The Southern Environmental Law Center (“SELC”) on behalf of the Environmental Justice Community Action Network filed a Proposed Judicial Consent Decree (“CD”) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of...more
In furtherance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, which our firm has written about frequently, the EPA released an updated guide on destroying and disposing of PFAS....more
Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government on Monday over a landmark drinking water standard that would require cleanup of certain PFAS, so-called forever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and...more
On April 17, 2024, the EPA signed a final rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. The...more
On April 8, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued interim guidance for public comment regarding the destruction and disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Below, we discuss the guidance and...more
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has designated PFOA and PFOS as "Hazardous Substances" under CERCLA, marking the agency's first use of Section 102(a) authority and signaling potential widespread industry impact...more
As our readers are likely familiar from our past blog posts here, here and here, in September 2022, EPA proposed to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under section 102(a) of Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today designated two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been used in cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action...more
A group of 18 California children – ranging in ages from 8 to 17 – has filed a new constitutional climate case in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
Seventy-nine percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills or the environment, much of which eventually ends up in our oceans. A March 8, 2023 study, estimated the average amount of small plastics in the ocean surface layer...more
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”) released in early June a report titled: Evaluation of Current Alternatives and Estimated Cost Curves for PFAS Removal and Destruction from Municipal Wastewater, Biosolids,...more
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association said on Thursday that they had reached an agreement, referred to as the "Clean Truck Partnership," that gives new flexibility for...more
Congressman Mike Thompson (California) transmitted a June 2nd letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Michael S. Regan asking for: . . . equal treatment for publicly and privately...more
For some time now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has been evaluating several industrial point sources for discharges of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater and leachate. On January 31,...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued the Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 to address the widespread “forever chemicals,” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), found in water, air,...more
The United States Composting Council (“USCC”) recently issued a document titled: PFAS Positioning and Guidance Statement (“Statement”)...more
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division (“Court”), addressed in a January 6th decision whether two insurance companies had a duty to defend an insured for damages related to the release of certain chemicals. See...more
After years of use in manufactured products, “PFAS”, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are common in the environment. Comparatively little is known about most of them, but evidence of the harm that they can do is...more
In September, EPA set forth its latest draft plan for setting guidelines for PFAS limitations in industrial wastewater in certain industries, and October brought public comments on the draft. Among EPA’s next steps in its...more
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Michael Regan announced on October 18th what is described as a “Comprehensive National Strategy to Confront PFAS Pollution” (“Strategy”). The Strategy...more
I undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar held by the organization’s Land and Sustainability Committee on May 20th titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste/Recycling Administrative/Judicial Developments: 2020-2021...more
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”) addressed in a March 18th news release per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) groundwater sampling results at a number of closed landfills. Groundwater is stated to...more
On December 18, 2020, EPA released for public comment its new Interim Guidance on Destroying and Disposing of Certain PFAS and PFAS-Containing Materials That Are Not Consumer Products (available here). Specifically, the new...more
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation released on February 5th reports addressing issues involving per- and polyfluorinated substances (“PFAS”). The reports address: - PFAS and landfill leachate -...more
As the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), Congress, and state regulatory agencies continue to push forward with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) regulations, the Maine Department of...more