The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve Georgia’s permit program for the disposal of coal combustion residuals – commonly known as coal ash – from certain coal-fired power plants.

“EPA encourages other states to follow Georgia’s lead and assume oversight of coal ash management within their borders,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA is committed to working with the states as they establish coal ash programs tailored to their unique circumstances that are protective of human health and the environment.”

EPA has preliminarily determined that Georgia’s permit program application meets the standard for approval. The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016 granted EPA the authority to approve of state permit programs.

Major portions of the 2015 rule that established national standards for the disposal of coal ash are in effect and remain unchallenged. EPA will be addressing a limited number of provisions in future rulemakings, but this need not delay states seeking approval now. The WIIN Act contains provisions for how and when states must update their approved programs when changes are made on the federal level.

EPA is seeking comment on this proposed approval during a 60-day public comment period and will be holding a public hearing in Atlanta in August about the proposal. To learn more, visit: https://www.epa.gov/coalash

Il for www.theindianalawyer.com

The Indiana Supreme Court considered and denied 18 petitions for transfer last week, including two cases that drew concerns from members of the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Among the cases denied transfer last week was Andrew McWhorter v. State of Indiana, 33A01-1710-CR-2415. In that case, Andrew McWhorter was charged with murder and convicted of voluntary manslaughter after shooting and killing his fiancé, with his grandmother as an eyewitness to the crime. McWhorter was sentenced to an aggregate of 75 years, with the majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel ruling in Decemberthat the trial court did not err in admitting at his second trial the video testimony of his grandmother, who had died since the first trial.

The majority also saw no double jeopardy violation in amending the charging information at McWhorter’s second trial to include Class A felony voluntary manslaughter. But Judge L. Mark Bailey dissented on that point, believing voluntary manslaughter, as a standalone charge, is not a lesser included offense of murder.

The high court also declined to hear Ronald Richardson v. State of Indiana, 18A-CR-2263, which drew hesitation from an appellate judge regarding the dismissal of the only African-American from the pool of potential jurors in Ronald Richardson’s trial.

Richardson was convicted of Level 4 felony dealing in a narcotic drug following a police chase, and the appellate panel found a Batson challenge to the juror’s dismissal was not improper. The Fayette Circuit Court had determined the state had presented a race-neutral reason for striking the lone black potential juror.

But Judge Terry Crone, concurring in part and in result, wrote separately to express his concerns regarding the Batson analysis, finding the prosecutor’s reasons for striking the potential juror from the pool to be “race neutral on their face,” but contradictory and lacking in evidence.

Il for www.theindanalawyer.com