On April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court finally answered the question that has plagued environmental attorneys for years with its decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund (Slip Op 18-260, April 23, 2020): whether point...more
4/28/2020
/ Appeals ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated
On March 31, David A. Hindin, the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, issued a Temporary Advisory for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System...more
On March 9, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) posted on its internet page, 830 CMR 63.38Q.1: Massachusetts Brownfields Tax Credit (WORKING DRAFT), which proposes regulations for the first time since passage of the...more
On March 2, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice and request for comment for its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 2020 Issuance of the Multi-Sector General Permit...more
According to a recent filing,1 the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is considering recommendations to increase the outer tank shell for the DOT-113 tank car in...more
On October 24, 2019, The U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register following its earlier...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the rollout of its new Clean Water Act Section 401 Guidance for Federal Agencies, States and Authorized Tribes which replaces an April 2010 Interim Guidance...more
6/19/2019
/ Certification Requirements ,
Clean Water Act ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Natural Gas ,
Navigable Waters ,
New Guidance ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Section 401 ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water Quality
On June 6, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation (PHMSA) announced the availability for comment of its draft Environmental Assessment for a Special Permit to...more
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a 171-page pre-publication version of its proposed perchlorate rule in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), just days before a court-ordered...more
On April 25, 2019, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced issuance of Draft Interim Recommendations to Address Groundwater Contaminated with Perfluorooctanoic Acid and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate. According to...more
4/29/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Comment Period ,
Contamination ,
Draft Guidance ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Interim Guidance ,
Public Comment ,
Public Health ,
Site Remediation ,
Toxic Chemicals
By way of background, in 2016 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) listed two long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—PFOA and PFOS—as hazardous substances. However, NYSDEC did...more
4/23/2019
/ Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Site Remediation ,
Soil ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Surface Water ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Wastewater
On April 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a prepublication draft of an Interpretative Statement clarifying the application of Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination...more
On April 11, 2019, President Trump signed an Executive Order on Promoting Energy Infrastructure on Economic Growth which included provisions related to updating regulations linked to facilities which handle liquefied natural...more
4/12/2019
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Infrastructure ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PHMSA ,
Railroads ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safety Standards ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration
On March 6, 2019, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Environmental Subcommittee held a hearing entitled "Examining PFAS Chemicals and Their Risks." The purpose of the hearing was to examine (1) the health effects...more
On Feb. 26, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its latest efforts to evaluate the toxicity of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in accordance with its previously announced PFAS...more
On Feb. 26, 2019, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing entitled "EPA's Enforcement Program: Taking the Environmental Cop Off the Beat." According to the...more
On Feb. 14, 2019, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler held a live-streamed press conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania describing the release of EPA's anticipated PFAS Action...more
2/19/2019
/ Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Utilities Sector ,
Water Supplies
On Jan. 28, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued its response to the "Petition for Rulemaking to Establish a Treatment Technique Drinking Water Standard for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl...more
As described in a prior blog post, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) held a public meeting on Jan. 16, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. ET at MassDEP's Boston office to consider the "Petition for...more
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) will hold a public meeting on Jan. 16, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. ET at MassDEP's Boston office to consider the "Petition for Rulemaking to Establish a Treatment...more
On Jan. 3, 2019, the Solicitor General filed a Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae in response to an order issued Dec. 3, 2018, which "called for the views of the Solicitor General" (CVSG) in connection with two...more
1/10/2019
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
NPDES ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Public Comment ,
Solicitor General ,
Surface Water ,
Water
On Dec. 28, 2018, the Office of Fossil Energy of the Department of Energy (DOE) filed a notice in the Federal Register indicating its response to the 19 public comments received on its study entitled Macroeconomic Outcomes of...more
On Nov. 14, 2018 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release seeking public comment on its draft toxicity assessment for GenX chemicals and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), members of a larger...more
On Nov. 8, 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Public Affairs issued a press release indicating that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions signed a memorandum (presumably before resigning) the day before that...more
As described in a blog post on March 13, 2018, Section 13306 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97 (Dec. 22, 2017) revises the longstanding rule on the deductibility as a business expense (or lack thereof) of "any fine or...more
11/1/2018
/ Business Expenses ,
Comment Period ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exceptions ,
Fines ,
IRS ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Restitution ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tax Code ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform