January 2017
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Happy New Year from the Corporate Environmental Lawyer Blog
2016 was a busy year for the Corporate Environmental Lawyer blog, which is now in its sixth year with over 760 posts. In 2016, we had nearly 100 blog posts from 10 different authors and over 6,700 visits to the site. Continue reading
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Trump Administration Issues Freeze on New and Pending Rules – Halting Dozens of Recent EPA Rules
Last Friday, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus issued a memorandum directing all agencies, including EPA, to freeze new or pending regulations. The freeze effects regulations at a variety of stages of finality. Continue reading
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CFATS: New DHS Outreach
CFATS: New DHS Outreach. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to implement recent changes to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. Continue reading
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New OSHA Penalties Announced
By Andi S. Kenney On January 18, 2017, the Department of Labor published a final rule adjusting civil penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act for inflation as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. As required by the Act, the adjustment is based on changes to… Continue reading
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U.S. EPA Says Sorry But We Don’t Have to Pay for Gold King Mine Spill
On Friday, January 13, 2017, notwithstanding its previous promises to take full responsibility for the Gold King Mine environmental spill, U.S. EPA, with guidance from the United States Department of Justice, concluded that it was not legally liable to pay compensation for administrative claims for the Gold King Mine disaster under the Federal Tort Claims… Continue reading
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OSHA Issues Final Beryllium Rule Reducing Workplace Exposure Limit 10-Fold
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule on Occupational Exposure to Beryllium in the Federal Register on January 9, 2017. The final rule reduces the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for beryllium to 0.2 μg/m3, averaged over 8-hours. Continue reading
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EPA Proposes Notice of Intent to Proceed with Rulemaking for CERCLA Financial Responsibility Requirements for the Chemical Manufacturing, Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing, and Electric Power Industries
Yesterday, on January 11, 2017, the EPA issued a notice of intent to proceed with rulemaking regarding whether and to what extent financial responsibility requirements under CERCLA section 108(b) should apply to the Chemical Manufacturing, Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing, and Electric Power Industries. Continue reading
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VW Agrees to $4.3 Billion Settlement of Diesel Emission Claims
On January 11, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Volkswagen AG (VW) has agreed to plead guilty to three criminal felony counts and pay a $2.8 billion criminal penalty for selling approximately 590,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. that had installed defeat devices to cheat on emissions tests mandated by the Environmental Protection… Continue reading
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Special Master Orders Settlement Talks in Florida/Georgia Water Dispute
There is a new development in the continuing conflict between Florida and Georgia over the water-sharing arrangements involving the Chattahoochee, Flint, and Apalachicola Rivers. A U.S. Supreme Court-appointed special master has ordered the parties to participate in settlement discussions following a lengthy trial at the end of last year. Continue reading
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U.S. EPA Collects $6B in Penalties in 2016
According to U.S. EPA’s annual enforcement report, U.S. EPA collected in approximately $6 billion in civil penalties and required companies to expend in excess of $13.7 billion for pollution control investments in 2016. U.S. EPA’s 2016 collections represented a significant increase over 2015, when U.S. EPA only collected $207 million in civil penalties. Continue reading