Standards and Practices for All Appropriate Inquiries
EPA is taking final action to amend the Standards and Practices for All Appropriate Inquiries to reference a standard practice recently made available by ASTM International, a widely recognized standards developing organization.
EPA proposes PFAS policies for reporting and pollution reduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new policies to improve per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) reporting and pollution reduction.
Tackling PFAS With Superfund Law Risks Shifting Costs to Public
The EPA’s plan to speed Superfund cleanups of two “forever chemicals” to make polluters rather than taxpayers foot the bill raises concerns that the law’s limited flexibility will shift the burden of costs back to communities, attorneys and groups representing...
With historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments, EPA is expanding the scope of existing technical assistance, including five new subject-specific grants totaling $57 million...
CERCLA Has Never Been a “Polluter Pays” Statute
Environment and Energy Report had a story today about growing opposition to EPA’s proposal to list two PFAS compounds, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous substances under CERCLA.
Cleanup Liability Among Concerns About EPA’s Hazardous PFAS Plan
The EPA is vowing to move quickly to designate two “forever chemicals” as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, but has to balance the Biden administration’s desire to better protect disadvantaged communities with public and private sector fears they’ll be held liable for a...
Reductive water treatment using hydrated electrons is a promising technology to destruct perfluoroalkyl substances; however, it faces challenges of slow reaction kinetics, undesirable...
Up to $169M Available in Brownfield Grants
This week, the EPA announced that new funding will be available for brownfield grants.
PFAS As Hazardous Substances: Top 5 Implications For Businesses
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took an important step toward regulating PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) on September 6, 2022 when it published a Notice of Federal Rulemaking to begin the process of listing two PFAS as hazardous substances...
Five Things to Know About the New Federal Environmental Justice Index and Cumulative Impacts
Since 2021, the Administration has released several mapping tools addressing environmental and health impacts on environmental justice (“EJ”) communities.
EPA: game not over, says environmental agency leader after supreme court blow
The Biden administration will work around court ruling by setting new limits on ozone and coal ash to hasten closing of coal plants.
After EPA Rule Changes, Which ASTM Phase I ESA Standard Should You Use?
On November 1, 2021, ASTM International released its revised standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) published a Direct Final Rule that confirmed the new ASTM standard, ASTM E1527-21, could be used to...
The Battle Over PFAS Continues to Heat Up. The Assessment of Costs and Benefits Remains Undone.
Last month, EPA issued interim health advisories for PFOA and PFOS that took many people’s breath away. It is rather amazing how quickly we’ve moved from parts per billion past parts per trillion to...
EPA ‘forever chemical’ health advisory spurs lawsuit
EPA’s dramatic new health advisory for a contentious “forever chemical” is facing a lawsuit from its manufacturer over claims that the agency overstepped its authority in one of its most significant actions around the compounds to date.
PFAS: Massive Class Action, Due Diligence, and PFAS in Containers
There have been some (more) developments with respect to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Some of the recent developments are potentially very significant.
You don’t need to wait for EPA to tell you to do the right thing!
This morning we read that it might take EPA a bit longer than anticipated just a few days ago to bless the new ASTM standard for environmental site assessments.
Fitzpatrick offers bipartisan bill listing PFAS as harmful air pollutants
A bipartisan bill introduced on March 17 by U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) would add per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to a federal list of toxic air pollutants.
EPA Continues to Take Actions to Address PFAS in Commerce
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing two important actions to safeguard communities from products containing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
Reduction in Enforcement and Reduction in Toxics Released
Is the long-term trend of declining environmental enforcement activity one that will continue or will we see an uptick in activity? Further, will increased enforcement lead to better environmental protection?
Addition of Certain PFAS to the TRI by the National Defense Authorization Act
Section 7321 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) immediately added certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) under Section 313...
