In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended requirements for state agencies to perform on-site compliance inspections in favor of off-site monitoring alternatives. In a recent letter, the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance announced that state environmental protection agencies must continue with their required planned inspection commitments of businesses under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Safe Drinking…

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently announced that it will be terminating its temporary enforcement discretion policy on August 31, 2020 at 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time. In general, this means that EPA will not base any exercise of enforcement discretion on this temporary enforcement discretion policy for any noncompliance that occurs after August 31, 2020. EPA issued its temporary enforcement discretion policy on March 26, 2020 stating its intent not to…

In Monday’s split decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) (i) does not preclude owners of contaminated property from pursuing state law claims for nuisance, trespass and strict liability, but (ii) requires EPA approval of any remedial action conducted on the landowners’ property. For nearly a century, the Anaconda Copper Smelter in Butte, Mon­tana contaminated an area of over 300 square miles with arsenic and lead.…

“Michigan Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Department announces new policy on enforcement discretion arising from COVID-19” Link: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/0,9429,7-135–523592–,00.html  …

In a matter of days, Americans have been asked to stay home as states across the country issue orders requiring non-essential businesses to cease operations. Given the essential public health role of the waste and recycling industries, however, these industries must continue service. This alert explores how the Department of Homeland Security and most states that have issued “stay at home” orders recognize the waste industry as an essential service, allowing the industry to continue…

On March 26th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “Agency”) issued a sweeping guidance memorandum, announcing its intent not to bring enforcement actions for a range of violations of environmental laws caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For an indefinite period of time, “[i]n general, the EPA does not expect to seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting or certification obligations in situations where the…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has recently released guidance for solid waste and wastewater management workers and employers handling waste with potential or known COVID-19 contamination. This blog post details what that guidance means for employers. While OSHA previously recommended treating this waste as regulated medical waste, OSHA now states that “the management of waste that is suspected or known to contain or be contaminated with COVID-19 does not require special precautions beyond…