Earlier this year, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) released a “Connecticut Environmental Justice Public Participation Guidance Document” (‘the Guidance”) concerning the 2023 amendments to Connecticut’s environmental justice (EJ) statute regarding permitting or other approvals for certain facilities. Although helpful in indicating DEEP’s interpretation of the amended statute (which is not a
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EPA Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training Receives Good Grades from OIG, but Room for Improvement
The EPA Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) February 15, 2024, report on EPA’s practices in collecting, retaining, and producing criminal discovery materials in environmental cases found that EPA’s special agents largely adhered to requirements embedded in the due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution, the Brady doctrine, the Jencks Act, and the Federal Rules of…
EPA Lowers the Fine Particulate NAAQS: A Closer Look at Implementation and Potential Impacts
On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its Final Rule lowering the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) from the current level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) to 9 μg/m3. Once published, the Final Rule is certain to be challenged in…
Nine PFAS Compounds Proposed to be Hazardous Constituents Under RCRA
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…
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…
PFAS Reporting Rules to Ring in the New Year
As we have previously reported, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of substances coming under increasing regulatory scrutiny. As manufacturers ring in the new year they should be aware of two new PFAS reporting requirements that could need careful attention in 2024.
De Minimis Exemption No Longer Available for PFAS Under EPCRA…
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Environmental Justice Guidance
The EPA is seeking comments on a newly released, revised guidance document regarding the consideration of environmental justice (EJ) concerns in the rulemaking process. The guidance document updates a 2016 version and incorporates new scientific developments, other EPA guidance, and new priorities and policies.
The guidance document sets forth both analytical expectations for an EJ…
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…