On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published two proposed rules in the Federal Register that would expand the EPA’s authority to address certain per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These rules would significantly increase the EPA’s and authorized state’s authority to address the release of
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Sixth Circuit Rejects Nationwide PFAS Class
This article was originally published by ACOEL on December 12.
“Seldom is so ambitious a case filed on so slight a basis.” Those are words a plaintiff’s lawyer would hate to hear, but that is exactly how the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals began its opinion rejecting an Ohio firefighter’s attempt to certify a
Tidal Changes in U.S. Offshore Wind Development
Below is an excerpt of an article co-authored with Jessica Bardi and Eden Yerby, members of Robinson+Cole’s Coastal + Offshore Resources Industry Team, and published in The Maritime Executive.
Offshore wind (OSW) deployment is a key component of the Biden administration’s renewable energy goals, including the installation of 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and
EPA to Increase Air Monitoring at Marine Ports
In a recent report, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) describes steps the EPA should take to increase air monitoring at marine ports and neighboring communities. While not agreeing to adopt all of the OIG’s recommendations, EPA has agreed to assess the air-monitoring network around ports and in near-port communities and
SCOTUS Will Have a Full Bench to Review Chevron Deference
Chevron deference is squarely in the U.S. Supreme Court’s crosshairs. The Court has had on its October docket an appeal in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which challenges the long-standing doctrine. First established by the Court in the 1984 Chevron v. NRDC case, the doctrine imposes a two-part test when courts determine whether to defer
Back From the Grave? “Once In, Always In” for Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions
In the Byzantine complexity of the Clean Air Act (CAA), EPA’s “once in, always in” policy regarding hazardous air pollutants (HAP) has been particularly confounding. And now it’s back in play, through regulatory revisions proposed by EPA in late September.
EPA’s proposal would prohibit a source from reducing its potential emissions of HAP
EPA Seeks to Modify RCRA Standards for Managing Containers and Drums
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking with a focus on modifying the treatment and handling of “empty” containers and drums under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The EPA is soliciting information and requesting comments “to assist in the potential development of non-regulatory and regulatory options that
Supreme Court Rules for the Sacketts: The “Significant Nexus” Test is Dead – Long Live “Adjacent Wetlands”
On May 25, 2023, after more than 15 years of fighting, a couple contesting the Environmental Protection Agency’s assertion of jurisdiction over their residential lot as “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) scored a decisive victory in a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. EPA. Chantell and Mike
EPA Proposes Enforceable Drinking Water Standards For PFAS
Last week EPA released its proposal for the first set of Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) under the Clean Water Act for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In contrast to non-enforceable health advisory levels introduced in 2016 and revised in 2022, MCLs constitute enforceable drinking water standards that will impact drinking water utilities and industry nationwide.
EPA’s Proposal to Tighten the Fine Particulate NAAQS: What’s Proposed, Who’s Potentially Impacted
On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication copy of a Proposed Rule, which will lower the annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). PM2.5 refers to PM with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less, which is about 3-5 percent of the width