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Law and the Environment

Our blog provides perspective on developments in environmental law and policy - which developments may matter to you, and how and why they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, this blog offers commentary on current issues that are important to your business.

Superfund May Be Fundamentally Broken, But That Doesn't Mean that It Can't Be Improved
Blog July 02, 2025
Followers of this blog will know that I am not a fan of CERCLA. It is not merely because CERCLA is so poorly drafted…
Superfund Is Short of Money. Can It Be Fixed By Tinkering Around the Edges?
Blog March 28, 2024
This week, Inside EPA ran a story indicating that EPA is trying to figure out how to juggle some increasingly expensive cleanups with shortfalls in Superfund tax revenue. The story notes that EPA is adding expensive new sites to the National Priorities List, while also anticipating new costs resulting from PFAS regulation and more stringent lead cleanup levels…
It's Still Good to Be King; SCOTUS Continues to Interpret CERCLA In Ways Unrecognizable to Practitioners
Blog April 20, 2020
I have previously discussed how nice it must be for Supreme Court justices to reach judicial decisions from on high, without getting their collective hands dirty worrying about the practical consequences of their decisions.  The same has always been true with respect to SCOTUS decisions concerning CERCLA, which has seemed far simpler to SCOTUS than to us poor lawyers who have to actually make it work. Exhibit A for this argument is the latest SCOTUS Superfund decision…
EPA Guidance on Remedial Work During the COVID-19 Emergency
Blog April 13, 2020
I hope that I am not struck down for saying this, but EPA's guidance on doing remedial work during the COVID-19 emergency is reasonable and appropriate.  At the risk of oversimplifying, it basically has two requirements: Consider the benefits to be obtained by performing the work, and prioritize work intended to eliminate or abate serious hazards that are imminent, such as immediate risks to indoor air or drinking water supplies…
The Members of EPAs Superfund Task Force Had Really Good Memories
Blog December 21, 2017
In July, EPA released the recommendations of the Superfund Task Force.  Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a FOIA request, looking for documents related to the operation of the Task Force.  This week, the AP reported on EPA's defense of the inevitable law suit that PEER filed when EPA did not turn over any documents.   It turns out that, according to Johnny Walker…
The Arbitrary and Capricious Standard Remains in the Eye of the Beholder
Blog August 31, 2017
In a very interesting – and extremely rare – case, Emhart Industries has successfully defended itself against a unilateral administrative order issued by EPA under CERCLA, on the ground that key decisions made by EPA were arbitrary and capricious.  The decision, concerning the Centredale Manor Restoration Project Superfund Site, is worth a read for CERCLA practitioners, even though it weighs in at 108 pages…
Real Superfund Reform Would Not Place It At the Center of EPAs Core Mission
Blog July 27, 2017
Earlier this week, Scott Pruitt released the results of the Superfund Task Force he established in May.  Though skeptical, I was pleased at the creation of the task force and goals he established for it.  With the release of the report, my skepticism has returned. First, the report and Pruitt's memo about it repeat the claptrap about restoring “the Superfund program to its rightful place at the center of the agency's core mission.”  Since he keeps repeating that statement…
Superfund Reform, Part 2:  Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
Blog May 23, 2017
Last week, I offered less than fulsome praise of EPA Administrator Pruitt's announcement that he was taking control of remedial decisions for big Superfund sites.  Now, he's followed up with a memorandum announcing establishment of a task force to look at ways to reform Superfund implementation.  While he's still plainly wrong in putting Superfund “at the center of the agency's core mission,” I have to confess that I think he otherwise has pretty much hit a home run with the latest……
Scott Pruitt Just Solved All of the Problems with Superfund.  Not.
Blog May 16, 2017
Last week, EPA Administrator Pruitt issued a memorandum requiring that all Superfund remedies estimated to cost at least $50 million be approved by the Administrator.  I'm not optimistic that this will cure, or even ameliorate, what ails CERCLA.   First, the memorandum gets off on precisely the wrong foot.  Administrator Pruitt states that:  The Superfund program is a vital function of the U.S…
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ABOUT

In today’s fast changing world, almost all of us get our news – including our news about developments in environmental law and policy – electronically. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for the BNA™, or Greenwire™, or Google™, although we do hope that we will be able on occasion to let you know about issues that haven’t yet come to your attention.

What we really want to accomplish is to be able to provide some perspective on those developments. We’ll try to tell you which developments may matter to you. And why they matter. And how they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, whether you are a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, whether you are a municipality or public agency or university, we want to comment on current issues in a way that is useful to you in your business.

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