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Where the Law and the Environment Connect. Tox of the Town is a blog written by attorneys in Greenberg Glusker’s Environmental Law Group. With years of legal, technical, and business know-how experience, we look forward to providing our readers timely updates on environmental issues. Subscribe to our blog today to receive updates on changing environmental laws, regulatory and compliance issues, ongoing litigation, and more.

Update on California’s Regulation of PFAS – Governor Newsom Vetoes AB 2247

by Sedina L. Banks on October 24, 2022
Last month, we reported regarding recent actions taken by the California Legislature in the regulation of per – and polyfluoralkyl substances (“PFAS”).  By way of background, PFAS are man-made chemicals used for decades and found in many different commercial, industry, and consumer products such as non-stick cookware and water...
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50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act and What the Future Holds

by Noah Perch-Ahern on October 19, 2022
This week, I spoke to Bobby Magill at Bloomberg Law about the 50 th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Fifty years ago, Congress overrode a Presidential veto to enact the Clean Water Act, ushering in a sea change in the way we address water resources in this...
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ASTM Adopts a New Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard

by Sedina L. Banks on September 23, 2022
Environmental Partner, Sedina Banks, published "ASTM Adopts a New Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard" in the Fall 2022 issue of NAIOP's  Development Magazine.  In her article, she discusses the revisions made to ASTM's Phase I environmental site assessment standard and how it will affect commercial real estate transactions. Sedina...
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Recent Developments in the Regulation of PFAS

by Sedina L. Banks on September 7, 2022
In response to the growing concern regarding per – and polyfluoralkyl substances (“PFAS”), the federal government and California have taken recent actions to regulate PFAS.   By way of background, PFAS are man-made chemicals used for decades and found in many different commercial, industry, and consumer products such as non-stick...
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Here at Last! DTSC’s 2022 Vapor Intrusion Advisory

by Sherry E. Jackman on September 6, 2022
Last month, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (“DTSC”) issued its long-awaited “Vapor Intrusion Update” (“Advisory”) which is intended to guide the selection of attenuation factors (“AFs”) at contaminated sites overseen by DTSC. For folks frantically Googling the term “attenuation factors,” I’ll save you some time: attenuation factors are...
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California’s Supreme Court Opens Gates to Prop. 65 Lawsuits Against Amazon.com

by Sherry E. Jackman on July 27, 2022
Last month, the California Supreme Court created some e-commerce waves when it declined to review a Court of Appeals decision allowing California Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) lawsuits against retail giant Amazon.com. The decision arguably allows customers to sue Amazon.com and similar e-commerce companies for failing to warn buyers that products...
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Who is Subject to California's Proposition 65 Warning Requirements?

by Sedina L. Banks on February 18, 2022
Environmental Law Partner, Sedina Banks, presented a webinar "California’s Proposition 65: Background, Compliance, and Strategy" to members of the Association of Corporate Counsel - Southern California and the International Society of Primerus Law Firms. In this video clip, she discusses who is subject to California’s Proposition 65 warning requirements.
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Overview of Key 2021 Environmental Cases

by Brian E. Moskal on February 17, 2022
Environmental Partner, Brian Moskal, recently presented at Greenberg Glusker's CLE Last Dash series discussing key 2021 environmental law cases. View the video below to learn about four key environmental cases under CERCLA, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act that impact various industries.
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Environmental Insurance: Paper Worth Millions

by Sedina L. Banks on November 10, 2021
Your client calls frantic because he has just been served with a lawsuit from an adjacent property owner who claims that the historic dry-cleaning operations on your client’s property have contaminated the groundwater. The complaint seeks millions of dollars for cleanup costs. Another client calls. She wants to purchase...
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Lofty Goals & Long Horizons: CARB’s 2022 Scoping Plan Targets Carbon Neutrality by 2045

by Omar Corona, Summer Associate on October 1, 2021
This past summer, we have seen the risks of climate change manifest worldwide in the form of rising sea levels, severe droughts, massive wildfires, devastating floods, extreme heat, and other ecological disasters.  Fifteen years ago, under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), California began efforts...
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Back to School for Administrators: New K-6 Ban List and Laws Regulating Art Supplies

by Sherry E. Jackman and Sedina L. Banks on September 7, 2021
As schools reopen and in-person learning resumes, school teachers and administrators should be aware of laws regulating the purchasing of art supplies in schools. A preview of some of these laws is as follows: The California Education Code (Cal. Education Code § 32064, et seq. ) prohibits the purchase...
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The Ever-Shifting Landscape of Prop 65 Acrylamide Regulation

by Sherry E. Jackman on April 14, 2021
It has thus far been a noteworthy year for acrylamide, a Proposition 65-listed substance that naturally forms in the cooking and heating of many plant-based foods. Both the courts and the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (“OEHHA,” the agency tasked with enforcing Proposition 65’s warning requirements) appear to be...
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Offshore Drilling Project Dealt Setback by Ninth Circuit

December 22, 2020
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit dealt a setback to oil and gas interests, vacating the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)’s approval of the “Liberty Project” – a offshore drilling and production facility located off the coast of Alaska in the Beaufort Sea...
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Trump Methane Rollbacks May Spark Litigation, Hinder Greenhouse Gas Regulation

by Noah Perch-Ahern on September 14, 2020
Originally published on Bloomberg Law The Trump administration’s new  final rules  governing methane emissions in the oil and gas industry culminate a multi-year process to roll back limitations promulgated toward the end of the Obama administration. Though the rules address new sources, the changes may directly affect EPA regulation...
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California issues draft guidance for vapor intrusion to indoor air

by Brian E. Moskal on May 7, 2020
California environmental agencies recently issued a draft vapor intrusion guidance document that will significantly impact the investigation and remediation of environmentally impacted properties by owners, operators and potential buyers. The guidance document will also impact real estate deals and development involving those properties. The California State Water Resources Control...
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Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian – Perpetuating the Cycle of Supreme Court Environmental Law Decisions that Spark Litigation and Confusion

by Noah Perch-Ahern on April 24, 2020
The U.S. Supreme Court has a history of rendering muddled decisions when interpreting key environmental statutes, and with its decision in  Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian et al., history repeats itself. Case Overview The underlying case has a long procedural and factual background, having ping-ponged up to the Montana...
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SF Regional Board attempts to clarify vapor intrusion approach

by Sherry E. Jackman and Brian E. Moskal on August 6, 2019
The San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board recently issued a  fact sheet  summarizing changes to its approach to remediating environmental impacts and mitigating vapor intrusion (VI) at properties impacted with volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  This follows a January 2019  update  to the Board’s vapor intrusion environmental screening levels—which...
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Superfund Case in the U.S. Supreme Court - Unintended Consequences?

by Noah Perch-Ahern on June 20, 2019
In a recent interview with Ellen Gilmer at E&E News, I provided insights about a new case on the Supreme Court docket involving the Anaconda Smelter Stack and surrounding Superfund area in Montana. Overall, the article discussed the potential for unintended consequences if landowners in the long-running dispute over the Superfund...
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Even Your Parking Structure Violates Prop 65

by Sherry E. Jackman and Sedina L. Banks on April 29, 2019
The Prop 65 “Clear and Reasonable Warnings” updates that became effective in August 2018 contain lots of traps for the unwary, including one that you might not have noticed: tailored Prop 65 warnings are required at each of the public entrances to your enclosed parking facilities. To avail your regulated...
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Superior Court Invalidates Hexavalent Chromium Drinking Water Standard

by Brian E. Moskal on May 22, 2017
Earlier this month,  Judge Christopher E. Krueger  of the  Sacramento Superior Court  issued an order invalidating the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for  hexavalent chromium . The  California Department of Public Health  (“DPH”) established an MCL of 10 μg/L, or parts per billion (ppb), pursuant to a rulemaking effort that concluded in 2014...
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RCRA Update: New Hazardous Waste Generator Rule Goes Into Effect in May 2017

by Sherry E. Jackman on April 13, 2017
EPA’s final  Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule  (“Rule”), which goes into effect on May 30, 2017, contains approximately 60 revisions to the hazardous waste generator regulatory program. The revisions focus on improving efficiency, and compliance for hazardous waste generators—which is quite appropriate given EPA’s estimated hazardous waste non-compliance rate...
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Shell Pays Big for Double Dipping with the UST Fund

by Sedina L. Banks on September 28, 2016
Last week, the  California State Water Resources Control Board  (State Water Board)  announced  that it permanently banned 100 of Shell Oil Company’s underground storage tank (UST) claims from the California  UST Cleanup Fund  (Fund) for allegedly claiming reimbursement through false or misleading statements on its claim forms.  The State...
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U.S. EPA’s Proposed Rule Would Modernize NPDES Regulations

by Sherry E. Jackman on May 31, 2016
Earlier this month, the United States EPA proposed a rule (“Proposed Rule”) that would update and revise National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) regulations. Rather than reopening the existing NPDES regulations for comprehensive revision, the Proposed Rule would make “specific targeted changes to the existing regulations” that align the...
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Proposed Rule Adding Vapor Intrusion Component to Hazard Ranking System Will Likely Appear in Federal Register This Month

by Pete Nyquist and Sherry E. Jackman on February 10, 2016
A  proposed rule that would add a vapor intrusion component to the Hazard Ranking System (“HRS”), the primary screening tool for the CERCLA National Priorities List (“NPL”), is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register this month.  NPL listing is a prerequisite for designation as a federal Superfund site...
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Required Action on the Horizon for California Consumer Products Companies

by Sherry E. Jackman on September 25, 2015
Yesterday, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (“DTSC”) released its draft Stage 1 Alternatives Analysis Guide (“Guide”) under the California Safer Consumer Products program.  Public comments are being accepted on the Guide through October 24, 2015, and DTSC is specifically asking commenters to “provide the names of tools, methods, approaches, and data sources not already...
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State Water Board Approves Composting General Order

by Sherry E. Jackman on August 24, 2015
Earlier this month, the California State Water Quality Control Board (“State Water Board”)  approved  a General Order for Waste Discharge Requirements (“WDRs”) for composting operations, which will streamline and standardize permitting processes and regulate water quality at new and existing composting facilities.  While the General Order was approved with...
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