EPA’s listing of two “forever Chemicals” as CERCLA hazardous substances will re-open sites that companies had thought were closed. And every user of a product that contained them may become responsible for a share of the remediation costs. The EPA’s recent decision to put Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS, on its […]
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”) filed suit against a company alleging that it was violating an Administrative Consent Order (“ACO”). What made the lawsuit unusual was that ADEQ also sued 3 individual officers of the company, alleging that because the company was small, the individual Officers and Board members were each “operators” and […]
In a significant move designed to enhance public health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that the sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used in grease-proofing food packaging has ceased in the United States. (USFDA Announcement) This decision targets the major source of dietary exposure to PFAS, which are found in […]
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 […]
