Goldberg Segalla, Author at Environmental Law Monitor

April 21, 2023 New Jersey / Regulations

New Jersey Governor Announces Nation’s First Environmental Justice Regulations

On April 17, the first day of Earth Week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the final adoption of regulations to implement the state’s Environmental Justice Law. According to the Office of the Governor, the Environmental Justice Law and corresponding regulation is the “first in the nation aimed at reducing pollution in historically overburdened communities and communities of color that have been subjected to a disproportionately high number of environmental and public health issues.”

As previously reported by ELM here, Gov. Murphy signed the …

Justice Scales and books and wooden gavel

April 21, 2023 California / Emerging Issues

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

New Ninth Circuit Ruling: City of Berkeley’s Gas Ban Preempted by U.S. Energy Policy & Conservation Act

On Monday, April 18, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, overturning a lower federal district court’s ruling to revoke the City of Berkeley, California’s ban of natural gas infrastructure in newly constructed buildings.

Berkeley’s prohibition against natural gas was seen as the first city-level law aimed at forcing developers and building owners to switch to building all-electric new buildings. Berkeley’s Ordinance No. 7,672-N.S. was passed unanimously by Berkeley’s City Council in December 2019 …

April 14, 2023 EPA / Wastewater

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

The EPA Proposes New Wastewater Discharge Standards on Coal-Fired Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency announced on March 29, 2023 new proposed wastewater discharge standards to reduce discharges of toxic metals and other pollutants from coal-fired power plants. Steam electric power plants use heat to create steam that produces electricity. These plants use large amounts of water – approximately 133 billion gallons a day. This water is drawn from rivers, lakes, and estuaries. The plants use this water for various processes including cooling and generating steam. Over the last thirty years, new technologies have been developed …

March 30, 2023 Climate Change / Emerging Issues

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

How to Navigate the New 2022 Inflation Reduction Act Tracker Database

As reported in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) is the United States’ largest (and most complex) commitment to investing in climate change to date. The 725-page law provides a number of clean-energy tax credits to qualifying companies and commits $370 billion in funds aimed at lowering energy costs and building up supply chains for everything from critical minerals to efficient electric appliances.

With so much information and different tax credit programs covered in the bill, it’s no wonder it was necessary to …

March 30, 2023 EPA / PFAS

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

On the Heels of EPA’s Proposed Rule, New York State DEC Releases Final Ambient Water Quality Guidance Values for PFAS

Just two days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish legally enforceable drinking-water levels for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), reported by ELM here, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released final ambient water quality guidance values for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane in New York State waters.

In a March 15 press release the DEC said “[t]he finalized guidance values support the State’s ongoing efforts to protect public health and the environment and prevent …

March 16, 2023 Emerging Issues / New York

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

New York May Adopt Extended Producer-Responsibility Laws to Combat Consumer Waste

New York may be on board to be the fifth state in the nation to hold producers responsible for packaging products.

Thus far, Maine, Oregon, Colorado, and California have enacted extended producer-responsibility laws. The EPR laws assign both financial and operational responsibility for the end of life of products, and are an important tool for managing and lowering consumer waste. In other words, the programs require the producers of packaging products to finance the costs of recycling or disposing of products that consumers no longer …

March 9, 2023 Emissions / EPA

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

Court Denies Challenge to EPA Emissions Rule, Defers Due to Rule’s “Complex and Technical” Nature

Companies operating in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia – whose operations involve the release of emissions — will need to consult the Environmental Protection Agency’s Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Update Rule to determine whether their operations might be affected by the Federal Implementation Plan.

The rule requires power plants and other high-emitting machinery to install emission-reduction equipment and update pollution controls.

The District of Columbia Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals unanimously …

February 23, 2023 Climate Change / Litigation

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

Oil Giant’s Directors Sued Personally for “Flawed” Climate Strategy in One-of-a-Kind Lawsuit

Lawyers at the environmental law firm ClientEarth earlier this month personally sued the directors of one of the largest oil producers in a derivative action for their alleged failure to manage material and foreseeable climate risks.

ClientEarth filed the action at the High Court of Justice in England and Wales, alleging breach of UK company law. In total, 11 of the company’s directors are named. At issue is whether the 11 board members breached their duty to shareholders by not properly managing climate risk.

If you’re …

An Unrecognizable Caucasian Woman Buying Some Cosmetic Products

February 23, 2023 Emerging Issues

Posted by: Goldberg Segalla

Social Media Draws Viral Attention to Unfortunate Consequence of Paraben-Free Beauty Products

“Clean beauty” has taken over the cosmetics industry in the past several years, and while there is no official definition of the term, it is generally understood to refer to cosmetic products free from chemicals such as phthalates, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, and parabens, which is the term used for a group of preservatives used in beauty products.

Following the trend, in recent years, beauty and cosmetics retail giants such as Sephora and Ulta Beauty have designated “clean” products with certain labeling if they omit ingredients …

Garbage pile in trash dump or landfill. Pollution concept.

February 16, 2023 Climate Change / Emissions

Posted by: Andrew J. ScholzGoldberg Segalla

Waste Reduction Programs to Take on Climate Change

In 2015, California’s former governor Edmund Brown Jr. set methane emissions-reduction targets for the state. Senate Bill 1383 requires that California reduce organic waste disposal 75 percent by the year 2025. Although most Californians did not begin to understand what these targets meant, 2022 marked the beginning of new waste disposal requirements for many statewide. These requirements include organics curbside-collection services and new waste collection bins designed specifically for organic waste (including, in some areas, bins designed to go inside residential refrigerators for food waste.)

Each city …