PFAS in Focus: Forever-Engineering With Trent Stober, HDR - Reflections on Water Podcast
PFAS in Focus: Wastewater Utility Perspectives From Jay Hoskins, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District - Reflections on Water Podcast
DynCorp's 'Strategic' Defense In Drug Crop Spraying Suit
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent rulemakings for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have far-reaching implications for a broad range of industries, regulated entities, and regulatory bodies. First,...more
Much has been written, including in our Burns & Levinson Legal Terrain Blog, about the impact of PFAS and similar “forever chemicals” on suits by state attorneys general and private actions to obtain funds or obtain insurance...more
On April 19, 2024, just nine days after finalizing the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard for six individual per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Agency designated PFOA and PFOS, two...more
Last Friday, EPA formally designated perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) – including their salts and structural isomers! – as hazardous substances under CERCLA. I cannot really quarrel with...more
On April 19, 2024, EPA announced its highly anticipated final rule designating two polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS")—perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS")—as "hazardous substances" under...more
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
On Friday, April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its Final Rule (the Rule) designating two widely used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) –...more
In the absence of federal cleanup standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in groundwater, several states have started the process of regulating PFAS in groundwater themselves. As a result, states have...more
We have probably already read (and written) too much about the challenges of dealing with “forever chemicals” in drinking water and wastewater treatment. However, recent developments hold some hope for addressing forever...more
On March 14, 2023, EPA proposed to regulate certain PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA proposed Maximum Contaminant Level Goals for PFOA and PFOS of zero. It proposed Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA and PFOS of...more
A few hours after dinner time on Feb. 3, and approximately 20 miles following a dramatic slow-down from a speed of 50 miles per hour to about half that, a Norfolk Southern freight train consisting of 38 cars – 11 of which...more
HDR Utility Services Director Trent Stober joins Dave and Anna to close out their PFAS miniseries, focusing on the real-world application of regulatory developments in the water sector. Trent provides perspective on how...more
A few considerations practitioners should keep in mind when dealing with contamination involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. The PFAS Action Act of 2021 passed in the House and was received in...more
On the 60th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carlson’s groundbreaking book “Silent Spring”, the world continues to struggle to manage the human health and environmental risks associated with newly discovered emerging...more
Though climate change dominates headlines during Earth Month, health experts (and lawyers) are increasingly concerned about a ubiquitous group of chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The few people...more
During the early stages of the Biden administration, efforts to regulate per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, aka “PFAS,” were largely piecemeal and driven by various proposals in Congress. Last month, however, the U.S....more
The latest season of Clean Water Act (CWA) changes are now streaming from the courts and federal agencies. The Biden administration and lower courts have picked up where prior administrations and the U.S. Supreme Court left...more
September 2, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DOD), released the first EPA-validated laboratory analytical method to test for per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
Minnesota’s Statewide PFAS Strategy - Last week, Minnesota state officials announced a statewide strategy to address PFAS chemicals present within the state. PFAS are a class of man-made compounds that do not easily break...more
JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more
On July 27, the Michigan Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) filed new administrative rules and rule amendments concerning Michigan’s drinking water standards with the Michigan Secretary of State’s...more
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s latest action creates several statewide environmental standards for three PFAS contaminants: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and...more
The proposal marks another instance of EPA follow-through on its 2019 PFAS Action Plan. The SDWA requires EPA to make regulatory determinations every five years based on whether chemicals in public water systems pose a...more
Two major environmental bills have come forward on the Senate side. One, proposing changes to the Transfer Act, is largely what might have been expected from the working group created by PA 19-175 to study further...more
Information about PFAS compounds in California is literally exploding, with additional contamination sites identified almost daily, while the science and legal environments surrounding these “forever chemicals” also see...more