Tox of the Town
Visit the Full BlogWhere 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 with 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.
What to Know About the Recent OEHHA Hearings
The California Proposition 65 short-form warning saga continues. We authored articles in both Bloomberg Law and Corporate Compliance Insights to discuss what businesses should know from the recent California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) hearings. California's Proposition 65 short-form warning changes proposed by OEHHA could significantly affect...
OEHHA Proposes Sweeping Changes to California’s Proposition 65 Warning Requirements
On October 27, 2023, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the lead California regulatory agency tasked with implementing California’s Proposition 65, proposed significant changes to the Proposition 65 warning requirements that may impact businesses’ Proposition 65 compliance strategy. In particular, OEHHA is once again considering changes to the...
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Decision Blocking Prop. 65 Acrylamide Cancer Lawsuits
For those following the acrylamide saga (see, e.g., our earlier blog post ), on Monday of this week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the injunction blocking new Prop. 65 lawsuits as to cancer warning labels on foods containing acrylamide: By way of background, Prop. 65 requires businesses...
“Much left unsaid” – A Primer on Environmental Due Diligence for Real Estate Transactions
Last month, I had the pleasure of participating in a roundtable discussion regarding “Transactional Real Estate and Environmental Due Diligence” co-hosted by Primerus and Association of Corporate Counsel . I don’t know about my co-panelists ( Michaël Hassan , Tina Denso , and Melissa Demorest LeDuc ), but I personally...
California’s Proposition 65: New “Safe Harbor” Warning Option for Acrylamide
Acrylamide, a Proposition 65-listed substance that naturally forms in the cooking and heating of many plant-based foods, has been the focus of regulatory and court action over the past few years. As we previously reported , there is currently an injunction preventing Prop 65 enforcers from filing or prosecuting...
Here at Last! DTSC’s 2022 Vapor Intrusion Advisory
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...
California’s Supreme Court Opens Gates to Prop. 65 Lawsuits Against Amazon.com
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...
Back to School for Administrators: New K-6 Ban List and Laws Regulating Art Supplies
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...
The Ever-Shifting Landscape of Prop 65 Acrylamide Regulation
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...
SF Regional Board attempts to clarify vapor intrusion approach
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...
Even Your Parking Structure Violates Prop 65
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...
RCRA Update: New Hazardous Waste Generator Rule Goes Into Effect in May 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...
U.S. EPA’s Proposed Rule Would Modernize NPDES Regulations
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...
In the Heart of the Rainy Season: The New (Stayed) Clean Water Rule Covers Vernal Pools in California
After years of drought, the El Niño storms have been bringing much-needed rain and snow to California–albeit in quantities significantly less than we hoped for thus far. In addition to the anticipated snowpacks, flowing rivers, and replenished reservoirs, the California landscape has been marked by the return of ephemeral...
Proposed Rule Adding Vapor Intrusion Component to Hazard Ranking System Published in the Federal Register Today
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a proposed rule in the Federal Register which would add a vapor intrusion component to the Hazard Ranking System, the system EPA uses to evaluate sites for placement on the National Priorities List (“NPL”). We forecasted and discussed the publication of this...
Proposed Rule Adding Vapor Intrusion Component to Hazard Ranking System Will Likely Appear in Federal Register This Month
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...
Required Action on the Horizon for California Consumer Products Companies
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...
State Water Board Approves Composting General Order
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...
EPA Must Consider Costs in Deciding Whether to Regulate HAPs From Power Plants
Last week, in Michigan v. EPA , the U.S. Supreme Court held that it was unreasonable for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to refuse to consider costs in connection with its finding that it was “appropriate and necessary” to regulate hazardous air pollutant (“HAP”) emissions from power plants...