Toxic Tort
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U.S. Supreme Court Rules That CERCLA Does Not Preempt State Statutes Of Repose
The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified the preemptive power of CERCLA, holding that CERCLA does not preempt state statutes of repose, even though it does preempt certain state statutes of limitation. On June 9, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, No. 13-339, reversing the Fourth Circuit Court of… Continue reading
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New Report Concludes Water Will Impact Business Growth
A new report “Bridging Concern with Action: Are U.S. Companies Prepared for Looming Water Challenges?” by VOX Global and Pacific Institute concludes 60% of companies surveyed believe water is poised to affect business growth and profitability within five years. In addition, more than 80% say water will affect their decisions on where to locate facilities. Continue reading
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U.S. EPA Hits Pause On CERCLA Vapor Intrusion Regulations
U.S. EPA has voluntarily withdrawn its proposed Hazard Ranking System (“HRS”) rule that would have allowed regulators to list a site on the National Priorities List (“NPL”) solely on the basis of the risks posed by vapor intrusion. The withdrawal occurred after the proposed rule had been sitting at the Office of Management & Budget… Continue reading
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EPA Proposes Regulations To Cut Carbon Emissions From Existing Power Plants
On June 2, 2014, U.S. EPA released proposed regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants. The proposed regulations, promulgated pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, contain two main parts: (1) establishment of state-specific carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance goals for power plants and (2) requirements for… Continue reading
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U.S. EPA Issues Final Regulations Governing Cooling Water Use At Power Plants And Industrial Facilities
On May 19, 2014, U.S. EPA promulgated final regulations that established requirements for cooling water intakes at existing power plants and industrial facilities. After almost 20 years of attempting to adopt rules under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act, U.S. EPA’s new regulations, which apply to existing facilities that withdraw more than 2 million… Continue reading
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Environmental & Energy Cert. Petition Watch
As part of the “Environmental & Energy Cert. Petition Watch” project, in the past several weeks, the following EHS-related petitions have been filed, denied, or granted. For a full list of EHS-related cert. petitions submitted from August 2013 through the present (as of May 25, 2014), click here. Continue reading
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New Ceres Report Tracks Corporate Sustainability Efforts
This report, Gaining Ground – Corporate Progress on the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability (report), evaluates how well 613 of the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies are integrating sustainability into their business systems and decision-making. The report – a collaboration between Ceres and Sustainalytics – assesses corporate progress across the four strategic areas first outlined in… Continue reading
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Improper PCB Disposal Leads To $13.75M Fine
In what constitutes the largest penalty for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) at a single site, a titanium product manufacturer agreed to pay $13.75 million to settle the Government’s claims relating to the improper disposal of PCBs at a site in Henderson, Nevada. According to the allegations in the Government’s complaint and… Continue reading
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DC Considers Net Zero Building Report
In a new report, the analysis made clear that if the owner has sufficient tax appetite, tax credits and renewable energy credits, the return on investment is approximately 30%, whereas the return on investment for energy efficiency alone was in the range of 5-12%. To advance the industry into the next era of green design,… Continue reading
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Environmental & Energy Cert. Petition Watch
As part of the “Environmental & Energy Cert. Petition Watch” project, in the past week, the following EHS-related petitions have been filed, denied, or granted. For a full list of EHS-related cert petitions submitted from August 2013 through the present (as of Apr. 20, 2014), click here. Continue reading