Monitoring the Environmental, Health & Safety and Energy Landscape
Earlier this month, EPA set new lifetime health advisories for four per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – in some instances at levels lower than those that can be detected through laboratory testing. The new health advisories are listed below:
| PFAS | Health Advisory (in parts per trillion) |
| PFOA (perflurooctanoic acid) | 0.004 ppt |
| PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) |
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a ruling stating that the Jones Act does not apply to several specific offshore wind activities, which permits those activities to be performed by foreign vessels.
One of the complicating factors to offshore wind development in the United States is the applicability of the Jones Act, and…
On May 15, 2022, the latest revision of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Guideline Regarding the Definition of Agricultural Solar Tariff Generation Units (Guideline) for the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program took effect. The Guideline supplements the SMART Program regulations (225 CMR 20.000), provides guidance on how a Solar…
On April 6, 2022, by a 5-4 vote in the case of Louisiana, et. al. v. American Rivers, et. al., the Supreme Court temporarily resurrected a Trump-era rule that sought to stop the practice of many states and tribes from withholding or unduly conditioning their certifications that are required under the Clean Water Act…
The U.S. EPA unveiled a new notification service this week called ECHO Notify. This new tool will allow the public to receive weekly e-mails notifying them of EPA- and state-led environmental enforcement actions and violations. A subscriber can request to be notified based on a specific EPA Facility ID, ZIP code, county, or state.…
As covered in my previous post, the ASTM International (ASTM) released a revised standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs) – ASTM E1527-21. While the E1527-21 standard has been available for use since November, it has not been officially included in the CERCLA regulations as satisfying the All Appropriate Inquiries…
Perhaps not as glamorous as the Times Square crystal ball, but something else drops at the start of the New Year: The threshold for mandated food waste separation and recycling by certain industrial and commercial facilities in Connecticut.
Legislation passed this year cut in half the annual tonnage of organic waste generation – from 52…
At his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland identified the policing of corporate crime and enforcement as a key priority of the Biden administration. In an address at the ABA’s recent National Institute on White Collar Crime, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced three significant actions to strengthen the Department of Justice’s…
An important lesson on contracting with environmental consultants recently came out of a federal district court in California in Golden Gate Way, LLC v. Enercon Services, Inc., 20-cv-03077-EMC (N.D. Cal. Nov. 18, 2021).
Golden Gate Way (GGW) hired environmental consultant Enercon to perform a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment in connection with a refinancing…
This post is part of an ongoing series covering the Biden administration’s efforts pursuant to Executive Order 13990 to repeal and replace regulations adopted during the Trump administration. Prior posts include Catching Up on the 2021 Clean Water Act Releases.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to…
