The CLEAN Future Act (Act), introduced in its current form on March 2, 2021 by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, is designed primarily to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Reflecting the...more
President Biden has made environmental justice a cornerstone of his administration. While all government departments and agencies have a role to play, the U.S. EPA has taken on the environmental justice mantle as reflected in...more
A cornerstone of the Biden Administration is environmental justice, which EPA defines as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the...more
Liability for clean-up of hazardous substances pursuant to the Comprehensive Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 ("CERCLA," "Act" or "Superfund") can be extremely costly, amounting to hundreds of millions of...more
4/2/2021
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Landfills ,
National Priorities List (NPL) ,
Restatement of Torts ,
Site Remediation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Superfund
Section 7361 of the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") for Fiscal Year 2020 requires the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to "publish interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of perfluoroalkyl and...more
Corporate disclosures regarding climate change impacts are becoming more prevalent, although not yet universal, and their adoption has been a relatively slow process. We discuss below the impact on corporations of increased...more
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are found in firefighting foam used by the military since the 1970’s for training exercises and to extinguish liquid and gas fires. These compounds are part...more
10/16/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Contamination ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NDAA ,
PFAS ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
Toxic Chemicals
The SEC has adopted amendments to modernize certain disclosure requirements set forth in Regulation S-K. Specifically, the SEC updated the items governing a company’s description of environmental proceedings in which the...more
There have been several recent developments involving PFAS regulation, most notably the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Significant New Use Rule (SNUR) for certain long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds...more
8/6/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NDAA ,
PFAS ,
Public Works ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Wastewater ,
Water Quality
In a busy week for environmental decisions, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on April 23, 2020 on its second major case, County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, finding a middle ground in its 6-3 decision on...more
5/4/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many business and governmental activities, and environmental compliance is no exception. In recognition of the potentially negative impacts of the pandemic on stakeholders’ ability to meet...more
Despite extensive negotiation, insufficient bipartisan support was garnered to obtain inclusion of robust PFAS provisions in Congressional year-end spending legislation. Initially, there was some expectation that U.S. EPA...more
1/6/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Supplies
This posting provides an update on PFAS developments involving federal legislative and regulatory activities.
Congress -
On November 6, 2019, a panel of experts at a congressional briefing sponsored by the Endocrine...more
11/19/2019
/ Congressional Investigations & Hearings ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Groundwater ,
Health and Safety ,
PFAS ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Toxic Chemicals
Since our last article discussing the way in which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC" or "the Commission") considers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate impacts in the pipeline certification process, the...more
7/31/2019
/ Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Review ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Sierra Club
Recently, we have addressed the evolving regulatory landscape for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as the federal and state governments grapple with finding the best approach to handle PFAS releases from...more
7/10/2019
/ ATSDR ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Health and Safety ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Toxic Chemicals
Nearly two years following hurricanes Irma and Maria, challenges remain as Puerto Rico seeks to develop a cleaner and more resilient power grid. In November 2018, we discussed the evolving renewable energy situation in Puerto...more
As in previous postings, we discuss recent state regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing groundwater and drinking water contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"). PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals...more
6/12/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Comment Period ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Toxic Chemicals
EPA Steps into the Mix While States Continue Swift Action in Light of Potential Health Risks -
In a prior posting, we noted the proliferation of state legislative and regulatory activity involving Per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
3/6/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Municipalities ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Supplies
In a recent article posted by Manufacturing Today, we discussed the unexpected risks facing manufacturers of products containing Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are a class of more than 3,000 man-made...more
1/17/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Chemicals ,
Contamination ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Working Group (EWG) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
US Geological Survey ,
Water ,
Water Supplies
Among other responsibilities, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC" or "the Commission") approves and issues construction certificates for interstate gas pipelines and related infrastructure under section 7 of the...more
1/15/2019
/ Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Review ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Sierra Club
Over a year has elapsed since Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, which, in addition to claiming thousands of lives, destroyed Puerto Rico’s electrical infrastructure. As discussed in prior postings, a...more
Section 301(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) authorizes the Federal government, States and federally recognized Indian Tribes to act as "trustees" on behalf of the...more
10/10/2018
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Department of the Interior ,
Environmental Policies ,
Natural Resources ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rehabilitation and Restoration Plans ,
Rulemaking Process
In recent posts, we have discussed how Order 841 issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) on February 15, 2018 is expected to create new opportunities for the expansion of grid-scale (“in front of the...more
8/9/2018
/ Energy Market ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
FERC ,
ISOs ,
Jurisdiction ,
Permits ,
RTO ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Transmission Grid ,
Wholesale
As discussed in our posting covering continuing challenges to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid, the Puerto Rico Power Authority (“PREPA”) has inhibited the recovery and redevelopment of the Island’s energy system. On...more
In the nine months since Hurricane Maria, substantial progress has occurred in bringing Puerto Rico’s power grid back online. Some consumers with access to solar microgrid systems regained power as soon as a few days after...more
7/13/2018
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Energy Sector ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Natural Disasters ,
Power Grid ,
PREPA ,
Private Sector ,
Puerto Rico ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Damage