In a prior post (Ohio EPA Asbestos Rule Changes Could Prove Costly), I discussed Ohio EPA rule change to the definition of friable asbestos. As discussed in the prior post, Ohio EPA added a single sentence to definition of "friable asbestos" appearing in Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3745-20-01. The sentence states:
Any category
On April 13th, President Obama issued an Executive Order creating a federal inter-agency task to coordinate efforts on oversight of horizontal well drilling and hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Method such as hydraulic fracturing (i.e. "fracking") have allowed access to massive new deposits of natural gas bring the price down for natural gas to
.png)
Right now there is no other topic in Ohio that generates more news coverage than horizontal gas drilling (or "fracking"). It seems a day doesn’t go by without a new news story regarding fracking or related developments.
Ohio has seen oil & gas wells installed for well over a hundred years. However, until recently huge
.jpg)
EPA is proposing a whole series of new inspection and testing requirements for underground storage tanks (USTs). By expanding the types of UST systems covered under the rules, EPA is proposing to extend application of all UST regulations to entities not previously regulated, such as hospitals and universities.
EPA first promulgated regulation governing underground storage
Last week Senator Schaffer introduced Senate Bill 294– dubbed the EPA reform bill. According to testimony from Senator Schaffer and OEPA Director Scott Nally, the two had been working on the legislation for months.
This bill is the probably the first since Ohio EPA creation that touches on so many different areas of
A recent court case calls into question Ohio EPA’s legal authority to recover certain costs related to investigation and clean up of contaminated sites. The case also raises questions about Ohio EPA’s long standing practice to negotiate administrative settlements of enforcement actions.
On January 18, 2012, the First District Court of Appeals in Hamilton County issued
U.S. EPA finally issued its long awaited air pollution regulation aimed at reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants- Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). MATS sets specific numeric emission standards for mercury and other air toxics from coal-fire power plants 25 megawatts in size or larger.
MATS will apply to some 1,400 generating units across
There was an excellent article in the New York Times discussing the issues homeowners and landowners are facing when signing oil & gas leases- Learning Too Late of the Perils in Oil & Gas Leases.
The Times reviewed 111,000 oil & gas leases from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York Texas and West Virginia. It found
.gif){kind=logo}
Back in June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Sackett v. EPA which could forever change the way EPA enforcement actions are defended. While the case involves an EPA administrative enforcement order for unauthorized filling of a wetland, the ruling potentially impacts EPA enforcement under all its major statutes- RCRA (hazardous waste), Clean Air
One of the issues that can complicate a clean up is if multiple environmental regulatory programs apply to the site. Even the same type of contamination may be required to be addressed under different programs and different processes.
A prime example of this issue in Ohio is the disconnect between Ohio’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP)