Water
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Inclusion of Microplastics in the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule?
According to a Law360 article, U.S. EPA said in a statement to Law360 that it’s reviewing a November 2024 petition from 175 environmental groups to include microplastics in the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA requires the EPA to create a list of up to… Continue reading
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What’s WOTUS Got to Do with It? Impact of Recent Clean Water Act Regulatory Changes on Renewable Energy Development
Closing out our Earth Week series this year, we provide an update on recent Clean Water Act regulatory developments and discuss their impact on renewable energy development. The Clean Water Act establishes federal jurisdiction over “navigable waters,” defined in the Act as “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”). The term WOTUS is not defined in… Continue reading
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How Geothermal and Hydropower are Positioned to Thrive in the Coming Years
This year’s Earth Week theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” focuses on renewable energy, specifically “championing solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and tidal generated energy.” The early days of the new Administration have seen a flurry of Executive Orders surrounding American energy production (discussed in more detail in our Client Alerts “Recent Executive Orders Affecting the Energy… Continue reading
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California Issues First-of-its-kind Willful Heat Standard Violation
On December 12, 2024, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced a first-of-its-kind citation for a willful violation of California’s Heat Illness Prevention regulations. Per the Agency’s press release, the citation carries with it a $276,425 penalty for deliberately and knowingly failing to follow heat protection requirements. Cal/OSHA’s findings include a failure… Continue reading
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Federal and State Efforts to Address Synthetic Microfiber Pollution from Textiles
Microplastics, plastics less than 5 millimeters in length, are becoming a growing concern due to their ubiquity and persistence in the environment and potential effects on ecological and human health. A 2017 publication by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources suggests that between fifteen and thirty-one percent of plastics in the… Continue reading
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U.S. EPA Finalizes PFAS Drinking Water Standards — Now What?
In what should come as a surprise to no one, on April 10, 2024, U.S EPA finalized its National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). These final standards are summarized below: Compound Final MCLG Final MCL (enforceable levels) PFOA Zero 4.0 parts per trillion (ppt) (also expressed as ng/L) PFOS… Continue reading
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EPA Proposes Revisions to Lead and Copper Rule
On December 6, 2023, EPA published a proposal to revise the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for lead and copper under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The proposal would apply to public water systems, including community water systems and non-transient, non-community water systems, and would require affected systems to replace all lead service lines and certain galvanized… Continue reading
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Biden Administration Seeks Public Comment on Expanding Environmental Justice Initiatives to Ocean-Related Activities
On June 8, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality, on behalf of the Ocean Policy Committee (OPC), published a Federal Register request for information seeking public input on the development of a new “Ocean Justice Strategy.” The OPC is a Congressionally mandated interagency body tasked with coordinating ocean science, technology and management policy across Federal… Continue reading
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Supreme Court Narrows Scope of Clean Water Act in Landmark Sackett Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its opinion in the landmark Clean Water Act (“CWA”) case of Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454 (May 25, 2023). This decision delivers a significant change in terms of the reach and jurisdiction of the CWA, and supplies some harsh critiques between the Justices that all agreed in the judgement… Continue reading
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Embracing Environmental Justice Initiatives to Advance Corporate Objectives
Earth Week 2023 brought with it two significant environmental justice developments. The week began with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announcing the adoption of regulations aimed at reducing pollution in historically overburdened communities and those disproportionately impacted by health and environmental stressors. President Biden then capped the week off by issuing an Executive Order on Revitalizing… Continue reading