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A recent conference led by Connecticut Attorney General (AG) William Tong discussed the alleged problems and potential solutions associated with plastics use and waste. Conference attendees included nearly two dozen representatives from state AG offices, medical and public health researchers, and leaders in the recycling and reclamation industry. Conversations focused on plastics’ tendency to break down in the environment and, as a result, expose people and the environment to harmful chemicals. The concerns surrounding plastics in many ways parallel the concerns surrounding PFAS, an industry targeted recently by civil and criminal enforcement actions in multiple states. Businesses up and down the plastics supply chain should take note and prepare for potential state actions that put plastics in the crosshairs.Continue Reading Are Plastics the New PFAS?

On July 25, Missouri, Arkansas, and Iowa (the states), along with intervenors American Water Works Association and National Rural Water Association (the water associations), petitioned the Eighth Circuit to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new rule requiring states to review and report cybersecurity threats to their public water systems (PWS).Continue Reading EPA Cybersecurity Rule Challenged by States and Water Systems Associations

Public water utilities and 3M have until August 28 to respond to the bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general (AGs) that opposes their proposed $12.5 billion class action settlement over alleged per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination and is seeking to intervene in their litigation.Continue Reading Plaintiffs and 3M Given August 28 Deadline to Respond to State AGs’ Opposition to $12.5B Settlement in the PFAS Multidistrict Litigation

On August 7, California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a coalition of five state attorneys general (AGs) in filing an amicus letter concerning a proposed class action settlement between DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva, and water providers for $1.185 billion. The AGs contend the settlement amount is far too low given the scope of environmental contamination and health impacts caused by Dupont’s decades-long manufacture and sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds.Continue Reading Five State AGs Write Amicus Letter Concerning Environmental Settlement

On August 7, Nebraska Attorney General (AG) Mike Hilgers and Iowa AG Brenna Bird joined forces to sue the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to fulfill the request by Iowa and Nebraska governors to allow the sale of year-round E15 gasoline.Continue Reading Nebraska and Iowa AGs Sue Biden Administration’s EPA for Failing to Fulfill Sale of Year-Round E15 Gasoline

A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general (AGs) from 22 states is urging the federal district court in South Carolina to reject a proposed $12.5 billion settlement between 3M and a group of public water utilities, who are suing the company over alleged per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination.Continue Reading Coalition of 22 State AGs Oppose 3M’s $12.5 Billion PFAS Settlement

On June 27, Illinois AG Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 13 Democratic attorneys general nationwide in submitting a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), supporting more stringent regulation of ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions. In their letter, the coalition urged the EPA to adopt proposed amendments to EtO standards under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants program (NESHPA), and also offered several recommendations for more regulatory requirements “based on several states’ experiences regulating commercial sterilizers.”Continue Reading Thirteen Democratic AGs Encourage EPA to Adopt Stricter Standards for Ethylene Oxide

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) (together the “Agencies”) have continued working on a proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA or Act), which will soon move to the next stage of agency consideration.[1]…