Discovering a preservative that can extend the life of rubber tires, brakes and hoses, translating into fewer of these products ending up in the landfill sounds like a good environmental solution to the problem of rubber degradation. Now, what if such an anti-degradant exists in your garden hose and in the brakes and tires on your car, but it’s so toxic that it kills salmon and has recently been linked to Parkinson’s disease in humans?
Often, the solution to one problem can absolutely ravage our safety in a completely different area. What I am talking about in this case is: 6PPD-quinone (6-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline quinone or 6PPDQ) (CAS No. 2754428-18-5). Developed in the early 1960s and patented in 1965, 6PPDQ was widely used by the 1970s. It is not an additive exactly, but a transformation product that forms when 6PPD (CAS No. 793-24-8) reacts with ozone and oxygen. The idea behind it was to make tires last longer, which is a great environmental objective, however, 6PPDQ has been found to have a devastating effect on salmon, specifically coho and chinook salmon.
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Stormwater,
chemical safety,
California,
British Columbia,
Washington,
Environmental Compliance,
EPA Regulations,
Environmental Health and Safety,
EHS Compliance,
EHS Software,
ESG Compliance,
Compliance Management,
6PPDQ,
salmon,
tire manufacturing,
rubber tires,
rainwater
On February 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a major update to its national drinking water monitoring data under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). This dataset, representing nearly 95% of the monitoring results collected through 2025, gives the most comprehensive snapshot yet of the prevalence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in America’s public water systems.
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EPA,
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PFAS,
OHS,
Environmental Compliance,
EHSCompliance,
Forever Chemicals,
EHS Compliance,
PFAS regulations,
Public Water Systems,
UCMR 5,
Drinking Water,
Safe Drinking Water Act
In September 2025, California extended and amended authority for its statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) “cap and trade” program through 2045 – and rebranded it as “cap and invest.” The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has administered this program since 2012, as part of broader GHG reduction provisions created by 2006’s Assembly Bill (AB) 32. AB 32 initially committed the state to reduce total GHG emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020 (achieved in 2018); ARB’s latest GHG reduction scoping plan (issued in 2022), seeks to reduce statewide emissions to 85% below 1990 levels by 2045, achieving carbon neutrality. Subsequent legislation extended implementing authority for cap-and-trade and other related programs available to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) and other agencies through 2030. (I wrote about that extension (AB 398) HERE ). The newest legislation (AB 2017 and Senate Bill (SB) 840) continues the state’s GHG reduction efforts by making further changes to ARB’s cap and trade authority. The rest of this note summarizes these changes.
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climate change,
sustainability,
cap-and-trade,
California,
Climate,
Carbon markets,
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Climate Risk,
California Regulations,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions,
GHG Reduction,
cap-and-invest,
California Air Resources Board
On September 16, 2025, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposal to eliminate the vast majority of its longstanding Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), which requires thousands of facilities and organizations to report annual emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (40 CFR part 98). (I’ve written about this program over the years, most recently when EPA issued massive revisions in April 2024 (see HERE). The remainder of this note briefly summarizes EPA’s latest interpretation and identifies the small portion EPA proposes to retain, and the existing GHGRP.
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EPA,
Greenhouse Gas,
Clean Air Act,
Climate,
Environmental Compliance,
EPA Regulations,
EPA Standards,
GHG Reporting,
EPA enforcement,
Climate Disclosure,
Climate Risk,
Air Quality
The US environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to narrow its enforcement focus in order to follow Trump administration priorities. I recently wrote about EPA’s May 2025 statement of new enforcement policies (I wrote about that memo HERE). Now, EPA has announced further changes, to align its activities with the President’s Executive Order “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations” (EO 14294). The remainder of this note summarizes these changes.
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EPA,
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EPA Standards,
Trump Administration,
Environmental Health and Safety,
Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA enforcement
On March 27, 2025 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to stop defending rules adopted in 2024 (during the Biden administration) that would have required selected “public companies” (i.e, listed on national securities exchanges) to provide “climate-related disclosures for investors” in their registration statements and annual reports. SEC had stayed these rules’ effectiveness after being sued by two energy companies, which were later joined by other plaintiffs as well as state and nonprofit supporters of the rules. The latest SEC decision ends the agency’s defense in that litigation.
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SEC,
Environmental Policy,
Climate,
ESG,
Environmental Compliance,
Risk Management,
Sustainability Reporting,
Climate Disclosure,
Climate Risk
Since 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has administered an extensive Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), which requires thousands of facilities and organizations to report annual emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (40 CFR part 98). Although reports are usually due by March 31 of the following year, EPA has delayed the deadline for reporting year (RY) 2024 until May 30, 2025. EPA cites delays in making the new version of its Electronic Greenhouse Gas Reporting tool (e-GGRT) available.
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EPA,
Greenhouse Gas,
sustainability,
GHGRP,
Environmental Compliance,
Environmental Regulations,
Carbon Reporting,
GHG Reporting,
Climate Reporting,
Compliance Update,
Emission Reporting,
eGGRT
Since returning to office in January, President Trump and his administration have promulgated many actions to reduce and revamp the US federal government, and additional actions focused on specific agencies. I wrote about general approaches to environmental regulation HERE. In addition, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been a target of specific directives, and new EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has already announced important policy and procedural changes at his agency. The remainder of this note summarizes EPA-specific changes ordered and/or instituted as of the end of February 2025.
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EPA,
tsca,
clean water,
Executive Order,
Clean Air Act,
environmental protection,
Environmental Compliance,
Trump,
Trump Administration,
Environmental Protection Agency
Incoming President Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress have begun sweeping plans to reverse many of the outgoing Biden Administration’s environmental policies. The timing and practicality of these reversals depends very much on each of the targeted activity’s legal form – law, regulation, Executive Order (EO), or guidance document. They also depend on where each particular target is in the governmental process: a non-binding policy, a proposed regulation subject, a final regulation subject to administrative appeals or court attacks, and a final regulation. President Trump has taken early executive action under each of these sets of situations. I will write about some separately, but the remainder of this note summarizes each general type of situation, with examples of each set out in order ranging from quickest/easiest to most time consuming/difficult.
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EHS,
sustainability,
Executive Order,
Environmental Compliance,
Policy Change,
Trump,
Trump Administration,
Regulations
Canada has established a goal of zero plastic waste by 2030, and has established a variety of regulatory and informational programs to pursue that goal. As part of these effort, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has established the Federal Plastics Registry (FPR), along with accompanying regulations requiring reporting by targeted producers of plastic packaging, electronic and electrical equipment, and single-use or disposable products. These entities’ reporting requirements expand annually in three “phases,” beginning with Phase 1 reports starting with selected 2024 data due by September 29, 2025. (I wrote about ECCC’s proposal to establish the FPR, HERE). The remainder of this note summarizes Phase 1 requirements and identifies Phase 2-4 targets.
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Environmental risks,
Environmental,
climate change,
Environmental Projects,
Environment,
Environmental Policy,
Climate,
plastics,
Environmental Compliance,
Plastic Waste
