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PFAS / Settlements
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Breaking News: Significant PFAS Settlement in New Jersey

Another major settlement was announced this week in New Jersey in consolidated cases filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and other state entities. (You can review the Judicial Consent Order here as well as previously PFAS settlements reported by our firm here and here, including in New Jersey for remediation costs.)

Settling plaintiffs, including the NJ DEP and its commissioner, and the administrator of the NJ Spill Compensation Fund,  alleged that “3M designed, manufactured, marketed, and sold certain PFAS, …

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EPA / Settlements
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EPA Settles with Pennsylvania Schools Over Alleged Asbestos Violations

The Environmental Protection Agency announced May 6 it had reached a settlement with Scranton, Pa. schools regarding alleged asbestos violations. The EPA alleged the school district had failed “to include all required elements in the asbestos management plans for 15 schools,” and that it failed, “to maintain complete, updated copies of the asbestos management plans for 19 schools in its administrative office and in the administrative offices of those schools.”

The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) is the section of the Toxic Substances Control …

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CERCLA / Climate Change
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Navigating Environmental Jurisdiction: DOJ’s Challenge to State Climate Superfund Laws

The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against New York and several other states, challenging their newly enacted state Superfund laws (Superfund lawsuits). The laws aim to address the environmental damages attributed to climate change by requiring fossil fuel companies to contribute to state-managed funds designated for climate adaptation and cleanup efforts. The lawsuits raise questions about state and federal authority to regulate environmental matters.

Climate Superfund laws at the state level are modeled after the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), …

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EPA Offices, Washington DC
EPA / PFAS
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EPA Announces List of Upcoming Agency Actions to Address PFAS

The Environmental Protection Agency announced April 28 a list of upcoming agency actions to address Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). 

This week’s announcement provides a broad outline of EPA’s plans that centers around three principles: (1) strengthening the scientific understanding of PFAS, (2) fulfilling statutory obligations and enhancing communication, and (3) building partnerships. 

PFAS are a class of thousands of humanmade “forever chemicals” that can last for many years in the environment. They are used in manufacturing and consumer products, such as non-stick pans, raincoats, …

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Climate Change / Emerging Issues
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Earth Day 2025: States Step Up for Biodiversity Amid Global Goals

As we reflect on environmental stewardship this week, the accelerating loss of biodiversity remains one of the most critical challenges facing our planet. Healthy ecosystems provide essential services – clean air and water, pollination, climate regulation, and more – underpinning human well-being and economic stability. While international efforts aim to address this crisis, action within the United States increasingly relies on state-level leadership and legal innovation.

Globally, the primary framework for conservation is the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In 2022, parties to the …

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US state Illinois flag
Emissions / Illinois
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Illinois Supreme Court to Decide Whether Ethylene Oxide Emissions Qualify as Traditional Environmental Pollution

The question of whether ethylene oxide emissions constitute traditional environmental pollution for the purpose of interpreting commercial general liability pollution exclusions remains unsettled in many jurisdictions across the United States. The issue may soon receive greater clarity in Illinois — and more broadly within the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals — in response to a recent direct request from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to the Illinois Supreme Court to provide specific direction concerning how Illinois law should address the question.

The Seventh Circuit’s …

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California / PFAS
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California Bill Expands Definition of ‘Intentionally Added PFAS’

Our blog has reported previously on California PFAS regulations, including its watershed laws with novel definitions of PFAS and the noted problems with the total organic fluorine testing method. (Prior CA blog posts on PFAS).

We have also written on California’s PFAS ban in many children’s products and in disposable food packaging (here), California’s requirements on carpet and rug manufacturers to consider alternatives to PFAS, and bans (except under specified circumstances) on any cosmetic product that contains any of several specified …

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Large coal fired power plant with smoking chimneys
Emissions / EPA
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Montana Power Plant Requests Clean Air Waiver: Is This the Future of America’s Coal Energy?

The Colstrip Power Plant in Montana is now one of the early applicants to the new EPA exemption application process which we have previously discussed here. Specifically, the Colstrip plant has requested a two-year exemption from EPA standards regarding air pollution.

Previously, in April 2024, this power plant was subject to stricter standards under updates to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants which was targeted at reducing airborne emissions of heavy metals including lead, arsenic, and mercury and had a compliance …

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New Jersey Flag with blue sky background
New Jersey / PFAS
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New Jersey Proposal Transitions PFAS Criteria to Enforceable Remediation Standards

In March, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) proposed to formally add GenX, PFNA, PFOA, PFOS — all PFAS compounds — and methanol to the list of regulated contaminants under various statutes.

This includes the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS), Remediation Standards, and Technical Requirements for Site Remediation.

The proposed amendments establish a specific ground water quality criterion for GenX, as well as soil and soil leachate remediation standards for PFNA, PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and methanol. Each of these contaminants were previously regulated …

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Industry chimney with white smoke stack against blue sky.
Emissions
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Colorado Jury Issues First Defense Verdict after Years of EtO Exposure Lawsuits in US

A Colorado jury issued a defense verdict following a six-week trial during which four women alleged their respective cancers were caused by exposure to EtO emitted by the nearby Terumo Blood & Cell Technologies Lakewood plant over the course of several decades. They asked for a $444 million judgment.

Notably, during a years-long nationwide assessment of EtO facility emissions (covered by ELM here), the EPA previously concluded that the fence-line community living next to the Lakewood facility in Jefferson County had an elevated cancer …

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