[Podcast] Catching Up on Canadian Environmental Regulation
The Great Green North: A Discussion on Canada’s Environmental Regulations
Recent Actions on Ag Biotech by EPA’s Emerging Technologies Branch
Because the risks posed by superfund sites pale in comparison to the risks posed by air pollution and broader water pollution issues regulated under the Clean Water Act, I have been and remain deeply skeptical of the Trump...more
The American Chemistry Council (“ACC”) and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (“AFPM”) sent a March 31st letter to the United States Environmental Agency (“EPA”) requesting: …a two-year exemption from the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 12 announced that it will reconsider eight National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs), affecting critical sectors within the American energy,...more
On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that prohibits the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “the Agency”) from setting qualitative limits based on the condition of the “receiving waters” that...more
When it rains too much in San Francisco, the city's wastewater treatment plant can get overloaded. An overloaded wastewater treatment plant means that a city-operated, EPA-permitted point source in the Pacific Ocean could...more
I’ve always taken the position that, no matter how much I disagree with the President, the Senate should confirm his executive branch nominees (nominations to the Judicial Branch are different, since judges don’t work for the...more
On November 21, 2024, the EPA issued its final National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, as required by the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act. This comes after the Agency received almost 92,000 comments on its draft strategy. ...more
While still a newly minted lawyer early in 1977, I had the good fortune to land a job with the then brand-new Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. This coincided with the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter as...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed four final rules representing multi-media regulation (air, water, waste, climate) for the utility sector. Individually, each rule would have been notable for...more
As we wrap up our week-long celebration of Earth Day with insightful articles focusing on various aspects of plastic pollution, this final article focuses on how the courts are being asked to step into ring and referee the...more
In the Byzantine complexity of the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA’s “once in, always in” policy regarding hazardous air pollutants (HAP) has been particularly confounding. And now it’s back in play, through regulatory revisions...more
On December 6, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a bipartisan vote of 350-80. The NDAA includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, which includes...more
As a follow up to one of our team’s ELM articles earlier this month, (here), the EPA launched a brand-new environmental justice office signaling, for the first time, that clean air, clean water, and environmental justice are...more
On March 11, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced it was proposing new regulations that would require certain facilities located close to navigable waters create and submit Facility Response Plans...more
Throughout the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration, Environmental Justice (EJ) has been a focus of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As I wrote about in November 2021, since January 2021 EPA has released...more
The first action proposes first-time emission guidelines to reduce methane emissions from almost 1 million existing oil and gas wells, almost 2,000 existing interstate natural gas compressor stations, and over 500 existing...more
On October 1, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its new Draft Strategic Plan for 2022 through 2026 (Strategic Plan). EPA is required to develop the Strategic Plan to communicate EPA’s priorities...more
As we reported at the beginning of the year, President Biden has been making environmental justice one of his priorities since long before he took office. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently took...more
The EPA has made public an April 30 memo from the acting assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) to the national and regional enforcement managers that signals clear and specific...more
New EPA rule aims to limit tough clean air measures under Biden - The New York Times – December 9 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this Wednesday completed a rule that could weaken federal authority to...more
The Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board (“TACB”) issued a March 4th Technical Secretary’s Order and Assessment of Civil Penalty (“Order”) addressing an alleged air permit violation by State Industries, LLC (“State”). See...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a March 25th Notification of Evaluation titled: Status of Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan Submittals and Approvals...more
On Valentine’s Day, EPA showed a little love for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), announcing a sweeping plan to address PFAS contamination and protect public health. ...more
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has announced an effort to assess the potential health risks posed by a class of chemicals known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been found in significant concentrations...more
Since 1995, EPA has followed a policy that any air emissions source that emits one or more hazardous air pollutants (“HAPs”) above major source emissions thresholds is always considered a major source of HAPs. This is so even...more