On July 23, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied a petition for rehearing in 68th Street Site Work Group v. Alban Tractor Co., Inc., et al., 4th Cir., No. 23-01155, declining the opportunity to potentially...more
PART II -
As detailed in Part 1 of this eAlert, on April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS),...more
4/24/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Wastewater
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
4/22/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
On January 5, 2024, the Department of the Interior (Interior) will issue a notice of a proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to provide the first significant revisions to its natural resource damage assessment and restoration (NRDAR)...more
On January 19, 2023, the Department of the Interior (“Interior”) issued a 60-day advance notice of a proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that would revise and update the regulations for conducting certain natural resource damage...more
In conjunction with the Biden administration’s renewed focus on environmental justice efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is stepping up its enforcement efforts by increasing facility inspections, thereby...more
On May 5, 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, along with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan, announced a series of initiatives intended to “secure environmental justice for all...more
Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known also as Superfund, in 1980 to address the horror of sites like Love Canal where discarded toxic chemicals began...more
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Interior (“Interior”) updated an important policy memorandum associated with its Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (“NRDAR”) Program. ...more
US EPA published its temporary policy on enforcement discretion during the coronavirus pandemic on March 26. This update to our previous post on developments related to that policy summarizes additional developments through...more
4/28/2020
/ CERCLA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Policy Statement ,
RCRA ,
Relief Measures ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
On March 26, 2020, EPA announced a temporary enforcement discretion policy to excuse violations of environmental laws in specified circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic. ...more
On March 12, 2020, Jeffrey Bossert Clark, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment & Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ-ENRD”) issued a policy memorandum formally ending the...more
On June 3, 2019, the United States lodged a proposed Consent Decree under the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act that would resolve a suite of natural resource damages (NRD) claims by federal, state, and tribal...more
6/7/2019
/ Clean Water Act ,
Consent Decrees ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Department of the Interior ,
Environmental Violations ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Industrial Discharges ,
Native American Issues ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) ,
Pesticides ,
Tribal Governments ,
U.S. Navy
On October 26, 2018, the Department of the Interior (Interior) closed a 60-day public comment period on its advance notice of a proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that solicited ideas on revising Interior’s regulations for...more
On August 27, 2018, the Department of the Interior (Interior) issued a 60-day advance notice of a proposed rulemaking that would overhaul its regulations for conducting natural resource damage assessments and restoration...more
8/29/2018
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
CERCLA ,
Department of the Interior ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Natural Resources ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rehabilitation and Restoration Plans ,
Rulemaking Process
A recently-issued U.S. Department of Justice policy memorandum (“Policy Memo”) substantially narrows DOJ’s authority to approve settlements that include payments to or for the benefit of third-party non-governmental entities....more