We are pleased to present you with Taft’s Environmental newsletter, a collection of insights from our team to yours. For more information on our environmental practice, please visit www.taftlaw.com.

Is there a subject you’d like to see in the next newsletter? Contact the editor here.
ARTICLES
 
Ninth Circuit Rules That EPA’s 2010 WET Testing Methodology Is Not Subject to APA Review
By: Kristine Gordon
In Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, --- F.4th ---, No. 19-15535, 2021 WL 3412744 (9th Cir. Aug. 5, 2021), the Ninth Circuit held that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) nonbinding guidance recommending a new statistical method for assessing water toxicity under the Clean Water Act (CWA) was not a reviewable final action under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Instead, challenges to the guidance must be made in the context of individual permit decisions.
>> Read More
 
In a Landmark Request, NJDEP Asks USEPA To Designate the Lower Hackensack River as a Superfund Site
By: Chase Dressman and Aren Olson

In a recent decision with major liability implications for industrial companies with current or former operations in New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to designate the Lower Hackensack River as a Superfund site. NJDEP’s request is historic — this would be the first time that a New Jersey river itself would be proposed for Superfund listing under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Moreover, NJDEP’s request places potentially responsible parties (PRPs) on notice that NJDEP will aggressively pursue the remediation of the New Jersey waterway, which could ultimately drag in hundreds — or thousands — of companies with legacy industrial or commercial operations in the area.
>> Read More
 
Fourth Circuit Breaks From 11th Circuit, Holds Clean Air Act Is an Unambiguous Waiver of Sovereign Immunity
By: Kimberly DalSanto
In State v. United States, North Carolina sued to collect a punitive civil penalty assessed against the Marine Corps under the Clean Air Act for state air permit violations. ___ F. 4th ___, No. 20-1783, 2021 WL 3197042 (4th Cir. July 29, 2021). The Marine Corps refused to pay claiming it had sovereign immunity. The Fourth Circuit, however, held that by enacting 42 U.S.C. § 7604(e), Congress waived sovereign immunity. That section states that nothing in the Clean Air Act restricts a state from enforcing an administrative remedy or sanction against the United States. The Fourth Circuit held that the waiver extended to all types of civil penalties, including punitive ones. Id.
>> Read More
 
VISIT US ON LINKEDIN
 
We encourage you to visit our Environmental Law LinkedIn Showcase page, where additional articles are published.
FOLLOW
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.

Some aspects of this Web site may allow you to register for newsletters, events, functions, or seminars hosted by, sponsored by, or associated with Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. The transmission or receipt of any information related to registration for any event or service does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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.

The following statement is required by many states, including Kentucky: "THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT."