Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

In July, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the fifth edition of its periodic Climate Change Indicators report, focusing on Indicators related to the human health and societal impacts of climate change. While this 96-page report provides broad policy discussions, it applies data which calibrate ongoing changes that organizations can use to support evaluations of the possible impacts of these changes on their ongoing activities and future prospects. The remainder of this note summarizes EPA’s latest indicators, and how they can be relevant to organizational planning and decision-making.

The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) added procedures for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate risks presented by existing chemicals using the latest scientific information – including information developed after a chemical entered use in the US. Based on these reviews, EPA is to update its regulatory requirements, ranging from labeling-only through use restrictions up to and including bans from further distribution and use. (I summarized these review requirements HERE ).  Beginning in November 2019, EPA regularly announces new chemical reviews, and subsequently the results of these reviews. (I wrote about the first review announcement HERE ). On July 25, 2024 EPA published a formal proposal to review 5 additional chemicals for designation as High-Priority Substance subject to strict controls under TSCA. The rest of this note identifies these proposed chemicals.

The federal Superfund law (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980) defines broad categories of parties who might be deemed responsible for chemical contamination (“responsible parties”) and liable to pay for some or all the costs o cleaning up. Nearly 45 years after CERCLA was first enacted, a federal Court of Appeals has confirmed for the first time that a party that “arranges for” disposal can be liable for cleanup costs

, even if there’s no evidence that the party knew that the materials being disposed were hazardous. Although this ruling is consistent with the statutory text and decades of practice, it’s still the first formal ruling by an Appeals court (68^th Street Site Work Group v. Alban Tractor Co.). The rest of this note summarizes “arranger-for” liability, and this case.

On May 8, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published rule revisions adding two perfluoro chemicals -- Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) – as hazardous substances under the federal Superfund law (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)). This listing is the latest regulatory action by EPA tightening controls on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAs); the initiatives are covered under the agency’s “PFAs Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021—2024,” promulgated in October 2021. The remainder of this note describes the latest action, which finalizes a proposal issued in August 2021 (which I wrote about HERE).

On March 28, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published phase-out schedules leading to a ban on the remaining permissible uses of chrysotile no later than December 31, 2037. EPA applies expanded authority provided as part of amendments adopted to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016; EPA first attempted to ban asbestos products in 1989 but was partially blocked by litigation. These rules finalize a proposal from April 2022 (which I wrote about HERE). The remainder of this note discusses the rule, and the history of this round of rulemakings since 2016.

On April 17, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum announcing its Strategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Policy (“the Policy”). The Policy provides direction to EPA’s civil and criminal enforcement staffs, seeking to ensure that the two sometimes-disjoint groups coordinate training, procedures, and enforcement choices. The remainder of this note summarizes this new Policy.

On April 25, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published very extensive technical revisions to its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), which requires thousands of facilities and organizations to report annual emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) (40 CFR part 98). These revisions finalize proposals published in June 2022 and May 2023. (I wrote about the second set HERE). The remainder of this note summarizes these changes. (I’ve written about EPA’s mandatory GHG reporting program several times, including HERE).

On March 28, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted requirements that qualifying onshore non-transportation-related facilities prepare Facility Response Plans (FRPs) to address possible “worst case” discharges of hazardous substances into navigable waters or related areas. These new requirements fulfill a mandate imposed in 2020 after environmental groups successfully sued EPA for failing to issue such rules in the 30 years following 1990 amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA) directed EPA to do so (Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, et al. v. EPA). The rest of this note discusses these new requirements, in the context of CWA facility preparation requirements.

On March 11, the Biden Administration issued its budget proposal for federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 (October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025). The administration proposes a $10.994 billion budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an 8.5% ($0.858 billion) increase above money allocated to EPA under the latest FY 2024 Continuing Budget Resolution (since no budget has been adopted for FY budget under continuing resolutions during FY 2024 (I wrote about the Administration’s FY 2024 proposal HERE). ctionsEven if an FY 2025 budget is enacted, political differences make significant reductions likely, but, it’s worth reviewing the proposal as a reflection of the Administration’s ongoing environmental priorities. The remainder of this note summarizes the latest proposal.

On March 1, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised Accidental Release Prevention (ARP) program rules under the Clean Air Act (CAA). ARP was authorized by the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments, and is often known by its core requirement that targeted facilities prepare Risk Management Programs (RMPs) to prevent and respond to potential catastrophic releases of chemicals. The adoption finalizes an agency proposal from 2022 (it also recounts a long series of proposal dating back to 2014; I wrote about it HERE), in which the Biden-era EPA proposed to many of the narrowing amendments to RMP/ARP enacted in 2019 during the Trump Administration (I wrote about the 2019 changes HERE).

The rest of this note summarizes the new revisions, noting their differences from current rules.