U.S. EPA Hikes Statutory Environmental Penalties
Effective December 11, 2013, penalties for violations of certain environmental statutes will go up. According to a final rule issued by the United States Environmental... Read more.
OSHA Issues New “Recommended” Permissible Exposure Levels For Chemicals In The Workplace
Instead of engaging in notice and comment rulemaking, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") recently issued new "voluntary" standards for workplace... Read more.
Stay Indoors–Outdoor Air (Pollution) Added To List Of Cancer-Causing Substances
The World Health Organization has now classified outdoor air pollution as a human carcinogen. According to a press release from the International Agency for Research... Read more.
EPA Proposes Increased Oversight Of State Enforcement Activities
U.S. EPA recently issued a draft strategy document intended to address a December 2011 Inspector General Report that found inadequate enforcement of environmental... Read more.
Governor Approves Bill That Could Curb Some Proposition 65 Claims
California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a measure that may curb what many believe to be meritless Proposition 65 claims against certain businesses... Read more.
FAA Seeks To Penalize Model Airplane (aka “Drone”) Pilot
In what appears to be a case of first impression, a drone operator that had been hired to take aerial photographs for an advertising agency was assessed a civil... Read more.
Will Phthalates Go The Way of BPA?
Recent actions taken by retailer Walmart may have sounded the death knell for phthalates. Phthalates are a group of chemicals that are typically used to soften and... Read more.
ECHA Reports Significant Non-Compliance And Limited Enforcement Of REACH Requirements
According to a report issued by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), one out of every ten companies were found to be using unregistered chemical substances. Under... Read more.
Another Federal Circuit Adopts Five-Year Limit On NSR Enforcement Actions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit recently joined the 7th, 8th and 11th Circuits in finding that U.S. EPA must bring New Source Review (NSR) enforcement... Read more.
Environmental Group Ordered To Pay Disney’s Attorneys’ Fees For Filing Baseless Reverse False Claims Act Lawsuit
In the latest saga of what has become a long running dispute between plaintiff RBC Four Co. LLC ("RBC") and the Walt Disney Company ("Disney"), a federal district... Read more.