EPA recently issued its long-awaited rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability...more
PFAS — perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — have been on the scene for years now, but we expect to see exponential growth in all things PFAS in 2024....more
The EPA is seeking comments on a newly released, revised guidance document regarding the consideration of environmental justice (EJ) concerns in the rulemaking process. The guidance document updates a 2016 version and...more
Earlier this month, EPA set new lifetime health advisories for four per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – in some instances at levels lower than those that can be detected through laboratory testing. The new health...more
6/23/2022
/ Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
New Guidance ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
As we reported at the beginning of the year, President Biden has been making environmental justice one of his priorities since long before he took office. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently took...more
As we previously reported, EPA published a PFAS Action Plan in 2019 designed to enhance and improve data gathering, regulatory development, enforcement, and communication related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)....more
12/4/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Contamination ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
NPDES ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Wastewater ,
Water Quality
In these days of working from home and managing countless other demands on our time, we offer this post to help you decide whether to add the latest Clean Water Act (CWA) cases and rules to your must-see legal watch list....more
5/13/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Inland Waterways ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Navigable Waters ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
Welcome to 2020! As always, we at the Manufacturing Law Blog are starting the year with our annual forecasts of hot topics....more
1/10/2020
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Bodily Injury ,
Clean Water Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Failure to Comply ,
Health & Safety Standard ,
Inspection Rights ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Equipment ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
National Enforcement Initiatives (NEIs) ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
PFAS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Safety Inspections ,
Strict Compliance ,
Water Quality ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety ,
Wrongful Death
Earlier this year, we wrote about EPA’s PFAS Action Plan, the agency’s blueprint for addressing contamination and protecting public health from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). ...more
12/6/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Health and Safety ,
Manufacturers ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
National Action Plan ,
PFAS ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Right To Know ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Toxic Chemicals
On October 9, 2019, President Trump issued two executive orders regarding agency guidance – one focused on the development of new guidance and the other on the appropriate use of guidance in enforcement actions. And EPA is...more
Over the summer, EPA published a policy document to enhance cooperation between it and the many state agencies that enforce federal environmental programs. ...more
9/9/2019
/ Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Policy Statement ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
As we previously outlined, the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) was amended in 2016 to provide EPA with much broader authority to regulate “existing” chemical substances (i.e., those that are already in use in commerce)....more
On Valentine’s Day, EPA showed a little love for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), announcing a sweeping plan to address PFAS contamination and protect public health. ...more
2/15/2019
/ Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
National Action Plan ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Research Reports ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Supplies
This is the last of our three-part series of predictions for 2019. First Matt provided our thoughts and predictions in the labor/employment arena. Last week, Jeff gave our outlook for corporate compliance and litigation. ...more
1/25/2019
/ Clean Water Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Manufacturers ,
Navigable Waters ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Safety Inspections ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States
Last week, EPA added two sites to the National Priorities List (NPL), a list of sites of national priority for known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, solely for the risks posed by vapor intrusion. ...more
This week, EPA announced that it is considering developing regulations to optimize the use of cost-benefit analyses when it is taking regulatory action. Many environmental statutes require the consideration of costs and...more
6/8/2018
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is considering a plan to restrict the agency’s use of scientific data to only that data which is publicly available. The move would prevent EPA from using private studies, dubbed “secret...more
In a shift of federal policy with potentially sweeping implications for civil enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced it will no longer rely on guidance documents as the basis for bringing...more
In our 2018 outlook, we told you about the trend towards cooperative federalism—EPA’s plan to “rebalance the power between Washington and the states to create tangible environmental results for the American people.” Early in...more
2/9/2018
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Interim Guidance ,
OECA ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Violations ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
Reduced Regulation -
We all know that one of President Trump’s goals is to streamline and minimize regulations. Among other things, Executive Order 13771 indicated that, for every regulation to be passed, two had to be...more
1/15/2018
/ Contaminated Properties ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Manufacturers ,
OSHA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Strategic Planning ,
Superfund ,
Workplace Injury ,
Workplace Safety
As we previously reported, the current administration set out to make Superfund reform a priority. Shortly after taking over as EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt convened a task force to provide recommendations for...more
TSCA Framework Rules Promulgated -
As we outlined last year, the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) was recently updated to provide EPA with much broader authority to regulate “existing” chemical substances (i.e., those...more
Since taking over as EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt has made it clear that he intends to focus on—and overhaul—the Superfund program. Calling the program “at the center of the Agency’s core mission”, Pruitt has put in place...more
As we outlined earlier this year, the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) was recently updated to provide EPA with much broader authority to regulate “existing” chemical substances (i.e., those that are already in use in...more
Refrigeration and cooling systems face expanded and tighter regulation under a final rule recently signed by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The rule revises and expands EPA’s regulations for “Ozone-Depleting Substances”...more