The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule is an ongoing conundrum to all those subject to it, most especially in trying to ascertain exactly which water ways qualify under the Rule. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
Effective yesterday, the third and final update to USEPA's e-Manifest rules require all Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) and Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) to register in the e-Manifest module, replacing hard paper copies....more
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) have published their 2025 increases to civil penalties....more
The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 (S. 2781) was signed into law on December 17, 2024, by President Joe Biden. This was a bipartisan measure consisting of 21 Republicans, 17 Democrats, and...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in its RCRA Online database a September 10th letter from Materials Life Cycle Management Company (“MLCM”) referencing a name change to NuCycle Energy....more
On November 12, 2024, less than one week after the most recent presidential election which will likely result in substantial changes to energy policy in the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency...more
President-elect Donald J. Trump announced on Monday, November 11, 2024, his intention to nominate former Representative Lee Zeldin, Republican of New York, as the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection...more
In another step toward broader regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), on August 29, 2024, New Jersey, New Mexico, and North Carolina (the States) submitted a petition (Petition) urging the United States...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. DOL and U.S. EPA have published their 2024 increases to civil penalties....more
Typically, final remediation documents (no-further-action letters, response action outcomes, and the like) signal the end of remediation at a contaminated site. Upon receipt of the documents, responsible parties can often...more
Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed EPA’s NPDES permit issued to San Francisco’s Oceanside sewer system. San Francisco had challenged the permit on the ground that EPA does not have authority to...more
Earth Week 2023 brought with it two significant environmental justice developments. The week began with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announcing the adoption of regulations aimed at reducing pollution in historically...more
In 2018, New Jersey became the first state to establish a maximum contaminant level (MCL)1 for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).2 Now, nearly five years later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA...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
On September 10, 2021, EPA Region 9 and California EPA (CalEPA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Collaborative Efforts on Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in Overburdened Communities. Implementing this...more
On January 11, 2023, EPA’s Office of the General Counsel released a Cumulative Impacts Addendum (“Addendum”) to its May 2022 Legal Tools To Advance Environmental Justice, providing EPA and its tribal, state, and local...more
The annual results of the agency’s enforcement and compliance efforts repeatedly discussed Environmental Justice (EJ), touting general trends and specific enforcement actions related to potential communities of concern. The...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a Request For Applications (RFA) on January 10, 2023, for projects “supporting community-based nonprofit organizations (CBO’s) in their efforts to collaborate and...more
Further building upon its Environmental Justice (EJ) Legal Tools, on January 11, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released the Cumulative Impacts Addendum updating its existing legal guidance for...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced on January 6, 2023, that it is proposing to modify the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5). The current annual primary...more
This presentation will focus on revised vapor intrusion guidelines and the proposed listing USEPA of PFAS (forever chemicals) as a CERCLA hazardous substance....more
On October 14, 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published proposed revisions to the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) permitting regulations. The proposal seeks to repeal specific 2008...more
In recent years, there has been no shortage of articles and conferences on the coming wave of PFAS litigation, and with good reason. Heightened scrutiny and tightening regulation by USEPA, the ever-growing AFFF MDL, and the...more
Alongside USEPA’s recent issuance of new Health Advisory Levels, or HALs, for certain PFAS chemicals (namely, PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, and GenX), the Agency also announced that, as part of the Biden Administration’s...more