President Biden is pushing in 2023 to strengthen Environmental Justice (EJ) initiatives and policies from the top down. This includes ordering more action and results from relevant federal agencies and pushing for the use of...more
4/6/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Executive Orders ,
RCRA ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Underserved Locations
EPA Proposes to Expand TRI Reporting Requirements for PFAS and Other Chemicals of Special Concern -
EPA is proposing to add per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning...more
Like everything else today, the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ebbs and flows depending on which political party holds office. However, while the Biden Administration gets...more
10/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Navigable Waters ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Comment ,
Public Meetings ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
Like everything else today, the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) ebbs and flows depending on which political party holds office. However, while the Biden Administration gets...more
10/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Bodily Injury ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Defense Strategies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Groundwater ,
Information Reports ,
Obama Administration ,
Property Damage ,
Public Comment ,
SNUR ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
Section 402 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) prohibits the discharge of any pollutant from any point source to navigable waters (“Waters of the United States” or “WOTUS”) unless authorized by a permit (Section 402 NPDES Permits)....more
3/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
New Guidance ,
NPDES ,
Waters of the United States
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
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
In late August, a South Carolina federal court was asked to rule in favor of EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and dismiss a Clean Water Act (CWA) lawsuit brought by environmental groups challenging EPA’s recent...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
On behalf of Haw River Assembly, the Southern Environmental Law Center recently served a Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) on the City of Burlington, North Carolina. Copies of the Notice were delivered to EPA and the North...more
1/14/2020
/ Citizen Suits ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Violations ,
Municipalities ,
NPDES ,
PFAS ,
RCRA ,
Right To Cure ,
Waste Treatment Facilities ,
Wastewater
EPA recently published a proposed federal rule (“Proposed Rule”) aimed at limiting the authority of states to deny certifications of compliance with state water quality requirements under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act...more
10/30/2019
/ Certification Requirements ,
Clean Water Act ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Navigable Waters ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 401 ,
States Rights ,
Trump Administration
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
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
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
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
EPA has revised its procedures for making certain changes to its “Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods,” also known as SW-846. The test method and its compendium of guidance documents provide...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
On March 29, 2016, a federal judge ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) exemption for “confidential business information” (“CBI”) can cover wastewater discharge information collected by the United States...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
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 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
Clean Water Act -
In last month’s edition of Environmental Notes, we discussed the potential impact of two recent federal district court decisions finding that a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) could be...more
Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion) operates a coalfired power plant in Chesapeake, Virginia. It maintains permits for its operations, including a Virginia solid waste management permit and a Virginia Pollutant Discharge...more
Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion) operates a coal-fired power plant in Chesapeake, Virginia. It maintains permits for its operations, including a Virginia solid waste management permit and a Virginia Pollutant Discharge...more
Clean Water Rule Opens Litigation Floodgates -
With much fanfare, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) recently issued a final rule clarifying which bodies of water are “waters of the United States” protected...more
7/21/2015
/ Arsenic ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farm Bureau ,
Farms ,
Form R ,
MATS ,
Michigan v. EPA ,
Mining ,
OSHA ,
Power Plants ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance