August 2016

On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvement Act of 2015.  The law required all federal agencies to increase civil penalties with inflation. While there were previous requirements to increase civil penalties, the new law provides for more dramatic increases attributable to the following changes:

  • Requires

Here are the highlights from U.S. EPA’s July Environmental Crimes Case Bulletin:  

Failure to Notify Regarding Asbestos

A Company had sampling performed to determine if the walls and ceiling of a riverboat they were going to demolish contained asbestos.  The samples indicated they did contain asbestos.  According to U.S. EPA, the company hired

On July 29th, the Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette charged six more public officials in connection with their roles in the Flint Water Crisis.  One of the six charged included a senior management official at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)- the former Chief of the Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance. The

Ohio is not the only state that is reviewing all sites that have trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) recently announced that is was going to review 1,000 closed sites with TCE contamination.  MassDEP will evaluate the sites "based on the current understanding of health risks, even if the site was previously