Contradicting the argument raised by the United States in a recent amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the EPA finalized new guidance on April
Continue Reading Contradicting the Department of Justice, EPA Changes Stance on Groundwater Discharges
Bernadette M. Rappold
Bernadette M. Rappold focuses her practice on federal and state regulatory issues related to energy, manufacturing, and the environment. Bernadette has substantial litigation experience and advises clients on regulatory compliance as well as the environmental, safety, and health aspects of numerous business and real estate transactions, including water, air, and chemical hazards. Bernadette offers clients perspective gained through years of service at the Environmental Protection Agency. While serving as a director of the Special Litigation and Projects Division in the Office of Civil Enforcement at the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Bernadette led complex enforcement actions in response to violations of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and other environmental statutes. Her work at the EPA covered a variety of economic and industrial sectors including the oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, and agriculture industries.
A Busy Time for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – More PFAS Action and NRD Lawsuits
On April 1, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) proposed drinking water standards for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) that are significantly more stringent than…
Continue Reading A Busy Time for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – More PFAS Action and NRD Lawsuits
EPA Announces New Owner Audit Program Agreement for Oil & Natural Gas Exploration and Production Facilities
On March 29, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final Oil & Natural Gas Exploration and Production Facilities New Owner Audit Program Agreement (Oil & Gas New Owner Audit…
Continue Reading EPA Announces New Owner Audit Program Agreement for Oil & Natural Gas Exploration and Production Facilities
EPA Approves Renewable Fuels Produced from Sorghum Oil; Provides Additional Source of Revenue for Farmers in Wake of Chinese Tariffs
At a nationally-televised news conference July 24, 2018, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the approval of biofuels derived from sorghum oil as “advanced” renewable fuels under the Clean Air…
Continue Reading EPA Approves Renewable Fuels Produced from Sorghum Oil; Provides Additional Source of Revenue for Farmers in Wake of Chinese Tariffs
D.C. Circuit Issues Stay of the EPA’s Latest Effort To Ease Clean Air Act Requirements
On July 18, 2018, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) ordered a stay of a recent Environmental Protection Agency…
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Issues Stay of the EPA’s Latest Effort To Ease Clean Air Act Requirements
The Taxman (May Not) Cometh: The Deductibility of Environmental ‘Penalties’
Buried within last December’s massive Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115–97, 131 Stat. 2054 (TCJA), is an obscure provision that may change the litigation and…
Continue Reading The Taxman (May Not) Cometh: The Deductibility of Environmental ‘Penalties’
EPA Issues New Guidance Easing New Source Review Analysis
As part of its growing reinterpretation of Clean Air Act requirements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a new guidance (Project Emissions Accounting Under the New Source …
Continue Reading EPA Issues New Guidance Easing New Source Review Analysis
Environmentalists Score Clean Water Act Victory Which May Affect Permitting Status
While litigants and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continue to debate the fate of the agency’s 2015 rule defining jurisdictional waters under the Clean Water Act (Act), environmentalists have…
Continue Reading Environmentalists Score Clean Water Act Victory Which May Affect Permitting Status
EPA Nixes Decades-Old Policy on Toxic Air Pollution
Jettisoning 23-year old doctrine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week in guidance (“Reclassification of Major Sources as Area Sources Under Section 112 of the Clean Air …
Continue Reading EPA Nixes Decades-Old Policy on Toxic Air Pollution
Court of Appeals Throws Lifeline to Major D.C.-Area Infrastructure Project
A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) threw the Washington, D.C. area’s beleaguered “Purple Line” light rail project a…
Continue Reading Court of Appeals Throws Lifeline to Major D.C.-Area Infrastructure Project