In 2016, US EPA finalized two rules designed to reduce methane and non-methane organic compound emissions from landfills. These rules were adopted as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan: Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions. US EPA issued final New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to reduce emissions caused by landfill gas from new, modified and reconstructed municipal solid waste (MSW) … Continue Reading
One area of EU law which is developing rapidly relates to improving the circular economy. There are a number of legislative proposals in the pipeline, but with the prospect of the UK leaving the EU in the next few years, what are the implications for these circular economy initiatives, and could there be opportunities for … Continue Reading
The recent decision of the High Court in Price and Hardwicke v Powys County Council determined that a local authority may acquire potential liability under the contaminated land regime (“CLR”) from its statutory predecessor, notwithstanding that the CLR did not enter into force until over 5 years after the transfer of liabilities took place.… Continue Reading
On November 28, 2016, US EPA published its Final Rule revising the requirements applicable to the export and import of hazardous wastes to and from the United States. The changes enacted by US EPA make three significant revisions to existing regulations by: Aligning existing export and import related requirements with the current import-export requirements for … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals, Ltd., addressed whether, “[w]hen a smelter emits lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury compounds through a smokestack and those compounds contaminate land or water downwind, . . . the owner-operator of the smelter [can] be held liable for cleanup costs and natural resource damages under … Continue Reading
On April 8, 2016, US EPA issued a final significant new use rule (“SNUR”) for trichloroethylene (“TCE”). The TCE SNUR requires anyone manufacturing, importing or processing TCE for use in a consumer product to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing any such manufacturing, importation or processing. The SNUR expressly exempts the use of … Continue Reading
The topic of the moment in the UK is whether Brexit will be a good or a bad thing for the UK, and it seems to be polarising the nation. Stepping away from the political rhetoric and posturing, it is worth reflecting on some of the more practical issues arising from a UK exit from … Continue Reading
As 2015 came to a close, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals quietly notified the parties in a decades-long environmental dispute that, in April 2016, the court will hear arguments in a case that could reshape CERCLA liability forever. The basis for the pending appeal is a district court order holding that air emissions could … Continue Reading
Healthcare facilities take note: US EPA recently issued a proposed rule for outlining management and disposal standards for hazardous waste pharmaceuticals that are generated specifically by healthcare facilities. The proposed rule addresses the “regulation of the reverse distribution mechanism used by healthcare facilities for the management of unused and/or expired pharmaceuticals” and aims to “strengthen environmental … Continue Reading
Introduction Five years after originally consulting the public, the Law Commission has recently published its report on reforming the common law criminal offences of public nuisance and outraging public decency. This note focuses on the proposed reforms to the offence of public nuisance. Public nuisance is unusual in so far as it is both a … Continue Reading
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington recently held in Anderson v. Teck Metals, Ltd. that CERCLA displaces federal common law claims for public nuisance based upon the standard for displacement set out by the US Supreme Court in American Elec. Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut and the Ninth Circuit in Native Village of Kivalina v. Exxon … Continue Reading
What is Nanotechnology? Nanotechnology is a generic term used to describe the design, engineering, production and use of substances and materials at the nanoscale (1 nanometre representing 1 billionth of a metre). To illustrate, one sheet of standard paper is approximately 100,000 nanometres thick and one nanometre is roughly how long a human fingernail will … Continue Reading
As we reported in June 2015, the use of civil sanctions have applied to a range of environmental offences since June 2011, with the notable omission of environmental permitting offences under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010 (EPR), which account for a relatively large amount of prosecution activity by the Environment Agency (EA). … Continue Reading
On August 20, 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a suit brought by environmental groups against Union Pacific Corp. and BNSF Railway Co., holding that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) does not authorize a citizen suit to enjoin the emission of diesel particulate matter as it … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs’ Attorney Christopher D. Thomas recently authored an article addressing the crucial legal issues CERCLA practitioners can expect will be at the front and center of hazardous substance litigation in the next several years. The law review article was first published by Arizona State Law Journal, Volume 46, Special Issue and is available here.… Continue Reading
In Asarco v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 15285 (8th Cir. 2014), the Eighth Circuit affirmed the lower court in Asarco LLC v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108852 (D. Neb. Aug. 2, 2013), dismissing the contribution, breach of contract, and declaratory judgment claims brought by Asarco against Union Pacific … Continue Reading
On July 14, the Sixth Circuit joined five other Circuits in holding that parties who have settled their Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) claims with the government are foreclosed from seeking cost recovery from other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) under CERCLA § 107. In Hobart Corp. v. Waste Management of Ohio, Inc., … Continue Reading
The US Supreme Court has again reiterated that the federal Superfund law should be interpreted narrowly and plainly, this time while addressing the statute’s impact on state tort theories arising from releases of hazardous substances. In CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, the Court held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preempt … Continue Reading
On July 23, in ASARCO LLC v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, et al. No. 13-1435 (10th Cir.), the Tenth Circuit rejected the notion that settlement requirements are different in the bankruptcy context. Section 113 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. §9613, provides a statutory right of contribution for any party … Continue Reading
The recent decision in R v Southern Water Services Limited (2014) has seen the Court of Appeal take a very firm stance against a utilities provider, upholding a fine of £200,000 following a conviction under regulation 38 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (the ‘2010 Regulations’) for discharging untreated sewage into the … Continue Reading
Incidents involving chemicals and hazardous substances in transit may bring significant liabilities for cargo owners, manufacturers, shippers and purchasers who export these items. In many instances these liabilities are not fully understood. This co-authored white paper, by Squire Sanders partners Douglas R. Burnett and John J. Reilly, and Alliant Insurance Vice President Christopher Alviggi, explores … Continue Reading
The US Supreme Court recently announced it will hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit’s decision in Waldburger v. CTS Corp., No. 12-1290 (4th Cir. 2013) involving the preemption of state statutes of repose by Section 9658 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). In Waldburger, the Plaintiffs sued CTS Corporation for nuisance after discovering their lands were … Continue Reading
As a new year dawns, more changes are coming in for those in the electrical and electronic equipment sector with the new UK Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 (“WEEE 2013”). WEEE 2013 was made on 7 December 2013 and the majority of the provisions came in to force on 1 January 2014. In … Continue Reading
There has long been a concern about the lack of guidance available to the courts in the UK (especially, magistrates’ courts) when it comes to sentencing for environmental offences, in comparison to other crimes (such as theft or assault). This has meant that similar examples of environmental wrongdoing have received greatly varying levels of fines … Continue Reading