Recent anecdotal evidence suggests that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is restarting enforcement activities under a seldom-used consumer packaging law originally adopted in 1990: the Toxic...more
On August 28, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Sampling Fact Sheet” (Fact Sheet), setting forth several considerations for persons responsible...more
In another step toward broader regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), on August 29, 2024, New Jersey, New Mexico, and North Carolina (the States) submitted a petition (Petition) urging the United States...more
On June 5, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed long-contested legislation, S2930 (2024 OPRA Amendment), amending the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, et seq. As most New Jersey environmental practitioners...more
On April 15, in Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency v. Whittaker Corp., et al., No. 22-55727, slip op., -- F.4th – (9th Cir. 2024) (SCVWA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Court of Appeals) held that in a...more
On Jan. 2, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rang in the new year by publishing a Proposed Rule updating the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS) for 65 of the 73 constituents currently regulated...more
Typically, final remediation documents (no-further-action letters, response action outcomes, and the like) signal the end of remediation at a contaminated site. Upon receipt of the documents, responsible parties can often...more
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), through its Contaminated Site Remediation and Redevelopment (CSRR) program, recently published new administrative guidance to “formally encourage” the use of green...more
On April 17, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) published its final Environmental Justice rules (EJ Rules). The EJ Rules stem from New Jersey’s first-of-its-kind Environmental Justice Law (EJ Law),...more
In 2018, New Jersey became the first state to establish a maximum contaminant level (MCL)1 for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).2 Now, nearly five years later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA...more
For some time now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has been evaluating several industrial point sources for discharges of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater and leachate. On January 31,...more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remain a hot-button topic. Citing health-based risks, the United States Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed to designate certain PFAS compounds as “hazardous...more
Environmental justice is one of the hottest topics in the environmental world. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recently rolled out its long-awaited proposed environmental justice regulations,1...more
On June 6, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP or Department) published its long-anticipated Environmental Justice rule proposal (EJ Rule Proposal)—the nation’s first proposed environmental...more
On January 18, 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a bill establishing postconsumer recycled content (PRC) requirements for rigid plastic containers, glass containers, paper and plastic carryout bags, and...more
On November 1, 2021, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) approved changes to its Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) standard to include guidance on when per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)...more
On Sept. 8, in N.J. Department of Environmental Protection v. American Thermoplastics Corp., Nos. 18-2865 & 19-2243, slip op., -- F.3d -- (3d Cir. 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Court of Appeals) held...more
Since his inauguration in January 2018, New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy has steadily advanced an aggressive environmental justice agenda. On April 20, 2018, he signed Executive Order No. 23, which directed the New Jersey...more
9/21/2020
/ Air Pollution ,
Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Governor Murphy ,
Low Income Housing ,
NJDEP ,
Public Comment ,
Public Hearing ,
State and Local Government
On July 23, in MPM Silicones, LLC v. Union Carbide Corp., No. 17-3468(L), 17-3669(XAP), slip op., -- F.3d -- (2d Cir. 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the District Court’s dismissal of...more
8/4/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Cost Recovery ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Imminent Harm ,
PCBs ,
Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) ,
RCRA ,
Remedial Actions ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment
For years, climate change litigation in the United States has been reduced to a series of lengthy jurisdictional battles concerning whether such litigation belongs in state or federal court. More often than not, local...more
On May 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decided in Benoit, et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., et al., No. 17-3941-cv(L), slip op., __ F.3d ___ (2d Cir. 2020), that, under New York law, the...more
5/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Groundwater ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Medical Monitoring ,
Negligence ,
New York ,
Nuisance ,
State and Local Government ,
Strict Liability ,
Trespass
Since at least March 9, the day that Governor Phillip D. Murphy signed Executive Order No. 103 (EO 103) declaring a state of emergency in response to COVID-19, regulated entities and business organizations in New Jersey have...more
On April 23, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a landmark decision interpreting the reach of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). That case is County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, No. 18-260, 590 U.S. ___...more
COVID-19 is at this point ubiquitous, affecting our daily lives in myriad ways. But it has not altered our continuing need to work and generate income. Many of us have reconciled that need by adopting alternative work...more
Among the many issues employers are struggling with in the midst of the current COVID-19 crisis is the risk of harm to an essential employee who is compelled to report to work. While, of course, most employers are proactively...more