The U.S. EPA recently released the 15th installment of its Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan[1]. In addition to announcing the initiation of new rulemakings for certain categories of industrial dischargers, the report provides a window into where the agency is focusing its attention for potential future clean water act regulations. This year,

The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VDEC) is currently in the process of reviewing and reauthorizing its Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. Mixed among the updates is a proposed provision that should be of great concern to generators of used oil wastewater. Section 7-805 of VDEC’s hazardous waste regulations delineates the requirements for wastewater to

Last week, a federal judge denied a request from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) seeking to shift its timeline for implementing a 2016 rule targeting landfill emissions. As a result, EPA is required to finalize its federal implementation plan for landfill methane emissions by January 14, 2020.

This ruling marks the latest turn in

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a decision last week stating that revisions to the federal regulations for the management of wastes from the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy (i.e. oil and gas wastes from hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling) are not necessary at this time.  EPA

Last May, the Trump EPA issued a 90-day stay of two Obama-era landfill methane rules, namely the Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (NSPS Subpart XXX) and the Emissions Guidelines (EG).  EPA was responding to concerns by industry groups to reconsider portions of the rules.  After the stay was put into place, the

Continuing on our discussion of the electronic manifest (e-Manifest) system, EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, signed the e-Manifest User Fee Final Rule on December 20, 2017.  EPA expects the final rule to be published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks.  The pre-publication version of the final rule is attached here.

Under the final

An Illinois appellate court recently ruled that the 15 year post-closure monitoring requirement for sanitary landfills under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act sets the minimum, not maximum, period, and that that the operator will be required to continue post-closure monitoring if the threat of future violations of the Act is present.

D&L Landfill, Inc., the

By rule published in the Federal Register today, EPA is staying the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and Emissions Guidelines (EG) final rules for municipal solid waste landfills, in their entirety, for 90 days pending reconsideration.  The rules are found at 40 CFR Part 60, Subparts Cf and XXX and had been published

A group of waste industry trade associations and waste management and recycling companies is challenging the EPA’s recently finalized Clean Air Act rule that revises Emission Guidelines for existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The National Waste & Recycling Association is among those that petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the District of