agents to be armed like the U.S. military,” Palmer (R-Hoover) said in a statement.

“Most Americans are unaware the EPA spends $50 million a year to arm agents with equipment more appropriate for the military. They are just one of 70 agencies arming agents even though they have nothing to do with law enforcement. This is unacceptable. We should not be arming the Environmental Protection Agency to harass American businesses, farmers, and landowners.”

When offering his amendment on the floor of the House, Palmer said he can’t understand why the EPA needs to spend its money on these kinds of armaments.

“The EPA has spent millions of dollars over the years on anti-tank ammunition, amphibious assault craft, night vision equipment, unmanned aircraft, and other military equipment,” he explained. “It’s difficult for me to imagine that the EPA has a legitimate use for anti-tank ammunition. To me it sounds like we’re arming a Seal team. The difference is a Seal team can explain why they need these things, the EPA cannot.”

The congressman said he was made aware of the information from a report by the non-profit Open the Books watchdog organization.

“I think we need to step back and reevaluate whether arming the bureaucracy is the best way to ensure that our laws our enforced,” Palmer continued. “Federal agencies should be able to demonstrate their need for armed personnel, and in absence such a demonstration should rely on and partner with local, state, or federal law enforcement when there is a need for armed protection.”

You can learn more about this militarization of the EPA by reading my press release below ⬇️ https://t.co/6bWjCoo0fN

— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) November 3, 2023

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

A student-led team from the University of Alabama has received a federal award for its research and efforts to help private well owners in Alabama predict and identify the risk of water contamination after flooding.

The UA team is one of just 21 student teams funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for research and innovative solutions to address environmental and public health challenges as part of the latest round of EPA’s People, Prosperity, and the Planet, or P3, Program. Each team receives up to $25,000 to help them develop their proof of concept and will be eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of up to $100,000 to further implement their designs.

The UA project will develop a flood-induced contamination risk assessment model for Alabama’s underserved Black Belt region using spatial analysis and known private well locations. It will also develop user-friendly water quality testing packets with educational materials to bring awareness to the threats of well-water contamination. The materials will detail flood recovery protocol, risks of microbial contamination and emergency contact information.

Direct beneficiaries of the project include state and local water quality regulators, governments and the general public in addition to private well owners.

“Private well owners are responsible for ensuring the safety of their well water,” said Dr. Leigh Terry, team advisor and assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering. “Our goal is to empower the larger well water user community to both better understand their drinking water quality and take action after that quality has been degraded.”

Jourdan Kiaupa, a graduate student, leads the team, which is advised by Terry and Dr. Nate Jones, UA assistant professor of biological sciences. Dr. Nikaela Flournoy, an assistant professor of biology at Miles College, is also assisting on the project, along with Miles student Jaylin Jones. Justus King, a student from the University of Arkansas was part of the team over the summer as part of a National Science Foundation program that brought him to Tuscaloosa. More UA students are expected to join the team this fall.

The students will perform the well water sampling, analysis and kit testing under Jones and Terry’s mentorship and supervision.

In addition to developing a spatial analysis model and providing educational materials, the team will also determine the efficacy of pre-manufactured water quality testing strips by collecting samples from UA’s monitoring wells. The project will include a final report and model to identify areas in the state at risk of well contamination.

“The project brings engineers and scientists together to improve public health, empower individual well owners and improve the lives of rural residents across the Gulf Coast,” said Terry.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, along with 20 other state attorneys general, is rolling out strong opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule targeting coal, natural gas, and oil-fired power plants.

They say the EPA is unlawfully leveraging a specific clause in the Clean Air Act to push potentially dozens of plants into early retirement. The U.S. Supreme Court chastised the EPA for a similar approach in 2022.

“Just as our coalition was successful before the Supreme Court, this letter reminds the EPA that its authority is subject to authorization from Congress,” Marshall said. “As the last line of defense, I will continue to combat these out-of-control agencies who set illegal standards that will lead to devastating economic consequences for our great state.”

Among the arguments made by the attorneys general are concerns about the EPA exceeding its authority, setting unrealistic standards, violating states’ discretion rights, and jeopardizing grid reliability.

The attorneys general say the EPA’s proposal disregards the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling.

“For the sake of our residents, businesses, and sovereign interests, we urge EPA to reevaluate the Proposed Rule in keeping with Section 111’s limits and the bounds of reasoned rulemaking,” The letter says. “The Proposed Rule at least abandons the more direct ‘generation-shifting’ mandate that the Court rejected in West Virginia — but it still doubles down on the earlier rule’s goals by setting unrealistic standards.”

They also said EPA lacks the congressional green light to revamp the nation’s power grids.

“After the decision came down, political leaders noted the need to ‘pass meaningful legislation to address the climate crisis,’” the coalition wrote. “So far at least, Congress hasn’t.

“If finalized, EPA’s impossible proposal will leave coal- and natural-gas plants with no other option but to close.”

The letter is co-signed by attorneys general from Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Grayson Everett is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a proposed denial of Alabama’s permit program to manage coal combustion residuals – commonly known as CCR or coal ash – in landfills and surface impoundments, the agency announced Thursday.

According to a news release, this is the EPA’s first proposed denial of a state coal ash permit program.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management said the action was not unexpected and its program meets all state and federal requirements.

The EPA said the Alabama permit program is significantly less protective of people and waterways than the federal regulations require. Under the federal regulations, surface impoundments cannot be closed if, once closure is complete, the coal ash continues to be saturated by groundwater. Facilities must prevent groundwater from infiltrating and flowing out of the closed unit to prevent additional groundwater contamination.

In contrast, Alabama does not require that groundwater infiltration be adequately addressed during the closure of these coal ash units, the EPA said.

ADEM largely adopted the language in the federal regulations into its state regulations, the EPA release said. However, when the EPA reviewed Alabama’s coal ash permits, it found they were not as protective as the federal regulations.

The EPA said it is proposing to deny Alabama’s permit program application because it does not meet the standard for approval under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Under the law, each coal ash unit (i.e., landfills or surface impoundments) in the state must achieve compliance with either the federal regulations or state criteria that EPA has determined are at least as protective as the federal criteria.

“The permits issued by ADEM for the closure of coal ash impoundments and the remediation of groundwater around the impoundments meet all current state and federal requirements and are protective of human health and the environment,” said Lynn Battle, chief of ADEM’s Office of External Affairs. “This action by EPA is not unexpected since EPA is currently defending multiple lawsuits related to the same issues cited as the basis for the proposed denial of ADEM’s program that cleans up coal ash impoundments in Alabama.”

The EPA said it identified deficiencies in ADEM’s permits with closure requirements for unlined surface impoundments, groundwater monitoring networks, and corrective action requirements. EPA said it discussed these issues with ADEM; however, the state agency has not revised its permits or supplemented its application to explain how such permits are as protective as the federal requirements.

Should the EPA’s proposed denial of Alabama’s coal ash permit program be finalized, the facilities will be required to comply with the federal regulations, the EPA said.

The EPA is soliciting comments on this proposal for 60 days, during which a public hearing will be held for information and comments. For information, click here.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management announced the formation of a group to decide if changes in laws, regulations, and resources are necessary in the wake of the fire at a landfill in Moody. The group will consist of officials at state and local levels.

The lack of response to the fire revealed shortcomings of state and local governments’ abilities to handle situations that are not within their defined regulated activities, even though those situations may be harmful to the public.

“The underground fire was an unprecedented event that unfortunately affected numerous residents,” ADEM Director Lance LeFleur said. “It also showed gaps in the authority and ability of both state and local governmental to respond and effectively deal with it. No agency in the state had the resources or expertise to extinguish such a fire.”

He also spoke about the goal of the group.

“What we hope to do by forming this working group is determine what we need to be better prepared and able to respond more effectively should a similar situation happen in the future,” he said.

The members are LeFleur; Jeff Smitheran, director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency; Rick Oates, state forester with the Alabama Forestry Commissior; Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama; Greg Cochran, executive director of the Alabama League of Municipalities; State Sen. Lance Bell (R-Pell City); and State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville).

Bell and Garrett represent areas impacted by the fire.

“The smoke from this fire has created hardships for a lot of people in the area,” Bell said. “They are worried about their health, their homes and even their businesses. We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“But if it does, we want to make sure the necessary resources are in place to deal with it.”

The landfill fire has been burning since November.

Originally, the Moody Fire Department responded but couldn’t do anything due to the fire burning underground. ADEM then took things over and requested assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who said that it lacked the authority to act.

With limited options remaining, state officials then asked the EPA to conduct air-monitoring tests around the site of the fire. Those tests showed high levels of benzene and other chemicals in the smoke, which warranted the EPA to step in.

The agency has been attempting to put the fire out since Jan. 18 and it anticipates that it could take several more weeks to extinguish the blaze.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.

Alabama has recently joined 23 other states in suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a “bureaucratic power grab.”

The states are requesting a federal court void a new rule that redefines the “Waters of the United States”. The new rule would declare the current regulation as unlawful.

Critics say this would harm landowners because it would make it more difficult for them to make improvements on their property.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said management of Alabama waters should be handled by the state, not the federal government.

“This new final rule is another bureaucratic power grab by the Biden Administration that will have negative effects on Alabamians,” he said. “In Alabama, we have one of the nation’s most diverse and robust aquatic ecosystems, and the responsibility of managing those waters rests first with the state of Alabama, not federal bureaucrats.

“This new EPA rule will make it more difficult for many farmers, property owners, homebuilders, and others to make simple improvements to their own property.”

The new rule also seeks to define the reach of the EPA’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ authority in regulating streams, wetlands, and other bodies of water under the Clean Water Act. It also redefines the term “navigable waters” to include ponds, certain streams, ditches, and other bodies of water under the Clean Water Act.

The lawsuit discusses the negative effect the new rule could have on a number groups, including ranchers, farmers, and miners.

“If the final rule is left in place, then ranchers, farmers, miners, homebuilders, and other landowners across the country will struggle to undertake even the simplest of activities on their own property without fear of drawing the ire of the federal government,” the suit reads.

“Landowning Americans of all stripes will thus be left with a choice: (a) fight their way through an expensive and lengthy administrative process to obtain complex jurisdictional determinations and permits or (b) face substantial civil and criminal penalties.”

Along with Alabama, the states are Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.

The fire at the landfill in St. Clair County that has been burning since November may be out in a “matter of weeks,” according to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

ADEM Director Lance LeFleur released a statement Friday with an update on the fire that was originally reported Nov. 25.

Last month, officials said the inferno is burning around 25 to 50 acres and in certain places more than 100 feet below the surface.

“First, I want to express our sincere empathy and concern for those who have had their lives upended by the fire at the vegetative waste disposal site near Moody,” he said. “We know many have been affected by smoke.

“Some have had to temporarily move to avoid exposure. We have heard people’s frustrations – and we share them.”

LeFleur said the Environmental Protection Agency began work to put out the fire Jan. 19. The EPA was called in because the state and local agencies did not have the resources to fight a fire of this nature.

“Work is proceeding well,” he said. “Smoke from the fire has been greatly reduced.

“EPA expects the fire to be out in a matter of weeks, if not sooner.”

LeFleur said EPA air monitoring tests found the presence of four chemicals above the accepted minimal risk level on the fire site itself and two of the chemicals above the accepted minimal risk level offsite at a single home about 300 feet from the fire.

However, he said, “Test results show the fire does not appear to be having any discernable effect on water quality. We will continue to monitor water quality and report our findings along with air monitoring results.”

Calling the fire an extraordinary event, he said it exposed shortcomings in the ability and authority of state and local governments to respond to situations that are outside the scope of regulated activities but, nonetheless, pose risks to the public.

“We are in talks with representatives of county governments and other agencies about ways to close these gaps,” LaFleur said. “Our goal, as always, is to protect the health and safety of our citizens and the environment, and to make sure we have the tools and authority to do so.

“We must work together and do all we can to ensure an incident like this does not happen again.”

LaFleur said ADEM will investigate the cause of the fire “and take appropriate enforcement action against the site operator after the fire is out.”

A grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will aid Auburn’s efforts to improve water quality in a creek and engage residents in learning to protect community natural resources.

The Auburn Public Works and Water Resource Management departments are joining with partners on the project, which is being supported through the Five Star and Urban Waters Grant Program.

Five Star focuses on projects that can improve water quality and protect species in coastal and wetland habitats and around rivers and creeks, primarily in more urban environments. Alabama Power and its parent, Southern Company, are among supporters of Five Star, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and private sector partners.

Auburn was the only community in Alabama to receive a Five Star grant this year. The grant will support a project at the city’s H.C. Morgan Water Pollution Control Facility, which is in the watershed of Parkerson Mill Creek. Stormwater from the facility flows into the creek, according to a news release from the city.

In 2019, the city began creating landscape buffers between the facility and the creek, using native plants. The buffers help filter runoff before it reaches the creek, reducing pollution while lowering the cost of maintaining the property.

The city plans to use the Five Star grant to expand the buffer and build “bioretention cells” at four strategic points where stormwater leaves the facility. An additional 3 acres of native plants will be installed to improve stormwater filtration and further reduce maintenance costs while providing habitat for native pollinators and birds.

“Parkerson Mill Creek is a valuable resource to our community,” said Watershed Program Coordinator Dusty Kimbrow. “Implementing this project will not only help to improve its water quality, but also provide educational opportunities to learn about the importance of all of our local water resources and how we can all work together to protect them for future generations.”

The city is partnering with Auburn University’s Water Resources Center and Bee Laboratory, and with Westervelt Ecological Resources, to design and install the landscaping. In addition, the partners will work together on offering public workshops to build awareness and provide lessons for residents about stormwater management, water quality monitoring and related topics. Also participating are Girl Scouts, who will help plant more than 2,000 native longleaf pine seedlings at the site. The planting will help the local scouts contribute to the ongoing international Girl Scout Tree Promise, with a goal of planting 5 million trees over five years across the globe.

“Each piece of this project is designed to make an immediate impact on the water quality in the Parkerson Mill watershed while improving long-term watershed stewardship in Auburn,” said interim Public Works Director Dan Ballard. “By engaging the community in a purposeful way, we hope to increase awareness and understanding of watershed management and equip residents with tools and skills to make a broader impact throughout the community.”

Parkerson Mill Creek is the site of an ongoing project to construct a greenway on the Auburn University campus and in the city along the creek. Two phases of the Parkerson Mill Creek Greenway have been completed on the campus, with construction of a third phase expected to begin early next year.

Alabama Power volunteers recently partnered with Auburn University Bee Lab, constructing more than 100 beehive “supers” – short for superstructures – that are added to hives for bees to store honey. The company has been involved in several initiatives to support important pollinator populations in Alabama, including bees and bats.

Work on the Five Star project is expected to begin this winter. For more information, contact the Watershed Division of the city of Auburn’s Water Resource Management department at 334-501-3060 or webwtrswr@auburnalabama.org.

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)

In a Thursday ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.

The high court’s 6-3 ruling, which was decided along justices’ ideological leanings, delivered a victory to Republican-controlled states’ efforts to allow industry to operate under a less-restrictive version of the Clean Air Act.

Declaring that the administrative agency did not hold sweeping authority to regulate power plant-produced greenhouse gases, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority’s opinion that Congress would need to specifically grant the EPA with such broad jurisdiction.

“A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body,” wrote Roberts.

In a social media post celebrating the ruling, Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) President Twinkle Cavanaugh took the EPA to task and railed against President Joe Biden’s “tyrannical measures” he had employed to implement the national left’s “socialist agenda.”

“A huge win for American families and our energy freedom,” declared Cavanaugh in a tweet. “Obama and Biden have exercised tyrannical measures to force their climate socialist agenda on our country. The EPA has been a puppet for liberal lobbyists and lawyers for too long. They have finally been put in check.”

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, asserted that the ruling was “long overdue.”

“[Thursday’s] Supreme Court decision to rein in the EPA in regard to the agency’s overreach in regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act is a long overdue recognition by the Court that there are limits to the EPA’s authority to legislate through regulation,” proclaimed Palmer. “Former Rep. John Dingell, the Democrat who helped write the Clean Air Act, stated the EPA was outside of its authority by imposing new rules on greenhouse gas coming from power plants during the Obama Administration.”

Palmer made mention of past legislation that he had authored to allow Congress to regain regulatory control over greenhouse-gas emissions and to strip the EPA of unauthorized administrative power.

“This ruling is consistent with my Stopping EPA Overreach Act I introduced in 2017, which would make it clear the EPA does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases and that would reassert the responsibility of Congress to make law,” noted the congressman. “American families are struggling with inflationary regulatory costs imposed by unelected bureaucrats at the EPA and other federal agencies.”

Palmer concluded, “Americans didn’t elect the bureaucrats at the EPA to issue inflationary regulations that destroy jobs, increase energy prices and drive up the cost of living. I am grateful for the Supreme Court’s decision reining in the EPA’s overreach.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

MONTGOMERY, AL — I was in fifth grade on the first Earth Day. There was an abandoned earth mover in the woods near my elementary school, and Mrs. Fields’ social studies class painted it with bright colors to improve our visual environment. It was 1970, Richard Nixon was President, and later that year he would establish the Environmental Protection Agency.

Little did I know then that Earth Day is about science, there are economics within environmentalism, and I would have a career promoting stewardship of the earth.

Clean water is the greatest advancement in public health in the history of the world. In the span of human history, it was not too long ago that foul water was a much greater threat than today’s COVID pandemic. Did you know Wilbur Wright of Wright Brothers fame died of water-borne typhoid fever in 1912, 36 years before his brother’s passing? Frankly, it was not uncommon. (more…)

The mission of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is to ensure for all Alabamians “a safe, healthful and productive environment.” It’s a mission that ADEM and its nearly 600 employees take very seriously.

Ensuring a safe, healthful and productive environment means more than simply being the environmental cop, though that certainly is part of ADEM’s job. When the Alabama Legislature passed legislation in 1982 that led to the creation of ADEM, lawmakers’ intent was for the agency to promote public health and well-being.

The term “healthful” in ADEM’s mission statement speaks directly to that. ADEM’s work is to contribute to the health of Alabama’s environment and the health of all Alabamians. (more…)

Throughout the eight long years of the Obama administration, Alabamians suffered under an overly-empowered regulatory state that burdened hardworking men and women and their businesses with countless harmful federal regulations.

This type of overreach was seen across the many federal agencies, but perhaps none more blatantly than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I am very pleased that over the last year and a half, our unified Republican government has worked to dismantle this Obama-era regulatory regime.

I am glad to report that important progress has been made recently, as the Trump administration’s EPA announced it intends to replace the Obama aministration’s Clean Power Plan with President Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. This is great news that represents an important step towards returning power to the states and further breaking down the regulatory state.
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President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cut red tape for U.S. manufacturers and stimulate job growth.

The memo, titled Promoting Domestic Manufacturing and Job Creation —Policies and Procedures Relating to Implementation of Air Quality Standards, calls for setting air quality standards based on transparent science.

It is designed to ensure efficient and cost-effective implementation of air quality standards under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and regional haze programs of the Clean Air Act.
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The left’s crusade against Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt should be seen for what it is — a witch hunt. We don’t need any more conservatives hanged by leftists who major in criminalizing political differences and minor in slander.

How dare a Republican president appoint an environmental heretic to head an administrative agency the left views as its sole, separate and absolute property? This agency exists to serve the deep state — the entrenched federal government bureaucracy that is tailor-made to advance the left’s agenda and operate above accountability.

This conspiratorially organized assault against Pruitt is precisely what Barack Obama and his friends mean by community organizing. It is vicious, relentless street fighting aimed at discrediting Pruitt and taking him down because he is one of the rare administrative officials who won’t put politics above the law and will stand up to those who do.
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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is joining other Republican leaders from across the country in praising President Donald Trump’s action to undo Obama’s harmful Clean Power Plan.

“The so-called Clean Power Plan was an unlawful, job-killing extension of the EPA’s authority under President Obama,” said Attorney General Marshall. “It was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed by the State of Alabama and others, and I am pleased that President Trump has ordered that it be reviewed.”

Alabama has long fought against the Clean Power Plan, which would mandate a 750 million metric ton reduction in CO2 emissions through increased regulations on existing power plants, especially coal-fired plants. According to a report released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last year, it would have cost more than 220,000 jobs across the country.

Trump’s executive action lifts restrictions on domestic coal and onshore oil and gas production, with key provisions taking effect immediately. Further rollback of major regulations under Obama’s Clean Power Plan are pending additional agency review.

In December, prior to Luther Strange’s appointment to U.S. Senate, the then-Attorney General called on President Trump to take action against the Plan.

In a bipartisan letter addressed to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Senate President Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, Strange and the Attorneys General of 23 other states suggested a “four point” strategy that included doing away with the plan on the first day Trump takes office.

“Conservative Attorneys General continue to play an important role in reversing unlawful federal mandates by challenging them in court and working with the incoming Trump administration to stop them at the source,” Attorney General Strange said at the time. “We are committed to working with the new administration and Congress in uprooting unlawful rulemaking which has had an adverse effect on States and our economy.”

On Monday, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby announced that he’s been appointed to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The new assignment gives him a prime post that will enable Alabama to have strong input into the process of repealing harmful regulations instilled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In addition to serving on the full committee, Sen. Shelby will also serve on the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittees. He’s taking over for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who fought vigorously against the agency’s “job-killing” rules during his time on the committee.

In a statement, the Alabama Senator said that he plans to continue the work that Sessions started.

“This is a critical time for our nation’s environment and public works, which is why I am delighted to pick up where Attorney General Sessions left off in the EPW committee,” said Senator Shelby. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to protect our nation’s environment while rolling back unnecessary EPA regulations that harm economic growth. I also stand ready to work with the committee and the Trump Administration to bring infrastructure into the 21stCentury both in Alabama and across the country.”

The Trump Administration has made it clear that they plan to make massive cuts to the EPA and will begin rolling back regulations as soon as possible. In January, the President ordered a suspension of business activities within the department, including issuing task orders or work assignments to EPA contractors. Additionally, just days after taking office, the White House removed online references to the controversial the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule.

trump-coal-1

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has asked President-Elect Donald Trump and other Capitol Hill leaders to take action against President Obama’s “Clean Power Plan,” and to ensure that future lawmakers won’t be able to cross the same boundaries again.

In a bipartisan letter addressed to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Senate President Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Attorneys General of 24 states suggested a “four point” strategy that includes doing away with the plan on the first day Trump takes office. They go on to suggest that legislative action be taken that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from issuing similar rules in the future.

“Conservative Attorneys General continue to play an important role in reversing unlawful federal mandates by challenging them in court and working with the incoming Trump administration to stop them at the source,” said Attorney General Strange. “We are committed to working with the new administration and Congress in uprooting unlawful rulemaking which has had an adverse effect on States and our economy.”

Alabama in October of 2015 joined 26 other states in suing the Obama administration over the president’s so called Clean Power Plan.

The plan, which would be implemented by the EPA, would mandate a 750 million metric ton reduction in CO2 emissions through increased regulations on existing power plants, especially coal-fired plants.

A study released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last year predicts the environmental mandates in the plan would ultimately cost the United States more than 220,000 jobs.

According to the study, the proposed regulations will have a disproportionate impact on southern states, where energy costs would jump by $6.6 billion per year over the next decade-and-a-half. The “East-South-Central” region of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky would see its GDP shrink by an estimated $2.2 billion and would lose 21,400 jobs as a result of the plan.

Zika virus

In June I relayed the good news that the House had passed Appropriations legislation providing funding for our nation’s response to the Zika Virus. It is important for Congress to ensure agencies like the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and others had the resources they need to combat the disease and prevent it from spreading.

Sadly, two months later, that compromise funding bill has yet to become law. Why? Senate Democrats led by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have twice blocked the legislation by denying the majority the 60 votes needed to allow a vote on the bill. The Wall Street Journal opines further that “they walked out on their own bill on Thursday to use the issue as a campaign bludgeon against Republicans.” Is that fair? Let’s review their stated objections.

First, Senate Democrats take issue with temporarily waiving a requirement to obtain a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to use certain proven mosquito-killing sprays like DDT. However, killing mosquitoes is exactly what we need to be doing right now and an emergency waiver of this kind can help states and communities quickly respond to the Zika threat without a bureaucratic permitting delay. Furthermore, the bill specifically requires any pesticide used to already be approved under and applied in compliance with The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

Next, Senate Democrats objected to the bill offsetting the cost by reallocating $543 million from ObamaCare funding. However, the ObamaCare money in question is leftover funding meant for setting up healthcare exchanges in territories that became unnecessary – and unused – when Puerto Rico expanded Medicaid. Finding unspent funds to help offset the costs of emergency spending is basic fiscal responsibility, not a reason to block a bill.

Finally, and probably most importantly, Senate Democrats are upset that the Zika appropriations bill does not allocate funding for Planned Parenthood, arguing that it leaves women without care options. But, that’s not true. The bill allocates $40 million for community health centers that are more plentiful and offer a wider range of care, plus $6 million for the National Health Service Corps and $95 million to the Social Services Grant Program that can distribute funds for preventive care to the most at-risk areas. It is simply not the job of the federal government to fund the nation’s largest abortion provider, and it is unconscionable that Senate Democrats would block funding aimed to help protect pregnant women and babies because their friends at Planned Parenthood don’t get a cut.

Of course, President Obama has taken the Senate Democrats’ side for the most part. However, as Roll Call reports, the president’s spokesmen are having a hard time explaining why, amid all the clamoring for more funding from Congress, the Administration has yet to tap into at least $385 million in unspent funds it could quickly access without congressional approval to combat Zika.

The Zika threat is real and it is here. Critical legislation is one step (and about four Senate votes) away from the president’s desk. A public health crisis of this magnitude is no time to block emergency funding in the name of politics.

Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband, Riley and their two children.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The State of Alabama has joined a coalition of 14 states and state agencies who are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an attempt to push back against the EPA’s latest regulations setting more stringent emissions standards for new, reconstructed and modified oil and gas operations.

The Office of Alabama’s Attorney General released a statement calling the regulations “a job-killing attack on the nation’s oil and natural gas industry.”

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, petitions the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the EPA’s final rule, arguing that it imposes “unnecessary and burdensome rules upon the oil and natural gas industry, while setting the stage for further limits on existing oil and gas operations before President Obama leaves office.”

“Americans are already taxed and regulated to death by Washington and this new EPA rule is another bureaucratic attempt to restrict access to more affordable energy,” said Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange. “We should be working to build up our country’s domestic energy production for the benefit of consumers and our struggling economy, not creating more obstacles to oil and gas.”

The coalition of states contends the EPA’s rule is unnecessary and would raise production and distribution costs and, in turn, force an increase in consumer utility bills. The EPA itself predicts its regulations will cost $530 million in 2025, while other studies project the annual price tag may hit $800 million, according to the AG’s office.

Critics of the rule contend that imposing the regulations will jeopardize jobs in the nation’s natural gas, pipeline and construction sectors, while advocates tout its environmental benefits.

Those signing onto the lawsuit were West Virginia, Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin, along with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

(Video above: Alabama coal miners discuss the hardship they are enduring as a result of EPA regulations)

Rep. Gary Palmer took time in a congressional hearing to respond to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy’s claim there is no evidence EPA regulations are killing jobs.

The Alabama Republican showed McCarthy, and everyone else at the hearing, a video featuring coal miners who had lost their jobs, as the industry buckles under the weight of federal regulations and poor economics.

“Administrator McCarthy, if you don’t remember anything else out of this hearing today, I want you to remember the faces and the voices of the people who’ve had their lives absolutely destroyed by the EPA’s policies,” Palmer said after showing McCarthy the video.

Palmer was reacting to comments McCarthy made in April when talking about agency regulations and how they impact the economy. McCarthy said she couldn’t find “one single bit of evidence that we have destroyed an industry or significantly impacted jobs other than in a positive way.”

Apparently, thousands of out-of-work coal miners across the country would beg to differ, according to Palmer, and just a few of them were featured in the video he made Obama’s top environmental regulator watch.

“You know it’s really easy to sit here and have this discussion about these regulations and try to deny they have an impact on people, but, you know, you are having an impact on people and unnecessarily so,” Palmer said.

“You’ve destroyed thousands of jobs,” he added, “and I don’t look at them as collateral damage. Here’s a guy who, one of those families who sat their and he cried through the interview.

“You got another guy whose wife’s diagnosed with cancer right after he lost his job. You got two daughters having to drop out of college,” he said, referring to miners depicted in the video.

Indeed, nearly 13,000 coal miners have lost their jobs in the last year as the coal industry continues to contract. Coal companies have blamed, to varying degrees, EPA regulations for making it basically illegal to build new coal plants and too costly to keep older plants open.

Joblessness in coal country has gotten so bad, coal miners unions, which are traditional democratic allies, have thrown their weight behind Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Trump has promised to repeal EPA regulations blamed for castrating the industry, while Democrat Hillary Clinton has promised to increase environmental regulation and provide mining towns with welfare.

“We’re going to get those miners back to work,” Trump said at a recent campaign rally. “The miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, which was so great to me last week, and Ohio and all over, they’re going to start to work again. Believe me. You’re going to be proud again to be miners.”

This article appears courtesy of the Daily Caller News Foundation