Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has released a pre-publication copy of its proposed amendments to the Air Toxics Standards for Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 29, 2020, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum regarding termination of the COVID-19 temporary enforcement policy. EPA has selected August 31, 2020 as the termination date...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) initiated the first phase of a two phased approach to address ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions, announcing final amendments to the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rule would provide “procedures for developing and issuing guidance documents and to establish a petition process for public requests to modify or...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule to add per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals required to be reported annually under the EPCRA Section...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly developed and released guidance that is generally intended for everybody, whether a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Rather than providing clarity, the Supreme Court introduced substantial uncertainty into the NPDES permitting process involving situations where a point source discharge first enters groundwater and then...more
4/28/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published their final rule this week, finally replacing the 2015 rule that “impermissibly expanded the definition of...more
4/21/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Seyfarth Synopsis: Consider this hypothetical. Acme Company’s historic operations has contaminated its property and those of its adjacent neighbors. Acme is undertaking a CERCLA remedy under the oversight of U.S. EPA which...more
4/20/2020
/ Approval Requirements ,
Atlantic Richfield Co v Christian ,
CERCLA ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Land Owners ,
MT Supreme Court ,
Nuisance ,
Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Site Remediation ,
State Law Claims ,
Strict Liability ,
Trespass
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced interim guidance for the Agency’s regional offices to “ensure that decisions about new or ongoing cleanup...more
4/16/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
RCRA ,
Relief Measures ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in support of the U.S. Government’s overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has announced a temporary enforcement discretion policy regarding environmental...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule this week to repeal the 2015 rule that “impermissibly expanded the definition of ‘waters of...more
10/24/2019
/ Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Final Rules ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Seyfarth Synopsis: The regulated community had a pleasant surprise from President Trump this week. The President issued two executive orders that have the stated intent to make closeted or last minute agency guidance and...more
10/14/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
New Guidance ,
OMB ,
OSHA ,
Public Access Laws ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
Seyfarth Synopsis: Consistent with guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March 2018, the Agency has now proposed to codify changes to the New Source Review (NSR) applicability regulations to clarify...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Illinois Supreme Court recently affirmed that the Illinois Pollution Control Board’s clean construction or demolition debris (CCDD) rules were not arbitrary and capricious. County of Will v. Pollution...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this week a key component of administrative law that tells judges to defer to an executive agency’s interpretation of its own ambiguous regulation. Kisor v. Secretary of...more
6/28/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Auer Deference ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Stare Decisis ,
Vacated ,
Veterans' Benefits ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: USEPA published an Interpretive Statement (dated April 12, 2019), that according to the Agency “clarifies” that releases of pollutants to groundwater from a point source are “categorically excluded” from...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In another business-friendly move, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently updated its Justice Manual to clarify that it “should not treat a party’s noncompliance with a guidance document as itself a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Corps) have recently proposed a “clear, understandable, and implementable definition of ‘waters of the United States’...more
12/21/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to reconsider a key precedent of administrative law that tells judges to defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own ambiguous regulation, taking up a challenge...more
12/14/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Auer Deference ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Judicial Review ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
Retroactive Application ,
SCOTUS ,
Veterans' Benefits
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a toxic tort class action stemming from automotive and dry cleaning facilities’ alleged contamination of groundwater near Dayton, Ohio, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an Ohio federal district court’s grant...more
8/21/2018
/ Battery ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contamination ,
En Banc Review ,
Fraudulent Concealment ,
FRCP 23(b)(3) ,
FRCP 23(c)(4) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Negligence ,
Negligent Misrepresentation ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Private Nuisance ,
Strict Liability ,
Trespass ,
Unjust Enrichment
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 11, 2018, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed into law HB 2238, which amended the state’s administrative procedure laws to remove “Chevron Deference,” so that for disputes involving state...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Continuing the fight over the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., the National Wildlife Federation...more
2/14/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Applicability Date ,
Clean Water Act ,
Due Process ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Inland Waterways ,
National Wildlife Foundation ,
Navigable Waters ,
NRDC ,
State and Local Government ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Seyfarth Synopsis: EPA has promulgated its new per violation penalty rules for 2018.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has again issued final regulations adjusting the maximum civil penalty dollar amounts for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will not issue a final rule for the Obama-era’s proposed regulations for financial responsibility requirements for certain hardrock mining...more