A major skirmish in the long-running legal battle over the scope of protected waters under the federal Clean Water Act (“Act”) has just ended with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in National Association of Manufacturers v....more
2/14/2018
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Oil Spills ,
Rapanos v US ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The Virginia State Water Control Board (“Board”) recently approved a revised proposed regulation for the certification of non-point source nutrient credits (“NSN Credits”). The regulation now moves to the Governor’s office...more
Facility owners and operators and property developers need to meet environmental permit or performance criteria, but they also face significant compliance and logistical challenges in just managing and reporting information...more
The Clean Power Plan (“CPP”), and its companion new source review rule, is the Obama Administration’s signature regulation on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Among other things, it requires states to put...more
5/17/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Waste ,
NRDC ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Trump Administration ,
Two For One Rule
It’s a bad day when you find out that your facility has been leaking wastewater, wastes, petroleum product or chemicals. But if the leak went into the soil and the groundwater first, rather than a nearby creek, are you liable...more
Most industrial facilities will, at some point, be inspected by an environmental regulatory agency. Generally, regulatory agencies have authority to enter public or private property that is governed by an environmental...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently resurrected EPA’s embattled Water Transfers Rule (“WTR”) in a case particularly important to municipal water suppliers and others engaged in interbasin...more
President Trump has wasted no time in acting on his environmental agenda. On January 24, his second working day in office, the President signed two Executive Orders giving the green light to construction of the Keystone and...more
We reported in our April 2016 edition that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) had recently updated certain Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) regulations and proposed...more
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) has clarified its approach to issuing “no further action” letters (“NFAs”) for sites with both petroleum and non-petroleum contamination. This clarified approach will...more
12/15/2016
/ CERCLA ,
Common Stock ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
General Permit ,
NESHAP ,
New Guidance ,
Pesticides ,
Remediation ,
Solar Energy ,
Superfund ,
Underground Storage Tanks
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) has clarified its approach to issuing “no further action” letters (“NFAs”) for sites with both petroleum and non-petroleum contamination. This clarified approach will...more
Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) plans to amend key portions of its enforcement manual (the “Manual”). The Manual details key enforcement policies of the agency and is used by DEQ to guide almost every...more
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) is preparing to implement revised risk assessment protocols for many of its site cleanup programs. DEQ’s new approach is called the Virginia Unified Risk Assessment...more
Time to Pay More: EPA Increases Maximum Civil Penalties -
Remember the days when the maximum civil penalty EPA could assess for a violation of environmental law was $25,000 per day? Those days disappeared 26 years ago...more
8/11/2016
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Boiler MACT Rule ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Distributors ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Interim Rule ,
Labeling ,
Landfills ,
Manufacturers ,
Methane ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
OSHA ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Risk Assessment ,
Solid Waste ,
SSM Periods ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) ,
Title V ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
UN GHS
In early June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) proposed to reissue its nationwide permits (“NWPs”) for certain wetland impacts. The proposed changes present some interesting issues and new opportunities for...more
CONGRESS FINDS THE FORMULA TO REFORM CHEMICAL REGULATION -
The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) is the primary federal law by which the manufacture, import and use of chemical substances are regulated in the United...more
7/20/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Final Action ,
Final Rules ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Manufacturers ,
MATS ,
Mining ,
Occupational Exposure ,
OSHA ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Sackett ,
SCOTUS ,
Shipbuilding ,
Silica ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
Virginia’s State Air Pollution Control Board (“Board”) recently amended its regulations to remove the long-standing malfunction exemption available to regulated sources of air pollution for violations of emission limits and...more
The news has been full of stories and articles concerning Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR), also referred to as coal ash. CCR became a hot topic in 2008 when a coal ash pond at a utility plant in Tennessee spilled more than 5...more
5/20/2016
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Coal Ash ,
Consent Decrees ,
Deepwater Horizon ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Communication Standard ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Individual Accountability ,
OSHA ,
RCRA ,
Safety Data Sheets ,
Sierra Club ,
Solid Waste ,
SSM Periods ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Training Requirements ,
Utilities Sector ,
Workplace Safety ,
Yates Memorandum
Federal agencies charged under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) with species protection have recently hatched revisions to regulations and policies that change substantially the determination and protection of habitat for...more
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance recently proposed changes to its National Program Manager (NMP) Guidance that, in part, would revise EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives (“NEIs”) for federal fiscal...more
4/27/2016
/ Air Pollution ,
Chemical Spills ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Confidential Information ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FOIA ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Obama Administration ,
OSHA ,
Penalties ,
Power Plants ,
Wastewater ,
Workplace Hazards
2016 begins with the issuance of this Construction Industry Newsletter, our fifth. In this issue, we have articles on vapor intrusion, liability for project design, enforcement of mechanic’s lien and bond waiver clauses, and...more
3/29/2016
/ Architects ,
CERCLA ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contractors ,
Designer Professionals' Liability ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforceability ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Implied Warranties ,
Mechanics Lien ,
New Legislation ,
OSHA ,
Self-Reporting ,
Subcontractors ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) ,
Waivers
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Jurisdictional Determinations May be Appealed -
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determines the presence or absence of wetlands and other “waters of the United States” on a...more
3/17/2016
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
CERCLA ,
Certiorari ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Damages ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farm Bureau ,
Groundwater ,
Hawkes Co v United States Army Corps of Engineers ,
Indemnification ,
Judicial Review ,
Jurisdictional Determination (JD) ,
Permits ,
Property Owners ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Real Estate Transfers ,
SCOTUS ,
Superfund ,
Takings Clause ,
TMDL ,
TX Supreme Court ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) ,
Waters of the United States ,
Watershed ,
Wetlands
The National Priorities List (“NPL”) is EPA’s list of the most contaminated sites in the country that warrant cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, (“CERCLA” a/k/a...more
3/17/2016
/ CERCLA ,
Comment Period ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Property Owners ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Superfund ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked implementation of President Obama’s signature plan to address climate change pending a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on the plan’s legality. The Clean Power Plan is being...more
2/18/2016
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Act ,
Duke Energy ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Justice Scalia ,
Order to Stay ,
Permits ,
SCOTUS ,
Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Waste Management
One of the most vexing aspects of hazardous waste management hinges on a very basic question: whether something is in fact a regulated hazardous waste in the first place. This fundamental issue often arises for recycled or...more