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U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Adopts New Reporting Requirements

Late last year, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) proposed reporting requirements for accidental chemical releases. On February 5, 2020, a new rule adopting these reporting requirements was announced. The proposed rule requires owners and/or operators of ...

EPA Awards Over $6 Million to PFAS Research

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced approximately $6 million has been awarded, as part of the EPA’s Science to Achieve Results Program, to eight organizations for research into the environmental impacts of per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The ...

EPA Redefines Waters of the U.S. — Again — in Bid to Promote Regulatory Consistency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking the next steps toward repealing the 2015 Obama Administration-era rule defining Waters of the United States in order to achieve its stated goal of increased regulatory certainty. The changes are expected to affect anyone who is ...

EPA Proposes Revisions to Coal Combustion Residual Rule; Public Comments Accepted Until Mid-October

Last month, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took further action that will impact electric utilities and other parties that handle Coal Combustion Residual (CCR), i.e., fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials resulting when coal is ...

Governor Murphy Signs Long-Awaited SRRA 2.0

Last week, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation amending the Site Remediation Reform Act (SRRA), the law created a decade ago to govern the remediation of contaminated sites in New Jersey through the creation of the licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) program. The revisions ...

Emerging Contaminants Becoming an Emerging Concern

On March 25, 2019 the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) issued a Statewide Directive, Information Request and Notice to Insurers (“Directive”) putting eight entities on notice due to the NJDEP’s belief that these companies are ...

Governor Murphy Enacts “Clean Stormwater and Flood Reduction Act”

On March 18, 2019, Governor Murphy signed the Clean Stormwater and Flood Reduction Act. This act allows towns and counties to create municipal stormwater utilities, which would impose fees on property owners to pay for upgrades to local stormwater infrastructure. The intended purpose of ...

When it Rains it Pours: NJ Considers Enacting "Rain Tax"

The New Jersey Assembly and Senate have approved a bill titled the Clean Stormwater and Flood Reduction Act[1], which is designed to reduce flooding and water pollution. If enacted, this bill would allow counties and municipalities to create stormwater utilities, which will have the ...

The Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Is Still Available, But Not For Long

An important window of opportunity for wind energy developers is closing fast.  Specifically, the federal government’s renewable energy production tax credit (“PTC”) expires on December 31, 2019.

The PTC is an inflation-adjusted, per-kilowatt-hour tax credit for electricity ...

Questions Continue to Swirl Around Groundwater and its Impact on the Waters of the US

The Supreme Court of the United States has asked the Trump Administration to weigh in on the question of whether the Clean Water Act applies to pollutants migrating through groundwater before ultimately reaching “waters of the United States.” This issue is being closely monitored by ...

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