While various States have enacted various regulations covering a wide variety of differing standards over the years, the EPA never created a national standard for remedial or drinking water levels. Finally, after decades of considering proposals and counter proposals, the EPA made a “final” determination in July 2020 during the Trump administration that perchlorate was […]
by Patrick J. Paul On February 21, 2023, less than three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, less than a mile from the Pennsylvania border, EPA issued a 77 page Unilateral Order to the company requiring it to remediate the chemicals spilled. EPA had previously sent the railroad a letter […]
by Patrick J. Paul According to EPA’s press release, $5 billion is scheduled for investment over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water. The initial allotment of $42 million to Arizona can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like […]
by Mitchell J. Klein Environmental practitioners are well aware of the astonishing breadth and scope of the impacts resulting from the investigations into the ubiquitous presence of the so-called “forever chemicals”, including the significant efforts being expended at both the State and Federal level on regulating their use and establishing remedial standards. But PRPs, landowners, […]
by Patrick J. Paul On Wednesday July 21, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the PFAS Action Act of 2021. The bill, H.R. 2467, passed 241-183 demonstrating its bipartisan support, with twenty-three Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in supporting the legislation. H.R. 2467 would regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water, as well as […]
by Patrick J. Paul In what has been described by some as a landmark environmental justice resolution, on July 13, 2021, Delaware-based companies DuPont, Chemours and Corteva agreed to pay Delaware $50 million according to a settlement reached in connection with contamination to the environment caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as […]
by Patrick J. Paul On June 21, 2021, in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ), Governor Doug Ducey announced the provision of $2 million in state funding to facilitate the restart of Tucson Water –– a treatment plant shutdown due to severe groundwater contamination. The funding is intended to accelerate ongoing efforts […]
by Patrick J. Paul On June 10, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announced three actions demonstrating its commitment to help reduce the potential risks to the public from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). RELEASE Those actions included issuing a proposed rule that is designed to gather comprehensive data on more than 1,000 PFAS manufactured […]
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 […]
by Patrick J. Paul and Michael C. Ford The first few weeks of 2020 have seen regulatory and litigation attention heaped upon what have come to be known as “forever chemicals” or Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), which encompass more than 5,000 chemical substances in total and are found most commonly in household products like nonstick […]
