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…
Posts from the “Toxic Substances” Category
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…
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 ‘. . .…
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
