Natural Resource Damages & Environmental Justice
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
What are PFAS and Why Should We Care?
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
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
This week a bill was introduced in the Alabama Legislature which would expand the state’s Brownfield Redevelopment and Voluntary Cleanup Program through the implementation of new features aimed to increase participation in...more
Tennessee’s new Brownfield legislation proposed by Governor Bill Lee provides significant incentives for acquisition of contaminated property. The legislation envisions three new areas of concentration for brownfield...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Missouri are escalating initiatives to reduce lead exposure across the nation, focusing on schools and environmental justice communities. The agencies'...more
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of a Proposed Rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,...more
On August 26, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication copy of its long-awaited proposed rule to add the two most well-known and well-studied PFAS compounds—perflourooctanoic acid (PFOA)...more
In October 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, laying out the agency’s approach to PFAS regulation in the coming years. One of the most highly anticipated...more
On January 10, 2022, U.S. EPA forwarded to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule that seeks to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as “hazardous...more
On October 22, 2021, EPA published a proposed rule that would, if adopted, provide a significantly enhanced additional pathway for remediation of sites impacted by polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs....more
Minnesota announced a new “PFAS blueprint” on February 10, 2021, calling for increased regulation of the so-called “forever” chemicals through a combination of legislation and agency rulemaking....more
On January 19, 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) introduced several new action items to further complement its progress under the 2019 Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances ("PFAS") Action Plan....more
Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) proposed an amendment to Act 2, Pennsylvania's Brownfield and voluntary cleanup program. ...more
New Hampshire, like many northeast states, is pursuing a concerted regulatory and litigation approach to address contamination from emerging contaminants in the so-called PFAS suite of chemicals, (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl...more
Despite extensive negotiation, insufficient bipartisan support was garnered to obtain inclusion of robust PFAS provisions in Congressional year-end spending legislation. Initially, there was some expectation that U.S. EPA...more
On April 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its Interim Recommendations for Addressing Groundwater Contaminated with PFOA and PFOS (the “Interim Recommendations”) and received 373 comments...more
On July 8, 2019 the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) proposed an overhaul to its Remediation Standard Regulations (“RSRs”). These proposed amendments, often referred to as “Wave 2, ” will...more
As in previous postings, we discuss recent state regulatory initiatives aimed at addressing groundwater and drinking water contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"). PFAS are a group of synthetic chemicals...more
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt believes that “Superfund cleanups take too long to start and too long to complete.” That’s the impetus behind a May 22, 2017 internal memo he issued regarding EPA’s Superfund program. ...more
In May, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took several steps that are likely to refocus the Agency’s attention from greenhouse gas emission reductions and other novel uses of existing environmental laws to more...more
As environmental regulators look more and more to scientific experts to devise treatments for contaminated sites, it might behoove those regulators to consider the import a a recent medical study which dramatically suggests...more
NEW REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS - Federal - New Critical Habitat for Gulf of Maine Atlantic Sturgeon to be Designated - The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has agreed to designate critical habitat...more