CERCLA
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DoD Quietly Releases PFAS Screening Levels
On October 15th, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an internal guidance document regarding CERCLA cleanup actions involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Continue reading
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Recent DOJ Directive Marks Continuing Effort to Curb Availability of Supplemental Environmental Projects in Civil Environmental Settlements
On August 21, 2019, the Department of Justice issue a new memorandum reducing state and local governments’ ability to enter into settlement agreements that require the completion of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) as compensation for alleged environmental violations. Continue reading
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Exploring the E-Suite with Elizabeth Anderson, Ph.D., Fellow ATS, Chief Science Officer and Senior Fellow, Exponent, Inc.; formerly, Carcinogen Assessment Group and Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. EPA
I led the health sciences assessment work for the first 14 years after U.S. EPA was formed in December 1970. At the time, U.S. EPA was a very small agency. I was the only health scientist in an eight-person Office of Technical Analysis, reporting directly to U.S. EPA’s first Administrator, Bill Ruckelshaus. Continue reading
and Rodenticide Act, Bill Ruckelshaus, Carcinogen Assessment Group, Carcinogen Assessment Group and Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Chief Science Officer, Clean Air Act, Clement Associates, Distortion of scientific foundations and fact to achieve economic or political gain is deplorable and should be rejected, Dr. Roy Albert, Earth Day, Elizabeth Anderson, Exponent, Federal Insecticide, Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Fungicide, Health risk assessment, honest science, Inc., mechanism of action, National Academy of Sciences, prove safety, public health protection, Radiation Authorities, RCRA, science as applied to public health protection, Sciences International, Synthetic Organic Chemistry, The Red Book, toxic tort litigation, U.S. EPA, U.S. EPA Alumni Association, zero-risk tolerance carcinogen -
EPA Adds Seven Sites to the Superfund National Priorities List
On May 13, 2019, U.S. EPA announced that it is adding seven sites to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), which includes the most serious contaminated sites in the country. Continue reading
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Trends in Climate Change Litigation: Part 1
By Matthew G. Lawson The term “climate change litigation” has become a shorthand for a wide range of different legal proceedings associated with addressing the environmental impacts of climate change. Plaintiffs in climate change lawsuits may include individuals, non-governmental organizations, private companies, state or local level governments, and even company shareholders who, through various legal… Continue reading
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EPA Can’t Dodge Gold King Mine Liability
U.S. EPA continues to be on the hook for damages associated with the Gold King Mine located in San Juan County, Colorado. The federal district court in New Mexico rejected U.S. EPA’s claim that it was protected from CERCLA liability on sovereign immunity grounds and found that plaintiffs’ allegations, if proven, would demonstrate U.S. EPA’s… Continue reading
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Trump Administration Releases Fall 2018 Regulatory Agenda
The Trump Administration has released its Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The EPA-specific regulatory agenda lists 148 regulatory actions in either the proposed rule stage or final rule stage. Continue reading
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EPA To Begin Superfund Adaptive Management Pilot Program
Under the Trump Administration, EPA has expressed a renewed focus on the Superfund program and making sure that site cleanups operate optimally. The Superfund Task Force has made a number of recommendations, including recommending that EPA “Promote the Application of Adaptive Management at Complex Sites” and “Broaden the Use of Adaptive Management (AM) at Superfund… Continue reading
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EPA Finalizes Unprecedented NPL Listing
On September 13, 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took the final, unprecedented step of adding a contaminated site to the Superfund National Priorities List (“NPL”) based solely on the risk to human health posed by indoor air vapor intrusion at the site. The newly designated site, which consists of the former Rockwell… Continue reading
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EPA “Year in Review”
On Monday, March 5, 2018, EPA issued a report titled EPA Year in Review 2017-2018. Continue reading