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Practice Area: Environmental

EPA RELEASES PRELIMINARY EFFLUENT GUIDELINES PROGRAM PLAN 16 AND 2024 DRAFT PFAS HUMAN HEALTH WATER QUALITY CRITERIA

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On December 16, 2024, the EPA released Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 16 (Preliminary Plan 16). The EPA prepares Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plans pursuant to Clean Water Act (CWA) section 304(m). A preliminary plan describes the EPA’s annual review of effluent guidelines and pretreatment standards consistent with CWA sections 301, 304, and 307. In…
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EPA ISSUES BAN OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE AND PERCHLOROETHYLENE

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On December 9, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized the bans of two chemicals, trichloroethylene (“TCE”) and perchloroethylene (“PCE”), that have been linked to risks of cancer and other severe health conditions. The ban comes as part of the EPA’s regulatory authority under the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act. TCE and…
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D.C. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS RULES PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY LACKS REGULATORY AUTHORITY OVER OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

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In Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration, the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals considered arguments regarding a challenge to an air tour management plan that would affect four national park areas in California. No. 23-1067, 2024 WL 4745044, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 12, 2024). The plan was developed by the Federal Aviation…
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THIRD CIRCUIT CREATES CIRCUIT SPLIT IN MONSANTO ROUNDUP LITIGATION

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On August 15, 2024 the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in David Schaffner, Jr. and Theresa Sue Schaffner v. Monsanto Corporation, 113 F.4th 364 (3d Cir. 2024) that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) preempted the Plaintiffs’ Pennsylvania state law failure to warn claims. The Third Circuit’s ruling…
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EPA DIRECT RULE CHANGES COMPLIANCE DATES FOR REPORTING DATA RELATED TO MANUFACTURE AND IMPORT OF PFAS UNDER SECTION 8(a)(7) OF THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT

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On September 5, 2024, the EPA issued a direct final rule related to a rule previously published in the Federal Register in October 2023, which requires the reporting of data related to the manufacture or import of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (“PFAS”). The new direct final rule will delay the reporting period for records and…
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SUPREME COURT ISSUES STAY OF EPA’S GOOD NEIGHBOR PLAN

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On June 27, 2024 the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted emergency applications by several states seeking a stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Good Neighbor Plan pending judicial review. The Good Neighbor Plan stems from the EPA’s interpretation of ozone pollution requirements in the Clean Air Act requiring “upwind” states to…
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THE U.S. SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE, WITH GREAT IMPLICATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCY REGULATORY AUTHORITY

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On June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 144 S. Ct. 2244 (2024). The underlying controversy related to details of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (“MSA”), which was implemented to prevent depletion of fishery resources off the coasts of the United States. The National Marine Fisheries…
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FLORIDA LOSES CLEAN WATER ACT PERMITTING AUTHORITY

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On April 12, 2024, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling revoking the State of Florida’s permitting authority under the Clean Water Act. In Center For Biological Diversity v. Regan, the district court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the environmental group plaintiffs, holding that Florida’s Department of…
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EPA FINALIZES NEW PFAS REGULATIONS

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On April 10, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized drinking water regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). The EPA expects that the regulations will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable diseases. The finalized EPA regulations establish…
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EPA PROPOSES NEW RULE TO LIST SPECIFIC PFAS COMPOUNDS AS HAZARDOUS CONSTITUENTS UNDER RCRA

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On February 8, 2024, the EPA proposed changes to regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to add nine PFAS compounds, “their salts, and their structural isomers . . .” to RCRA’s hazardous constituents list. The EPA promulgates a list of hazardous constituents under RCRA “comprised of chemicals that have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic,…
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