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Chemical hazard pictograms Toxic focus
EPA / Toxic Substances
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EPA Issues Final Rule Under Toxic Substances Control Act Consistent with 2016 Amendments

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) provides the EPA with needed authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements related to chemical exposures where risks or exposures of concern are found. The TSCA addresses the production, use, and disposal of multiple chemicals – including chemicals such as lead-based paint and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The TSCA applies to more than 83,000 chemicals, with new chemicals added when commercial manufacturing becomes available.

Under the authority of the TSCA, the EPA collects …

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Emerging Issues / New Jersey / PFAS
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NJ PFAS Alert: Solvay Enters $393 Million Settlement with Garden State to Remediate Contamination

New Jersey just announced a proposed $393 million settlement with Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC that would ensure the remediation of contamination near Solvay’s facility in West Deptford that manufactures plastic components for consumer products. This contamination included the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). 

The proposed settlement commits Solvay to: 

  • Pay for and implement comprehensive remedial activities at and in the vicinity of its West Deptford facility; 
  • Provide financial support for certain public water system upgrades necessary to remove PFAS from drinking water; 
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EPA Offices, Washington DC
Emerging Issues / EPA
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EPA’s New Renewable Fuel Standards Add Biofuel to the Fire

The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rule establishing biofuel volume requirements for 2023 to 2025 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program on June 21. The Rule aims to reduce the United States’ reliance on foreign sources of oil by approximately 130,000 to 140,000 barrels of oil per day by requiring annual volumes of renewable fuels to be used in the fuel supply. While the EPA boasts that the rule reflects its ongoing efforts to “ensure stability of the program for years to come, …

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Gavel and stethoscope. medical jurisprudence. legal definition of medical malpractice. attorney. common errors doctors, nurses and hospitals make
Emerging Issues / EPA
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American Public Is Thrown Into the EtO Mix with Government and Industry

After a COVID-related dip, ethylene oxide (EtO) cannot seem to stay out of the news these days. Every week there is some EtO-related legal or technological development in the United States. And now the public is being encouraged to shape the oversight of EtO use and manufacture. 

Following a long pause in years-long and intense regulatory focus — a direct result of the pandemic, an emergency requiring exponential use of EtO, a highly efficient sterilizing chemical used on billions of medical devices and hospital supplies …

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Front Refrigerator
Climate Change / Legislation
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DC Circuit Pours Cold Water on Global Warming Legislation

Refrigeration technology has come a long way since ancient Chinese cultures harvested ice from frozen lakes and desperately tried to keep them insulated in ice cellars more than a thousand years ago. The technology advanced through the subsequent centuries, culminating in an exponential explosion of growth over the last hundred years or so, with the advent of artificial refrigerants in the 19-teens and 20s. Still, these early-model units relied on toxic, foul-smelling gases such as ammonia and sulfur dioxide as condensing agents, resulting in fatalities …

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United States Environmental Protection Agency sign on the Clinton building
Emerging Issues / Regulations
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EPA Announces Proposed Perchloroethylene Regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed regulation of perchloroethylene (PCE) under the Toxic Substances Control Act to protect public health.  

PCE, also known as perc and tetrachloroethylene, “is used for the production of fluorinated compounds; as a solvent for dry cleaning and vapor degreasing; in catalyst regeneration in petrochemical manufacturing; and in a variety of commercial and consumer applications such as adhesives, paints and coatings, aerosol degreasers, brake cleaners, aerosol lubricants, sealants, stone polish, stainless steel polish, and wipe cleaners.” …

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Emerging Issues / NEPA / Pipeline
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The Environmental Impacts of the Debt Deal

On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA). The FRA was the result of an agreement between White House and congressional GOP negotiators. While the centerpiece of the agreement is the two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, the FRA surprisingly includes significant environmental provisions. Specifically, the FRA amends the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and expedites completion of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline.  

The most significant NEPA amendments relate to Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), Environmental Assessments (EA), …

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"justice concept, selective focus on nearest part ,lens blur f/x"
California / Emerging Issues
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UCLA’s Environmental Law Clinic Weighs in on Berkeley Gas Case with New Amicus Brief

Following up on our April 21 post, the UCLA Environmental Law Clinic recently filed an amicus brief in the California Restaurant Association v. Berkeley litigation, joining multiple other governmental and non-governmental organizations asking the Ninth Circuit to take another look at its April 17 decision. The Ninth Circuit’s decision effectively overturned a lower federal district court’s ruling that revoked the City of Berkeley’s 2019 ban of natural gas infrastructure in newly constructed buildings. 

Authoring the brief were seven law professors from across the …

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Oil slick in water
EPA / Water Contamination
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EPA Revises National Contingency Plan to Assist with Oil Spill Responses

In 1990, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act, also known as the OPA. The act was in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, and it amended the Clean Water Act of 1972. Its purpose was to avoid oil spills from vessels and facilities, and it works by enforcing removal of spilled oil and assigning liability for the cost of cleanup and damages among responsible parties. In 1994, to support the OPA, the Environmental Protection Agency revised Subpart J of the National Contingency Plan. Subpart J …

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Judges Or Auctioneer Gavel On The Dollar Cash Background
PFAS / Settlements
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Primary Defendants Broker Settlements of Major PFAS Litigation

Over the last seven days, there have been news reports that major companies embroiled in PFAS litigation — particularly the Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) MDL in federal court, South Carolina — reached, or are on the cusp of reaching, agreements with plaintiffs to resolve hundreds (and potentially thousands) of disputes concerning PFAS contamination of drinking water supplies owned or operated by various water providers throughout the country. 

AFFF is a highly effective firefighting agent used to control and extinguish Class B fuel fires at …

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