June 2010
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CERCLA UAOs Deemed Constitutional
On June 29, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“U.S. EPA”) in General Electric Company v. Jackson. Continue reading
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Promoting Transparency for Nanomaterials
On June 25, 2010, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report entitled Nanotechnology: Nanomaterials Are Widely Used in Commerce, but EPA Faces Challenges Regulating Risk (http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-549). In this report, the GAO notes that companies are increasingly using nanoparticles in the products they manufacture and that industry is diligently conducting research and development in new… Continue reading
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May 2010 Update: Climate Change
By Gabrielle Sigel and Jennifer Cassel Gabrielle Sigel and Jennifer Cassel, attorneys in Jenner & Block's Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources Law Practice, recently posted to Jenner & Block's Climate Change Update Resource Center their May 2010 Update of Climate Change developments. Of note in the May update are discussions of the Kerry/Lieberman draft climate… Continue reading
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OSHA Implements Severe Violators Enforcement Program
On June 18, 2010, OSHA implemented its Severe Violators Enforcement Program (“SVEP”) against employers who have “demonstrated indifference” to OSH Act compliance. Continue reading
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Inadequate Superfund Monies May Result in New Trust Fund Taxes
According to a General Accountability Office report issued June 22, 2010, EPA’s estimated costs to remediate existing Superfund sites exceed current funding levels. Moreover, given that EPA anticipates adding about 20 to 25 sites each year to the Superfund’s National Priorities List, funding shortfalls may be more significant. In a hearing before the Senate Environment… Continue reading
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Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Blocking Deepwater Oil Drilling Moratorium
On June 22, 2010, Judge Martin Feldman, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Obama Administration’s moratorium on deepwater oil drilling. Continue reading
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May 2010 Update: Environmental Lender Liability
Gabrielle Sigel and Genevieve Essig, attorneys in Jenner & Block’s Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources Law Practice, recently posted to Jenner & Block’s Environmental Cost Recovery & Lender Liability Update Resource Center their May 2010 Update of Environmental Cost Recovery developments. Continue reading
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OSHRC Refuses to Find Asbestos Exposure a Serious OSH Act Violation
In Secretary of Labor v. ConocoPhillips Bayway Refinery, OSHRC No. 07-1045 (June 15, 2010), the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (“OSHRC”) modified the judgment of an Administrative Law Judge (“the ALJ”) who had affirmed OSHA’s citation of asbestos regulations as serious violations. Continue reading
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The Illinois LUST Program Is Amended
On June 8, 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law Public Act 096-0908, which amended the Illinois Environmental Protection Act’s “Leaking Underground Storage Tank” program. Continue reading
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Another Circuit Allows Non-Settling PRPs to Intervene in CERCLA Consent Decree Action
On June 2, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a non-settling PRP’s right to contribution under CERCLA was a legally sufficient interest to justify intervention as of right in a consent decree action between the federal government and settling PRPs, joining ranks with the Eighth and Tenth Circuits, the… Continue reading