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- The Fifth Crime: Ecocide A panel of 12 lawyers from around the world recently proposed a legal definition for a new crime: ecocide. For years, the panel, along with various international groups, has sought to amend the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to include ecocide as one of the crimes within the court's jurisdiction. Currently, the ICC... Continue Reading...
- Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Could Carbon Capture Save the Climate Bust? Originally published in the Ark-La-Tex Association of Professional Landmen Register Carbon capture and storage ("CCS") is the process of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from large point sources, and then transporting it to a storage location for deposit in underground formations where it will not re-enter the atmosphere. By returning CO2 emissions that resulted from the... Continue Reading...
- Environmental Self-Audit Legislation Passes the House and Senate The Louisiana Legislature has directed the Department of Environmental Quality ("LDEQ") to promulgate regulations allowing for "voluntary environmental self-audits." [1] The self-audit regulations are to include provisions protecting confidential information and providing incentives to facilities for conducting a self-audit. Environmental self-audit programs are designed to allow a facility to identify compliance issues and address them... Continue Reading...
- Hold On To Your Boilers: The Tenth Circuit May Have Re-Defined Covered Processes Under PSM Regulation The case is Scalia [Secretary of Labor] v. Wynnewood Refining Co., LLC, et al, No. 19-9533 (U.S. Tenth Circuit, October 27, 2020). Wynnewood LLC's refinery in Oklahoma processes crude oil and on a daily basis produces 70,000 barrels of gasoline, propane, propylene, butane, fuel oils, and solvents. In 2012, one of Wynnewood Refining Co's boilers—the... Continue Reading...
- Louisiana Special Hurricane Reporting Requirements for Hazardous Materials Just a quick reminder that in 2007, the Louisiana State Police ("LSP") adopted regulations requiring special reporting requirements for persons "engaged in the transportation of hazardous materials by railcars, vessels, or barges, or the temporary storage of hazardous materials in any storage vessel not permanently attached to the ground" if that activity is within "a... Continue Reading...
- Carbon Capture and Storage – A Ray of Light for the Louisiana Energy Economy? An active legislative area is carbon capture and storage ("CCS"), which could be an option for incentivizing Louisiana's struggling energy economy. On August 19, 2020, Governor Edwards issued two executive orders directed towards the ambitious commitment (or pledge) to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25-28% by 2025 and to planning measures in order that Louisiana would... Continue Reading...
- New Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule Released; Limited Impacts to LDEQ Certification Process On July 13, 2020, the EPA released its final rule updating and clarifying the substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act ("CWA") § 401. This new rule represents the first revision to the applicable regulations since the CWA was enacted in 1971. The new rule replaces the entirety of the 1971... Continue Reading...
- 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...
