US EPA is taking action to designate two of the most common per- and polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under CERCLA, also known as Superfund. This action is part of EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, a...more
On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important decision that may have major impacts on developers in California, although the degree of impact will depend on how lower courts interpret that decision. In Sheetz...more
OEHHA is proposing a significant change to the Proposition 65 “short-form warning” to require that this warning identify a specific Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) chemical. Currently, the short-form warning requires...more
A ban on the sale of nondurable food packaging in California containing PFAS chemicals goes into effect on January 1, 2023, which is now less than four months away. The ban was contained in Assembly Bill 1200, which was...more
By now, readers likely are familiar with the series of “retail hazardous waste” enforcement actions being brought across the state of California. For several years, various retailers have been targeted for coordinated,...more
California has a long history of enacting laws regulating plastic packaging, dating back to the Rigid Plastic Packaging Container law in 1991, a law many manufacturers only learn about when they receive a notice from the...more
UPDATE: At the time Buchalter published its client alert regarding the new ASTM Standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs), we noted that the new ASTM Standard would not be considered “All Appropriate...more
Commercial real estate (CRE) professionals are well aware that a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) is required when acquiring commercial property. Originally intended to demonstrate that the buyer had undertaken...more
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its much-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding COVID-19 vaccination and testing on November 5, 2021. The ETS went into effect...more
11/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Register ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
EPA released its plan for actions to address PFAS contamination on October 18, 2021. This is an aggressive and wide-sweeping plan that reaches across multiple statutory authorities. Much of the Roadmap will require regulatory...more
10/20/2021
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NPDES ,
PFAS ,
RCRA ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely to be a concern and challenge for employers for longer than anyone had hoped or anticipated. As businesses adjust to what seems to be a “new normal” it is worth a reminder that COVID-19...more
The Warehouse Indirect Source Rule requires some warehouse operators to begin collecting compliance information starting July 1, 2021.
The “Warehouse Indirect Source Rule,” adopted by the South Coast Air Quality...more
The Cal/OSHA Standards Board is scheduled to meet on May 20, 2021 to review proposed revisions to the Emergency Temporary Standards (“ETS”) on COVID-19 Safety in the workplace that were originally adopted in November, 2020. ...more
5/17/2021
/ Amended Rules ,
Cal-OSHA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Emergency Rule ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Policies ,
Governor Newsom ,
Office of Administrative Law ,
Policies and Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) approved the much-debated General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Winery Order”) on January 20, 2021. Although the official version of the approved...more
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed sweeping changes to the popular “short-form” Proposition 65 warning. On January 8, 2021, OEHHA issued a proposal to amend Article 6 “Clear and...more
Cal/OSHA has promulgated emergency regulations for preventing COVID-19 transmission in the workplace (the “Emergency Standard,” or the “Standard”). The Emergency Standard became effective immediately upon approval by the...more
San Francisco’s Department of Public Health (“SFDPH”) issued yet-another update to its Shelter-in-Place Order, C19-07, on September 14, 2020 (now up to version “i”). This order has been frequently modified to reflect changes...more
On September 1, the California legislature sent to the Governor amendments to California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law. Once signed by the Governor, AB 2920 will allow retail hazardous waste to be shipped on a “consolidated...more
The San Francisco Emergency Ordinance on cleaning commercial office buildings larger than 50,000 square feet and tourist hotels was signed by the Mayor on July 17th, becoming effective immediately upon her signature. As noted...more
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors passed an Emergency Ordinance on July 7 entitled “Cleaning and Disease Prevention Standards in Tourist Hotels and Large Commercial Office Buildings” (the “EO”). The EO is expected to be...more
The State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) released a draft of its General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water (“Draft WDR”) on July 3, 2020 for public comment. Comments will be accepted by the SWRCB...more
On June 22, 2020, a US District Court for the Eastern District of California issued a permanent injunction against requiring a Proposition 65 warning on the labels of herbicides containing glyphosate, such as Roundup. In...more
Since the beginning of the shelter-in-place period on March 16, most office tenants in San Francisco have been deemed non-essential and ordered not to open for business except for the conduct of limited “minimum basic...more
Now is the time to prepare for when non-essential businesses will be allowed to re-open after the various state and local COVID-19 shutdown orders are lifted. We do not know when that date will be or how the orders will be...more
Compliance with environmental regulations is challenging under the best of circumstances, but the COVID-19 crisis and measures taken in response add a new layer of complexity. The lack of a consistent message from elected...more