On August 26, 2015, a
group of environmental organizations notified
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of their intention to file a lawsuit
against the agency for failure to perform their nondiscretionary duties under
the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). RCRA grants EPA the
power to control and regulate hazardous waste at all stage of the waste’s
lifecycle, including generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and
disposal.
In their claims, the
environmental organizations argue that EPA has failed to modernize federal
technical standards and guidelines associated with oil and gas wastes, which were
last reviewed in 1988. Also, they allege that existing drilling state plan
guidelines have not been updated since 1981, and that said federal standards
and state guidelines must be reviewed on a three-year basis under RCRA. In
their notice of intent, the environmental organizations declared that
regulations “are outdated, contain generic provisions that do not specifically
address issues relevant to the modern oil and gas industry, fail to adequately
protect against potential harm to human health and the environment resulting
from oil and gas operations, and urgently need review and revision by EPA.”
The lawsuit can proceed
sixty days from EPA’s receipt of this notice of intent.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
08/27/2015
