Summarizes key environmental justice aims of 2021 Executive Order on Climate Crisis: philosophy, new Councils, added enforcement duties and emphases
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Climate Change, Environmental Justice, USEPA, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council on .
Illinois’ EPA issued health advisories for PFAS. U.S. EPA under Biden plans to prioritize regulating PFAS
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Forever Chemicals, Illinois EPA, PFAS, USEPA on .
Cases decided by federal courts in Illinois and the Seventh Circuit have held that groundwater does not implicate the CWA, even if there exists a hydrological connection between groundwater and navigable waters. In Vill. of Oconomowoc Lake v. Dayton Hudson Corp., 24 F.3d 962, 965 (7th Cir. 1994), the Seventh Circuit opined that “we are […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Clean Water Act, Groundwater Discharge, Supreme Court, USEPA on .
On March 25, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) published on its website a draft memorandum entitled “Interpretation of ‘Begin Actual Construction’ Under the New Source Review Preconstruction Permitting Regulations” (“draft memorandum”). The draft memorandum announces that USEPA is adopting a revised interpretation of “begin actual construction” that will allow a source owner […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Begin Actual Construction, New Source Review, United States Environmental Protection Agency, USEPA on .
Summary of County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, et al. No. 18-260, Argued 1/6/2019, Decided 4/23/2020) Petitioner, County of Maui (“Maui”), operates a wastewater reclamation facility that partially treats water from the surrounding area, then releases roughly 4 million gallons of treated water into the ground through four wells. The effluent travels through […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Clean Water Act, Supreme Court, USEPA on .
This post updates the October 15, 2019, blog post regarding the citizen enforcement proceeding against Midwest Generation, LLC (“MWG”) launched by several environmental advocacy groups (“Environmental Groups”). (That post can be read here.) On February 6, 2020, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”) issued an order in Sierra Club, et al. v. Midwest Generation, LLC […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Coal Ash, Compliance Commitment Agreement, Groundwater Management Zones, Illinois Pollution Control Board on .
On December 4, 2019, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published in the Federal Register an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Addition of Certain Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances; Community Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting.” 84 Fed. Reg. 66369. USEPA is currently considering a rule proposal to add certain polyfluroroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law, United States Environmental Protection Agency and tagged EPCRA, PFAS, Toxic Chemicals on .
On September 9, 2019, Midwest Generation, LLC (“MWG”) asked the Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”) to reconsider its interim order of June 20, 2019, in the enforcement case of Sierra Club v. Midwest Generation, LLC (docketed as PCB 13-15). That decision may have far-reaching implications for any party that has entered into an environmental compliance […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Coal Ash, Groundwater Management Zones, Illinois Pollution Control Board on .
On June 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of Illinois affirmed an appellate court’s ruling on an Illinois Pollution Control Board (“Board”) decision involving groundwater monitoring at clean construction or demolition debris fill sites, in The County of Will v. The Pollution Control Board, 2019 IL 122798, Case Nos. 122798, 122813. The case concerned the Board’s […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law, Illinois Supreme Court and tagged CCDD, Illinois Pollution Control Board, Judicial Review on .
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“Agency”) issued guidance on April 15, 2019, “clarifying” that releases of pollutants from point sources to groundwater are not subject to the Clean Water Act’s permitting requirements. The Agency, however, announced that its interpretation only applies to states outside the Fourth and Ninth Circuits, because those Courts of Appeal […]
This entry was posted in Environmental Law and tagged Clean Water Act on .
