April 2022
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Vermont Joins Growing Number of States Allowing Medical Monitoring for Alleged Exposure to Chemicals
On April 21st, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed into law Senate Bill 113 that provides a cause of action for medical monitoring for individuals exposed to toxic chemicals. Continue reading
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Embracing the Winds of Change Through Investments in the United States’ Energy Future
When the wind of change blows, some people build walls, others build windmills.” While this ancient Chinese proverb most likely did not envision the construction of large-scale, offshore wind farms, its wisdom remains strikingly applicable to the United States’ energy and infrastructure policies in the 21st Century. Continue reading
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An Uncertain Future: Legal Challenges and the Forthcoming Climate Refugee Crisis
However, while the war in Ukraine is one of the latest events causing a surge of refugees, those fleeing Russian aggression are by no means alone. As of the most recent data from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (“UNHCR”), which counts until mid-2021, there were 20,835,367 people qualified as refugees under the UNHCR’s… Continue reading
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“Silent Spring” and the Life Cycle of Emerging Contaminants
On the 60th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carlson’s groundbreaking book “Silent Spring”, the world continues to struggle to manage the human health and environmental risks associated with newly discovered emerging contaminants. Continue reading
Climate Change, Consumer Law and Environment, Contamination, Emerging Contaminants, Groundwater, Sustainability, TSCA, Water1, 4-dioxane, asbestos, chemicals, Corporate Environmental Lawyer, DDT, dioxin, Earth Week, Emerging Contaminants, environment, EPA, global stewardship, Groundwater, human health, Jenner & Block, MTBE, PCB, pesticides, PFAS, Rachel Carlson, Silent Spring, soil, Steven M. Siros, strategic roadmap, TSCA -
Earth Week Series: The Future of Environmental Regulation
As we near Earth Day 2022, the United States may be headed toward a profound change in the way EPA and similar administrative agencies regulate the complex areas of environmental law. EPA began operating more than 50 years ago in 1970, and has been tasked with promulgating and enforcing some of the most complex regulations… Continue reading
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Earth Week Series: Imagine a Day Without Environmental Lawyers
On this 52nd anniversary of Earth Day, I am not writing yet another, typically not very funny, riff on one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines.[1] Instead, I am inspired by one of the most popular of our blogs, written in 2017 by our talented former partner, E. Lynn Grayson, “Imagine a Day Without Water.” To… Continue reading
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U.S. EPA’s Addition of 1-BP to CERCLA Hazardous Substance List Likely Precursor to Similar Actions on PFAS
On April 8, 2022, U.S. EPA added the industrial solvent 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to its list of CERCLA hazardous substances; this listing was triggered by U.S. EPA’s decision to add 1-BP to the Clean Air Act’s list of hazardous air pollutants in January 2022. Continue reading