[Podcast] Catching Up on Canadian Environmental Regulation
The Great Green North: A Discussion on Canada’s Environmental Regulations
Recent Actions on Ag Biotech by EPA’s Emerging Technologies Branch
While still a newly minted lawyer early in 1977, I had the good fortune to land a job with the then brand-new Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. This coincided with the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter as...more
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) held a webinar on “Reducing PFAS in Products: Progress and Challenges.” The webinar was the third in...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
We can now talk about the proverbial elephant in the PFAS room that has been lingering for a while. On April 19, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will list the so-called "forever chemicals"...more
On September 28, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance ("OECA") released a memorandum announcing its new Climate Enforcement and Compliance Strategy....more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in the January 12th Federal Register a Request for Public Comment on the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (“NECIs”) it is proposing for fiscal...more
The Environmental Protection Agency recently published a Cumulative Impacts Addendum (“Addendum”) to its Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice (“EJ Legal Tools”), issued in May 2022....more
Environment and Energy Report (subscription required) had a story today about growing opposition to EPA’s proposal to list two PFAS compounds, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous substances under CERCLA. Here’s what really caught my...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Safety Kleen Systems, Inc. (“Safety Kleen”) entered into a September 30th Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”) addressing an alleged violation of the...more
As we move toward two full years of the Biden Administration, we can see the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) environmental justice (EJ) efforts move from the creation of new offices and guidance materials toward...more
As we near Earth Day 2022, the United States may be headed toward a profound change in the way EPA and similar administrative agencies regulate the complex areas of environmental law. EPA began operating more than 50 years...more
A key component of a company’s risk management function is to keep a close eye on new and developing sources of liability and to put in place appropriate insurance to respond in the event those liabilities ripen. In recent...more
Key Takeaways What Is Happening? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published for public comment its proposed 2022 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Construction General Permit (CGP), which...more
The US District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued its third opinion on August 19 in the decade-long fight between Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil) and the US government over who is responsible for the costs...more
EPA Steps into the Mix While States Continue Swift Action in Light of Potential Health Risks - In a prior posting, we noted the proliferation of state legislative and regulatory activity involving Per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
If you haven’t heard of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), you likely will soon. Like DDT, PCBs, asbestos, and MTBE before it, PFAS are a class of chemicals that have been used in a wide variety of commercial and...more
As the cleanup begins, companies face challenges in meeting existing environmental obligations and addressing the environmental impacts of the storm....more
On 22 June 2017, Chinese legislators released draft proposals to combat soil pollution in China at a bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The legislation complements the State...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - State Supreme Court rules in state’s favor on Delta property rights - Sacramento Bee - Jul 21 - The California Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the state has the right to...more
On April 17, 2016, China Central Television (CCTV), the country’s state-run broadcast network, aired a report claiming that nearly 500 students apparently developed illnesses (including leukemia) at a school built on...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq. (“CERCLA”) imposes fairly broad liability on potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) to pay for the investigation and...more