On July 16, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its long-awaited final rule to amend its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), introducing important changes to the 40-year-old review process. The statute requires federal agencies to take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts of certain proposed projects, but does not mandate any particular outcome. The final rule follows CEQ’s June 2018 Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) and the January 2020 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR), which we previously discussed here.
California’s PFAS Investigation Expands to Include Wastewater Treatment Plants
The California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) has issued Order WQ 2020-0015-DWQ, requiring Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) with dry weather design flows greater than 1 million gallons per day to test for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in influent, effluent, biosolids, and, in some cases, groundwater. POTWs with existing groundwater monitoring programs may be required to submit initial documentation for compliance as early as August.
The order covers thirty-one PFAS analytes (see table provided here), as well as eleven additional analytes listed for “optional analysis.” All treatment sampling and analysis and groundwater monitoring proposals and analysis must be uploaded to the Water Board’s GeoTracker system, and will be incorporated into the Board’s ongoing PFAS mapping project.
California Wineries Take Note, Part Two: State Water Board Notices Stakeholder Meeting Regarding Winery General Order Fees
As a follow-up to our July 15, 2020 blog post regarding the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Water Board) release of proposed General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water Treatment Systems (proposed General Order), today the State Water Board issued a public notice regarding the first stakeholder meeting to discuss fees
Sixth District Holds CEQA Does Not Require Supplemental Review for a Streambed Alteration Permit
The Sixth Appellate District, in Willow Glen Trestle Conservancy v. San Jose (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 127, held that seeking a new Streambed Alteration Agreement (“SAA”) from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (“CDFW”) for a previously approved project does not constitute a “further discretionary approval” within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines section 15162 and
Sports Betting Legislation Passed in Louisiana
In the 2018 case, Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). PAPSA went into effect in 1993 and prevented any state from legalizing sports gambling (unless the state was grandfathered in). As a result of the ruling in Murphy
California Wineries Take Note: State Water Board Releases Draft General Order for Winery Process Water for Public Comment
On July 3, 2020, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) released proposed General Waste Discharge Requirements for Winery Process Water Treatment Systems (proposed General Order) along with the draft California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study and Mitigated Declaration for public comment. The proposed General Order will apply statewide, and includes requirements to ensure winery operations will not adversely impact water quality. The State Water Board also noticed a July 22, 2020 public workshop and future proposed adoption of the proposed General Order. The July 22, 2020 public workshop will begin at 9:30 a.m. via remote attendance only. Although a quorum of the State Water Board will be present at the public workshop, no final action will be taken at the workshop.
New Ohio Law Reduces Cost and Time for Environmental Cleanups
On June 16, 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 168, which provides greater flexibility to manage environmental issues on commercial/industrial property. The bill will take effect on September 14, 2020 (90 days after the governor’s signature).
What issue does H.B. 168 address?
The cost to clean up historical contamination at commercial/industrial properties has
Price-Anderson Act Removal of Litigation Involving a “Nuclear Incident”
“Configuration of terrain is an aid to the army. Analyzing the enemy, taking control of victory, estimating ravines and defiles, the distant and near, is the Tao of the superior general.” Sun-tzu, The Art of War 214 (Ralph D. Sawyer trans., Westview Press 1994).
While the use of Sun-tzu’s strategy dramatizes a litigator’s role, the
Actualización: Subastas en materia de energías renovables en Latinoamérica
A continuación se detallan las actualizaciones más recientes y de mayor relevancia respecto de las Subastas en materia de energías renovables llevadas a cabo en Latinoamérica.
7th Circuit Lowers Removal Hurdle for Defendants That Assisted the Feds
On June 18, 2020, the Seventh Circuit handed down a decision in a case involving historical environmental contamination that eases the path to federal court for defendants who are haled into state court for acts that occurred while defendants were assisting the federal government. In Sherrie Baker et al. v. Atlantic Richfield Company, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, et al., No. 19-3160, 2020 WL 3287024, — F.3d — (7th Cir. 2020), the court adopted a new standard for federal officer removal, holding that defendants act under color of federal office and are entitled to a federal forum when sued for conduct relating to acts for the federal government, even if the conduct at issue in a particular case only partially implicates the federally directed acts. This decision has consequences that reach beyond defendants facing environmental liability, as did the defendants in Baker, as it could provide an additional avenue to a federal forum for companies that have either been awarded federal contracts, or that supply customers who hold federal contracts.