On September 11, 2023, the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) approved the first of several rezoning proposals from Mayor Eric Adams aimed at reducing carbon emissions to reach the city’s climate goals. Specifically, New York has set the year 2050 as the target date by which it hopes to reduce its carbon emissions by 80 percent. The rezoning proposal, called the “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality,” includes 17 citywide zoning changes that are designed to remove “barriers to greener energy, buildings, and water …
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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 …
Continue ReadingCPSC Sets its Sights on PFAS in Consumer Products, Bringing Future Regulation into Focus
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently published a request for information (RFI) on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “used in commerce or potentially used in consumer products,” and as directed toward information on “potential exposures associated with the use of PFAS in consumer products, and potential human health effects associated with exposures to PFAS from their use in consumer products.”
This RFI concerns “consumer products” which includes products used in, or around, the home or school that are subject to CPSC jurisdiction under the Consumer …
Continue ReadingPower Companies File Suit against EPA’s Enforcement of Coal Ash Rule
In a world of solar power, green energy, and electric cars, it is sometimes surprising to consider how much of a political hot potato good ol’ fashioned coal remains.
There are more than 300 coal-fired power plants still active in the United States, annually producing roughly 100 tons of coal combustion residuals (CCR), or “coal ash.” This coal ash has historically and routinely been found to contain hazardous compounds — such as arsenic, chromium, lead, and mercury — which are dangerous to plants and humans.…
Continue ReadingMaine’s Difficulties Implementing its PFAS Law Could Foreshadow Similar Issues Nationwide
Maine recently delayed the January 2024 implementation of a first-of-its-kind law requiring manufacturers to disclose PFAS in products sold in the state, effectively banning PFAS in most such products by 2030.
Manufacturers of products containing PFAS now have until January 2025 to report them. Meanwhile, Maine also created two reporting exemptions — one for businesses employing 25 or fewer people, and one when a sale involves a used product or component.
In response to the State Legislature’s action, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) suspended …
Continue ReadingA Modern-Day Gold Rush – World’s Largest Lithium Mine Discovered in Nevada
A lithium mine has been discovered within the McDermitt Caldera, located along the Nevada-Oregon border. This finding is significant in that it may hold between 20 million and 40 million metric tons of this rare metal, which is nearly double the current record of approximately 23 million metric tons of lithium found this summer beneath a Bolivian salt flat. To put the magnitude of this finding further into perspective, the McDermitt Caldera is approximately 28 miles long and 22 miles wide.
Lithium is a chemical …
Continue ReadingEPA Updates FOIA Regs to Promote Transparency and Affordability of Information Concerning Environmental Justice Issues
On September 7, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it was updating its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations through its Phase II FOIA final rule. This “modernization,” is part of EPA’s continued efforts to advance transparency – here, by improving the EPA’s FOIA program through a renewed focus on accountability, affordability, and better access to information for communities of color with environmental justice concerns. The final rule is a wider part of the Biden Administration’s general promise to prioritize consideration of communities …
Continue ReadingOregon’s Multnomah County Sues Fossil Fuel Companies Seeking $50M for Purported “Heat Dome” Heatwaves
Oregon’s most populous county, and home to Portland, sued more than a dozen oil, gas, and coal companies for over $50 million in damages related to a 2021 “heat dome” the county alleges was caused by the defendants’ contributions to climate change.
Multnomah County, which filed the civil suit in June, is also seeking no less than $1.5 billion from the defendants to pay for potential damage from future extreme heat events, and another $50 billion to study, plan, and protect people and Oregon’s infrastructure …
Continue ReadingEPA Redefines ‘Waters of the United States’ to Conform with Supreme Court Decision
On August 29, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its final rule amending its definition of “waters of the United States.” This new definition was written to conform with the Supreme Court’s May 24, 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA 598 U.S. _____(2023) (discussed in a previous blog here).
The Sackett decision held in favor of the Sacketts, who wanted to build a home on an empty lot near a lake in Idaho. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the couple and held …
Continue ReadingSteel Beats Glass and Plastic, All Beat Paper: New Study Finds PFAS In Various Types Of Drinking Straws
A study published last week by the Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A journal — a journal that publishes on natural and man-made food additives and contaminants in food and the animal feed chain and is an affiliated journal of the International Society for Mycotoxicology — might make people think twice when selecting straws for their drinks.
The study — titled “Assessment of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in commercially available drinking straws using targeted and suspect screening approaches,” — makes some interesting findings on …
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