Some state officials are pressing the EPA to develop nonbinding health advisory levels for some PFASs in drinking water arguing that the toxicity values the EPA is currently developing are of little use to state regulators.  Toxicity values, are a precursors to health advisories, and can’t be used by states attempting to set safety and remediation standards.  A binding health advisory, on the other hand, can be adopted by most states and incorporated into their drinking water and cleanup standards.  According to the U.S. EPA, the calculation to get to a health advisory level is very straight forward, but outlining… Read more

The House of Representatives and Senate impasse over how strongly to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in drinking water and as hazardous substances under CERCLA has been resolved. The differences arose over negotiations for the reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”).  Democrats in the house were reluctant to compromise with Senate republicans over two provisions which would have set a drinking water standard for PFOA and PFOS, and would have listed any number of thousands of PFASs under CERCLA as hazardous substances.  The resulting compromise to the NDAA directs the defense department to reduce its use of… Read more

On December 3, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on a case to determine if PRPs at a superfund site can pursue state causes of action while the EPA is actively pursuing remediation under federal superfund law. Copper smelting operations by Atlantic Richfield Co. were responsible for contaminating approximately 100 landowners’ property in Opportunity, Montana. Atlantic Richfield and the EPA have spent more than 30 years cleaning up the 300 square mile Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site, but the landowners claim that harmful amounts of heavy metals remain. The landowners went to state court to force Atlantic Richfield to pay… Read more

A bipartisan group of legislators is set to establish a task force on November 20 to consider the potentially harmful effects of ethylene oxide, a harmful, combustible gas that elevates cancer risk in humans. The task force will consider the introduction of legislation to impose limits on ethylene oxide emissions from manufacturing and medical sterilization facilities. Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize about 50% of medical devices nationwide and helps make a range of products including adhesives, textiles, and antifreeze. The bipartisan group will focus on public health, federal air quality, environmental enforcement, and the impact on the medical device… Read more

On November 4, the U.S. EPA announced its proposal that would rollback Obama administration regulations outlining the types of technology that coal-fired power plants must use to capture and treat wastewater that flows out of their facilities.  In addition, the agency is also proposing delays to the closure requirement of coal ash ponds and landfills, allowing them to continue using the ponds through August of 2020.  For more information on the EPA’s proposed coal combustion residue rules revisions, please click here. If you have any questions, please contact Phillip Hoover.

As expected, the Trump administration’s appeal of the Obama Clean Water Rule, which took effect on October 22, has already sparked a number of legal challenges.  The bulk of the anticipated litigation is expected to come from environmental groups and democrat led states accusing the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers of improperly narrowing the scope of the Clean Water Act.  With the repeal of the Obama-Era rule, the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” revert back to the 1986 regulation which excludes most intermittent waterbodies.  The Trump administration is expected to issue its own rule… Read more