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On June 22, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, or H.R. 2576, which provides for a major overhaul of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA. While TSCA was enacted to regulate chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had only mandated testing on approximately 200 of the tens of thousands of chemicals used in commerce since TSCA’s inception. In addition, the EPA had restricted the uses of only five chemicals in existence before the passage of the TSCA in 1976.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia currently allow marijuana use either for medicinal and/or recreational purposes. As marijuana use becomes more prevalent in states and legalization gains more popular support, states are addressing the myriad issues arising out of marijuana legalization, such as banking, environmental impacts and driving. In light of a new report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that found drivers who recently used marijuana were involved in twice as many fatal car accidents in Washington after the state legalized cannabis, states are wrestling with the question: How high is too high to drive?

Air regulators from more than 20 state and local agencies discussed the Clean Power Plan and its potential impact on states during the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies’ mid-year meeting April 28-29 in Columbia, South Carolina. Approximately 100 participants attended the event, which included presentations and panels on topics ranging from environmental justice to implementation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for sulfur dioxide, ozone and other pollutants to regulatory impact analyses.

Nuclear energy has provided commercial electricity generation in the United States since 1957, when a plant in Shippingport, Penn., came online. Between 1966 and 1977, 75 nuclear reactors were built in the U.S. However, a combination of escalating costs and increasing safety and environmental concerns halted almost all construction of new nuclear reactors in the U.S. after 1978. While the future of nuclear energy is uncertain, the construction of the first new reactors in decades and the continuing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is leading to an increased interest in nuclear energy.