Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new scientific study with the goal of improving its understanding of what pollutants may be present in drinking water. The research will go beyond traditional testing methods to screen for a broad array of pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and more than 1,000 other potential contaminants. …
As previously reported in the Environmental Law Monitor blog, the Federal Lead Action Plan launched during the Trump administration’s first term could have a positive impact in reducing lead-based drinking water risks in communities across the United States. One such region in need of assistance is the state of Illinois, which has 677,000 known lead …
The Environmental Protection Agency will issue two new rules aimed at delaying and rescinding maximum contaminant levels in drinking water. The first one will repeal 2024 regulations that set nationwide limits on four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – GenX, PFNA, PFBS, and PFHxS. The EPA announced it will additionally restart a lengthy process to …
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Nov. 25 that $3 billion in funding would be made available for states through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) geared towards programs to reduce lead exposure in drinking water. The goal is to fund programs that will find and remove lead service lines that deliver drinking water to communities. As …
Environmental groups are once again urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expedite its re-evaluation of atrazine, a widely used herbicide with significant environmental and health concerns. This legal push highlights the ongoing struggle between regulatory bodies and environmental advocates over the safety and regulation of …
In 1990, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act, also known as the OPA. The act was in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, and it amended the Clean Water Act of 1972. Its purpose was to avoid oil spills from vessels and facilities, and it works by enforcing removal of spilled oil and …
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 …
On December 23, 2021, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new amendment to the public health law that will create New York’s first emerging contaminants list, and expand the number of chemicals to be included—many of which are per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). Some say this new law establishes New York as perhaps the …
On December 3, 2020, a study authored by a team of researchers from the University of Washington was published in the journal Science, linking a transformation product from a common tire additive to the death of Coho salmon in the Puget Sound. Researchers had observed acute mortality in Coho salmon in the area for decades, …
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 …