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
On January 15, 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its “Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS)” (“Draft Risk...more
In a move much anticipated by the real estate, environmental, financial, and business communities, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) released this week its Release-Based Cleanup...more
On Friday,19 April 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to designate two common per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid...more
As expected, 2023 was an expansive year for the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) at the federal level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took (or at least proposed)...more
Working as part of a transactional team here at Burns & Levinson, the attorneys in the Environmental Group assist with due diligence activities and provide guidance on contractual language to document accurate representations...more
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
PFAS Chemicals: The Bad News, The Worse News, Then Perhaps Some Hope. The story of PFAS chemicals and their effects is disturbing, on many levels. Like so many “helpful” things that turn out to be evil, PFAS chemicals...more
Aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”) is a hot topic in per- and polyfluorinated Substances (“PFAS”) litigation. AFFF is used to fight gasoline, oil, and jet fuel fires by producing an aqueous film that spreads across a fire’s...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 November 16, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (“EQB”) voted to approve the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (“PADEP”) proposed rule to set binding regulatory standards, known as maximum...more
If your organization has not already started thinking about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), there's no time like the present. PFAS refers to a family of man-made, environmentally persistent chemicals (often...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
This episode takes listeners into the world of PFAS – otherwise known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – which are types of man-made chemicals that have become a costly class of emerging contaminants worldwide. They are...more
Purchasing contaminated property in Ohio became a little less risky this week. Purchasers can now obtain protection under both federal and state law from costly remediation orders imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
Recently, I participated in the Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Master Class, PFAS: From Common Use to Concern. My fellow panelists and I discussed “PFAS in Water,” which included a discussion of the environmental and...more
Information about PFAS compounds in California is literally exploding, with additional contamination sites identified almost daily, while the science and legal environments surrounding these “forever chemicals” also see...more
The Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) has been cleaning up contaminated sites in Washington State for 30 years. On December 10, 2019, Beveridge & Diamond and the Environmental Law Institute will be hosting a seminar (MTCA 30)...more
A new environmental issue could have a major impact on airports. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is in the process of performing investigations at a number of federal, state, and local facilities...more
On Friday afternoon March 22, 2019, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced in a memorandum to licensed facilities that land apply, compost, or process biosolids (i.e., wastewater treatment sludge)...more
Asarco LLC v. Goodwin, 756 F.3d 191 (2nd Cir. 2014) – A reorganized company (Asarco) sought contribution for payment of environmental claims from beneficiaries of trusts created under John D. Rockefeller’s will. The...more
On October 3, 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) unveiled a new draft policy that would strengthen its compliance and enforcement protocols for both unconventional and conventional oil and...more
Last week, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and other NGOs obtained summary judgment that Alex Energy had violated both its NPDES permit and its Surface Mining Permits due to exceedances of the West Virginia water...more
In Parker Shattuck Neighbors v. Berkeley City Council, the Court of Appeal determined that impacts from existing soil contamination on a project’s construction workers or future occupants was not an environmental impact under...more
As 2013 came to a close, the California court of appeal in Parker Shattuck Neighbors v. Berkeley City Council (1st Dist., Div. 4, 12/30/13, A136873) ___Cal.App.1st___, 2013, upheld the City of Berkeley’s decision not to...more