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EPA has recently proposed bans on both perchloroethylene (“PCE”)[i] and trichloroethylene (TCE)[ii].  Both bans are proposed under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which gives EPA authority to prohibit the manufacturing, processing, distribution, and import of a chemical.  The proposed bans followed EPA’s risk determinations under TSCA that both PCE and TCE present an unreasonable risk of injury to human health when evaluated under their conditions [...]

On July 25, 2023, EPA announced proposed amendments to the Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (AERR) rule.  In a change, the proposal includes mandatory reporting of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Currently, New York requires some HAP reporting, but the proposal would expand this. See 6 NYCRR 202-2.3 (c)(9). The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 9, 2023.[i]  The public comment period has been extended twice, and now until November 17, 2023.The AERR rule [...]

Posted By: Terresa Bakner, Charles Gottlieb and Jordyn ConwayIntroduction:On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released an opinion, in Sackett v. EPA, seeking to clarify the definition of “Water of the United States” (WOTUS) for the purposes of federal regulation. [1] The decision, written by Justice Alito, confronts years of uncertainty and confusion regarding the “significant nexus” test that has been relied on by the Biden, Trump, and [...]

Over the last three years, Whiteman Osterman and Hanna attorneys Thomas Shepardson and T.J. Ruane have brought dozens of lawsuits against some of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders and servicers on behalf of several New York State municipalities under the State’s Zombie Property Law (New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law §1308, et seq.). Their efforts have resulted in court orders and judgments requiring these lenders and servicers to remediate, and in a few [...]

STATE ISSUESThe Governor of the State of NY has addressed State regulated wetlands in his budget bill proposing to do away with the regulatory freshwater wetlands maps and merely have them in place for educational purposes. This means that like the Army Corps, the State DEC staff will be able to go out in the field and identify areas as wetlands even if they do not show up on a map. Moreover, although to a degree the DEC staff have already begun doing this when reviewing how State mapped [...]