The United States Supreme Court issued a trilogy of significant administrative law cases in the last week of its 2023-24 term. The most important of these decisions for brownfield and superfund practitioners was Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 2882 (June 28, 2024) where the Court abandoned its 40-year old “Chevron” doctrine that […]
SCOTUS Ends Chevron Deference-The Wicked Witch is Dead Read More »
When Congress enacted the federal Superfund law in 1980, it provided that liability should be governed by evolving notions of common law. The Second Restatement of Torts was in effect at the time the law was passed and favored imposition of joint liability when two or more parties created a common harm. However, there has
My Article on Why Joint Liability Should No Longer Be the Default Standard Under CERCLA Read More »
In our post discussing EPA’s Enforcement Discretion guidance, we mentioned that EPA was working on guidance for performing remedial actions during the Covid-19 crisis. On April 10th, EPA issued its “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19” (Interim Guidance) to regional offices when determining to continue, reduce, or pause on-site
EPA Issues Guidance For Continuing or Suspending Response Actions During COVID-19 Crisis Read More »
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”) has received numerous inquiries about issues arising with the execution of Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP”) agreements and amendments because of the Covid19 pandemic. In response, the NYSDEC has issued the following guidance: The DYSDEC will grant reasonable extensions of time for the execution of Brownfield Cleanup
In a prior post, we discussed a letter NYSDEC issued to staff and standby contrators interpreting Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.6 (EO) and the Empire State Development Corporation Guidance on shutdown of all non-essential services and activities. DEC has now posted further clarification on its website that it considers the following activities as essential services:
NYSDEC Issues Further Guidance on Essential Activities For Brownfield Projects Read More »
To prevent spread of COVID-19, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will exercise its enforcement discretion with respect to certain provisions of 6 NYCRR Parts 364,372,374-2, and 381. According to a Letter issued by the NYSDEC Office of General Counsel, the agency will not pursue enforcement of requirements for signatures on waste
NYSDEC Will Exercise Enforcement For Signature Procedures for Certain Waste Streams Read More »
Pursuant to Empire State Development Corporation’s Guidance on Executive Order 202.6, “trash and recycling collection, processing and disposal services” are considered essential business or entities that are not required to reduce in-person workforce by 100%. The exclusion includes collection, transportation, processing and disposal activities for any solid wastes, regulated medical waste, hazardous wastes, radioactive wastes
NYSDEC Exercising Enforcement For Bottle Redemptions Read More »
Update: EPA has created a frequently-asked questions about covid-19 webpage that is available Here. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has issued a Memo announcing that it will temporarily exercise enforcement discretion for certain civil violations where the non-compliance was a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to news articles in such publications as E&E News, The