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About Us:
Welcome to the S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law Blog. This blog is a resource for the regulated community to stay current on new developments impacting the environmental, natural resources and energy sectors. It provides timely updates on a broad range of federal, state and local environmental topics — including proposed legislation and government rulemakings — that impact regulated industries throughout the southwest and the nation as a whole.
Topics
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Recent Posts
- The Rush is On for Jurisdictional Determinations
- Arizona Water Improvement District Sues for PFAS Damages
- EPA Announces New Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains
- AZ Supreme Court Rules Every County Gets Medical Marijuana License
- When Tracking the Pandemic, the Scoop May Be in the . . . Well, Sewer
EPA Announces COVID-19 Interim Field Work Guidance
By Patrick Paul, Chris Colyer and Michael Ford On April 10, 2020, the U.S. EPA published “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19.” Directed specifically to the Agency’s Regional Administrators, the interim guidance was issued for … Continue reading
Tagged cleanup, coronavirus, COVID-19, EPA, interim guidance
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Plaintiffs Seeking to Expand Scope of PFAS Actions
by Mitchell J. Klein Because proving who is responsible for introducing PFAS contamination into water supplies can be difficult and expensive, and pursuing government entities such as military bases, firefighting training facilities and airports is particularly problematic, the manufacturers of PFAS-containing … Continue reading
EPA Seeks Comment on Further PFAS Regulation
by Patrick J. Paul and Chris Colyer As previously reported in this blog, on December 4, 2019 EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking information on whether to include certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on the … Continue reading
PFAS: The Forever Chemicals Gaining Regulatory Attention
By Patrick Paul & Chris Colyer Although EPA announced an “action plan” on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) back in February, subsequent actions have been limited, that is, until recently. First created in the 1940s, PFAS are most commonly utilized … Continue reading
Tagged Arizona, EPA, perfluoroalkyl, PFAS, PFOA, PFOS, polyfluoroalkyl
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Environmental Groups’ Push to Impose Additional Financial Assurance Requirements on the Hardrock Mining Industry Rejected by the D.C. Circuit
by Michael C. Ford A decade of lingering uncertainty for the mining industry regarding potentially billions of dollars in new regulatory compliance costs is now over (at least for now) as a result of the United States Court of Appeals … Continue reading
Tagged CERCLA, EPA, financial assurance, hardrock mining, Idaho Conservation League v. Wheeler
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EPA Catches Up On PFAS
by Michael C. Ford and Mitchell J. Klein If you haven’t heard of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), you likely will soon. Like DDT, PCBs, asbestos, and MTBE before it, PFAS are a class of chemicals that have been used in … Continue reading
Tagged CERCLA, PFAS, Safe Drinking Water Act
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EPA Reverses Course; Declines to Impose CERCLA Financial Responsibility Rules on the Hardrock Mining Industry
by John D. Burnside In a stunning change of course, the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced on December 1, 2017, that it would not issue final regulations imposing financial responsibility requirements on hardrock mining operations to fund the estimated … Continue reading
Tagged CERCLA, EPA, financial assurance, financial responsibility, hardrock mining, Obama, trump
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United States Liable as an Owner Under CERCLA for Contamination on Navajo Reservation Land
By Maribeth M. Klein Last week, a United States District Court in Arizona held that the United States was an “owner” of Navajo Reservation Trust Land for purposes of CERCLA liability. See El Paso Nat. Gas Co. v. United States, … Continue reading
Tagged CERCLA, Navajo, tribal land
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Disposal of Contamination = Disposal of Evidence. Be Careful What You Throw Away!
by Mitchell J. Klein In a recent unpublished case, the Superior Court of New Jersey held that the Plaintiff in a CERCLA case had committed spoliation when, during the course of the remedial activity, it disposed of various contaminated materials. … Continue reading
Tagged CERCLA, cleanup, evidence, preservation of evidence, remediation, spoliation
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