Happy Thanksgiving!
We wanted to take a moment and wish all of our subscribers and their families a very Happy Thanksgiving. Environmental Law Monitor will return next Thursday (12/3) with new posts. Once again, Happy Thanksgiving!
LATEST INSIGHTS
Illinois Supreme Court Rejects Class Action Against Chicago Over “Increased Danger” from Lead Water Lines
Illinois’ highest state court in Gordon Berry, et al, v. The City of Chicago has rejected a proposed class action that threatened to overwhelm Chicago with claims over elevated lead contamination risk from its old lead water lines. On September 24, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the ruling of a state appeals court, ruling …
EPA Releases Compliance Advisory for UV Devices Designed to Kill Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant shortage of traditional household disinfectant products such as wipes and sprays, numerous ultraviolet (UV) devices have been marketed to consumers with claims that they kill germs, bacteria, and viruses. What some may not know is that UV lights that are sold or distributed with these …
Following Ninth Circuit’s Ban, EPA Approves Use of Dicamba Herbicide Until 2025
Over the last few years, the Environmental Law Monitor has monitored regulatory and litigation matters on dicamba herbicide used by farmers to combat broadleaf weeds that have developed resistance to other herbicides (see prior posts here.) In June 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered a ban on certain dicamba products, which …
New York Takes Next Step in Nation-Leading Offshore Wind Efforts
The deadline for submitting proposals in response to New York’s second solicitation for offshore wind procurement recently expired, with three companies in the running to land contracts, including Vineyard Wind, Equinor Wind, and Bay State Wind (a joint venture of Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy). Each submitted proposals in response to New York Gov. Andrew …
Flint Water Crisis Ruling May Signal Expansion in EPA Liability
The now-infamous Flint water crisis arose when the city of Flint, Michigan, changed the source of its water supply from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River. The raw water drawn from the Flint River, processed through Flint’s outdated and previously mothballed water treatment plant, was highly corrosive and not properly treated …
Presidential Environmental Policy Rigidly Defined by Doubt and Uncertainty
Following what seemed like an interminable and chaotic presidential election cycle, November 3, 2020, is finally upon us, and the country will soon know who our next president will be. Regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden takes the oath of office come January, what is not certain is how each of their respective …
New Jersey May Be First in Country to Ban Paper Bags
New Jersey is slated to join the ever-growing list of states implementing bans on plastic bags, but a bill passed by the New Jersey Legislature on September 24, 2020 takes the regulation one step further—banning paper bags as well. The bill, originally introduced in January 2020, seeks to ban “single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper …
What the EPA’s Reclassification of Information Under Clean Air Act Means
Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a prepublication version of a final rule under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that permits major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) to reclassify as sources if the source reduces its potential to emit HAPs below the major source threshold (10 tons per year of any …
Golden State’s Governor Takes Bold Measures in Effort to Combat Climate Change; Issues Ban On Gas-Powered Cars
As an unprecedented amount of wild fires continue to ravage the state of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20 on September 23, 2020, banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and trucks by 2035—an aggressive attempt to combat the effects of climate change. The order recognizes that bold action is needed to eliminate emissions from transportation, which is the …