Hazmat
-
Governor Newsom Vetoes PFAS Reporting Bill But Signs Into Law Legislation Banning PFAS in Cosmetics and Textiles
On September 29, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill No. 2247. The bill would have required manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or products or product components containing intentionally added PFAS to register the PFAS or products or product components on a publicly accessible data collection interface, along with other information. Continue reading
-
A Risky Dance: When Emerging Contaminants Comingle With CERCLA Hazardous Substances
The distinction between CERCLA hazardous substances and all else, including pollutants or contaminants, is important because CERCLA liability is triggered by the existence of a “hazardous substance” at a site, nothing else. Continue reading
-
Jenner & Block Wishes Bon Voyage to Gay Sigel as She Starts Her Next Adventure with the City of Chicago
As Gay Sigel walked through the doors at One IBM Plaza in Chicago, fresh out of law school and ready to launch her career as an attorney at Jenner & Block, she could not have envisioned the tremendous impact she would have on her clients, her colleagues, and her community over the next 39 years. Continue reading
-
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
-
PFOA and PFAS Take Another Step Towards Becoming Full-Fledged Members of the CERCLA Family of Hazardous Substances
On January 10, 2022, U.S. EPA forwarded a proposed rule that seeks to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Although not unexpected since this was a key element of U.S. EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap, U.S. EPA’s proposed rule is unique… Continue reading
-
Supreme Court Narrows Triggers for CERCLA Contribution Actions
In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Guam v. United States, No. 20-382, 593 U.S. __ (2021), that a party must resolve “CERCLA-specific liability” in order to trigger contribution rights under § 113(f)(3)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act… Continue reading
-
Environmental Organizations Petition EPA to Expand Enforcement of Clean Air Act’s General Duty Clause
Various environmental organizations, led by the Environmental Integrity Project (“EIP”), are urging the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to expand enforcement of Section 112(r)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA)—commonly known as the General Duty Clause (“GDC”)—in order to more closely regulate the handling of hazardous substances at industrial facilities permitted under the CAA. Continue reading
-
Unexplained PFAS Contamination at Petroleum Spill Site Mystifies Environmental Regulators
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is continuing to investigate an unexplained source of per-fluorinated compounds (PFAS) contamination that may be associated with the deployment of a fire-fighting compound in response to a major gasoline release by the Colonial Pipeline system on August 14, 2020. Continue reading
AFFF, AFFF Foam, aqueous film forming foam, August 14 2020, cancer risk, caution, claims, Colonial Pipeline, consumer, Contamination, defend, distribution equipment, emergency response, emergency spill response materials, environment, environmental health and safety, F-500, Fire Department, fire-fighting, fire-fighting equipment, firefighting foam, flourine compounds, formulation, Groundwater, Hazmat, human health, Huntersville North Carolina, industry, municipal fire department, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality DEQ, per-fluorinated compounds, PFAS, PFAS Response, PFAS-free, polyfluoroalkyl substances, potential threat, remediation, residual, residual AFFF, Safety Data Sheet, SDS, soil contamination, spill, spill containment, water contamination -
OSHA Issues Proposed Update to Hazard Communication Standard
On February 5, 2021, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a proposed rule updating its Hazard Communication (“Haz Com”) Standard to align its rules with those in the seventh version of the United Nation’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), published in 2017. Continue reading
-
DOE Final Rule Seeks to Streamline NEPA Review of LNG Projects
The Trump administration continues its efforts to issue new regulations in advance of January 20, 2021, with the Department of Energy (DOE) issuing a final rule that will exempt certain liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects from National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review. Continue reading