The County of Los Angeles has been brought to task in the past for allegations that it has repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act, continuously exceeding its permitted limits for polluted stormwater. The Court of Appeals has held that a claim under the Act could be dismissed only if it were “absolutely clear” that violations would not reoccur. Read on for details.

The Environmental Protection Agency will delegate to states authority to implement and administer the Clean Air Act at the state level, provided an acceptable state implementation plan is in place. And the EPA has long allowed for certain exceptions in emissions limits during start-up, shutdown, and malfunction periods. But that has recently changed for more than 30 states.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently updated a number of requirements, including for recordkeeping and reporting, which the agency believes will provide greater transparency into companies’ safety records – benefiting consumers, job seekers and even to corporations who wish to benchmark their own performance.

The Supreme Court has decided that a determination by the Army Corps of Engineers that a given property contains wetlands is immediately reviewable by a federal judge. Previously, the Corps had told property owners they could ask a judge to review a decision by the Corps to deny a permit, but not a wetlands determination. This article examines the basis for and...

Corporations wishing to develop on or otherwise use property classified as wetlands must first obtain permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Failing to take this necessary step could mean noncompliance with the Clean Water Act. The definition of “wetlands” in the CWA is notoriously vague, however, so what happens when a company disagrees with what constitutes protected lands?

In the acquisition of another business, your firm may pick up more than assets and personnel; depending on how the merger is structured, you may be on the hook for the dissolved company’s environmental liabilities.

A Texas Court of Appeals has handed down a ruling in a case involving insurance coverage for the existence of and exposure to mold, and the decision does little to bring clarity to mold insurance law. Peter McGrath explores this case and others like it and what they mean for policyholders.

A continuation and expansion on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol from the ‘90s, the Paris Agreement, which took place in December, offers a glimmer of hope to those who want to see an international, coordinated response. Unfortunately, there is little substance in terms of expectations; the bar for compliance may be set pretty low.

The task of placing restrictions on genetically modified organisms falls to three primary agencies in the U.S.: the EPA, the FDA and the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. In this article, Peter McGrath brings into question the process of regulating GMOs and exactly which entities should be involved.

Recent studies demonstrate a significant increase in the risk of death from respiratory causes in association with an increase in ozone concentration. The EPA has periodically ratcheted down the allowable level of ozone in ambient air, with the most recent reduction occurring in October 2015. What will be the fallout from the EPA’s recent action?

Compliance managers understand the need for stringent protection of employee medical and health information. Managers may not understand, though, that in many cases, requirements to assemble information about workplace injuries and illnesses outweighs the need for such protections. So where do OSHA reporting requirements and HIPAA rules part ways?

Earlier this year, the EPA established a new rule to bring clarity to which wetlands and waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. The ruling was challenged, and a preliminary injunction has been granted. There’s still a fair amount of uncertainty around the subject, however. Companies developing on or near these areas should proceed with caution.