In a final rule published on May 17, 2024, and to become effective June 17, 2024, EPA has added seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the...more
North Carolina Proposes New Guidance for Vapor Intrusion Assessment and Mitigation -
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has drafted new and revised guidance documents for the assessment and...more
6/30/2023
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Industrial Storm Water Permit ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance ,
Wastewater
On January 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted an appeal to reconsider the extent of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction involving wetlands on a couple’s property in Idaho. The appellants (the Sacketts)...more
3/28/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Mercury ,
PFAS ,
Public Utility ,
Sackett ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On January 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted an appeal to reconsider the extent of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction involving wetlands on a couple’s property in Idaho. The appellants (the Sacketts)...more
A combination of federal wetland regulatory actions presents substantial uncertainty for regulated parties as they navigate wetland delineation and permitting processes for their projects. These concerns are compounded in...more
New Approach: Proposed PFAS Regulation Erodes TSCA Exemptions -
EPA’s proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may be...more
1/21/2022
/ ASTM ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Motor Vehicles ,
PFAS ,
RCRA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Can you still build a bulkhead along the shoreline in coastal Virginia to protect your property? Well, it depends, but now the answer is more likely to be “no.” Major changes to how Virginia tidal waterfront property owners...more
7/23/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Biden Administration ,
Boiler MACT Rule ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Permits ,
Property Owners ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
Sea Levels ,
Trump Administration ,
Wetlands
Arguably, the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is one of our society’s most important numbers. The SCC is used in all climate decisions and will now be considered in all significant governmental decisions and federal actions. How...more
3/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Waste ,
New Guidance ,
Obama Administration ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides various means of enforcement against violators of its permitting programs, including sanctions for those guilty of criminal negligence. The chief programs in this regard are the National...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
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
As reported in a number of our newsletter articles over the past several years, both the Obama Administration, through its Clean Water Rule, and the Trump Administration have pursued major changes to the scope of...more
As we have reported in previous articles, controversy over whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates discharges of pollutants that travel through groundwater into surface waters has led to significant litigation across the...more
5/8/2020
/ Appeals ,
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 ,
Waters of the United States
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
An April 15, 2020 decision by the United States District Court for the District of Montana has held that Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12) issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps’) is unlawful. Nationwide permits...more
4/30/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Navigable Waters ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The two-step regulatory process initiated in 2017 by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (together, the “Agencies”) to revise the regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) continues its methodical...more
1/14/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Commerce Clause ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rapanos v US ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Substantial Nexus ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
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
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
In January of 2018, the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board (“Air Board”) published a proposed rule to establish a CO2 emissions cap and trade program in Virginia (the “Original Proposal”). The regulations set an...more
4/1/2019
/ Audits ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drinking Water ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Flooding ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Governor Northam ,
Landfills ,
PFAS ,
Pollution Control Board ,
Power Plants ,
RGGI ,
Storm Damage ,
Storm Water ,
Waste Management
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
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
In the evolving Sierra Club v. Virginia Electric & Power Company case, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has just reversed a Virginia-based federal district court on the key issue of whether a coal ash...more
10/2/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Coal ,
Coal Ash ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Jurisdiction ,
Landfills ,
NPDES ,
Reversal ,
Sierra Club ,
Water Pollution
The saga of the federal Clean Water Act’s definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) has taken more turns recently, including a significant setback for the Trump Administration’s efforts to transition away from the...more
10/2/2018
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Barack Obama ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Property Owners ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands