Act 1009 was signed by Governor Sanders which amends the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act to require revocation of a permit for the disposal of industrial waste in an agricultural or pastoral application for a...more
The 114th Tennessee General Assembly concluded its first regular session on April 22, making it one of the most fast-paced sessions in recent years. Despite this compressed timeline, our government relations team successfully...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Little River County entered into a February 21st Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of Arkansas...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General (“AG”) on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed on October 16th a civil action in the Superior Court alleging that: …Feedback Earth, Inc. (“Feedback Earth”) is generating...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) issued a January 8th news release announcing that it will hold stakeholder meetings across Arkansas: …for better understanding...more
The Washington Supreme Court recently denied review of a key decision from the Washington Court of Appeals, Division II, upholding the authority of local governments to regulate solid waste generated and collected within...more
For the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC” or “Department”), discretion has been the better part of valor when considering enforcement of certain provisions of the Revised Part 360 Solid Waste...more
The Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) and three other organizations filed joint comments addressing questions posed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in the following document: ...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 87th Legislative Session’s filing deadline of March 12, 2021 has come and gone, giving us an opportunity to survey the full suite of environmental bills – air, water, waste, procedural – that will be considered, debated,...more
The Court of Appeals of Minnesota (“Court”) in a December 7th Opinion addressed a zoning issue associated with an industrial waste landfill. See AIM Development (USA), LLC v. City of Sartell, 2020 WL 7134863...more
On Wednesday, June 10, 2020, Governor Janet Mills issued a proclamation extending Maine’s state of civil emergency through July 10, 2020. This is the third proclamation renewing the state of civil emergency....more
On May 2, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 136 (EO 136) extending the timeframes required for persons involved in “soil and fill recycling services” to register and to submit A-901 license...more
Nearly a decade has passed since the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) first reported on soil and fill providers circumventing New Jersey state laws restricting the use of recycled soil and fill materials. ...more
“Operation Pay Dirt” was a joint investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and the Suffolk County Police Department. It investigated...more
This is a brief survey of many of the environmental and regulatory laws passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by the Governor in the 86th Regular Session of the Legislature, which ended in May 2019....more
In Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 913 N.W.2d 456 (2018), the Minnesota Supreme Court recently held that Minn. Stat. § 115A.94 (2016) does not preempt local ordinances concerning municipal waste collection systems, finding...more
Calif. Appellate Court Holds These Liens Not Subject to Prop. 218 - California cities are authorized by statute to record special assessment liens on property for delinquent solid waste service fees, an appellate court has...more
This week, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed new legislation to reform and update Maine’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The new law, titled “An Act To Reform Maine's Renewable Portfolio Standard” (the Act),...more
Pierce Atwood’s Environmental and Land Use Practice Groups are pleased to provide a summary of key environmental legislation from the 129th Maine Legislature’s First Regular Session, which adjourned sine die, on June 20,...more
Senate Bill 377 has been introduced which would in summary: Amend certain Arkansas statutory authorities addressing the collection and distribution of solid waste disposal and transportation fees...more
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery issued proposed regulations to reduce organic waste in landfills as required by Senate Bill 1383. The bill directed CalRecycle to adopt regulations to reduce...more
On June 22, the Texas Supreme Court decided an important environmental case, City of Laredo, TX v. Laredo Merchants Assoc. Without dissent, the Court held that the City of Laredo’s 2014 ordinance, enacted to create a...more
The Solid Waste Association of North America (“SWANA”) issued what it describes as an “update” on the topic of: China Waste Import Restrictions and Impacts on State and Local Recycling Programs (“Update”) ...more
On May 17, 2018, after a lengthy and tortuous rulemaking that included substantive review and authorization by the Legislature, but only if certain changes were made, the Board of Environmental Protection adopted several...more