Latest news with #environmentalregulations
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Exempts Scores of Plants From Biden's Pollution Rules
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is allowing chemical makers, coal-fired power plants and other facilities to bypass a range of environmental regulations on grounds that the waivers are needed for national security purposes. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Mumbai Facelift Is Inspired by 200-Year-Old New York Blueprint Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say The plants, which also include taconite iron ore processing operations and chemical manufacturing facilities that play a role in the production of semiconductors and energy, were granted two-year waivers from Environmental Protection Agency rules via proclamations signed by Trump and released on Thursday evening. The rules were finalized under the Biden administration. 'The exemptions ensure that these facilities within these critical industries can continue to operate uninterrupted to support national security without incurring substantial costs to comply with, in some cases, unattainable compliance requirements,' the White House said in a statement. Environmental groups slammed the move, with the Natural Resources Defense Council characterizing it as a 'literal free pass for polluters.' 'If your family lives downwind of these plants, this is going to mean more toxic chemicals in the air you breathe,' said John Walke, a senior attorney with the group said. 'All the claims of technology problems and national security concerns are pretexts so a few big corporations can get richer.' Among the exempted operations were taconite iron ore plants in Minnesota owned by the United States Steel Corp. and six facilities owned by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in Minnesota and Michigan, according to the White House, which said the steel was used in national defense systems and other critical infrastructure. Chemical makers, including Dow Inc. and BASF SE, and refiners such as Phillips 66 and Citgo Petroleum Corp., were granted waivers from EPA regulations requiring emissions controls for certain facilities, according to the White House, which said the requirements would have required massive capital investments or even forced the plants to shut down. The White House also said coal-fired power plants in Ohio, Illinois and Colorado had been exempted from stringent air pollution mandates limiting the emission of mercury and other toxins. Several commercial medical device sterilization facilities were exempted from EPA rules setting emission standards for ethylene oxide, a widely used chemical in the sterilization process, the White House said. The Biden 'emissions standards impose costly and, in some cases, unattainable compliance requirements on these industries essential to national interests,' according to a White House fact sheet. The waivers follow guidance earlier this year by the EPA that said companies could ask for exemptions to a range of regulations for as long as two years. --With assistance from John Harney. (Updates with comment from environmental group in fourth paragraph, and information on medical device waivers in eighth paragraph.) What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover Why Access to Running Water Is a Luxury in Wealthy US Cities A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Exempts Scores of Plants From Biden's Pollution Rules
President Donald Trump is allowing coal-fired power plants and other facilities to bypass a range of environmental regulations on grounds that the waivers are needed for national security purposes. The plants, which also include taconite iron ore processing operations and chemical manufacturing facilities that play a role in the production of semiconductors, were granted two-year waivers from Environmental Protection Agency rules via proclamations signed by Trump and released on Thursday evening. The rules were under the previous Biden administration.
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Brazil's congress passes bill to overhaul environmental regulations
A bill to overhaul environmental regulations in Brazil was passed by the country's lower house Thursday, drawing criticism by the environmental minister who floated the possibility of a presidential veto. With the bill already passed by the Senate in May, it now goes to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who casts himself as an environmental defender and later this year will preside over the first U.N. climate talks, known as COP30, to take place in the Amazon. Lula can sanction the project, veto it in its entirety or veto only certain aspects. Lula has not publicly comment on what action he might take. If signed by Lula, the sweeping legislation will weaken federal agencies' environmental licensing powers. Among other measures, it speeds up review for projects deemed priorities by the federal government, reducing the approval process from three bureaucratic steps to one. It also eliminates reviews for upgrades to existing highways, which could clear the way for to pave the whole of a highway that runs about 900 kilometers (560 miles) through the western part of the Amazon. Environmentalists argue that the project will lead to mass clearing of a pristine area of rainforest. The bill's approval is a victory for supporters who argued Brazil's current regulations needs to be simplified, but a blow for environmental experts and green activists, who refer to it as the 'devastation bill.' The bill passed with a strong majority, 267 votes to 116. After the bill passed, Environment Minister Marina Silva told local press that the bill undermined environmental legislation and that the federal government would still seek alternatives, including the possibility of a presidential veto. A campaign in the lead up to the vote said the bill could lead to a regression in pollution control - risking health issues - increase water contamination and scarcity, increase deforestation and undermine protected areas. At the heart of concerns is the proposal to install a self-declaration process for environmental licensing, which Suely Araújo, the public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory network of NGOs, said would cover around 90% of total projects in Brazil. Companies would 'file a description online, press a button, and the license will be issued,' she said, calling the proposal 'by far the worst piece of legislation' ever from an environmental standpoint. Last week, more than 300 nonprofits, including Greenpeace and WWF Brazil, signed a petition expressing their 'deep concern' regarding the bill which they say, 'represents a huge institutional setback for Brazil and the collapse of over 40 years of development of national environmental legislation.' ___ Gabriela Sá Pessoa contributed from Sao Paulo.
Al Arabiya
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Brazil's congress passes bill to overhaul environmental regulations
A bill to overhaul environmental regulations in Brazil was passed by the country's lower house Thursday, drawing criticism by the environmental minister who floated the possibility of a presidential veto. With the bill already passed by the Senate in May, it now goes to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who casts himself as an environmental defender and later this year will preside over the first UN climate talks known as COP30 to take place in the Amazon. Lula can sanction the project, veto it in its entirety, or veto only certain aspects. Lula has not publicly commented on what action he might take. If signed by Lula, the sweeping legislation will weaken federal agencies' environmental licensing powers. Among other measures, it speeds up review for projects deemed priorities by the federal government, reducing the approval process from three bureaucratic steps to one. It also eliminates reviews for upgrades to existing highways, which could clear the way to pave the whole of a highway that runs about 900 kilometers (560 miles) through the western part of the Amazon. Environmentalists argue that the project will lead to mass clearing of a pristine area of rainforest. The bill's approval is a victory for supporters who argued Brazil's current regulations need to be simplified but a blow for environmental experts and green activists who refer to it as the 'devastation bill.' The bill passed with a strong majority, 267 votes to 116. After the bill passed, Environment Minister Marina Silva told local press that the bill undermined environmental legislation and that the federal government would still seek alternatives, including the possibility of a presidential veto. A campaign in the lead up to the vote said the bill could lead to a regression in pollution control – risking health issues – increase water contamination and scarcity, increase deforestation, and undermine protected areas. At the heart of concerns is the proposal to install a self-declaration process for environmental licensing, which Suely Araújo, the public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory network of NGOs, said would cover around 90 percent of total projects in Brazil. 'Companies would file a description online, press a button, and the license will be issued,' she said, calling the proposal 'by far the worst piece of legislation ever from an environmental standpoint.' Last week, more than 300 nonprofits, including Greenpeace and WWF Brazil, signed a petition expressing their deep concern regarding the bill, which they say represents 'a huge institutional setback for Brazil and the collapse of over 40 years of development of national environmental legislation.'
Associated Press
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Brazil's congress passes bill to overhaul environmental regulations
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A bill to overhaul environmental regulations in Brazil was passed by the country's lower house Thursday, drawing criticism by the environmental minister who floated the possibility of a presidential veto. With the bill already passed by the Senate in May, it now goes to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who casts himself as an environmental defender and later this year will preside over the first U.N. climate talks, known as COP30, to take place in the Amazon. Lula can sanction the project, veto it in its entirety or veto only certain aspects. Lula has not publicly comment on what action he might take. If signed by Lula, the sweeping legislation will weaken federal agencies' environmental licensing powers. Among other measures, it speeds up review for projects deemed priorities by the federal government, reducing the approval process from three bureaucratic steps to one. It also eliminates reviews for upgrades to existing highways, which could clear the way for to pave the whole of a highway that runs about 900 kilometers (560 miles) through the western part of the Amazon. Environmentalists argue that the project will lead to mass clearing of a pristine area of rainforest. The bill's approval is a victory for supporters who argued Brazil's current regulations needs to be simplified, but a blow for environmental experts and green activists, who refer to it as the 'devastation bill.' The bill passed with a strong majority, 267 votes to 116. After the bill passed, Environment Minister Marina Silva told local press that the bill undermined environmental legislation and that the federal government would still seek alternatives, including the possibility of a presidential veto. A campaign in the lead up to the vote said the bill could lead to a regression in pollution control - risking health issues - increase water contamination and scarcity, increase deforestation and undermine protected areas. At the heart of concerns is the proposal to install a self-declaration process for environmental licensing, which Suely Araújo, the public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory network of NGOs, said would cover around 90% of total projects in Brazil. Companies would 'file a description online, press a button, and the license will be issued,' she said, calling the proposal 'by far the worst piece of legislation' ever from an environmental standpoint. Last week, more than 300 nonprofits, including Greenpeace and WWF Brazil, signed a petition expressing their 'deep concern' regarding the bill which they say, 'represents a huge institutional setback for Brazil and the collapse of over 40 years of development of national environmental legislation.' ___ Gabriela Sá Pessoa contributed from Sao Paulo. Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
