Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

The United States’ Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, has placed a nationwide stay on the Obama Administration’s Waters of the United States rule. The final rule went into effect in August of this year and was being put into effect before the appeals court stayed its implementation. According the Court, the stay was put in place to temporarily clear up the confusion being created by both the implementation of the law and the legal challenges to it.

On October 13th, we reported that new Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding carbon emissions might have an impact on Pennsylvania’s construction economy. At the time, we reported that those regulations, which are based on a finding by the EPA that carbon emissions are harmful “greenhouse gases”, were subject to a legal challenge. That legal challenge has now been taken up by a number of groups interested in the issue.

In June of this year, President Obama announced his plan to address climate issues. The EPA has announced a number of new regulations that are scheduled for public comment and finalization in the fall of 2014 in furtherance of the President’s agenda. Some of these new regulations have the potential to significantly impact the coal and Marcellus Shale industry, as well as the construction infrastructure that goes along with it, in Pennsylvania.

The Engineering News Record recently reported that the push on public health concerns and environmental issues has caused the Environmental Protection Agency to begin imposing more stringent rules on the presence of organic and inorganic contaminants in drinking water. The American Water Works Association indicates it expects even more regulations in the industry soon as the EPA races to get them out before President Obama leaves office in 2016.

An open and ongoing dispute between a researcher for the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Environmental Protection Agencyis starting to appear in construction related publications. The researcher, Christopher Horner, thinks EPA is hiding something and is suing in Court for what he claims are violations of the Freedom of Information Act.