Environmental Law Matters Blog | Burr & Forman LLP

Increasing Permit Fees in Alabama

Schuyler K. Espy — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:01 -0400

For the first time since 2016, the Alabama Environmental Management Commission has voted to approve fee increases that will apply to nearly every regulatory program under the Alabama Department of Environmental Management’s (ADEM) purview. Under the rulemaking, ADEM’s programmatic fees will generally receive a 25% increase, with only a few exceptions. The approved rulemaking also sets up a structure whereby, beginning in 2028, ADEM fees will subject to modifications annually based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, maintained by the U.S. Department of ...

New Title V Permitting Guidance from EPA

Schuyler K. Espy — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:00:02 -0400

In a move aimed to prioritize cooperative federalism and “ensure certainty for American businesses,” EPA has released new guidance outlining EPA’s expectations for Title V permit renewals, particularly in cases where the permit terms or applicable requirements are unchanged. EPA says this will allow EPA’s permitting partners such as states and local agencies “to focus time and resources on permits with substantive changes, ultimately alleviating permitting backlogs and creating renewed efficiency.”

The Title V permitting program requires that every major ...

U.S. EPA Proposes Revisions to Citizen Suit Notice Regulations

Schuyler K. Espy — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:00:03 -0500

On February 24, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") proposed new rules that would revise the procedural requirements for service of Notices of Intent to file citizen suits ("NOIs") on EPA under several federal environmental statutes. The proposed amendments to 40 CFR 54.2, 135.2, 210.2, 254.2, 374.2, and 702.61 would apply to NOIs served on EPA under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Noise Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and ...

Alabama Proposes Revisions to Water Quality Toxicity Values

Schuyler K. Espy — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 09:00:04 -0500

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) has given notice that it is proposing revisions to its Water Quality Program regulations, identifying specific changes to the toxicity values for several pollutants (complete list below).

In the Summary of Reasons Supporting the Adoption of Proposed Revisions, ADEM indicates it is proposing the revisions at the direction of the Alabama Environmental Management Commission, which develops environmental policy for the State. Earlier this year, the Commission granted a petition for rulemaking filed by several ...

ADEM Proposes Revisions to its Recycling Rules – 15 Years in the Making

Schuyler K. Espy — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:00:05 -0400

After 15 years without significant revisions, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) is proposing an overhaul of its recycling rules. The proposed regulations, which ADEM released for public notice and comment on March 19, include various changes to the existing requirements for categories of currently regulated facilities – Materials Recovery Facilities, Recovered Materials Processing Facilities, and Energy Recovery Facilities.

In addition, the proposed regulations include obligations for a newly regulated facility category – an End-Use ...

New Federal Brownfields Legislation to Boost Economic Revitalization

Schuyler K. Espy — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 09:00:06 -0500

Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va., Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) have reintroduced S. 347 as The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025. According to an article by Jenny Black with PPM Consultants, the “legislation aims to reauthorize and expand funding for brownfields revitalization, addressing environmental contamination and fostering economic development in communities of all sizes.”

Key changes to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program under the legislation ...

Alabama Pushes Back on EPA Proposed CCR Program Denial

Schuyler K. Espy — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 09:00:07 -0400

In early August 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed denial of Alabama’s permit program to manage coal combustion residuals (CCR) in landfills and surface impoundments within the state. The decision evidently came as a surprise to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), the environmental regulatory agency that intends to manage Alabama’s CCR permitting program, as ADEM had been communicating and working with EPA on CCR program efforts for several years prior to the announcement. In addition, other states that have ...

Alabama Landfill Local Approval Bill Passes

Schuyler K. Espy — Wed, 31 May 2023 09:00:08 -0400

A bill amending the Alabama Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Management Act by specifying when local approval of solid waste disposal permit modifications is necessary has passed both houses of the Alabama Legislature and is now law.

Under Act Number 2023-290, local governing body review and approval of permit modifications for landfills will be required only when the landfill seeks to:

Increase the service area.
Convert from an industrial or construction and demolition landfill into a municipal solid waste landfill, or convert from a construction and demolition landfill ...

Legislation Seeks to Expand Alabama Brownfields Program

Schuyler K. Espy — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 09:00:09 -0400

This week a bill was introduced in the Alabama Legislature which would expand the state’s Brownfield Redevelopment and Voluntary Cleanup Program through the implementation of new features aimed to increase participation in the Program, thereby returning more brownfields to productive use and enhancing economic growth. Key features of the proposed amendments to the Alabama Land Recycling and Economic Redevelopment Act include the following.

Allowing Potentially Responsible Persons to be Entitled to Certain Liability Protections Through Voluntary Cleanup Program ...

EPA Continues its Journey Down the PFAS Road(map)

Schuyler K. Espy — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 09:00:10 -0500

On December 5, 2022, the U.S. EPA issued a memorandum entitled, Addressing PFAS Discharges in NPDES Permits and Through the Pretreatment Program and Monitoring Programs. The memorandum “provides EPA’s guidance to states and updates the April 28, 2022 guidance to EPA Regions for addressing PFAS discharges when they are authorized to administer the NPDES permitting program and/or pretreatment program.” The memorandum reaffirms EPA’s focus on its PFAS Strategic Roadmap commitments, recommending a number of steps permit writers can implement “to reduce the discharge ...