Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
On December 20, 2019 a coalition of 14 states, including both New York and New Jersey along with the District of Columbia and New York City, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers, challenging the new rule that redefines the term “waters of …
The original number of cases of Legionellosis reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for calendar year 2018 was already at a record 8,356 cases. This November, that number was revised upward to 9,933 cases, representing an increase of 18.8 percent . Although Legionellosis includes both Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever, the …
The EPA has been called to task on multiple fronts in the past week by challenges from environmental advocacy groups. The agency faces new claims in a federal suit filed by several entities in the District of South Carolina due to the repeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule, also known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which determines the waterways that are covered by the Clean …
Earlier this year, Environmental Law Monitor posted about 1,4-dioxane litigations filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. These litigations followed on the heels of the Suffolk County Water Authority’s (SCWA) 2017 watershed action concerning drinking water contamination. Almost two years removed from the SCWA action, it appears that at …
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report that found the EPA is failing to properly monitor state-level compliance for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Federal regulations mandate that public water systems notify consumers of violations of the national drinking water standards or in situations that pose a risk to the …
Last week, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator, Andrew R. Wheeler, signed a rule for publication that would repeal the 2015 Clean Water rule, also known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The 2015 WOTUS rule allowed for a significant extension of the reach of the Clean Water Act (CWA) by expanding the definition of “waters of the United States” to …
The United States Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) has issued an order holding that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) waived its authority under the Clean Water Act to issue or deny a water quality certification for the proposed Constitution Natural Gas Pipeline because DEC failed to act in a timely manner. Entities …
Water scarcity is a growing concern for the EPA, as discussed in depth in its National Water Reuse Action Plan issued this week. The plan outlines ways that the EPA can work with state and local governments to promote water reuse and support research into new technologies. Due to various pressures, 80 percent of U.S. …
Illinois has filed suit against a company that provides water to a Chicago suburb after it made changes to the chemical additives in the water supply without permission from state regulators. The suit goes on to allege that the change caused lead to contaminate the village’s drinking water. The problems started in 2017 when Aqua …
As previously addressed in the Environmental Law Monitor, lead was found in Newark, New Jersey’s water supply. The city has now attempted to assuage fears by providing water filters to residents in affected areas. According to the EPA, that isn’t enough, and the city has begun offering water bottles to concerned residents after a sample …