On January 11, 2002, President Bush signed the “Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act” (the “Act”). As its name suggests, the Act provides relief to small businesses and funding for Brownfields (“real property, the expansion, re-development, or re-use of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant”) ...
On January 9, 2002, in Chao v. Mallard Bay Drilling, Inc., the United States Supreme Court concluded that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's ("OSHA") authority to maintain workplace safety for "uninspected" vessels (such as offshore drilling rigs) is not pre-empted by the Coast Guard's power to control maritime operations ...
If you are a building owner planning any renovation or demolition, under a new Texas law, you must demonstrate that you have an asbestos survey before your city will issue a building permit for the project. Asbestos surveys by licensed asbestos inspectors have been a requirement for public buildings for some time; the new statute is intended to publicize and enforce that requirement. Each city has its own requirements for what must be shown to get a permit ...
1. APPLICATIONS FOR THE MACT HAMMER PERMIT DUE MAY 15, 2002 Section 112(j) of the federal Clean Air Act requires that major sources of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) submit an application for a Title V Operating Permit Revision if the source is a member of a source category for which the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not adopted a Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard within 18 months after the deadline for development of that standard ...
In our October 22, 2002 Alert, we discussed the importance of the new compliance history rules of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”). Basically, a company’s compliance history will affect permitting, availability of innovative programs, and enforcement, including unannounced inspections. Be alert that the TCEQ compliance history rules ignore traditional distinctions between mergers and assets acquisitions involving successor liability ...
In our October 22, 2002 Alert, we discussed the importance of the new compliance history rules of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”). Basically, a company’s compliance history will affect permitting, availability of innovative programs, and enforcement, including unannounced inspections. Be alert that the TCEQ compliance history rules ignore traditional distinctions between mergers and assets acquisitions involving successor liability ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers recently issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the definition of “waters of the United States,” which was published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2003. EPA and the Corps will be accepting comments that the agencies will use in developing rules clarifying what waters are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently issued a proposed rule and a notice of future of rulemaking under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) regarding standards for “all appropriate inquiry,” which are important to a variety of businesses, especially those engaged in real estate transactions ...
Supreme Court resolves Circuit split by setting forth standard that owners of famous trademarks must prove “actual dilution” as opposed to “likelihood of dilution” in order to prevail on a Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) claim.The Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Moseley dba Victor’s Little Secret v ...
Chemical manufacturers, processors, and distributors, petroleum refiners and distributors, and other manufacturers are potentially affected by a “policy clarification and reporting guidance” issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 3rd, 2003, relating to § 8(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ...
Related Practice Groups Environmental During the 78th Legislative Session, the Texas Legislature passed a massive tort reform bill, H.B. 4, that will result in sweeping changes not only to tort cases but also to litigation generally. Several changes critically impact environmental cases. The purpose of this memorandum is to alert you to some of these changes ...
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) recently published an Interoffice Memorandum (“the Memorandum”) that directs the agency’s offices how to handle reporting of spills and releases, including the discovery of historic contamination. It defines “historic contamination” as a “release” from an inactive source, whether of known or unknown quantities, citing as an example, contamination discovered during excavation activities ...
Under Section 113 of the Clean Air Act, when it finds that a regulated party is engaged in unlawful activity, EPA may, among other things, issue an administrative compliance order (ACO) that directs that party to comply, provided: (a) the ACO is based upon any information available to the Administrator; (b) the ACO is issued thirty days after the issuance of a Notice of Violation; and (c) the regulated party is given an “opportunity to confer” with the Administrator ...
Related Practice Groups Environmental The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) recently published an Interoffice Memorandum (“the Memorandum”) that directs the agency’s offices how to handle reporting of spills and releases, including the discovery of historic contamination. It defines “historic contamination” as a “release” from an inactive source, whether of known or unknown quantities, citing as an example, contamination discovered during excavation activities ...
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and other threats related to hazardous materials, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) has revised its regulations related to the transportation of hazardous materials ...
Introduction: On March 4, 2003, the United States Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision, written by Justice John Paul Stevens, regarding the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (“FTDA”) ...
After long years of fierce debate, the Kyoto Protocol finally came into force on 16 February 2005, imposing obligations on states parties to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This article takes a look at the background to the Protocol, and the many new and varied opportunities for businesses in Scotland and across the globe. The Protocol itself was adopted at the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto on 11 December 1997 ...
The article appeared in the 2005 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Environment Law; published and reproduced with kind permission of Global Legal Group Ltd, London ...
The EU Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances in Electronic and Electrical Equipment (ROHS) are due to take effect from 13 August 2005. The Department of the Environment recently produced draft regulations to implement these directives and make the necessary amendments to existing waste legislation ...
The coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol on February 16, 2005 has generated intense discussion and left many unanswered questions for the industrial sector. Over the last two months, the federal government has published several documents that, to a certain extent, uncover its intentions regarding its stated objectives and its strategies for achieving such objectives ...
On April 13, 2005, the government of Canada announced the first phase of Project Green “Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring our Kyoto Commitment”. Although there is no legislation in force in Canada which requires companies to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emitting companies should begin preparing for this possibility. In some cases, they should even look at the advantages of immediately trading emission reduction credits ...
In this edition: - New Corporate Manslaughter Rules - ’64 Act Stamped Out - Lock Up Your Ladders! - News Round Up - Planning: Out of Town - Out of Mind? - Use Classes Change
Directive of the European Parliament No. 2004/27EC of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use (OJ EU [2004], L 136, p. 34) Scientific progress and the development of new types of products explain the rise in issues regarding the legal qualification of so-called “borderline” products ...
Commission Guidelines for the Notification of Dangerous Consumer Products to the Competent Authorities of the Member States by Producers and Distributors in accordance with Article 5(3) of Directive 2001/95/EC (Commission document No ...
Do environmental considerations feature in your business plans? If not, then perhaps it is time they did. Minimising waste, reducing energy consumption and decreasing the environmental impact is not just good for the planet but can lead to increased profits. That is the message from the Scottish Executive in its paper 'Going for green growth: a green jobs strategy for Scotland' ...
