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Author Archives: James Pray
Reuters withdraws ethanol hit piece.
On Friday, September 23, 2022, Reuters withdrew an article “How U.S. ethanol plants are allowed to pollute more than oil refineries.” Reuters cited “flawed interpretation of data on ethanol-plant pollution and fuel-production capacity” that “led to inaccurate estimates of carbon … Continue reading
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Court throws out lawsuit filed by neighbor of Hog Producer.
Hog Producer wins a dismissal of lawsuit filed by neighbor alleging Clean Water Act and Solid Waste Violations. On March 27, 2020, Northern District of Iowa Federal District Court Judge C.J. Williams granted a motion for summary judgment in favor … Continue reading
Posted in USEPA News
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Raccoon River Public Trust Doctrine lawsuit is now before the Iowa Supreme Court for argument.
I am more than closely watching an environmental lawsuit filed by ICCI and Food & Water Watch on March 27, 2019, in the Polk County, Iowa district court against the State of Iowa and several officials and departments. As full … Continue reading
My law firm has a new brand.
My firm just launched a #BoldandWise new brand! Click below to see the new BrownWinick. https://www.brownwinick.com/
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Iowa files to dismiss ICCI public trust water quality lawsuit
I am closely watching an environmental lawsuit filed on March 27, 2019, in the Polk County, Iowa district court against the State of Iowa and several officials and departments. The lawsuit was filed by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) … Continue reading
What is the Green New Deal?
There has been a lot of confusion regarding a “Green New Deal.” The fact that people are now talking about a greenhouse gas reduction measure (regardless of what it really means) is an astounding turn-around from just two years ago … Continue reading
Posted in Energy, Uncategorized, USEPA News
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Sioux City Wastewater Supervisor pleads guilty to hiding illegal discharges
Iowa has not see a great deal of criminal environmental enforcement at either the federal or state level. Nationally, EPA’s civil enforcement under the current administration is down to levels never seen in recent history (by the size of penalties). … Continue reading
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EPA and Army Corps Propose New Definition of “Waters of the United States.”
On December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Army Corps of Engineers proposed a new definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and will soon publish the new definition in the Federal Register for a … Continue reading
Posted in USACE News, USEPA News
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November 15th is the deadline for Farmers to report Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulfide Releases from Animal Waste.
The EPA’s December 18, 2008 final rule exempted most farms from many reporting requirements in CERCLA and EPCRA. Exemptions were created under both EPCRA and CERCLA for emissions from animal waste for CERCLA and for smaller than CAFO-sized facilities under … Continue reading
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THE IOWA POLICY PROJECT’S DRAINAGE DISTRICT RECOMMENDATION — Flogging a Dead Horse
The term “flogging a dead horse” means to continue a particular endeavor that is a waste of time as the outcome is already decided. This term is appropriate for the recently publicized Iowa Policy Project (“IPP”) report finding that “drainage … Continue reading
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Iowa Environmental Compliance 