Posts from September 2013.

On September 20, EPA issued a proposed rule to restrict carbon emissions from new coal and gas-fired power plants. The restrictions are anticipated to require carbon capture and sequestration for any new coal-fired plants. EPA also has announced plans to issue a rule regulating carbon emissions from existing coal-fired plants in 2014. EPA is proposing two standards for natural gas-fired plants: 1,000 lb CO2/MWh for larger units (>850 mmBtu/hr) and 1,100 lb CO2/MWh for smaller units ( ‰¤850 mmBtu/hr). EPA is proposing two alternative limits for fossil fuel-fired plants: 1,100 ...

Posted in: EPA
On August, 27, EPA published a final rule requiring electronic filing for facilities reporting chemical releases through the Toxics Release Inventory, beginning January 21, 2014. The rule is designed to ease the regulatory burden for making TRI filings and to save EPA costs associated with filing. Twenty-six industry sectors are required to utilize the TRI system, including businesses in manufacturing, mining, utilities and hazardous waste treatment and processing. As in the past, trade secret information may be filed using alternate means and will be kept confidential by EPA ...
Posted in: EPA, TRI
EPA is poised to withdraw the direct final rule it published on August 15, which would have added a new ASTM standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments to the list of "all appropriate inquiries" that must be made to afford bona fide prospective purchasers protection from CERCLA liability. Critics of the rule overwhelmingly said in public comments that the new ASTM standard is superior to the current standard, and that EPA should avoid creating a "two-tier" due diligence market by continuing to accept both standards. Commenters urge EPA to either continue to ...
Posted in: ASTM, EPA
Tags: astm, CERCLA, epa

A Lone Pine order is a case management tool often utilized by courts in complex multi-party toxic tort cases to organize plaintiffs' claims and to focus the parties on key issues early in the litigation. A Lone Pine order typically requires plaintiffs early in a case to present some basic evidence supporting his or her injuries and to produce some evidence of causation. Lone Pine orders take their name from a 1986 decision out of New Jersey, Lore v. Lone Pine Corp. In the Lone Pine litigation, multiple plaintiffs sued multiple defendants for personal injuries and property damages arising ...

As Scott Hitch noted in a previous post, a change to the federal rule regarding All Appropriate Inquiries ("AAI") is currently on notice for public review and comment. The comment period ends on September 16. The proposed change is prompted by recent changes in ASTM's 'Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment ["ESA"] Process'. The new ASTM Standard, designated E1527-13, results from an ASTM procedure requiring it to update individual standards at least every 8 years. The new Standard replaces the ASTM E1527-05. Currently ...
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