On August 13, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reissued the Columbia and Lower Snake Rivers Temperature Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), which reflects revisions to EPA’s May 18, 2020 Draft TMDL, following a public comment period.
White Paper Finds No Evidence of Elevated Threat to Human or Crop Safety from Use of Oil Field Produced Water to Irrigate Crops
Last month, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (“Central Valley Water Board”) published a Food Safety Project White Paper (“White Paper”) on the use of oil field produced water for food crop irrigation. The White Paper did not find any evidence that using produced water for irrigation creates an elevated threat
Penalizing Unavoidable Air Emissions: The Fight Over SSM Continues
At the end of September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued yet another memorandum regarding emissions resulting from startup, shutdown, and malfunctions (SSM) at stationary sources of air pollutants, such as refineries, manufacturing facilities, and power plants. This newest memo announces a return to the policy EPA announced in 2015, when it asked 45 states
DC Circuit Directs FERC to Consider Environmental Impacts of LNG Facilities
In an August 3 opinion in the case of Vecinos para el Bienestar de la Comunidad Costera et al. v. FERC, Case No. 20-1093, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit determined that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) failed to adequately review the impacts of two proposed liquefied
Agricultural Law Weekly Review – Week Ending October 8, 2021
Biofuels: Biofuel Advocacy Group Files Supreme Court Petition for Review of E15 Vacatur 
On October 7, 2021, biofuel advocacy group Growth Energy filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s July 2021 vacatur of the
Animal Exhibitor Alert: Follow-Up to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Controls Over Licensing of Animal Exhibitors
According to the USDA OIG Audit Report 33601-0003-23, previously available online, APHIS Animal Care (AC) had agreed that it would review barrier issues and may require reporting of escapes and attacks. However, Audit Report 33601-0003-23, originally published on March 12, 2021, has been removed from the website, and is reportedly “undergoing a review pursuant
New Funding Available to Combat Harmful Algal Blooms
On September 24, 2021, Governor Murphy signed a new law, effective immediately, that will allocate $10 million for lakes in New Jersey impacted by harmful algal blooms (P.L.2021, c.225). The law calls for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) to make a supplemental appropriation of $10 million for grants for lake management for
Ohio Court of Appeals determines due diligence to find heirs under Marketable Title Act and service by publication were sufficient to uphold default judgment
The Ohio Court of Appeals for the Seventh District recently affirmed the entry of default judgment on a Marketable Title Act claim in 4 Quarters, LLC v. Hunter, finding that the due diligence to locate heirs was sufficient and service by publication was appropriate.
PA Independent Regulatory Review Commission Approves Rulemaking with PFOA and PFOS Cleanup Standards
On September 23, 2021, the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved a final form rulemaking that revises the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (PADEP) regulations that implement that Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2).
As we discussed in a previous post, this regulatory revision includes the following new groundwater
Changes to Migratory Bird Treaty Act Program Announced
On October 4, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a revision of its interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). With the final rule, FWS has effectively reinstated its position that “incidental take” — the harming or killing that results from, but is not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful