In a sharp break with tradition, U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has inserted a senior political appointee into the role of vetting competitive grant solicitations collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year, according to a memo obtained by E&E News.

A federal appeals court should scotch a utility industry bid to delay litigation over U.S. EPA regulations to curb ozone-forming pollution that crosses state lines, Delaware and a coalition of environmental and public health groups said in a filing yesterday.

Even though U.S. EPA's attempted delay of a key air quality milestone is dead for now, a previously filed legal challenge needs to be kept alive, public health and environmental groups told a federal appellate court yesterday.

Under pressure from Congress to move quickly, U.S. EPA is opening what is likely to be a contentious public comment period on proposed guidelines for states interested in creating their own permitting programs for coal ash storage and disposal.

U.S. EPA is open to going along with a utility-proposed delay in proceedings in litigation over the agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule update, according to a Friday court filing.