The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final rule (the “Rule”) that substantially expands its Risk Management Program (“RMP”) regulations aimed at preventing chemical accidents. The Rule takes effect on...more
Chemical transport, tank cleaning and transportation depot operators breathed a sigh of relief in March 2024 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dropped provisions from a proposed rule when it issued its final...more
The Accidental Chemical Release Rules have an effective date of May 10, 2024, and includes a number of situations requiring compliance, generally by May 10, 2027. The new Clean Water Act facility response plan...more
On November 29, Ohio Attorney General (AG) Dave Yost and Governor Mark DeWine announced a proposed $110 million settlement with Du Pont De Nemours and Co. and The Chemours Company over alleged chemical contamination from...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“5th Circuit”) addressed in an October 27th Opinion an issue arising out of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA”) and Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
On May 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of its Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Environmental Crimes Task Force. This new task force will focus specifically on combating...more
This week marked the beginning of a weeks-long series of public hearings to finalize Philadelphia’s budget for next year. Tuesday afternoon saw testimony from various department and agency heads that fall under the purview of...more
No industrial company wants to find itself on the morning news tied to a chemical spill or train derailment. Events like those can transform even the most highly regarded company into a movie villain and give rise to...more
A few hours after dinner time on Feb. 3, and approximately 20 miles following a dramatic slow-down from a speed of 50 miles per hour to about half that, a Norfolk Southern freight train consisting of 38 cars – 11 of which...more
A multistate coalition of 20 AGs and the County Attorney of Harris County, Texas, issued comments on the EPA’s proposed rule titled “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention.” The proposed rule would strengthen the...more
Here are this week’s curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: •AG Bonta Fines Safeway for Gasoline Storage...more
The U.S. EPA is set to publish a long overdue proposed rule that would require certain facilities with above-ground chemical tanks to develop response plans for worst-case scenario spills. The “worst-case response plan...more
If your facility has a significant accidental release of a hazardous chemical, your team will need to respond immediately, particularly if the release threatens the public, workers, or the environment. But don’t forget to...more
The most recent Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Regulatory Agenda shows a further delay for the agency to finally promulgate long-awaited changes to its Chemical Accident Prevention Program, also known as the Risk...more
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced in an October 3rd news release that Carlos Conde of Smyrna, Georgia was arraigned on October 2nd for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act. ...more
On October 30, 2017, amendments to the spill management regime that were made under the British Columbia Environmental Management Act (EMA) in 2016 will come into force. These amendments will implement a new spill reporting,...more
Chemical manufacturers and petroleum refiners are closely tracking the latest activities of a high-level agency working group formed pursuant to President Obama’s Executive Order (13,650) responding to the West, Texas,...more
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance recently proposed changes to its National Program Manager (NMP) Guidance that, in part, would revise EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives (“NEIs”) for federal fiscal...more
The British Columbia government is seeking further input on its proposed new regime for spill reporting, preparedness and response through the release of an intentions paper on April 5, 2016 and an open comment period until...more
Where the (Class) Action Is - This issue of Roundup wraps up 2015 with another slate of interesting cases spanning industries and subject matter. The running theme of ascertainability is now stretching into antitrust...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is increasing enforcement of its Risk Management Program while at the same time proposing significant revisions to its Risk Management Plan Rule. Companies without Risk Management...more
EPA has made reducing the risk of accidental releases of hazardous chemicals at industrial and chemical facilities one of its top enforcement priorities for 2017 to 2019. This increased enforcement focus on industrial...more
A West Virginia federal court certified a class for purposes of determining Defendants’ liability for a chemical spill that disrupted the water supply for approximately 300,000 residents in the Charleston area. Good v. Am....more
You might recall previous entries discussing Parr v. Aruba – a suit for personal injuries from oilfield pollution (and a $2.9MM verdict for the plaintiffs). Not all similar suits have the same result....more