Environmental Law Matters Blog | Burr & Forman LLP

EPA Re-Defines "Solid Waste"

Thu, 25 Dec 2014 09:00:01 -0500

On December 10, 2014, the EPA administrator published its latest version on a rule revising recycling related provisions under the definition of solid waste rule (DSW rule). See 40 CFR Parts 260 and 261, Docket No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2010-0742 (Dec. 10, 2014). The revisions were made to help alleviate concerns regarding disproportionate health and environmental risks suffered by low income communities buttressing local recycling facilities. These new revisions are predicted to make it increasingly difficult for facilities who purport to be recycling to illegally dispose of ...

Winter Draws Mixed Opinions Regarding Fracking

Wed, 24 Dec 2014 09:00:02 -0500

Fracking received much attention and debate in the fourth quarter. Fracking is the process of injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressures in order to release oil and natural gas into underground rock formations. On December 17, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his administration's plan to ban fracking due to health concerns. His decision follows a presentation by New York state health commissioner finding "significant public health risks" linked to fracking. See Thomas Kaplan, Citing Health Risks, Cuomo Bans Fracking in New ...

New Year Brings New Coal Ash Regulations and New Legislative Proposals

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 09:00:03 -0500

December 19, 2014 marked the deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to announce its final decision regarding a new regulatory scheme for coal ash disposal (Coal Combustion Residuals or CCR). The new regulations are to focus on the disposal of coal ash. The pressure for new regulations began mounting after the rupture of a Tennessee power plant in 2008 which sent over 1 billion gallons of coal ash into nearby Tennessee rivers. Subsequently, on February 2, 2014, a Duke Energy plant released approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina. During ...

EPA Releases Annual Environmental Enforcement Results

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 09:00:04 -0500

December 18, 2014, marked the release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) annual environmental enforcement and compliance results. See News Release, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Announces 2014 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results (Dec. 18, 2014). According to the EPA, its enforcement actions in 2014 required businesses across the country to invest more than $9.7 billion in regulatory compliance and equipment. Additionally, EPA collected a total of $163 million in combined federal administrative, civil judicial penalties, and criminal ...

Coal Ash Regulation Update

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 09:00:05 -0500

The U.S. EPA's efforts to develop a new regulatory path for coal ash ("Coal Combustion Residuals" or "CCR") by regulating the material either as a hazardous waste or as a solid but non-hazardous waste, are nearing a conclusion. The deadline for EPA to announce a final decision is December 19. As we noted in February, this date was fixed by a consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on January 29 of this year, and a press release at that time by the American Coal Ash Association provides a link to the consent decree. Statements by EPA Headquarters staff in a ...

Judge Barbier Denies BP Attempt to Limit Clean Water Act Fines

Thu, 20 Nov 2014 09:00:06 -0500

On September 4, 2014, District Court Judge Carl Barbier issued his "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law - Phase One Trial" in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation. In his 153 page opinion, Judge Barbier found BP liable for gross negligence and willful misconduct under the Clean Water Act, which is also known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Judge Barbier focused largely on the many dangerous decisions that were taken on the Deepwater Horizon shortly before the explosion. BP subsequently filed a motion in which it asked Judge Barbier to reconsider his opinion. On ...

EPA Further Delays Hydraulic Fracturing Study as Controversy Builds

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 09:00:07 -0500

EPA's current estimate of the completion time for a draft of its study of the risks posed by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") to drinking water is now projected by the agency to be developed in early 2015. This is based on comments in a letter originating from EPA's Region 8 office stating that the study on the risks posed by fracking to drinking water won't reach draft final form until "early 2015". The study was undertaken at the direction of Congress in 2009 when Congress requested EPA to conduct scientific research to examine the relationship between hydraulic fracturing in drinking ...

Dealing With NIMBYs in Local Land Use and Environmental Approval

Tue, 07 Oct 2014 09:00:08 -0400

A developer or property owner may have a permit application for a project that meets the criteria for the applicable regulations, and might receive approval from local government or environmental staff. At that point, the applicant thinks he or she is in good shape going into the public hearing with the city or county commissioners, only to walk in to commission chambers and discover a small army of citizens with identical t-shirts or "Save our Neighborhood" buttons protesting the application because they don't want the development in their backyard -- the dreaded NIMBYs (Not In My ...

Carbon and Climate Continue to Create Controversy

Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:00:09 -0400

Late last month, President Obama addressed the United Nations Climate Summit and just a few days ahead of that, EPA announced that it has extended the comment period on the Clean Power Plant proposed rule to December 1, 2014. The proposed rule has been a lightning rod for the climate change controversy in the United States as it focuses on the effects of existing coal-fired power plants. It has also served to draw attention to efforts to move toward renewable sources of power and possibilities and pitfalls there. The proposed rule and related actions proposed by the Obama Administration ...

Alabama Continues to Evaluate Water Use and Availability Issues

Wed, 03 Sep 2014 09:00:10 -0400

A combination of factors in Alabama has raised concerns about the reliability of adequate water in various parts of the State in the event of prolonged droughts or significant withdrawals. Industrial users and public water systems would be well advised to become familiar with, and participate in, current efforts by State government and the Legislature to address these problems. Alabama has an abundance of surface stream mileage, and historically has had the water to fill those stream beds. In fact, Alabama is said to have more navigable channels than any other state. (A Treasure ...