On September 4, 2014, District Court Judge Carl Barbier issued his "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law - Phase One Trial" in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation. In his 153 page opinion, Judge Barbier found BP liable for gross negligence and willful misconduct under the Clean Water Act, which is also known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Judge Barbier focused largely on the many dangerous decisions that were taken on the Deepwater Horizon shortly before the explosion. BP subsequently filed a motion in which it asked Judge Barbier to reconsider his opinion. On ...
EPA's current estimate of the completion time for a draft of its study of the risks posed by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") to drinking water is now projected by the agency to be developed in early 2015. This is based on comments in a letter originating from EPA's Region 8 office stating that the study on the risks posed by fracking to drinking water won't reach draft final form until "early 2015". The study was undertaken at the direction of Congress in 2009 when Congress requested EPA to conduct scientific research to examine the relationship between hydraulic fracturing in drinking ...
A developer or property owner may have a permit application for a project that meets the criteria for the applicable regulations, and might receive approval from local government or environmental staff. At that point, the applicant thinks he or she is in good shape going into the public hearing with the city or county commissioners, only to walk in to commission chambers and discover a small army of citizens with identical t-shirts or "Save our Neighborhood" buttons protesting the application because they don't want the development in their backyard -- the dreaded NIMBYs (Not In My ...
Late last month, President Obama addressed the United Nations Climate Summit and just a few days ahead of that, EPA announced that it has extended the comment period on the Clean Power Plant proposed rule to December 1, 2014. The proposed rule has been a lightning rod for the climate change controversy in the United States as it focuses on the effects of existing coal-fired power plants. It has also served to draw attention to efforts to move toward renewable sources of power and possibilities and pitfalls there. The proposed rule and related actions proposed by the Obama Administration ...
A combination of factors in Alabama has raised concerns about the reliability of adequate water in various parts of the State in the event of prolonged droughts or significant withdrawals. Industrial users and public water systems would be well advised to become familiar with, and participate in, current efforts by State government and the Legislature to address these problems. Alabama has an abundance of surface stream mileage, and historically has had the water to fill those stream beds. In fact, Alabama is said to have more navigable channels than any other state. (A Treasure ...
Beth Blalock has been named the new Brownfield Coordinator for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, replacing Madeleine Kellam, who has led the brownfield program since its inception and will retire at the end of 2014. Ms. Blalock is an environmental attorney (UGA, 2003), with a background in environmental and land use law. Her prior experience includes approximately five years as general counsel for the Georgia Conservancy and, previously, with King and Spalding. Beth will begin work with the Georgia EPD within the coming weeks, allowing for at least a two-month ...
An increasingly pitched battle between business and agricultural interests over the blending of ethanol in gasoline has turned its focus to EPA's rulemaking mandate which sets the minimum volume of renewable fuel sold annually in the U.S. This Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has drawn significant attention because opponents of the use of ethanol in gasoline and diesel fuels believe that there is little if any likelihood of congressional action in the near term. The EPA has proposed to reduce the volume of ethanol that must be blended into gasoline this year, while keeping the biodiesel ...
On Monday, June 22, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a much anticipated decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency (slip opinion) where it affirmed EPA's authority to impose limits for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by major emissions sources that are otherwise required to have a Clean Air Act permit for conventional pollutants. At the same time, the Court rejected the Agency's assertion that it has the authority to impose GHG emission limits on facilities independent of any other obligation those facilities may have to obtain permits. Thus, EPA (and ...
Our firm has recently represented clients in two projects associated with brownfields that may signal an increased willingness on the part of regulatory authorities to facilitate redevelopment of contaminated properties. As individuals and companies around the nation began to reassess the impacts of sprawl, the ability to redevelop brownfield properties provides an opportunity to make these properties productive to the benefit of the new owner directly and the community generally. One project involved the redevelopment of a portion of an abandoned automobile manufacturing ...
In March, EPA published a new Final Rule that revised a 2009 Final Rule addressing stormwater discharges from its Construction and Development (C&D) point source category. The March revision withdrew the numeric turbidity effluent limitation and monitoring requirement and made certain other changes and clarifications. (Federal Register: March 6, 2014 Federal Register) The revised rule results from litigation filed by a number of entities, Wisconsin Builders Association, et al. v. EPA, Case Nos. 09-4113, 10-1247, and 10-1876 (7th Cir.), and specifically from a settlement ...
We use cookies and other tracking mechanisms to improve your website experience, provide additional security, and remember you when you return to the website. This website does not respond to "Do Not Track" signals. By clicking "Accept," you agree to our use of cookies. By using our website, you agree to ourPrivacy Policy.
Cookie Preference Center
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. These cookies may only be disabled by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. We access and process information from these cookies at an aggregate level.
