DAVE BELL LAW

Environmental Lawyers, Practical Business Solutions.

Fifth Circuit: Citizen Suit Exposure for Thousands of Title 5 Deviations

Fifth Circuit: Citizen Suit Exposure for Thousands of Title 5 Deviations

On May 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) vacated a lower Texas court’s ruling that imposed a $0 penalty for alleged violations under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”). This decision, styled Environment Texas Citizen Lobby, Inc. v. ExxonMobil Corp.[1] (the “Citizen Lobby Case”) reinstated a citizen’s suit alleging thousands of violations of the CAA, and seeking hundreds of millions in penalties. This decision is a significant victory for potenti

Supreme Court: Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Determinations Are Appealable Agency Actions

Supreme Court: Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Determinations Are Appealable Agency Actions

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Hawkes case[1] that a jurisdictional determination (“JD”) by the Army Corps of Engineers is a final agency action that is subject to judicial review. With this ruling, it is clear that businesses and landowners have the opportunity to appeal a JD (following an administrative review process) rather than having to wait until the completion of the permitting process to challenge whether or not a permit was needed in the first place.

Ohio Publishes Conceptual Rules for Disposal of Fracking Wastes

Ohio Publishes Conceptual Rules for Disposal of Fracking Wastes

Ohio EPA, Division of Materials and Waste Management (the “Agency”) has released the first draft of rules that will govern solid waste disposal and transport facilities in Ohio that accept (or want to begin accepting) wastes from oil and gas production activities, including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). These proposed rules reflect the Agency’s vision of how a regulatory approach will be crafted, and they are seeking input from impacted businesses to help develop an effe

New Rules Governing Fracking on Public Land

New Rules Governing Fracking on Public Land

On March 20, 2015 the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) released a final rule governing hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on public and American Indian lands. First proposed on May 11, 2012, the rule has finally issued after receiving over 1.5 million public comments, and will update existing regulations on the topic first passed over 30 years ago. Most notably, these new rules incorporate new drilling technologies, such as fracking, which wer

$Local government’s authority to regulate fracking minimized, but not eliminated$

Local government’s authority to regulate fracking minimized, but not eliminated

On February 17th, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Beck Energy v. Munroe Falls that local governments can not impose separate permitting requirements for oil and gas production activities.[1] A local Munroe Falls ordinance required a “conditional zoning permit” for excavation or construction and four other city ordinances imposed specific requirements on activities involved with oil & gas, including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Beck Energy received a drilling permit from

Ohio EPA Releases Guidance on Disposal of Fracking Wastes at Municipal Landfills

This week, EPA released a letter sharing regulatory guidance on compliance requirements at landfills receiving solid waste generated from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) activity in the Utica/Point Pleasant and Marcellus shale formations. In general, this guidance outlines the regulatory changes brought about by House Bill 59, which changed rules regarding the storage, recycling, treatment and disposal of brine and other waste substances at Ohio landfills. A more in-depth s

Unavoidable Malfunctions to Get Penalties Under EPA's New Proposal

Unavoidable Malfunctions to Get Penalties Under EPA's New Proposal

On September 17, 2014, United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) released a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking that significantly modified its proposed revisions to its startup, shutdown and malfunction (“SSM”) policy under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”). In an attempt to ensure that emissions limitations required under the CAA are applied “continuously”, USEPA proposed in February 2013 to eliminate provisions allowing for blanket exemptions from emissions l

Environmental Law Update - EPA Proposes New Guidelines Governing Disposal of Dental Amalgam

Under a recently proposed rule, dental offices would be required either to not handle dental amalgam, or else do baseline and annual monitoring for mercury, as well as install amalgam separators and follow handling guidelines. In an attempt to limit the release of mercury from dental amalgam, on September 25, 2014, EPA proposed technology-based pretreatment standards, for any water drained to public sewers. This rule will impact dental offices of any size that currently use a

EPA Proposes New 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans

EPA Proposes New 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans

EPA announced its Final 2012 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan on September 16, 2014. The Plans provide a summary of new controls of industrial wastewaters, and present a plan for regulating other categories of industry in the future. Comments on the Plans must be received by November 17, 2014. Under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1314(m), EPA is required to publish a plan every two years that (1) establishes a sc

Supreme Court Update: Time Barring CERCLA Claims on Contaminated Sites

Supreme Court Update: Time Barring CERCLA Claims on Contaminated Sites

If you have purchased property within the last ten years, and there is a chance hazardous wastes are located on site, you may be running out of time to exercise your right to receive compensation from prior owners due to a recent interpretation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”). The Supreme Court recently barred a claim by plaintiffs who sought damages for contamination on their property caused by a prior owner, who had sol

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