February 2011
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2010 Warmest Year on Record Globally and for Canada, Particularly
On January 20, 2011, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an agency of the United Nations, reported that 2010 was the hottest year on record. Continue reading
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$40M Available For Great Lakes Restoration Project
EPA announced on Friday, February 25th, that the Agency is requesting applications from states, municipalities, tribes and nonprofit organizations for new projects to protect and restore the Great Lakes. President Obama has proposed a total of $300 million in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in Fiscal Year 2011, with approximately $40 million of… Continue reading
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EPA Listening Sessions Begin On Potential Addition of a Vapor Intrusion Component To The Hazard Ranking System
On February 24, 2011, the EPA held the first of three scheduled listening sessions in Arlington, Virginia, to obtain public input regarding a potential addition of a vapor intrusion component to the Hazard Ranking System (“HRS”). The HRS is the principal mechanism utilized by the EPA to place sites on the CERCLA National Priorities List… Continue reading
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January 2011 Lender Liability Update Now Available
Gabrielle Sigel and Phoebe Scott, 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 January 2011 Update of Environmental Cost Recovery developments. The January 2011 Lender Liability Update can be viewed by following this link: http://www.jenner.com/news/news_item.asp?id=000015734424. Continue reading
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Proposed Illinois House Bill Could Result in Significant New Penalties for Illinois Businesses
A proposed Senate bill currently pending before Environmental and Energy Committee seeks to amend Illinois’ Environmental Protection Act (the “Act”) to allow municipalities to impose significant penalties against any person or organization owning or leasing property where there has been a release of a hazardous substance or any other contaminant that the municipality (or unit… Continue reading
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Decreased in 2009
By Steven M. Siros According to a February 15, 2011 U.S. EPA draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 2009 greenhouse gas emissions in the United States dropped six percent from 2008 levels. This reduction is significant when compared to the 2.9 percent reduction achieved between 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the… Continue reading
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Ninth Circuit Rules Property Owner Has Standing To Challenge Impaired-Water Listing
On February 3, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that an owner of timberland in the Redwood Creek watershed had constitutional standing to challenge the listing of Redwood Creek as an impaired body of water under §303(d) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. §1313(d). Barnum Timber Co. v.… Continue reading
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EPA Submits Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study
This week EPA submitted its draft study plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the Agency’s Science Advisory Board, a group of independent scientists. The scope of the proposed research includes the full lifespan of water in hydraulic fracturing, from acquisition of the water, through the mixing of chemicals and actual fracturing, to the post-fracturing… Continue reading
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Krugman Links Climate Change, Food Scarcity and Mideast Unrest
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recently wrote an article in the New York Times explaining his theory that climate change-caused food scarcity is triggering recent uprisings in the Middle East. Krugman focuses his analysis on the impact that rising temperatures and severe weather have on the world’s food supply. Continue reading
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Congressional Republicans and Senate Democrat Introduce Bills to Prevent Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
On January 5, 2011, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced a bill, H.R. 97, that would prevent EPA from regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act. The bill, which has 113 co-sponsors, would amend the Clean Air Act to exclude GHG emissions from the definition of “air pollutant.” Continue reading