Lead Exposure Claims: Proactive Strategies for Effective Resolution
DynCorp's 'Strategic' Defense In Drug Crop Spraying Suit
The Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a January 30th Order denying a Petition objecting to the issuance of a Title V Operating Permit (“Permit”) for Commonwealth LNG, LLC,...more
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s Green Guides focused on “greenwashing” before it was en vogue. Originally issued in 1992 and revised in 1996, 1998, and 2012, the FTC designed the guides to help companies avoid making...more
The first quarter of 2022 has yielded a number of decisions, reversals and agency adjustments worth note. ...more
Most real estate being bought, sold, and developed in the United States is not raw, virgin land. The significant majority has a history: agricultural, commercial, industrial, mixed use, residential, etc. ...more
Environmental justice moved to the forefront of sociopolitical discussions in the country in 2020, receiving increased attention from politicians, community groups, and environmental agencies. Although this concept is not...more
In this month’s update, state high courts consider reimbursement of defense costs, reimbursement of medical marijuana costs, and reimbursement of ransomware payments. Federal courts determine whether a debt collector is...more
Is federalism alive and well? Has the federal government decided to give up “piling on” and “overfiling” in environmental enforcement actions? It seems so. On July 27, 2020, in an effort to promote federalism, U.S. Department...more
Since the beginning of recorded mineral law, the owner of the mineral interests has enjoyed an elevated status in its relationship with the surface owner, resulting in the universally accepted notion that the mineral estate...more
As Storm Looms, 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Dominion on Coal Ash Pollution at Chesapeake Site - "Water pollution from a coal ash landfill and settling ponds at a closed power plant in Chesapeake is not a violation of...more
Activists Have a New Strategy to Block Gas Pipelines: State's Rights - "It already has worked in New York where construction on the Constitution Pipeline has stalled. Now activists are trying the strategy in Oregon." ...more
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has announced an effort to assess the potential health risks posed by a class of chemicals known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been found in significant concentrations...more
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is considering a plan to restrict the agency’s use of scientific data to only that data which is publicly available. The move would prevent EPA from using private studies, dubbed “secret...more
Sierra Club v. Chesapeake Operating LLC et al is news more shocking than “Man Bites Dog”! A federal court has acknowledged that others are better equipped to address certain issues than the judiciary!...more
In Cannons Engineering, the First Circuit Court of Appeals famously stated that, when CERCLA consent decrees arrive at the courts of appeal for review, they do so “encased in a double layer of swaddling,” because both the EPA...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Court recently issued an important opinion related to claims to recover environmental cleanup costs at an Ohio landfill. The court’s ruling in Hobart Corporation, et al. v....more
There are many lessons that one could take from the outcome of the seven year (and counting) litigation involving environmental groups and the operators of the Los Angeles County stormwater system. Certainly one lesson is to...more
On February 3, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to rehear en banc a decision handed down last October by a three-judge panel, thereby leaving in place a decision that could significantly...more
Briefing before the U.S. Supreme Court is currently underway in a matter involving challenges to the suite of greenhouse gas (GHG) cases decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December...more
Regulatory Deadline to File Initial Notification for Existing Area Source Boilers Is January 20, 2014 - This is a reminder that you may be required to file an initial notification with the U.S. EPA and Pennsylvania DEP...more
Updates on Environmental, Administrative and Regulatory Law - On November 6, 2013 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave notice in the Federal Register of a final rule in which certain...more
Last Friday, in American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA, Judge Sylvia Rambo upheld EPA’s Chesapeake Bay TMDL. As Judge Rambo noted in her conclusion, while the environmental problems associated with the Chesapeake Bay are...more
Last week, in Conservation Law Foundation v. EPA, Judge Mark Wolf ruled that CLF did not have standing to challenge EPA’s approval of total maximum daily loads promulgated for certain waters in and around Cape Cod. Given the...more
On August 21, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit roundly dismissed an enforcement action brought under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several...more
I'll give you a hint, this is a bit of a trick question. Give up? Okay. Whenever you name a State agency, of course. In Lavine v. State of California (pdf), a property owner filed a lawsuit after the Regional Water...more
In April 2013, U.S. EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response issued two guidance documents on soil vapor intrusion. One addresses general soil vapor intrusion issues, while the other is specific to petroleum vapor...more