Source: http://www.environmental-law.net, December 31, 2013 On December 30th, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register (78 FR 79319) recognizing the new ASTM E1527-13 phase 1 standard practice as an approved method for complying with the All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) rule. As explained below, while the preamble to the […]

Source: http://ohsonline.com, January 1, 2014 By: Jamie Friedlander The U.S. oil and gas industry saw a lot of action during the past year. Whether it was educational institutions creating training programs for the industry or OSHA proposing a rule to limit workers’ exposure to respirable crystalline silica, the gears were in motion to make sure […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, December 12, 2013 By: Philip R. Stein, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP With the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) signaling its increased attention to workers’ exposure to crystalline silica, and the plaintiffs’ bar evidently in search of new subjects for “toxic tort” claims, there is growing concern among builders about […]

Source: http://ncronline.org, December 31, 2013 By: Dennis Sadowski When David and Linda Headley bought their 116-acre farm in rural Fayette County near the West Virginia border in 2005, they thought they were buying their dream property, a place to build a home, raise a family and enjoy the outdoors. What they ended up with, they […]

Source: http://gma.yahoo.com, December 31, 2013 By: Anthony Castellano and Alex Perez A recommended evacuation order was lifted this afternoon for residents of a small North Dakota town, one day after a mile-long train carrying crude oil collided with another train, triggering a series of thunderous explosions and sending toxic fumes into the air. Officials from […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, December 6, 2013 By: Robert A. Henry, Snell & Wilmer On November 20, 2013, Division Two of the Arizona Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Yanni v. Tucker Plumbing, Inc., 2013 Ariz. App. LEXIS 235. While the opinion was a victory of sorts for the real estate and construction industry generally in […]

Read here about report in El Paso, TX that revealed contaminated soil samples from a former lead and copper smelter property.

Source: Dow Jones News Service, December 30, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com A dispute is smoldering here, in one sense quite literally, over what to do with thousands of tons of radioactive waste in a landfill in this suburban St. Louis town. Some residents argue the waste, created decades ago by the U.S. nuclear-weapons program and […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, December 20, 2013 By: Brian Bassett, Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP In its recent decision in Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co. v. Kay & Kay Contracting LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23587 (6th Cir. Nov. 19, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, applying Kentucky law, had occasion […]

Source: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com, December 26, 2013 Fracking has caused a bonanza of oil and gas production in the United States, but it has its detractors. And one of their chief complaints was that it used too much water, as much as five million gallons per well, even though it accounts for less than 1 percent of […]

Read here about a pollution case in Louisiana were convictions were upheld by a federal appeals court.  

Read here about two parks in Miami that are closing due to potentially contaminated soil.