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Danger Hazardous Chemicals Sign on a Barrel

In a key decision earlier this month with potentially hefty ongoing implications for developers and property owners, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held a chemical company liable for nearly $1 million in pre-acquisition cleanup costs. The case is Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection v. Trainer Custom Chemical, LLC and offers another clear illustration that property owners and developers may be liable for environmental response costs incurred before they acquired property. Continue Reading Property Owners and Developers Beware: Third Circuit Holds Chemical Company Liable for Pre-Acquisition Cleanup Costs

Blank Danger And Hazard Triangle Warning Sign Isolated Macro

Long-anticipated changes to California’s Proposition 65 warning requirements took effect on August 30, 2018, through amendments and new rules issued by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Among other changes, the new rules now (1) require businesses to provide California consumers with product warnings at the time of purchase, including at the time of online purchases; and (2) change the text of the warnings that businesses may use to qualify for “safe harbor” protections. The new warning requirements apply only to products manufactured after August 30, 2018. Continue Reading New California Prop 65 Warning Requirements: What Businesses Should Consider Now

Drop Of Water

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) often seems like the forgotten federal environmental statute in that it gets less attention in the press and judicial decisions than statutes like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).  That said, a judge on the Northern District of California issued a high-profile TSCA decision worthy of some discussion. Continue Reading Federal Court Issues Key Decision on NGO Challenge to Use of Fluoride in Water

Chemical hazard pictograms Toxic focus

Following the one year anniversary of significant amendments to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), there has been a flurry of activity related to the Act—from new rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lawsuits filed across the country. Here are some of the major highlights:

Continue Reading Four Milestones Since the Birth of a Significantly Revised TSCA

Filling in glass of water

For the past several months, Monsanto has been in court challenging California’s decision to add the chemical glyphosate—the active ingredient in its herbicide Roundup—to the Proposition 65 list. It recently faced a setback when the California Supreme Court rejected Monsanto’s request to stay a lower court’s decision to include glyphosate among the 960 chemicals on the list.  California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) wasted no time after the decision and added glyphosate to the list on July 7, 2017. Continue Reading No Delay for Proposition 65 Listing of Glyphosate

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On the one year anniversary of major amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued three new “framework” rules on how it plans to prioritize and evaluate risks from new chemicals or new uses of chemicals — offering clearer guidance to manufacturers on how chemicals will be evaluated and regulated. Continue Reading TSCA Framework Rules Offer Manufacturers Regulatory Clarity

Filling in glass of water

Monsanto has, at least temporarily, lost its fight to avoid a Prop 65 warning label on its products containing glyphosate, a chemical used in the popular herbicide Roundup.  On January 27, 2017, a California judge tentatively dismissed Monsanto’s claims that the State of California unconstitutionally turned to an unelected, European organization to decide whether glyphosate posed a cancer risk. Continue Reading Monsanto Uses the Constitution to Challenge Warning Labels for Herbicide

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On Thursday, September 22, 2016, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a new rule to list the rusty patched bumble bee as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.[1] The rule would likely mean new restrictions for farmers and other landowners in parts of the 13 states where the bees are currently thought to exist. Specifically, it would prohibit harming or harassing the bees, which could limit the use of certain pesticides and herbicides. These restrictions would be imposed despite uncertain science about current bee populations and threats facing the species. Interested parties now have until November 21, 2016 to comment on the proposed rule and underlying scientific data. Continue Reading FWS Proposes New Endangered Species Listing: Should Farmers “Bee” Worried?

Toxic

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act into law.  The Act is the first significant change to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act in 40 years and amends the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) methods for reviewing chemical substances before they are marketed and allowed to be used in consumer products.

The Act has several new key features: Continue Reading Toxic Substances Control Act Revised for the 21st Century