Natural Resource Damages & Environmental Justice
Environmental Agencies, Superfund Cleanups, and Managing Enforcement Actions
What are PFAS and Why Should We Care?
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
A broad range of reactions – from celebratory to alarmist – describe the workforce reductions and regulatory rollbacks proposed or currently underway at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Notable concerns...more
On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced "major EPA actions to combat PFAS contamination." EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said that he has "long been concerned about PFAS and the efforts to...more
On January 15, 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its “Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS)” (“Draft Risk...more
A second Trump presidency may bring a renewed focus on deregulation and a reduction in federal oversight, which could have profound implications for brownfield redevelopment. Brownfields are previously developed sites, often...more
Three years after a massive spill at a Los Angeles wastewater facility sent millions of gallons of sewage into Santa Monica Bay, the city has agreed to spend more than $20 million on improvements to remedy the environmental...more
In general, environmental law seeks to protect public health and the environment by providing for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response to the release or disposal of hazardous substances. And more...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule on Sept. 6, 2022, to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), along with their structural isomers, as hazardous...more
Background - An MDL was formed in South Carolina in 2018 to litigate allegations of PFAS contamination from the use of specific PFAS-containing Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF MDL). In the past year, two defendants —...more
As expected, 2023 was an expansive year for the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) at the federal level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took (or at least proposed)...more
Yesterday, I spoke with Sarah Mattalian, an Inside EPA reporter writing a story about the suggestion by an EPA official that EPA might require additional PFAS investigations and clean up at properties that had already been...more
On March 14, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). PFAS are a category of...more
On February 23, 2023, California EPA (Cal EPA) finally released a “final draft” version of the much-awaited vapor intrusion guidance, Final Draft Supplemental Guidance: Screening and Evaluating Vapor Intrusion (VI Guidance)...more
Aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”) is a hot topic in per- and polyfluorinated Substances (“PFAS”) litigation. AFFF is used to fight gasoline, oil, and jet fuel fires by producing an aqueous film that spreads across a fire’s...more
As anticipated, 2022 was another eventful year for the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) at the federal level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took significant actions under...more
In September 2022, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the designation of two per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous chemicals under the Comprehensive Environmental Responses, Compensation,...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Missouri are escalating initiatives to reduce lead exposure across the nation, focusing on schools and environmental justice communities. The agencies'...more
Just when we environmental old-timers were just getting used to talk about PFAS concentrations in the low parts per trillion range, EPA has moved us squarely into uncharted territory. EPA has released new, interim, lifetime...more
In October 2021, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced its PFAS Strategic Roadmap, laying out the agency’s approach to PFAS regulation in the coming years. One of the most highly anticipated...more
On January 10, 2022, U.S. EPA forwarded to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule that seeks to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as “hazardous...more
If your organization has not already started thinking about PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), there's no time like the present. PFAS refers to a family of man-made, environmentally persistent chemicals (often...more
In 1959 Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point facility, located on the Patapsco River near the mouth of Baltimore Harbor, was the biggest steelmaking facility in the world. With close to 40,000 employees, Sparrows Point over many...more
It was 41 years ago that one of the more bizarre events in U.S. environmental history took place: two U.S. EPA officials were “kidnapped” by an angry environmental group in a working class neighborhood in New York. As many of...more
Minnesota announced a new “PFAS blueprint” on February 10, 2021, calling for increased regulation of the so-called “forever” chemicals through a combination of legislation and agency rulemaking....more
The United States Federal District Court (E.D. Louisiana) (“Court”) addressed in a November 5th Order an issue arising out of a federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) citizen suit action. See Residents of...more
Deferring to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected a challenge to the first-ever listing of a site on the Superfund National Priorities List under recent regulatory...more