As referenced in last month’s publication, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (Army) will be hosting numerous separate listening sessions with key stakeholders starting next...more
4/22/2025
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sackett v EPA ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On March 12, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency is undertaking 31 significant actions in furtherance of the President’s Inaugural Day Executive Orders....more
The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule is an ongoing conundrum to all those subject to it, most especially in trying to ascertain exactly which water ways qualify under the Rule. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court curtailed the federal government’s powers to regulate private property under the auspices of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Court in Sackett v. EPA held that “the CWA extends to...more
In 2015, EPA published a rule under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) targeting coal-fired electricity generators designed to force their shift from coal generation to gas, solar and wind production. The “Clean Power Plan” (“CPP”)...more
“Sackett” may be poised to become a part of the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional lexicon, joining the likes of Rapanos, significant nexus, relatively permanent, and Solid Waste Agency of Cook County, on the tip of every...more
On January 9, 2020, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (“ACLIPI”), on behalf of several individuals, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Court”) a Petition for Review (“Petition”) of the United...more
Changes are on the way for ASTM’s Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“Phase I”) standard, the almost 30-year-old lynchpin of the transactional due diligence process. The American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”)...more
In prior blogs (available here and here), we’ve reported on changes to certain federal and state environmental enforcement policies related to COVID-19. In a nutshell, these policies essentially clarified the enforcement...more
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. EPA published “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19.” Directed specifically to the Agency’s Regional Administrators, the interim guidance was issued for response...more
The pre-pandemic portion of 2020 saw continued vigorous enforcement by EPA of Clean Air Act “defeat device” provisions against the vehicle aftermarket parts industry, including manufacturers and installers, as well as the...more
On March 31, 2020, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) issued a Memorandum of Compliance and Enforcement Implementation During COVID-19. This memo of compliance is consistent with the March 26, 2020 United...more
EPA announced on March 26, 2020 a temporary enforcement policy regarding EPA enforcement of environmental legal obligations.
In general, EPA does not expect to seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring,...more
The first few weeks of 2020 have seen regulatory and litigation attention heaped upon what have come to be known as “forever chemicals” or Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), which encompass more than 5,000 chemical...more
1/24/2020
/ Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Legislative Vetoes ,
NDAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
PFAS ,
Presidential Veto ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Utilities Sector ,
Water
A decade of lingering uncertainty for the mining industry regarding potentially billions of dollars in new regulatory compliance costs is now over (at least for now) as a result of the United States Court of Appeals for the...more
Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of recreational vehicles and lawn and garden equipment subject to EPA regulations should take no comfort in rumors of EPA’s reduced enforcement activity under the Trump...more
3/20/2019
/ Automotive Industry ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Distributors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Imports ,
Inspections ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Ports ,
Retailers ,
U.S. Customs
If you haven’t heard of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), you likely will soon. Like DDT, PCBs, asbestos, and MTBE before it, PFAS are a class of chemicals that have been used in a wide variety of commercial and...more
2/15/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Municipalities ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Utilities Sector ,
Water Supplies
There’s yet more breaking news on the Trump administration’s efforts to clarify the scope of the federal government’s Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. On June 29, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S....more
On Monday, December 4, 2017, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division, kicked off a stakeholder process to discuss the potential for the state to seek primacy for two water-related regulatory...more
Keeping track of the ongoing administrative and judicial developments on the issue of Clean Water Act jurisdiction has become almost as complex as trying to make a jurisdictional determination itself. Here is a handy synopsis...more
11/21/2017
/ Appeals ,
Certiorari ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Jurisdiction ,
Navigable Waters ,
Oral Argument ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
The headlines generated by the Volkswagen emissions scandal continue to amaze the environmental community and the general public, both here and abroad. The events are shocking in part because they involve a household name in...more
1/19/2017
/ Automotive Industry ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
China ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Air Act Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Document Destruction ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FBI ,
Foreign Manufacturers ,
Germany ,
Imports ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Retailers ,
Volkswagen ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud
In the run up to the Presidential Election, you may have missed some of the following regulatory developments that might impact your business....more
11/18/2016
/ Amended Regulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Proposition 65 ,
RCRA ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Retailers ,
Safe Harbors ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Warning Labels ,
Waste Disposal
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act was passed in the House by an overwhelming vote of 403 – 12. After passing the Senate, it was signed into law by President Obama on June 22, 2016. The...more
On July 11, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Enhanced Coordination Process,” which was developed with the United...more