Legal Blogs and Updates

  • Posts by Agnes Antonian
    Partner

    As Chair of Connell Foley LLP's Environmental Law practice group, Agnes Antonian draws on her engineering background to address a broad range of complex environmental litigation and land use matters. Her environmental litigation ...

Return of Superfund Tax

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly referred to as Superfund, provides broad federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment ...

Acting Commissioner LaTourette Maps Out Plans for the NJDEP

On January 16, 2021, Shawn LaTourette became New Jersey’s Acting Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Two weeks into office, Acting Commissioner LaTourette attended the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey’s (CIANJ) virtual ...

Army Corps of Engineers Finalizes New Rule for Nationwide Permits

On January 5, 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) released a new final rule for its nationwide permits (NWPs) program, which is designed to help protect the aquatic environment and the public interest. Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and ...

Getting Rid of the “Once in, Always in” Policy –EPA Finalizes Rule Allowing Flexibility in Reclassifying a Facility’s Hazardous Air Polluter Status

On October 1, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule that will now allow facilities classified as “major source” polluters under the Clean Air Act the flexibility to reclassify their status as less prolific polluters. The EPA believes the new rule will ...

Newly Published Notice Triggers Permit Extension Act Registration Deadline

On September 8, 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) published a notice indicating that all State and local approvals eligible for extension under the Permit Extension Act of 2020 (the Act) — not just eligible NJDEP approvals—must be registered with ...

Final Rule Issued Regarding Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act

This week, the White House Council for Environmental Quality issued a final rule revising how agencies implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in reviews of environmental projects and permitting application. Business groups believe that the final rule will streamline the ...

Governor Signs Permit Extension Bill into Law

On July 1, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the “Permit Extension Act of 2020” (Assembly Bill No. 3919). The new law extends many governmental permits, approvals and deadlines to address delays caused by the COVID-19 crisis, as explained below. 

The statute ...

NJDEP Modifies Public Notice Language for Certain Permits Due to COVID-19

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has temporarily changed its standard public notice language for permits issued pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Rules, the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act Rules, and the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules. 

NJ Publishes Formal Drinking Water and Ground Water Quality Standards for PFOA and PFOS

Under rules published this week in the New Jersey Register, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has formally established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) of 14 ppt for perfluorooctoanic acid (PFOA) and 13 ppt for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). The rules ...

Governor Murphy Extends Deadlines of Various Environmental Statutes; Permit Delays Expected

On May 2, 2020, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order No. 136 (EO 136), which extends the deadlines of certain State environmental statutes for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency, tolling current permitting approval timeframes such that it is expected to cause ...

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