Fire on the River!
  • About the author
  • About the blog
  • Terms of use

Posts from the “Toxic Substances” Category

EPA Revises CERCLA Comfort/Status Letter Policy

Jeremy P. Greenhouse

Posted on November 16, 2015

On August 25, 2015, the EPA issued a memorandum setting forth its revised Superfund comfort/status letter policy, as well as three updated model Superfund comfort/status letters for parties interested in acquiring contaminated, potentially contaminated, and formerly contaminated properties for reuse and redevelopment. Comfort/status letters are one means EPA uses to address concerns regarding properties that may present CERCLA cleanup and liability issues. The letters are purely informational; they do not provide any EPA assurance against enforcement action. However, by summarizing information contained in the EPA’s files regarding contamination and cleanup at the property, the letters can help interested parties make informed decisions regarding potential CERCLA liability. In addition, EPA’s policy indicates that the agency’s comfort/status letters may suggest property-specific reasonable steps a party may…

Categories: Bench & Bar, Contaminated Property, Environmental Policy, Toxic Substances, Waste

Tagged: California environmental law, CERCLA, contaminated property, environmental law, epa

0 Comments

+Read more

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects EPA Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants

Jeremy P. Greenhouse

Posted on October 12, 2015

On June 29, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acted unreasonably when it deemed cost irrelevant to the decision to regulate emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from power plants under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).  Michigan v. E.P.A., 135 S. Ct. 2699 (2015). The MATS, which is now on remand to EPA, is one of the Obama administration’s signature environmental rulemakings. Section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires EPA to regulate emissions of HAPs from “major sources”—a stationary source or group of stationary sources that emit or have the potential to emit 10 tons per year or more of a HAP or 25 tons per year or more…

Categories: Air, Bench & Bar, Environmental Policy, Hot Topics, Toxic Substances, Uncategorized

Tagged: administrative law, air pollution, California environmental law, Chevron doctrine, Clean Air Act, environment, environmental law, environmental policy, epa, epa rulemaking, Hazardous air pollutants, Justice Scalia, Minnesota administrative law, Minnesota environmental law, supreme court

0 Comments

+Read more

EPA Finalizes New, More Restrictive Definition of “Solid Waste”

Jeremy P. Greenhouse

Posted on March 30, 2015

In December 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its revised “Definition of Solid Waste” (DSW) Rule, which aims to reestablish hazardous waste restrictions eased by the Bush administration in 2008. Rulemaking on the Definition of Solid Waste. 80 Fed. Reg. 1694 (Jan. 13, 2015) (to be codified at 40 CFR Parts 260 and 261). Hazardous wastes subject to regulation under Subtitle C of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) are a subset of solid wastes. Materials that are not solid wastes are not subject to regulation as hazardous wastes; consequently, the definition of “solid waste” plays a key role in defining the scope of EPA’s authority under RCRA. The statute defines ‘‘solid waste’’ in relevant part as ‘. . .…

Categories: Bench & Bar, Contaminated Property, Environmental Policy, Toxic Substances, Waste

Tagged: contaminated property, definition of solid waste, epa rulemaking, hazardous waste, MPCA, RCRA, solid waste

0 Comments

+Read more

EPA Proposes Significant New Use Rule Restricting Uses of PFOA

Jeremy P. Greenhouse

Posted on February 9, 2015

On January 15, 2015, EPA proposed a significant new use rule (SNUR), pursuant to the Section 5(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C § 2604, to restrict the manufacture of long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) chemicals, the most prominent of which is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), as well as the use of perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemicals in carpets.   Because of their stain and water repellent and non-stick properties, PFOA and other LCPFACs were at one time widely used in products such as rain jackets, non-stick cookwear, carpeting, fabrics, floor waxes, and wax paper. However, their use has been significantly curtailed following growing concerns about adverse health effects. According to EPA, LCPFACs are bioaccumulative in wildlife and humans, and are persistent in the…

Categories: Bench & Bar, Toxic Substances

Tagged: environment, environmental law, environmental policy, epa, epa rulemaking, LCPFAC, PFOA, Significant New Use, SNUR, Teflon, TSCA

0 Comments

+Read more

  

Jeremy Greenhouse
Jeremy P. Greenhouse is a partner at the Minneapolis-based environmental law firm The Environmental Law Group, Ltd. Jeremy is also the founder, editor, and primary author of Fire on the River!

PLEASE NOTE:

All material contained in this web site is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice on any particular matter, and should not be relied upon as such. Please refer to our "Terms of Use" page for more information.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 681 other followers

Recent Posts

  • Minnesota District Court Declines to Extend Limited NEPA Cause of Action to Section 4(f) 
  • On Rehearing, Eighth Circuit Again Upholds Minnesota Regional Haze Plan for EGUs
  • Governor Dayton Announces Appointments to MPCA Citizen Advisory Committee 
  • Eighth Circuit Upholds Minnesota Regional Haze Plan for EGUs
  • District of Minnesota Declines to Review State Department Pipeline Determinations

Archives

  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012

Categories

  • 404 permits
  • Air
  • Bench & Bar
  • Climate
  • Contaminated Property
  • Energy
  • Environmental Policy
  • Environmental Review
  • Fracking
  • Hot Topics
  • Mining
  • Supreme Court
  • Toxic Substances
  • Uncategorized
  • Waste
  • Water

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.com

Return to top

© Copyright 2012 Jeremy P. Greenhouse

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel