Reauthorization of the State Conservation Bank is before the General Assembly this year, with the current authorization set to expire in 2018. Since its founding

President-elect Trump announced today that he will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. As Oklahoma’s AG, Mr. Pruitt has

EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation finalized new emission and fuel efficiency standards yeterday for “medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.”  These categories include not only

Methane emissions from oil and gas wells are the latest target of the Obama administration’s plan to combat climate change.  A final rule on these

Warmer weather has come to South Carolina, but don’t confine your preparations for your next beach vacation to gym time, finding the right bathing suit,

The federal government did an “about-face” today, reversing a 2015 proposal to open up stretches of the Atlantic Ocean, including the continental shelf off the

A divided US Supreme Court yesterday halted implementation of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. We have previously blogged about the Clean Power Plan on

As we explained in our October 19 blog, DHEC has undertaken an assessment of all Class One and Class Two dams in South Carolina in

On Friday of last week, EPA’s Final Clean Power Plan was published in the Federal Register, starting the clock for legal challenges to the Plan

On Friday, October 16, DHEC announced that it was issuing emergency orders requiring remedial actions at some 63 dams statewide.  This decision follows the record

EPA has rolled out a final rule revising the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS).  As we explained in our blog post about the draft

On Thursday, October 1 EPA announced a final rule setting a new standard for ground level ozone.  The new limit of 70 parts per billion is

Upstate Forever, one of South Carolina’s leading environmental and conservation organizations, announced last week that Andrea Cooper has been selected as its new executive director.

This week President Obama and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy rolled out a long-awaited new rule addressing carbon emission standards for U.S. power plants. The new

In late May EPA announced that three recipients in South Carolina will receive grants totaling 1 million dollars for the cleanup of brownfield sites for

The S.C. Senate voted to confirm Catherine Heigel as the next director of DHEC. She will assume her new position immediately. The agency announced this

The Board of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control has named Catherine Heigel of Greenville as its choice to head the agency for

In late January 2015 the Department of the Interior took a tentative step toward allowing oil drilling off the coast of South Carolina and several

The Environmental Protection Agency has released for public comment a draft strategic plan for the agency’s next four years.  The Draft FY 2014-2018 EPA Strategic

DHEC Director Catherine Templeton has announced the hiring of Sara Pendarvis Bazemore to head the agency’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM).  A

Beginning in 2008, EPA’s RE-Powering America’s Lands Initiative has worked to promote renewable energy development on current and formerly contaminated lands, landfills and mine sites.

In late September DHEC proposed changes to Regulation 61-67, which sets the standards for wastewater facility construction. Among the proposed amendments is a 25% reduction

Registration has opened for the 2014 South Carolina Water Resources Conference, which will be held in Columbia on October 15-16.  A biennial event, the Conference

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina continues to pursue criminal prosecutions for violations of environmental protection laws. On August 21

The South Carolina Generally Assembly ended its 2014 term in early June, having considered a number of proposed bills with environmental implications.  In a March

The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center will play host to the 2014 South Carolina Clean Energy Summit on July 9, 2014.  The Summit will feature “high

On June 9 the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, a case we first blogged about last July (and noted in

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 28 that it was awarding $1.5 million in brownfields grants to assist South Carolina communities with the

With hurricane season rapidly approaching, EPA has taken the opportunity to remind owners and operators of industrial facilities of laws and regulations that address chemical

EPA Region 4 and the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) are teaming up in May and June to offer a two-day “Lean and Green

EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule on March 25, 2014, addressing the scope of the Clean Water Act, specifically the

Last revised in 1992, EPA’s Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is intended to protect the nation’s 2 million agricultural workers from risks that accompany the

Earlier this month the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual report on enforcement and compliance actions.  The report chronicles fiscal year 2013 and highlights

The Environmental Protection Agency has released for public comment a proposed set of standards designed to reduce carbon emissions at new coal and natural gas-fired

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will review a Fourth Circuit decision holding that a provision of CERCLA preempts a North Carolina statute of

On December 30, 2013, the EPA announced a final decision to amend the “All Appropriate Inquiries Rule” to make clear that persons conducting a Phase

DHEC Director Catherine Templeton recently told the agency’s Board that she will begin soliciting comments in early 2014 on the reorganization and possible division of

As we first reported in March, DHEC has launched a website entitled “Permit Central” to help guide businesses in South Carolina through the sometimes daunting

As we first reported late last year, the American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) is revising the standard governing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments,

DHEC is accepting applications between now and October 14, 2013, for a series of workshops designed to educate and develop South Carolina leaders on environmental

The Environmental Protection Agency has recently introduced a desktop computer application that estimates the amount of rain and the frequency of stormwater runoff at specific

A ruling last month from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has overturned an EPA decision that temporarily exempted biomass

The Fourth Circuit has recently issued a major decision that implicates the rights and liabilities of landowners and former landowners of property damaged by pollution.

A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council raises questions about water quality at many of South Carolina’s most popular beaches, especially those along

On March 5, the Greenville County Council adopted a new Stormwater Banking Program and incorporated it into the county’s zoning ordinances. The program, which was

Brad Wyche, director of Upstate Forever, will be interviewed on this Friday’s edition of Walter Edgar’s Journal on South Carolina ETV Radio. Topics discussed will

A bill intended to reduce regulatory hurdles for solar energy companies that invest in South Carolina has failed to gain traction in the South Carolina

South Carolina’s twenty-five year ban on seawalls is under scrutiny as a result of a new bill introduced in the General Assembly. Since 1988 construction

In late January EPA finalized revisions to emission standards for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE).  RICE are commonly used at manufacturing and other industrial sites

A solar energy bill introduced in the South Carolina House faces an uncertain future.  The House Labor, Commerce, and Industry subcommittee heard testimony for and

A new solar energy bill introduced in the South Carolina General Assembly aims to help solar power and other forms of renewable energy grow in

With the arrival of the new year, both the Environmental Protection Agency and South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control will be seeing significant

Changes may be in store in 2013 to the Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), which has become the first step of environmental due diligence

The American Bar Association (ABA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently named Wyche an official “Climate Challenge Partner.” This distinction is given to

In celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Clean Water Act, EPA has launched a new app and website that provide user-friendly information on the

The State newspaper is reporting that the Environmental Protection Agency and the City of Columbia are close to finalizing a consent agreement that will impose

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control intends to dedicate a new group of five staff members to help guide businesses through the permitting

“Carbon Trading” refers to a group of market-based approaches currently being used in various countries to regulate and reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has issued an important opinion regarding the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

Environmental organizations have filed actions against two South Carolina power companies that operate coal-fired power plants.  The actions seek the cleanup of waste ponds where

Since 1988, South Carolina’s SUPERB program—State Underground Petroleum Environmental Response Bank—has provided funding to owners and operators of qualified underground storage tanks (USTs) for remediation

On May 14, 2012, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley signed into law a five-year extension of the South Carolina Conservation Bank. The Bank’s authorization had