On July 3, 2019, USEPA issued a proposed rule finding the Columbus, Ohio area is attaining the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The Columbus area is currently designated as nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS. However, in response to Ohio EPA’s request for redesignation to attainment supported by monitoring data for 2016-2018, USEPA determined that the Columbus area has met the requirements for redesignation under the Clean Air Act and is proposing…

On June 24, 2019, Ohio EPA issued a draft Vapor Intrusion Sampling and Evaluation Guidance (Guidance). The draft Guidance, which is intended to update the 2010 version of Ohio EPA’s Vapor Intrusion Guidance, is applicable to sites subject to CERCLA, RCRA, and Ohio Voluntary Action (VAP) oversight. Comments on the draft Guidance must be submitted to Ohio EPA by July 15, 2019.…

On June 19, 2019, Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals decided a case involving the interplay of a private oil and gas lease and Ohio’s statutory unitization law.  See Paczewski v. Antero Resources Corp., 18 MO 0016.  When signing an oil and gas lease, the original contracting parties struck a voluntary unitization clause.  Unable to secure to an amendment that would have given the producer/successor lessee the contractual authority to form the horizontal drilling unit,…

The Ohio House of Representatives recently passed a bill (H.B. 168) that provides “bona fide prospective purchasers” (BFPPs) of brownfield properties with an affirmative defense against state lawsuits seeking to impose liability for the cleanup of such properties. To qualify for the liability protection as a BFPP under H.B. 168, a landowner must satisfy the criteria for a similar defense provided under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Specifically, a BFPP must…