Environmental Compliance & Permitting

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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…

On November 1, ASTM International (ASTM) released a revised standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs). The new standard – ASTM E1527-21 – establishes new requirements for complying with the “All Appropriate Inquiry” (AAI) rule in 40 CFR Part 312. The AAI is an essential element of environmental due diligence used…

On October 22, 2021, EPA published a proposed rule that would, if adopted, provide a significantly enhanced additional pathway for remediation of sites impacted by polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. EPA helpfully included a redline version showing proposed changes to the regulatory text. EPA is receiving comments on the proposed rule until December 21, 2021.

PCBs…

On November 2, 2021, the U.S. EPA announced revisions to its mercury inventory reporting rule under TSCA. The revisions eliminate an exemption for companies that import pre-assembled products containing a mercury-added component. The will result in companies that import certain batteries, switches, pumps, thermostats, fluorescent lights, and other industrial equipment to file reports under TSCA…

On October 18, 2021, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021-2024 (Roadmap). The Roadmap is intended to be a comprehensive approach to confronting PFAS contamination nationwide. Among many other efforts, the Roadmap includes the following planned actions:

  • Establishing a national primary drinking water regulation for PFOA and

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As previously discussed in a post on the Manufacturing Law Blog, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is increasing scrutiny of how thoroughly companies evaluate and disclose Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) risk, specifically climate change, and the impacts such risk may have on a company’s operations. In the latest move in…

The latest season of Clean Water Act (CWA) changes are now streaming from the courts and federal agencies. The Biden administration and lower courts have picked up where prior administrations and the U.S. Supreme Court left off, as we reported last year in Binge-Watching the Clean Water Act Cases and Rules. Unless Congress somehow finds bipartisan support for legislative fixes, we expect contentious CWA rulemaking proceedings to resume and protracted CWA litigation to prosper. These actions constrain land developers, utilities and companies with projects or operations that impact wetlands or other water features. These decisions might also give environmental groups and agencies stronger grounds on which to base CWA claims targeting sewers, pipelines, tanks, and other systems that leak or seep wastes into groundwater.
Continue Reading Catching Up on the 2021 Clean Water Act Releases