On August 6, 2024, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the direct potable reuse (DPR) regulations that were previously adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) on December 19, 2023....more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are at the top of every environmental regulator’s list in 2024 and already this year the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken key steps toward regulating...more
6/13/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
RCRA ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Water
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are the emerging contaminant of concern for both regulators and the regulated community. For example, in a May 28 article in The New York Times, titled "Lawyers to Plastics...more
Water Agencies Beware Before Proceeding with Forced Municipalization -
California’s state water system serves roughly 40 million people and irrigates nearly 10 million acres of farmland. The 2023 water year was ranked as...more
5/24/2024
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Construction Contracts ,
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Infrastructure ,
Municipalities ,
New Regulations ,
PFAS ,
Public Contracts ,
Public Entities ,
State Water Boards ,
Storm Water ,
Utilities Sector ,
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Water Quality ,
Water Supplies
PART II -
As detailed in Part 1 of this eAlert, on April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS),...more
4/24/2024
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Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Wastewater
On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), two of the most common and well-known per- and...more
4/22/2024
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Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This regulation represents a key...more
4/10/2024
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Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
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Infrastructure ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
UPDATE: The Commission adopted the Proposed OIR at its May 18, 2023 voting meeting and opened Rulemaking 23-05-018.
The California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has uploaded a proposed Order Instituting...more
The California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has uploaded a proposed Order Instituting Rulemaking(OIR) that would revamp the permitting process for siting of electric transmission infrastructure within the state of...more
5/9/2023
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CPUC ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Infrastructure ,
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Renewable Energy ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Transmission Lines
On March 14, 2023, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including...more
Generally, if utilities with the right of eminent domain cause damage to private property during the operation of their facilities, they may face inverse condemnation liability. However, where the facility in question is not...more
On October 18, 2021, the Biden-Harris administration announced an updated government-wide “comprehensive approach” to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a set of man-made chemicals that are widely used in a...more
10/28/2021
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CERCLA ,
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Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
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Regulatory Reform ,
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Toxic Exposure ,
Wastewater ,
Water Management
Yesterday, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) of the California Environmental Protection Agency announced the release of a draft document for public review describing proposed Public Health Goals...more
When a property owner suffers damage as a result of the actions of a public agency or public improvement, the owner typically pursues typical tort causes of action against the agency, along with a claim for inverse...more
With a wide patchwork of water systems servicing residents across California, there have been ongoing efforts by the Legislature to encourage the consolidation of smaller water systems to take advantage of scale economies and...more
With a wide patchwork of water systems servicing residents across California, there have been ongoing efforts by the Legislature to encourage the consolidation of smaller water systems to take advantage of scale economies and...more
3/5/2021
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Drinking Water ,
Industry Consolidation ,
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Water Supplies ,
Webinars
As of December 7, 2020, water has been included as a traded commodity on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“the Merc”). According to a recent Chicago magazine article, “Now cities and farmers can buy futures in California’s...more
Following up on our December 2020 post regarding the SolarWinds cybersecurity breach, we wanted to provide a link to the February 11, 2021 joint Cybersecurity Advisory issued by the federal government. ...more
In light of the major cybersecurity breach of the SolarWinds Orion software by malicious actors, the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) recently issued a series of advisories providing guidance for...more
Community Water Systems (CWSs) around the country should be aware of upcoming deadlines at the end of 2020 that were put into place under the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) previously signed into law in 2018....more
On October 13, 2020, President Trump issued the Executive Order (EO) on Modernizing America’s Water Resource Management and Water Infrastructure. The goal of the EO is to streamline the management of federal water policy and...more
10/19/2020
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Drinking Water ,
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Water ,
Water Quality
Governor Gavin Newsom recently released the final version of the Water Resilience Portfolio, which identifies 142 specific state actions to be taken in order to help build a climate-resilient water system for California in...more
On June 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 350 (“SB 350”), which is intended to serve as a backstop for customers as Pacific Gas and Electric Company (“PG&E”) completes its restructuring process and begins...more
We’ve previously reported on Senate Bill 917, which was introduced on February 3, 2020, by Senator Wiener (D-San Francisco) to establish a process for a potential government takeover of investor-owned electrical, gas and...more
The California State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) recently issued a draft Definition of Microplastics in Drinking Water and an accompanying staff report....more