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
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
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
On September 1, 2023, MassDEP issued final amendments to the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (“MCP”), the regulations governing the cleanup of releases of hazardous material and oil spills at contaminated properties. The MCP...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
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
Numerous states have either enacted or proposed regulations regarding per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) present in Class B Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (“AFFF”) used for firefighting, or present in firefighters’...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
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
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
Recently, I participated in the Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Master Class, PFAS: From Common Use to Concern. My fellow panelists and I discussed “PFAS in Water,” which included a discussion of the environmental and...more
The proposal marks another instance of EPA follow-through on its 2019 PFAS Action Plan. The SDWA requires EPA to make regulatory determinations every five years based on whether chemicals in public water systems pose a...more
Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) proposed an amendment to Act 2, Pennsylvania's Brownfield and voluntary cleanup program. ...more
Information about PFAS compounds in California is literally exploding, with additional contamination sites identified almost daily, while the science and legal environments surrounding these “forever chemicals” also see...more
EPA is moving forward on the drinking water component of its PFAS Action Plan by requesting the Office of Management to review its proposed regulatory determinations for two types of PFAS. This is a definite step toward...more
State and national efforts to curb the opioid epidemic have put ongoing angst about the health and financial devastation associated with methamphetamine production and use on the news cycle’s back burner. For home buyers...more
A new environmental issue could have a major impact on airports. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is in the process of performing investigations at a number of federal, state, and local facilities...more
Pierce Atwood LLP offers this summary of Maine Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) standards as a convenience in evaluating PFAS and tracking Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulatory and Maine...more
Last week, EPA added two sites to the National Priorities List (NPL), a list of sites of national priority for known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, solely for the risks posed by vapor intrusion. ...more