By: Luke Narducci and Amanda Reeve
Further building upon its Environmental Justice (EJ) Legal Tools, on January 11, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released the Cumulative Impacts Addendum updating its existing legal guidance for advancing EJ actions. This Addendum discusses a variety of federal and regulatory provisions and the considerations in which
By: Luke Narducci and Amanda Reeve
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a Request For Applications (RFA) on January 10, 2023, for projects “supporting community-based nonprofit organizations (CBO’s) in their efforts to collaborate and partner with other stakeholders…to develop solutions that significantly address environmental or public health issue(s) in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental
On December 17, 2022, the US Department of Energy published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Support for Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis, Manufacturing, and Recycling.
Hydrogen plays a critical role in the United States’ energy mix, providing energy security, economic value, and environmental benefits. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) issued the NOI to achieve such goals by providing financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements. These funds were appropriated by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (more commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)).
Pennsylvania’s new “Safe Drinking Water PFAS MCL Rule” became effective on January 14, 2023, upon the publication of the new regulations in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. As discussed in a previous post, this rulemaking establishes new safe drinking water maximum contaminant levels (“MCLs”) for perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”) of 14
By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, James L. Curtis, Daniel R. Birnbaum and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA announced enhanced enforcement and oversight efforts following an “alarming rise” in trenching fatalities, intended to draw attention to construction worker safety and present issues and solutions. Current
On December 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule that endorses ASTM E1527-21 which provides a uniform standard for performing Phase I Environmental Assessments. The new rule will have an effective date of February 13, 2023. The EPA endorsement of the new ASTM Phase I standard means that the procedures
Improving on what Thomas Edison did in 1860 with LEDs and repairing the planet.
The notice is another step in EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and emphasizes potential CERCLA enforcement.
By Kegan A. Brown, Gary P. Gengel, Thomas C. Pearce, and Taylor R. West
On January 12, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice to solicit public comments on its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for Fiscal Years 2024-2027. The notice proposes a new NECI to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination, with a “focus on implementing the commitments to action made in EPA’s 2021-2024 [PFAS] Strategic Roadmap.”[1]
The proposed PFAS NECI emphasizes EPA’s intention to identify and pursue potentially responsible parties for PFAS contamination, including under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Organic Agriculture: DOJ Indicts Multiple Companies and Individuals for Organic Fraud
On January 6, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of two Dubai-based agricultural companies and three Turkish residents for conspiring to export non-organic grain labeled as “organic” into the United States. The defendants are charged with conspiracy, smuggling, and wire fraud.
In a 50-year game of ping-pong, the Biden administration marked the end of 2022 by taking its turn revising the definition of “waters of the United States,” or “WOTUS” for short. This term determines where Clean Water Act (CWA) permits are required for wetland dredging and filling and pollutant discharges, as well as other CWA