Environmental Law ReSource : Environmental Lawyer & Attorney : Reed Smith Law Firm : Climate Change, Sustainability

This post was written by Nicolle Snyder Bagnell and Stephanie Hadgkiss.

Facing a projected budget deficit of $2.3 billion, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has proposed a "severance" tax on gas extracted from the Marcellus shale formation, the proceeds of which would go to the General Fund in order to offset revenue shortfalls in the state's budget. This proposal was reported in the Feb. 20, 2009 edition of the Oil and Gas Journal.

According to the article, Governor Rendell proposes to tax producers in the state 5% at the wellhead, plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet of production --an approach identical to that of West Virginia. The tax would be paid monthly to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue beginning Oct. 1, 2009 and has been projected to raise an estimated $1.82 billion over five years.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

This post was written by David Wagner.

The UK's Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) published a consultation on April 7 soliciting public comment on European Commission proposals to revise the WEEE and RoHS Directives. The consultation paper highlights the significant changes and poses questions for industry and others to address. Among other revisions, the proposal would establish under WEEE new collection targets for Member States and new targets for recovery and reuse/recycling. The proposal would also likely increase WEEE financing costs for producers. The proposed revisions to RoHS would include the possible review and restriction of four substances, specifically: hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD); bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP); and dibutylphthalate (DBP). Consultation responses (i.e., public comments) are due May 13, 2009.

The WEEE Directive (or Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) aims to minimize the environmental impact of electrical and electronic equipment by encouraging its reuse, recycling and recovery when it is discarded at end of life. The RoHS Directive (or the Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances Directive) ensures that all Member States observe similar restrictions on the levels of six hazardous substances in the same categories of electrical and electronic equipment.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

This post was written by Tony Klapper and Jesse Ash.

On April, 8, 2009, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ("NIOSH") and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") submitted a notice for public comment in the Federal Register, requesting information to evaluate potential health risks associated with the use of carbon nanotubes ("CNTs"). 74 Fed. Reg. 15985-15986 (Apr. 8, 2009). NIOSH and CDC request by May 15, 2009, all information related to studies, workplace exposure data, and information on control measures where companies manufacture CNTs in products. The agencies plan to use this information to formalize recommendations for the safe handling of products that contain CNTs.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link