Welcome to the April edition of Nutter’s Environment & Energy Insights, a periodic update of current trends in environment and energy law. This month we cover: EPA is changing the meaning of “waters of the United States.”...more
In October 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) released a public hearing notice announcing proposed regulatory amendments to the Commonwealth’s solid waste management regulations (310 CMR...more
On July 14, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued a public notice regarding Shire Human Genetic Therapies' Cambridge facility's pollutant discharges to the Alewife Brook, along with a...more
By letter dated June 1, 2020, Director of Watershed Management for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Lealdon Langley filed comments at www.regulations.gov for Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0372...more
On Jan. 28, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued its response to the "Petition for Rulemaking to Establish a Treatment Technique Drinking Water Standard for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl...more
What are PFOA and PFOS? Remember when everyone was in a tizzy about using Teflon or other non-stick cookware? That had to do with the chemical PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), which is one of the most commonly found and...more
Culminating a two-year rule promulgation process, MassDEP has issued a final rule amendment package that makes adjustments to numerous provisions of the Massachusetts air regulations. The announced purpose of this package...more
On January 26, 2017, MassDEP announced that it had developed and is seeking comment on a Fact Sheet entitled “Guidance on Sampling and Analysis for PFAS at Disposal Sites Regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan.”...more
Off to Court We Go: Petitioners Challenge EPA’s Small MS4 General Permit for Massachusetts - The storm of debate and criticism over the terms and conditions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) General...more
As we reported in our recent Massachusetts Environmental and Land Use Alert, Massachusetts is in the first stages of seeking delegation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Clean Water Act program. ...more
Massachusetts’ status as one of only four states not in control of the Clean Water Act program within its boundaries may change as the state begins the process of applying to U.S. EPA for delegation of that program. ...more
The final answer to the critical issue raised by the recent Peterborough Oil Company decision is that MTBE is an additive and is not, in MassDEP’s view, subject to the “oil exemption” under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan....more
Since yesterday’s post on the Peterborough Oil case, a little birdie told me that MassDEP may be taking the position that MTBE is covered by the “oil exemption”, because it is a hydrocarbon. If so, that would be good news...more
As announced in the Federal Register this week, EPA finally released the General Permit for small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems in Massachusetts (say that three times fast!) This permit has been in the works for...more
Summary: Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s administration is considering a move that would place Clean Water Act permitting in the hands of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)....more
Last month, we wrote about MassDEP’s trichloroethylene (TCE) site reevaluation initiative. MassDEP has begun the process of screening sites previously closed under the MCP to look for sites where TCE might exceed the new...more
Notification of potential data quality issues by a Massachusetts laboratory is raising concerns about the possible impact on current and closed remediation sites in Massachusetts that relied on that data. Accutest...more
Last week, we wrote about an audit that MassDEP is conducting of previously closed sites to look for high concentrations of TCE in soils and groundwater. The intent of the audit is to address potential vapor intrusion. The...more
NEW REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS - Federal - Final 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan and 2014 Annual Effluent Guidelines Review Report EPA is announcing the availability of its Final 2014 Effluent Guidelines...more
In February, we noted that the Conservation Law Foundation and the Charles River Watershed Association had threatened to sue EPA for failing to require that “commercial, industrial, institutional, and high density residential...more
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Oxides of Nitrogen – Health Criteria - EPA has announced an extension of the public comment period for the second external review draft of a document titled, “Second External Draft...more
EPA has been working to craft a general permit for small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems for quite some time. The most recent draft permit, published last September, has received significant comment, most recently...more
Last week, MassDEP released new guidance on how it is assessing exposures to TCE in light of EPA new assessment of TCE risks released in September 2011. The biggest issue is that concerns about fetal exposure have caused...more