Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
You may have read about the slew of lawsuits filed over the past few years by Long Island water districts seeking to recover damages arising from alleged contamination of drinking water supplies by 1,4-dioxane. Our blog has covered them here, here, here, and here. There is news on the settlement front. One of the primary …
Although ethanol is one of the earliest biotechnologies, it wasn’t until the energy crisis of the 1970s that ethanol was widely used as an additive to gasoline. Back then, concerns about the price of fuel and the impact of leaded gas on the environment led to a search for less expensive and more environmentally friendly …
If ESG were merely a slogan on the proverbial gym wall, companies are about to be held accountable for their public promises of climate change and sustainability focused ambitions. Last month the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed significant rule changes to the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and SEC Act of 1934. If enacted, …
On the heels of oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court, we provide an update to a prior ELM post whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s has the ability to regulate carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants under the Clean Air Act. Various theories abound that the court could depend on to support …
A group of scientists recently unveiled new data from a study that showed plastic in participants’ blood. Out of 22 study participants, 17 contained plastic in their blood; that is 77% of the test group. Researchers examined blood samples from the healthy participants looking to detect plastics ranging in size between 700 and 500,000 nanometers. …
Hoping to one day overtake Norway as the world’s largest clean energy producer and to join the small group of countries who have achieved net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. has set some ambitious goals for itself. In fact, the United States has committed to achieving 100% clean electricity production by 2035 and attaining …
Lilial, the trade name of a chemical compound commonly used as a perfume in cosmetics, shampoos, and cleaning products, which is known by its longer name butylphenyl methylpropional, has been banned in personal care products in the European Union as of March 1, 2022. And while the ban was announced nearly two years ago, the …
On March 16, 2022, the U.S. EPA Press Office issued a news release about implementing two key actions to prevent exposure from products with PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl). The first action involves notification about fluorinated bottles; the second calls for the removal of two PFAS from the EPA’s Safer Chemicals Ingredients List. These two actions …
As previously reported by our blog, Kevin Hardwick, a firefighter and alleged user of PFAS-containing firefighting foams, filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 2018, asserting claims for negligence, battery, declaratory judgment, and conspiracy—all related to the manufacture and use of PFAS products. What is notable …
The last time the EPA tightened standards for truck emissions like this, the century was barely a year old and Bill Clinton was still President; in December of 2000 the EPA issued rules dramatically limiting particulate matter (PM) emissions and Nitric Oxide (NOx) on heavy duty trucks to go into effect for 2007-2010. PM has …