The threat of EPA administrative action often drives industry to consider quick, administrative settlements with state or local environmental agencies for even the slightest environmental violations. Unless the Biden...more
Federal environmental policies are likely to undergo significant changes at DOJ and EPA under the Biden administration, including alteration of many Trump administration enforcement policies. Since many of these existing...more
1/12/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Regulatory Agenda
If Joe Biden is elected President there will be significant changes in environmental regulation for American businesses. Some changes can (and likely will) take place very quickly, with the stroke of a pen. These could...more
10/28/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Boiler MACT Rule ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Testing ,
General Elections ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Regulatory Agenda
It took nearly thirty years, but EPA has updated the test methods used to determine whether a waste is an ignitable hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The revisions are intended to...more
Two recent executive orders (“EOs”) issued by President Trump require additional efforts by federal agencies to facilitate regulatory reform and to expedite infrastructure projects, relying greatly on emergency and special...more
7/16/2020
/ CARES Act ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
NESHAP ,
Public Projects ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Relief Measures ,
Trump Administration
The United States Department of Justice has terminated its policy of allowing companies to perform supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in lieu of paying civil penalties for violations of federal environmental laws. The...more
EPA recently issued a final rule containing much-debated revisions to the Clean Air Act 112(r) Risk Management Program (“RMP”). The rule rescinds or modifies a substantial number of existing requirements, including...more
1/14/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Clean Air Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Obama Administration ,
Regulatory History ,
Rescission ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
It’s well-known that the Trump administration has sought policies of deregulation over the past several years. The administration places emphasis on proper enforcement of existing rules and regulations as a means of achieving...more
1/13/2020
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gas Prices ,
Obama Administration ,
PFAS ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Wastewater ,
Waters of the United States
Some companies subjected to environmental enforcement or cleanup actions may believe others should take the blame or share in the costs. When environmental consultants have been involved, the finger can point in their...more
10/31/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Coal ,
Coal Ash ,
Coal Industry ,
Consultants ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federalism ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Proposed Rules ,
Section 401 ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits
Generators of hazardous waste risk triggering comprehensive hazardous waste storage permit requirements when unplanned events cause hazardous waste generated onsite to exceed maximum limits for very small quantity generators...more
In 2016, EPA published the long-anticipated Hazardous Waste Generator Improvement Rule (HWGIR) updating requirements for generators of hazardous waste. The HWGIR also clarifies EPA polices governing accumulation of hazardous...more
EPA recently published a final rule restricting the manufacture, processing, and import of methylene chloride in the United States for consumer paint and coating removal. The rulemaking is a result of risk assessments...more
If your company is planning to buy commercial or industrial real estate, it’s probably your standard practice to have a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“Phase I”) performed. When you do so, it’s important to ensure the...more
6/7/2019
/ Air Pollution ,
BFPP ,
Cap-and-Trade ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CERCLA ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater Management Plan ,
Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals Rule ,
NGOs ,
Pollution Control Board ,
Real Estate Development ,
State Funding ,
TMDL
Indoor shooting ranges are subject to stringent government regulations, including the OSHA Lead Standard and EPA Hazardous Waste Regulations. The OSHA Lead Standard requires monitoring employee lead exposures; engineering and...more
EPA recently released a final regional office realignment plan in response to President Trump’s March 2017 Executive Order 13781. That order required EPA and other federal agencies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and...more
12/20/2018
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Farm Animals ,
Government Reorganization ,
Groundwater Management Plan ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Utilities Sector
Indoor shooting ranges are subject to stringent government regulations, including the OSHA Lead Standard and EPA Hazardous Waste Regulations. The OSHA Lead Standard requires monitoring employee lead exposures; engineering and...more
EPA has announced a new compliance policy that some will view as providing welcome relief to industry and others may view as providing unwarranted concessions. The subject line of the EPA memo announcing the new policy is...more
10/3/2018
/ Adjacent Property Owners ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Coal ,
Coal Ash ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
New Guidance ,
RCRA ,
Sierra Club ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Waters of the United States
The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) required EPA to designate chemical substances on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory as either “active” or “inactive” in U.S. commerce. To accomplish that, EPA...more
It seems to happen every year. A natural disaster disrupts fall football season, and interstates are full of evacuees gobbling up hotel rooms and squatting in the nearest safety zones. In those times, no one ever thinks of...more
New Source Review (“NSR”) remains a focus of enforcement for EPA. Between last year and now, EPA finalized eight settlements with manufacturers and one with a utility, asserting NSR violations for allegedly not obtaining a...more
5/3/2018
/ Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Groundwater Management Plan ,
Landfills ,
Manufacturers ,
Methane ,
Mining ,
NPDES ,
POTWs
EPA continues to walk-back Obama-era regulations. The beneficiary this time is the mining industry, with EPA stating its intention not to issue a final rule establishing financial responsibility requirements for hardrock...more
Since 1995, EPA has followed a policy that any air emissions source that emits one or more hazardous air pollutants (“HAPs”) above major source emissions thresholds is always considered a major source of HAPs. This is so even...more
2/14/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Title V
A trilogy of recent federal and state enforcement actions show just how far agencies will go to enforce environmental regulations. Now may be a good time for a compliance audit....more
2/14/2018
/ Appeals ,
Batteries ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Air Act Violations ,
Compliance ,
Consent Agreements ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
DirecTV ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Landfills ,
Mining ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retailers ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government ,
Suction Dredge Mining ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
A prominent characteristic of the Obama EPA was its close relationship with national environmental groups. The most controversial EPA rulemakings seemed to be the by-product of litigation settlements when environmental groups...more
A prominent characteristic of the Obama EPA was its close relationship with national environmental groups. The most controversial EPA rulemakings seemed to be the by-product of litigation settlements when environmental...more