By Jeryl L. Olson, Eric E. Boyd, and Craig B. Simonsen
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two public hearings on its proposed updates to the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for fine particle pollution.
Concerning the primary standards for fine particles (generally referring to particles less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (mm) in diameter (PM2.5))…
Continue Reading EPA to Hold Public Hearings on Proposed Fine Particulate Matter Standard
By Jeryl L. Olson, Eric E. Boyd, and Craig B. Simonsen
In a not unexpected final rule issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it has listed the “Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Nonattainment Area” as marginal nonattainment. 77 Fed. Reg. 34221 (June 11, 2012). The rulemaking promulgates the initial air quality designations for twelve counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin…
Continue Reading EPA Designates the Chicagoland Area as Marginal Nonattainment for Ozone
By Jeryl L. Olson, Eric E. Boyd and Craig B. Simonsen
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is hosting a meeting on May 31, 2012, by invitation only, with industry and nongovernmental organizational representatives, to discuss the public release of information submitted by industry under the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The meeting is by invitation …
By Jeryl L. Olson and Eric E. Boyd
In anticipation of the impending hurricane season, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued a Hazardous Weather Release Prevention and Reporting Alert. The purpose of the Alert, according to the EPA Press Release, is to “increase awareness among facility operators about their obligation to operate facilities safely and report chemical…
Continue Reading EPA Issues Reminder About Releases During Hazardous Weather Events
By Lee Braem and Ilana R. Morady
Seyfarth attorney Ilana Morady, along with Lee Braem, Senior Corporate Counsel at Evonik Dugussa Corporation, published an article, “Hazardous Material Enforcement is Spilling Into Unexpected Areas,” in the May 2012 issue of ACC Docket. In the article, the authors discuss how the types of materials that can be “hazardous” under…
Continue Reading Hazardous Material Enforcement is Spilling Into Unexpected Areas
By Ilana R. Morady and Elizabeth Leifel Ash
OSHA has issued a more than 800-page Final Rule revising the Hazard Communication Standard, 29 C.F.R. 1910.1200. The primary purpose of the revised rule is to improve employees’ understanding of health and physical hazards associated with chemical substances and to align requirements for communicating those standards with the United Nations’ Globally…
By Andrew H. Perellis and Ilana R. Morady
After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its transformative decision in Dukes, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 10–277 (June 20, 2011), holding that plaintiffs alleging employment discrimination had failed to demonstrate the existence of common questions sufficient for class certification under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a)(2), we wrote…
By Eric E. Boyd and Jeryl L. Olson
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has issued its draft guidance on the Fiscal Year 2013 enforcement program (FY 2013 Draft Guidance). The FY 2013 Draft Guidance identifies EPA’s intent to significantly cut back traditional federal enforcement strategies across all major federal environmental programs, …
By Andrew H. Perellis and Ilana R. Morady
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently issued an opinion holding that arranger liability under Section 9607(a)(3) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) can attach to a potentially responsible party (PRP) even if a PRP does not direct a site owner to dispose of…
By Eric E. Boyd and Ilana R. Morady
On February 21, 2012, the Obama Administration issued a Memorandum of Understanding to boost compliance with various mandates requiring federal agencies and contractors to purchase biobased products. Biobased products are defined by the 2002 Farm Bill as “commercial or industrial products (other than food or feed) that are composed in whole, or…
Continue Reading Increased Federal Purchasing of Biobased Products is on the Horizon
