Ever since the EPA’s 1985 rulemaking on the Definition of Solid Waste, 50 Fed. Reg. 614 (1985), the question of how one distinguishes legitimate recycling from sham recycling has puzzled both regulators and recyclers. The question is vital because sham recycling is equivalent to illegal disposal and exposes the perpetrator to enforcement and significant penalties.
EPA
USEPA and Army Corps Propose Rule to Rollback the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule
By Ann Zwick on
Posted in General Environmental, Uncategorized
Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a rule to rescind the 2015 Clean Water Rule and recodify the definition of “waters of the United States,” known as WOTUS, that existed before 2015. EPA and the Corps intend to re-evaluate and revise the WOTUS definition consistent with the…
EPA Stays Newly Adopted New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
By Ann Zwick on
Posted in Landfill News
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…
Emails With An Environmental Consultant Are Not Protected by the Attorney-Client Privilege, But May Be Protected Under the Work-Product Doctrine Rules a Federal District Court in Indiana
By Ann Zwick on
Posted in General Environmental
A federal district court in Indiana recently ruled on whether email communications with environmental contractors hired by an attorney are protected from discovery. In Valley Forge Ins. Co. v. Hartford Iron & Metal, Inc., No. 1:14-cv-00006-RLM-SLC, 2017 WL 1361308 (N.D. Ind. April 14, 2017), the Court held that the communications were not protected by…
Presidential Executive Order Begins Rollback of the “Waters of the United States Rule”
By Ann Zwick on
Posted in General Environmental
The rollback of the controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule is underway. Last week, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) to review and rescind or rewrite the WOTUS rule, which was adopted in 2015 by the previous administration. That rule…
Industry Groups Sue to Block Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in General Environmental
Nine trade associations, including the American Chemistry Council, the American Petroleum Institute, and the American Forest & Paper Association, have filed a Petition for Review challenging the EPA’s Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule. The rule was developed by the Obama Administration and was not finalized until after the election, on November 28, 2016. It is…
EPA Delays Implementation of All Pending New Rules
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in General Environmental
The EPA announced today that it is delaying the effective date of all regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but are not yet effective. There are 30 such regulations, all of which are now scheduled to become effective on March 21, 2017. The action was taken to comply with the White House’s…
Subsurface Intrusion Pathway Will Now Be Considered During CERCLA Site Listing Process Under New EPA Rule
By Ryan Rudich on
Posted in General Environmental
On January 9, 2017, EPA issued a final rule adding subsurface intrusion (SsI) as a component to the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), which is the mechanism that is used for determining the eligibility of sites for CERCLA’s National Priorities List (NPL). The rule allows the threat of subterranean vapor migration into regularly occupied structures to…
EPA Publishes Study on the Impacts of Fracking on Drinking Water
By Ryan Rudich & Philip Comella on
Posted in General Environmental
Since the beginning of the fracking boom, the potential impact of fracking operations upon groundwater has been a hotly contested area. The most recent addition to the public debate is a new EPA report, entitled “Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the…
EPA’s Newly Adopted Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule: A Much-Needed Improvement
By Ann Zwick on
Posted in General Environmental
On November 28, 2016, the EPA published its Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule, finalizing a much-needed update to the 30-year old Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste generator regulations. The Rule includes over 60 changes to the hazardous waste generator regulations to make them easier to understand, which will presumably increase compliance,…