by Mitchell J. Klein Because proving who is responsible for introducing PFAS contamination into water supplies can be difficult and expensive, and pursuing government entities such as military bases, firefighting training facilities and airports is particularly problematic, the manufacturers of PFAS-containing products appear to be easier targets. Thus, private well owners and public water utilities that […]
by Mitchell J. Klein Reported to be at the direction of the Department of Justice, the EPA is now requiring that anyone willing to enter into an Administrative Order of Consent must first agree to surrender all claims against the United States and any Federal Agency for the work to be performed. While it has […]
by Mitchell J. Klein More than 1,000,000 drones have been registered. The increasing use of drones by hobbyists means more and more concerned citizens and NGOs have the ability to obtain evidence of environmental violations. But what can be done with that evidence? While the government is restricted in how it can use drones to […]
by Michael C. Ford and Mitchell J. Klein If you haven’t heard of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), you likely will soon. Like DDT, PCBs, asbestos, and MTBE before it, PFAS are a class of chemicals that have been used in a wide variety of commercial and industrial products, only to have potential adverse environmental and […]
By Mitch Klein Following the presidential election, much was made of the enormous changes that the new president intended to make at the EPA, and his choice for Director, Scott Pruitt, resulted in heated opposition and a frenzied uproar from those who foresaw the dismantling of environmental protections. The funny thing is, aside from much […]
by Mitch Klein United States EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has hired Henry Darwin to serve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as its Chief of Operations. Under both Republican and Democrat administrations, as the Director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Darwin has proven his abilities to streamline government bureaucracy. He is a perfect selection […]
by Mitchell J. Klein In a recent unpublished case, the Superior Court of New Jersey held that the Plaintiff in a CERCLA case had committed spoliation when, during the course of the remedial activity, it disposed of various contaminated materials. See Pollitt Drive, LLC v. Harvey Engel. While the case does not establish any precedent, […]
By Mitch Klein Regardless of whether you are a Trump supporter or Trump hater, and there certainly seems to be very few people who are indifferent to the guy, trying to prognosticate what he will do is very difficult. He is a political outsider with no record of governance. We don’t know how much of […]
by Mitch Klein The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were recently amended. Amongst the changes, perhaps the most significant are the changes to discovery under Rule 26. Previously, parties were entitled to conduct discovery regarding anything that might be “reasonably calculated” to lead to relevant and admissible evidence. In practice, this led to some parties […]
