The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced an interim strategy for regulating Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in stormwater and wastewater discharges through its national permitting system that promises to have far-reaching impacts on...
Environmental
PFAS Consumer Products Regulation: Legislative Update
As 2020 comes to a close and we begin to discuss in earnest the potential impacts of a Biden-Harris administration on U.S. environmental policy, it is important to look at the current and potential PFAS consumer products regulations. While more movement has occurred...
PFAS Testing In Firefighting Foam MDL Needed, State AG Says
In multidistrict litigation in South Carolina surrounding the alleged effects of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used in firefighting, the number of plaintiffs continues to grow and the short-term and long-term relief requested continues to evolve....
As PFAS Regulation Looms, Life Cycle Analysis Can Help Businesses Evaluate Risk
In a time when the Environmental Protection Agency’s general policy toward noncompliance has been one of restraint to account for the obstacles presented by COVID-19, the agency has nevertheless continued to move forward in an aggressive manner on regulation of Per-...
Scope of Wetlands Protection Act Ruled On By MA Court
In June of 2017, the Massachusetts Appeals Court addressed the scope of authority of the Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) over commercial fishing using hydraulic dredging methods. In addition, the Court addressed whether a town by-law prohibiting hydraulic dredging with...
EPA Seeking Public Comment On Draft Risk Evaluation For Asbestos
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on its Draft Risk Evaluation on Asbestos. Finalizing this assessment is the next step in its evaluation of the risks associated with asbestos, a review it is authorized to do by the Toxic Substances Control...
EPA Designates High and Low Priority Chemicals as Part of Toxic Substance Evaluation
Forty more chemical substances have been designated as high or low priority for risk evaluation by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has proposed twenty of the substances to be low-priority, and the other twenty to be high-priority, as defined under the...
EPA Makes Progress on PFAS Action Plan
The EPA has released a proposed Systematic Review Protocol that, when finalized, will be used to conduct toxicity assessments for five of the variations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The Protocol is an amalgamation of the procedures and methods that...
EPA’s Methylene Chloride Ban Faces Legal Challenge
A group of public health and environmental advocacy organizations has filed a lawsuit in the Second Circuit challenging the EPA’s partial ban on methylene chloride, a chemical found in paint removal products. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the commercial...
EPA Regulates Paint Chemical Under TSCA
The EPA has released guidance on a new rule that prohibits the manufacture, processing, or distribution of a the chemical methylene chloride, a solvent that is present in paint and coating removal products. The agency released this rule under the authority of the...









