Author: Drew Nishioka
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The Scope of CAAP Application Shields at Issue
By Kristen Gale On March 22, 2023, the Sierra Club sued the Prairie State Generating Company, LLC, alleging that Prairie State is operating without a Clean Air Act operating permit (or “CAAPP Permit”) under Illinois Law because Illinois EPA had not acted on Prairie State’s permit application. Southern District of Illinois. Sierra Club v. Prairie State … Continue reading "The Scope of CAAP Application Shields at Issue"...
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Plaintiffs Attack “Sustainable” and “All Natural” Claims in Products Unintentionally Containing PFAS
By Susan Brice and Anne Kaup PFAS Litigation Expands The USEPA and states are moving quickly toward addressing PFAS contamination in the environment through various rulemaking and legislative efforts. To date, the most significant regulations have focused on the historical use of firefighting foam containing PFAS; however, many Congressional bills are pending, and the USEPA … Continue reading "Plaintiffs Attack “Sustainable” and “All Natural” Claims in Products Unintentionally Containing PFAS"...
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The Scope of Federal Jurisdiction is Expanded Under the Clean Water Act as “Waters of the United States” is Redefined
By Kristen L. Gale and Drew T. Nishioka On December 30, 2022, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Agencies”) announced the final rule updating the definition of “waters of the United States” as defined in 33 CFR 328.3 and 40 CFR 120.2. As the Agencies stated in the … Continue reading "The Scope of Federal Jurisdiction is Expanded Under the Clean Water Act as “Waters of the United States” is Redefined"...
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EPA Publishes Direct Final Rule on New ASTM Standard for Phase I All Appropriate Inquiries
On December 15, 2022, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Final Rule to amend EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiries Rule (AAI Rule) effective February 13, 2023. The new rule mandates use of ASTM International’s E1527-21 “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments” to comply with EPA’s AAI Rule. … Continue reading "EPA Publishes Direct Final Rule on New ASTM Standard for Phase I All Appropriate Inquiries"...
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Superfund $$ Lives on – to 2031 at least!
Jennifer Nijman, Nijman Franzetti LLP We’ve all read about the recent reinstatement of the taxes that fund the Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The new taxes are hitting the books as of July 1, 2022. Briefly, in addition to requiring responsible parties (PRPs) to either perform clean-up activities or reimburse the government … Continue reading "Superfund $$ Lives on – to 2031 at least!"...