A picture may be worth a thousand words. But words – or lack thereof – can be worth millions. Never more so than when courts are deciding the level of coverage and the amount of payout policyholders are entitled to from insurance companies. So, when it comes to understanding insurance law you need to make sure you understand rule number one: words rule.
Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, Environmental risks, Environmental, Insurance, Insurance Claims
This month the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published new environmental compliance rules (Rule 13q-1 and associated Form SD), requiring annual disclosures by publicly listed “resource extraction issuers” of payments they make to the U.S. federal government, or foreign governments, related to commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. SEC’s rules implement a Congressional mandate contained in 2010’s massive Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).
Tags: SEC, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA
Environmental compliance can be a complex business. In fact, in certain situations, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other legislation, may actually deter use of innovative waste management technologies and best practices. Here are three questions to ask about your organization:
Tags: OSHA, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, fracking
On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)”.The 584-page legislation revises and adds many sections to the U.S. Code, intending to “create a streamlined, performance-based, and multi-modal program to address the many challenges faced by the US transportation system, including improving safety, maintaining infrastructure condition, reducing traffic congestion, improving efficiency of the system and freight movement, and protecting the environment” (USDOT, Federal Highway Administration).
Tags: Health & Safety, OSHA, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, EPA, Hazcom, EEOC
If your business generates "hazardous" wastes, then you must manage them in compliance with applicable federal and state environmental laws and regulations. But did you know that the same regulations also require you to take steps to avoid generating such wastes in the first place? Regulations refer to these as "waste minimization" efforts.
Tags: California Legislation, Environmental risks, Environmental, EHS, EPA, Hazcom, effluent, EEOC
Energy companies have used hydraulic fracturing—often referred to as ‘fracking’—since the 1940s in order to enhance recovery of oil and natural gas from low-permeability (“tight”) rock formations.
Frackers pump high-pressure fluids into rock formations to create and expand cracks and create pathways for valuable hydrocarbons to flow out. The stimulant fluids are usually water-based, with additional chemicals (acids, surfactants, biocides, etc.) to improve the effectiveness of the fracking process as well as solid ‘proppants’, which prop open the expanded openings (sand, etc.).
Tags: Health & Safety, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA, fracking, hydraulic fracking
Increasingly, your approach to climate change issues provides an important basis for your customers’ and other stakeholders’ purchasing and investment decisions with your organization. They may research how your organization manages its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (your ‘carbon footprint’) because, if you provide them with goods and services, the GHG emissions associated with your activities may be attributed to them.
Tags: Corporate Governance, Environmental risks, Environmental, EPA
On June 26, the federal District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major decision, upholding four rulings by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). All four rulings expand the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The case is Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA.1
Tags: Health & Safety, California Legislation, Environmental, EPA
Although federal and California regulations have introduced numeric effluent limits (NELs) for stormwater discharges, technical issues and an adverse regulatory environment have stalled these efforts. Here is a summary of stormwater regulatory history, and the current regulatory atmosphere.
Tags: Environmental, EPA, effluent, Stormwater, STC
The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District is proposing to amend District rules to reduce air pollution caused by cleaning solvents. The provisions would include requirements for work practices, reactive organic compound (ROC) content limits, and solvent cleaning devices and methods.The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District is seeking to amend rules concerning Surface Coating of Metal Parts and Products (Rules 330), Surface Coating of Aerospace Vehicles and Components (Rules 337), Polyester Resin operations (Rules 349), and Adhesives and Sealants (Rules 353).
Tags: Health & Safety, California Legislation, Environmental, EPA, Santa Barbara