by Patrick J. Paul On December 18, 2020, EPA issued interim guidance (available here and here) designed to protect the public from exposure to emerging chemicals of concern. More particularly, that interim guidance outlines the current state of science on techniques and treatments that can be employed to destroy and dispose of certain PFAS and PFAS-containing […]
by Patrick J. Paul On September 2, 2020, the DeAnza Domestic Water Improvement District of Pima County formed in 2018 to construct, operate and maintain a domestic water system to provide drinking water in Pima County Arizona, filed a complaint in state court in Pima County against numerous alleged manufacturers and/or marketers of aqueous film-forming […]
by Patrick J. Paul Declaring that the days of a one-size-fits-all approach to environmental remediation are over, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 2, 2020, the creation of a new office Mountains, Deserts, and Plains (OMDP). This new office will have jurisdiction over mining and environmental issues unique to those states west of […]
by Patrick J. Paul On August 20, 2020, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) required the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) to issue at least one medical marijuana license in counties without a dispensary. The AMMA requires that an individual or entity must apply to ADHS for a […]
by Patrick J. Paul Traditionally, Labor Day weekend in the United States means “back-to-school.” In this pandemic year, however, many schools remain closed indefinitely to in-person learning, while others opened early with the goal of completing the semester coincident with Thanksgiving break in November, thus limiting travel and the potential for future spread. As educational […]
by Patrick Paul As we reported previously, researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe have been evaluating the possible link between wastewater and the spread of the coronavirus in local communities. Similar research is also being conducted in Northern Arizona and throughout the world. More particularly Crystal Hepp, an assistant professor at the Northern Arizona […]
by Patrick Paul, Chris Colyer, Michael Ford In prior blogs (available here and here), we’ve reported on changes to certain federal and state environmental enforcement policies related to COVID-19. In a nutshell, these policies essentially clarified the enforcement priorities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and certain other state agencies like the Arizona Department […]
by Patrick J. Paul Having recently been granted an emergency Part 107 waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, Novant Health, Inc., a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system headquartered in North Carolina, in partnership with San Francisco-based drone delivery company, Zipline, has commenced medical drone delivery for the first time in the United States. Novant announced the […]
by Patrick Paul As the case for drone use to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic, whether to enforce social distancing guidelines, announce current developments, or deliver needed medical and food supplies, grows internationally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 14, 2020, announced the enabling of drone use for COVID-19 response efforts within the […]
By Patrick Paul, Chris Colyer and Michael Ford On April 10, 2020, the U.S. EPA published “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19.” Directed specifically to the Agency’s Regional Administrators, the interim guidance was issued for response actions related to cleanup and emergency response sites where EPA is the lead agency […]
