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
The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has made available a collection of National PFAS Datasets, which collects a variety of PFAS data from different state and federal sources on one convenient webpage. ...more
The recent growth of litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has focused on firefighting foam, cosmetics cases, and industrial sites using and disposing of PFAS-containing materials. Now, emboldened by...more
Will private landowners’ property fall under more regulation as part of the definition of “waters of the United States?” Will land near, but that does not front, a large body of water be subject to the wetlands regulations of...more
On October 20, 2021, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law House Bill 8, which is enacted as Delaware’s Drinking Water Protection Act (29 Del. C. §§ 8090-8094). The Act contains two primary directives requiring:...more
As part of the “E” or environmental component of Environmental, Social, and Governance principles, companies of all sizes are making environmental commitments a part of their business vision and practice, leading to...more
ASTM International released its revised standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments on November 1, 2021. The new standard (ASTM E1527-21) updates the 2013 version of the standard (ASTM E1527-13), which is widely used...more
On November 1, 2021, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) approved changes to its Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) standard to include guidance on when per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)...more