Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays!

We wanted to take some time to wish all of our subscribers and their families a happy holiday season and all the best in the new year. 2023 has been a busy, active year in the world of environmental law and we appreciate you dropping by our site on a regular basis for emerging issues and up-to-date information. Environmental Law Monitor will return next week with new posts. Once again, happy holidays!…

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Close-up side shot of hands shows microplastic waste contaminated with the seaside sand. Microplastics are contaminated in the sea. Concept of water pollution and global warming.

Microplastics: Nurdle Law and Regulation Update

By Joshua Fine, Manager, Environmental Claims, Crum & Forster and George Buermann, Partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP

Seventy-nine percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills or the environment, much of which eventually ends up in our oceans. A March 8, 2023 study, estimated the average amount of small plastics in the ocean surface layer using available data on floating ocean plastics from 1979 through 2019 at 171 trillion plastic particles, mostly microplastics, weighing at about 2.5 million tons. Nurdles are “microplastic resin pellets” generally under …

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PFAS Alert: Chemours, DuPont and Corteva Reach Landmark Water District Settlement in MDL

Key Takeaways

  • Dupont, Chemours and Corteva chemical companies have reached a deal with water companies nationwide worth more than $1.1 billion.
  • The agreement aims to settle drinking-water claims related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
  • Further details expected in coming days.

Chemical companies DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva have struck a deal worth more than $1.1 billion with water companies around the United States to settle all drinking-water claims related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

While these three companies still deny the allegations in the underlying litigation, they …

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Man showing compost

PFAS ALERT: The Arrival of Increased Regulation in Composting

By Joshua Fine, Manager, Environmental Claims, Crum & Forster and George Buermann, Partner, Goldberg Segalla LLP

Composting has long been viewed as an important tool for sustainability with benefits for the environment as it has reduced the amount of waste incinerated or sent to landfills. Since the 1920s, municipal biosolids, or treated sewage sludge, has been used in agriculture in the United States. Only since 1993, however, has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided standards for the use or disposal of biosolids, or treated sewage sludge, through …

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Chemical container for toxic liquid, warning symbol in bio hazard dangerous blue tank. Recyclabe plastic waste barrel. Recycle for climate change concept.

Pandora’s Reopener Box: Lying in Wait when PFAS Compounds Become “Hazardous Substances” under CERCLA

The U.S. EPA published its PFAS Strategic Roadmap booklet in October 2021 and, true to its word, has come very close to meeting most of its self-imposed deadlines to tackle the truly difficult environmental- and human-health challenges that PFAS has presented. The PFAS Roadmap booklet — although close to two years old now — is just that, a roadmap, and is a concise straightforward document of only 22 pages. It’s a must read for anyone interested in PFAS. One of the Roadmap’s goals proposes the …

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Happy New Year!

As the sun sets on 2021, we wanted to take some time to wish all of our subscribers and their families a happy new year. The world of environmental law continues to evolve and we appreciate you dropping by this blog on a regular basis for emerging issues and up-to-date information.  Environmental Law Monitor will return next week with new posts. Once again, happy new year! …

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Happy Holidays!

We wanted to take some time to wish all of our subscribers and their families a happy holiday season and all the best in the new year. 2020 has been a busy, active year in the world of environmental law and we appreciate you dropping by our site on a regular basis for emerging issues and up-to-date information. Environmental Law Monitor will return next week with new posts. Once again, happy holidays!…

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COVID-19 Alert: Challenges And Tips For Companies Facing Ongoing Environmental Remediation Projects

As the coronavirus continues to spread across the nation, states throughout the country are ordering citizens to stay at home and not report to work. All orders, however, contain carve out exceptions for essential or life-sustaining activities, such as providing health care, medicine, and food. Yet, these orders have created much uncertainty as to what constitutes essential or life-sustaining activities. Arguably, many activities not directly related to containment of the coronavirus are still essential and/or life-sustaining. As with every aspect of the country’s economy, the coronavirus …

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States Continue to Lead the Charge: Report Issued For First of its Kind Statewide PFAS Sampling of Drinking Water Supplies in Michigan

If you’ve been following PFAS-related news you’ll know that Michigan has been one of the hardest hit states when it comes to this emerging contaminant. The state is one of a handful in the nation to take the lead in attempting to set some of the nation’s toughest drinking water limits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

Earlier this year, a Michigan state sponsored scientific workgroup proposed new health threshold limits for various PFAS compounds as Michigan seeks to set some of the most stringent enforceable …

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