Emerging Issues
EPA Releases Enforcement Discretion Guidance in Response to COVID-19
These days, it seems as though COVID-19 is leaving no aspect of government untouched, and federal environmental regulation is no exception. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum on Thursday, March 26th outlining “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program.” This temporary guidance explains how EPA plans to exercise enforcement discretion…
The Gray Area: When Is Work Essential and When Is It Not?
Day to day and hour to hour, the rules keep changing—what was deemed essential, and therefore exempt from work-at-home requirements under Executive Order 202.6 yesterday may not be considered essential today. As of yesterday, State guidance permitted all construction work to proceed under the Executive Order. This morning, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared that…
Coronavirus and Construction Project Delays
The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus is, at least within the last century, an unprecedented event. Few segments of the economy have been spared the impact that the pandemic has had and will continue to have on business and productivity. The impact will likely be the most profound for those industries that cannot count…
EPA Announces “Action Plan” for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
On February 14th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced its PFAS Action Plan to better understand PFAS chemicals and the extent of existing contamination, prevent future contamination, and more effectively communicate with the public regarding PFAS and associated health and environmental risks. PFAS, a group of chemicals created in the 1940s, exist in a…
Sixth Circuit rules in two cases that discharges to groundwater from coal ash ponds do not require a Clean Water Act Permit
The Sixth Circuit’s recent decisions in Kentucky Waterways Alliance et al v. Kentucky Utilities Co., (“Kentucky Utilities”) No. 18-5115 (6th Cir. Sept. 24, 2018), and Tennessee Clean Water Network v. Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”) No. 17-6155 (6th Cir. Sept. 24, 2018), have further widened an existing circuit split regarding EPA’s Clean Water Act (the “Act”)…
New York Moves Closer to Offshore Wind Energy Procurement
On July 12, 2018, the New York State Public Service Commission (“PSC”) issued an Order directing the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”) to begin soliciting bids for approximately 800 MW of offshore wind capacity in the fourth quarter of 2018, taking the State closer to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s goal of…
