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
4/23/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund
Last week, Inside EPA (subscription required) reported that EPA will reopen CERCLA cleanups due to the presence of PFAS on a case-by-case basis. The article reported on the gnashing of teeth among the regulated community at...more
11/7/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contamination ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
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
3/16/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals
On May 25th, Massachusetts filed suit against a number of companies alleged to have manufactured PFAS and/or aqueous film-forming foam. Massachusetts joins a number of other states which have already brought similar...more
The news about PFAS keeps piling up, and the trend is pretty clear – none of it is good for manufacturers and significant users. There were two important items this week.
First, EPA published its human health toxicity...more
Late last month, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a public water supplier could be liable in a citizens’ suit brought under the imminent and substantial endangerment provisions of RCRA, where the plaintiff alleged...more
On Friday, MassDEP proposed a number of revisions to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan, including reporting and cleanup standards for PFAS. The proposed GW-1 standard, applicable to current and potential drinking water...more
Some cases just make you wonder what people were thinking. I’m not even sure Donald Trump would have tried to get away with what Dico, Inc., tried to get away with.
In 1994, EPA issued an administrative order, requiring...more
4/15/2019
/ Administrative Orders ,
Appeals ,
Buyers ,
CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Cost Recovery ,
Demolition ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
PCBs ,
Punitive Damages ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Sellers ,
Treble Damages
If you were thinking that PFAS were important, but you’ve been unsure just how big a deal they are, you need look no further than the Statewide PFAS Directive issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. ...more
Far too frequently, we are reminded just how hard judges must work to save CERCLA from itself. The decision last week in California River Watch v. Fluor Corporation is the most recent compelling example....more
In July, we noted that the Clean Water Act’s permit shield defense would be construed narrowly, applying only where a permittee had clearly disclosed that the relevant pollutant to the agency. This week, in Alaska Community...more
Last week, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and other NGOs obtained summary judgment that Alex Energy had violated both its NPDES permit and its Surface Mining Permits due to exceedances of the West Virginia water...more
Earlier this year, in her aptly named post “What the Cluck?”, Patricia Finn Braddock, noted that a state court in North Carolina had held that wastes from poultry farms, blown by ventilators from confinement houses and then...more
In State of New York v. Next Millenium Realty, decided earlier this week, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the wisdom of Gilbert and Sullivan. It is very difficult to blow the statute of limitations in CERCLA...more