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Taft's Environmental Practice provides nationally recognized services in the areas of trial practice, Superfund defense and negotiation, enforcement defense, cost-recovery for plaintiffs and defendants, criminal environmental defense, environmental insurance and toxic tort litigation, mold and sick building litigation, lawsuits involving environmental problems discovered as a result of real property transfers or mergers and acquisitions, Brownfields redevelopment, defense of claims of occupational exposures, and administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. Taft's environmental lawyers also regularly are engaged in insurance disputes concerning environmental issues and agricultural issues involving CAFOs and CFOs. As a Taft client, you can utilize the capital of 29 intensely motivated and focused attorneys in all facets of environmental law. |
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Chester Willcox & Saxbe to Merge with Taft
Taft Continues Strategic Regional Expansion
Taft has announced that it will strengthen its client service capacities in Columbus by merging with Chester Willcox & Saxbe, LLP at the start of the year. The firms will operate under the Taft name.
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Rapanos Wetlands Confusion: Third Circuit Accentuates the Circuit Split
When the United States Supreme Court issued its wetlands defining decision in Rapanos v. United States, environmental practitioners, real estate developers, and consultants believed that boundaries would be set for determining when a wetland was regulated under the Clean Water Act ("CWA"). Although the Rapanos decision was an unusual 4-1-4 decision, there remained hope that a uniform interpretation of the wetlands definition would apply. The uniform interpretation has not been forthcoming.
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Federal District Court Partially Tosses Malpractice Claims Against Enviro Engineers
A federal district court dismissed a lender's claims for negligent misrepresentation and strict products liability against two environmental engineering firms related to a brownfield redevelopment project involving an old landfill, but allowed other claims seeking damages in excess of $10 million to continue against the firms for CERCLA cost recovery, breach of contract, and negligence.
In Bancorpsouth Bank v. Environmental Operations, Inc., et al., Case No. 11-00009 (E.D. Mo. 10/11/11), Bancorp, as successor in interest to The Signature Bank, sued three environmental engineering firms hired to remediate property containing an old landfill.
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New MCLs Could Trigger New Background Level Studies at Superfund Sites
A frequent issue raised early in the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study ("RI/FS") process at CERCLA sites is whether chemicals of concern occur naturally at the site or are there due to a man-made. If it is a "naturally occurring substance," no remediation obligation is triggered by its detection as provided by CERCLA § 104(a)(3)(A).
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Ohio Issues Draft NPDES Discharge Permit for Temporary Cleanup Discharges
Ohio EPA has issued a draft general NPDES Permit to cover temporary discharges to waters of the state resulting from clean-up operations or other activities intended to protect human health and the environment. This temporary permit will allow clean-up activities to proceed without interruption provided that basic surface water protection criteria are met: contaminant concentrations must be de minimis, that is, less than 65 mg/l of total suspended solids, less than 10 mg/l of oil and grease, and less than 10% of the waste load allocation for all other applicable pollutants.
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EPA's On-Again-Off-Again Redesignation of Indianapolis for PM 2.5
The principal function of the Clean Air Act is to protect and enhance the quality of air resources within the United States for the purpose of promoting the public health and welfare and the productive capacity of the population. As such, the Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations establishing primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards ("NAAQS") with respect to air pollutants ("criteria pollutants") for which air quality criteria have been issued. The primary NAAQS must protect the public health with an adequate margin of safety, while the secondary NAAQS must protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects associated with the presence of the air pollutant in the ambient air.
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Owner Entitled to Hearing on Agency's Attempted Reopener of Cleanup
In the case entitled In the Matter of Crompton Colors Inc., N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div., Case No. A-0778-09T1 (decided Oct. 27, 2011), a property owner was faced with the challenge of having to respond to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's decision to revoke its no further action status for a site cleanup.
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Ohio EPA's Encouraging Environmental Excellence Program
In November, 2011, Ohio EPA announced implementation of a new environmental stewardship program for businesses called the Environmental Excellence Program ("E3"). Ohio EPA is seeking companies that have, through innovation and efficiency, improved Ohio's environment.
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Taft's Environmental Law Newsletter is used to inform our clients and friends of significant new developments and current issues in environmental law. For more information about Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, please visit http://www.taftlaw.com.
These materials have been prepared by Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. No person or organization should act upon this information without first seeking professional counsel.
We cannot and do not represent you until our client intake process is completed. Further, we reserve the right to accept or decline representing any person or organization in any matter. Accordingly, please do not send us any confidential information about any matter until you receive a written statement from us advising you that we represent you (an "engagement letter"). When you receive an engagement letter from one of our attorneys, you will be our client, and we may exchange confidential information freely. Again, do not send us unsolicited confidential information until you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send that information to us.
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Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP's Web site and associated materials may provide links to other websites that may be useful or informative.These links to third party sites or information are not intended, and should not be interpreted by readers, as constituting or implying our endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation of the third party information, products or services found there.
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