A federal district court was recently presented several government standards to use in determining whether indoor air contamination from vapor intrusion created an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or the environment to support a citizen suit claim asserted under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 49 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B).

In Tilot Oil LLC v. BP Products North America Inc.¸ Case No. 9-CV-210 (E.D. Wisc. 1/17/12), Tilot claimed that petroleum contamination migrated onto its property from an adjoining property owned by BP, which contaminated its groundwater.  Tilot further claimed that when the water table rose above the elevation of the floor in its basement, petroleum-impacted groundwater entered the basement and threatened the health and safety of its employees. 

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On March 1, 2012, US EPA announced that it has finalized a new plan for identifying which existing chemicals should undergo comprehensive risk assessment under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  US EPA also announced that, using this new plan, it has identified  83 existing chemicals for further risk assessment, with 7 of those chemicals slated for assessments in 2012.  US EPA first inititiated stakeholder discussion on how best to address future risk assessments last fall when it asked for public comment through an on-line forum, webinar, and stakeholder meeting on its August 2011 two-step plan for identifying existing chemicals for risk assessment.  

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Environmental consultants need standard operating procedures in order to manage and control the risks of being sued and paying substantial defense costs and claims.  This is especially true for consultants performing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, who have the difficult task of determining whether something constitutes recognized environmental conditions ("RECs").     

Under ASTM E1527-05, Section 1.1.1, RECs are defined as "the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products on a property under conditions that indicate an existing release, a past release, or a material threat of a release of any hazardous substances or petroleum products into structures on the property or into the ground, groundwater or surface water of the property."    

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Taft's Environmental and Energy Practice Groups have been ranked among the largest law firms by Law360. Law360, a newswire for business lawyers, has released the rankings based on research of law firms with the largest number of attorneys in each practice area. 

Taft's Environmental Practice Group ranked #43 and our Energy Practice Group ranked #82 out of 100 law firms based on the number of attorneys practicing in these areas of law.