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  • Sellers and Distributors of Disinfectants Beware: The Virus Causing COVID-19 Is a “Pest” Under FIFRA Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”), most pesticides must be registered and are subject to product labeling requirements.  FIFRA defines a “pesticide” as “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.” 7 U.S.C. § 136(u).  A “pest” is defined in the statute to mean: “(1)... Continue Reading... ....
  • Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Issues COVID-19 Order The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) issued an Emergency and Administrative Order on March 19, 2020, to address hardships posed to regulated facilities  by efforts to combat the COVID-19 virus.  See the order here.  The Order expires on April 18, 2020. The Order may be extended and/or amended as the situation evolves. At this... Continue Reading... ....
  • Chemical Safety Board’s New Release Reporting Rules in Effect March 2020 Starting March 23, 2020, facilities must add one more agency to the list of those that may need to be notified in the event of an accidental release: The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (“CSB”).The CSB was established by the 1990 Clean Air Act (“CAA”) Amendments.[1] The CAA directs the CSB, among other things, to investigate... Continue Reading... ....
  • Missouri District Court Rules That PSD Violations Can Be Addressed By Imposing Controls At Company Facilities Other Than The Facility Violating PSD On September 30, 2019, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division, issued an Opinion and Order setting forth the remedy required for Ameren Missouri’s violation of the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) program. United States v. Ameren Missouri, No. 4:11-CV-77, Rec. Doc. 1122 (E.D. Mo. Sep.... Continue Reading... ....
  • U.S. Third Circuit Rules Pipeline Company’s Eminent Domain Rights Under Natural Gas Act Limited by Sovereign Immunity Pipeline companies may not exercise their powers of eminent domain granted under the federal Natural Gas Act (NGA) in federal courts when seeking to acquire state-owned lands.   On September 10, 2019, in In re: PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of New Jersey finding... Continue Reading... ....
  • RMP Amendment Rule At Odds with OSHA Review Commission BP Husky Decision Up-to-date Process Safety Information When originally adopted in 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted “the requirements of the OSHA PSM Standard, 29 CFR 1910.119(c) through (m) and (o), with minor changes to address statutory differences. This makes clear that one accident prevention program to protect workers, the general public, and the environment will satisfy... Continue Reading... ....
  • The New Wave, EPA and ACE Release the Proposed Definition of “Waters of the United States” On Tuesday, December 11, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers (“ACE”) proposed a rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States.” The so-called WOTUS rule defines the scope of Clean Water Act (“CWA”) jurisdiction and the permitting requirements thereunder, and has been in the hot seat for... Continue Reading... ....
  • 2017 RMP Amendments Now In Effect On December 3, 2018, the EPA published a final rule in the Federal Register (83 FR 62268) making the 2017 amendments effected as of that day.  In doing so, the EPA noted that it had no discretion in the matter as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Court issued its... Continue Reading... ....
  • EPA’s 2018 Definition of Solid Waste Rule and its Effect in Louisiana On May 30, 2018, EPA finally promulgated modifications to its 2015 definition of solid waste rule (2018 DSW Rule).[1] EPA promulgated the 2018 DSW Rule in response to the D.C. Circuit’s decision on EPA’s 2015 definition of solid waste rule.[2] EPA’s revisions to the definition of solid waste rule essentially implement the vacaturs ordered by... Continue Reading... ....
  • Best Practices for Preserving the Louisiana “Upset” Defense for Air Releases Facilities subject to a Part 70 air operating permit are afforded an “affirmative defense” to liability for civil penalties for releases to air that exceed technology-based permit limitations, provided they strictly adhere to both the requirements of the “upset” rule in LAC 33:III.507.J and General Condition N of the Part 70 General Permit Conditions referenced... Continue Reading... ....