Category: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
USEPA Announces Final Drinking Water Standards for Six PFAS
In much anticipated news for followers of PFAS, or so-called "forever chemicals," USEPA announced today final, enforceable drinking water standards (MCLs) for six PFAS, including PFOS and PFOA at 4 parts per trillion. EPA "expects that over many years the final rule will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water...
Supreme Court Narrows EPA’s Authority to Protect Wetlands under Clean Water Act
In a highly anticipated and consequential decision, the U.S. Supreme Court stripped the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate an estimated half of the nation’s wetlands under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The May 2023 ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency could mean that millions of acres...
“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...
At Last - EPA Approves the New ASTM Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard
On December 15, 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took final action to approve the new ASTM International standard for conducting Phase I environmental site assessments. As previously noted , ASTM adopted the revised standard, officially known as ASTM 1527-21, last year. The revised standard represents best practices for...
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...
EPA Issues New Superfund Guidance
Settlement plays a fundamental role in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Superfund enforcement program. Potentially Responsible Parties (“PRPs”) seeking to resolve their liability through the settlement process should take note that EPA recently issued two new guidance memoranda on its settlement procedures. One memorandum sets forth revised procedures for...
Sackett v. EPA – Supreme Court Allows Pre-Enforcement Review of Clean Water Act Compliance Orders
On March 21st, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Sackett family has a right to challenge a pre-enforcement compliance order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before EPA initiates a formal enforcement action in Sackett v. EPA. The Sacketts own about a half-acre vacant parcel of land in Idaho. In...
Sackett v. EPA – Supreme Court to Decide Whether Pre-Enforcement Review of Compliance Orders Allowed
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (docket no. 10-1062). At issue is whether a party who was issued a pre-enforcement compliance order from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the right to have the order judicially reviewed before EPA initiates an enforcement action...
No Second Guessing EPA: CERCLA Citizen Suit Cannot Interfere With Ongoing Cleanup
This week, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not give a federal district court jurisdiction to adjudicate claims for past noncompliance with an order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The decision, Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., affirms that CERCLA’s citizen suit provision...
EPA Holds Hearings on Hydraulic Fracturing
As part of a broad investigation into the practice of pressurized injection of water, sand, and chemicals to extract natural gas from shale, known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held several public hearings this week in Binghamton, New York. Hydraulic fracturing operates by the...
EPA Takes the First Step Toward Federal Regulation of GHGs in Finding that GHGs Are an Endangerment to the Public Health and Welfare
On December 7, 2009, the EPA issued two findings regarding GHGs: (1) GHGs threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations and (2) the combined emissions of the GHGs from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines contribute to the GHG pollution which threatens public...
