As part of the 2016-2017 Operating Budget for the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA), a new $20 million dollar cleanup fund was created in House Bill 64 to address old gas stations around the state. The money came from remaining Clean Ohio funds.
Abandoned or defunct service stations have always fallen through the cracks
On May 27, 2015, US EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) released the final version of the rule which defines federal jurisdiction over waterways (referred to as the "Clean Water Rule").
Those who support the rule argue that it merely puts in place existing guidance and practice. Supporters also argue
Over the last decade, Ohio EPA has attempted to promulgate beneficial reuse rules a number of times. Each time the rules have been released for public comment the proposals have been met with significant criticism and the proposals never moved forward.
The crux of the issue is that Ohio lacks a defined regulatory program for
For over a decade, U.S. EPA has embarked on a national enforcement strategy regarding combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from municipal wastewater treatment systems. As part of the enforcement strategy, U.S. EPA has entered a large number of federal consent decrees which establish deadlines for the elimination of CSOs/SSOs. These decrees
Northeast Ohio has had the largest number of political subdivisions in Ohio enact riparian and wetland setback ordinances. Now, the City of Cleveland is proposing to get into the act with its proposed Setback Ordinance 1555-13.
News of the City’s proposal got out this week when many property owners who could be subject
Bringing some level of sanity to the current state of wetland and stream permitting, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that an approved jurisdictional determination (JD) is a final agency action that can be challenged. See, Hawkes Co., Inc. et al v. Corps, Case No. 13-3067 (April 10, 2015). The Eighth Circuit
The current version of the budget bill (H.B. 64) contains language to create a gas station cleanup fund. The funding for this initiative is left over Clean Ohio money. It is estimated that $20 million in Clean Ohio funds were either unused or represent cost savings from completed projects.
Rather than redirect the
The Ohio Supreme Court provided a major set back to the Ohio EPA efforts to establish water quality based discharge limits in its surface water discharge permits (i.e. NPDES permits). The Court determined in Fairfield County v. Nally that TMDLs must go through formal administrative rulemaking before they can be used to support discharge limits
There has not been a lot of recent case law applying the CERCLA Bona Fide Purchaser Defense or Innocent Landowner Defense. Every time a new case emerges it is picked apart by the environmental bar trying to discern the value of the CERCLA defenses as well as pitfalls that will result in failure to establish
We know that U.S. EPA budget is tight. Maybe that is why they are looking for new and innovative ways to reduce their work load. This is evident in the memorandum released on January 7, 2015 by EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
The memorandum is titled "Use of Next Generation Compliance Tools