Podcast - Hot Topics in Nuclear Waste
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (“ASTSWMO”) submitted testimony to the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Other Related Agencies. The...more
President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to terminate lease contracts at nearly two dozen California offices relating to science, agriculture, and the environment, according to its federal...more
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund Program is a cornerstone of the United States’ efforts to remediate contaminated sites and protect public health. The Superfund Program under President-Elect Donald...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (“Fourth Circuit”) addressed in a June 25th Opinion an issue involving arranger liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability...more
Legislation (“SB 125”) was introduced into the Maryland General Assembly (2024 Session) that would require the seller of any residential property located within 0.5 miles of a National Priority List (“NPL”) Superfund...more
On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published two proposed rules in the Federal Register that would expand the EPA’s authority to address certain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 31st Opinion a dispute between two Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“Superfund or...more
Initially enacted in 1980, the Superfund chemical excise taxes apply to the sale or use of certain chemicals and substances to fund a federal cleanup program for hazardous waste sites. While the initial tax program expired...more
As this nation prepared to celebrate the Independence Day long weekend, many were preparing for the July 1, 2022, reinstatement of the Superfund chemicals tax (the Superfund Tax). The Superfund Tax is an excise tax imposed on...more
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (“ASTSWMO”) issued a February 2022 report titled: Best Practices to Ensure State Collaboration in Superfund (“Report”) ...more
I undertook an Arkansas Environmental Federation webinar held by the organization’s Land and Sustainability Committee on May 20th titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste/Recycling Administrative/Judicial Developments: 2020-2021...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that only settlements that explicitly resolve liability under CERCLA trigger the contribution provisions of section 113 of CERCLA. I have previously commented on the Court’s tendency to...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a March 29th report titled: EPA Does Not Consistently Monitor Hazardous Waste Units Closed with Waste in Place or Track...more
Large quantity generators (LQGs) of hazardous waste who accumulate hazardous waste for no more than 90 days know proper adherence to unit-specific and facility-wide closure requirements is an essential condition for exemption...more
EPA has promulgated a final rule declining to impose final assurance requirements on the electric power, petroleum and coal manufacturing, and chemical manufacturing industries to clean up spills of hazardous substances. ...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), also known as the Superfund law, imposes strict, joint and several, and retroactive liability. Over time, many companies and their legal...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued what it describes as a “Management Alert” titled: Unapproved Use of Slag at Anaconda Co. Smelter Superfund Site (“Alert”)...more
In 2016, EPA published the long-anticipated Hazardous Waste Generator Improvement Rule (HWGIR) updating requirements for generators of hazardous waste. The HWGIR also clarifies EPA polices governing accumulation of hazardous...more
A United States District Court (Western District of Washington) addressed the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) request for access to real property in King County, Washington to undertake certain...more
I undertook a presentation on April 17th at the Arkansas Environmental Federation Regulated Waste Seminar titled: Solid and Hazardous Waste Judicial/Regulatory Developments: 2018 – 2019 - The discussion addressed...more
A United States District Court (E.D. Louisiana) (“Court”) addressed in a March 11th Order an affirmative defense raised in opposition to a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) citizen suit enforcement action. See...more
Last month’s decision in Ohio v. Breen was the most blatantly, obviously, and incontrovertibly wrong Superfund decision I have ever come across. How wrong was it? Saints/Rams level wrong. The case involved Superfund claims...more
Ever since President Trump took office in January 2017, several questions have arisen within the environmental community regarding how his administration will change the legal and enforcement priorities of the United States...more
In the early days of Superfund, defense lawyers used to joke that all government lawyers had the same oral argument script. It was three sentences long....more
In a very interesting – and extremely rare – case, Emhart Industries has successfully defended itself against a unilateral administrative order issued by EPA under CERCLA, on the ground that key decisions made by EPA were...more