Environmental Protection Agency - The Indiana Lawyer

Thomas: EPA declares war against aftermarket defeat devices

March 4, 2020

Volkswagen’s recent emissions scandal triggered criminal and civil prosecution by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2017, Volkswagen’s estimated cost resulting from the scandal was more than $30 billion, and that number is growing. In the wake of this scandal, the EPA has declared “war” on an entire subindustry — aftermarket parts — and anyone who manufactures, sells or installs devices that allow drivers to tamper with their vehicle emissions.

Toxic Superfund cleanups decline to more than 30-year low

February 20, 2020 | Associated Press

The Trump administration completed the fewest cleanups of toxic Superfund sites last year than any administration since the program’s first years in the 1980s, figures released by the Environmental Protection Agency indicated Wednesday.

EPA orders hazardous waste probe at shuttered E. Chicago site

February 17, 2020 | Associated Press

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a hazardous waste investigation at a sprawling former oil refinery in northwestern Indiana that was shuttered in 1973 and later was the scene of a major fire.

Groups want tougher U.S. Steel fine for Lake Michigan spill

December 31, 2019 | Associated Press

The leaders of 18 environmental and civic groups have joined a push for U.S. Steel to face tougher penalties over a spill of hazardous substances from a northwestern Indiana plant into Lake Michigan.

Environmental groups sue steel mill over lake chemical spill

December 13, 2019 | Associated Press

Two environmental groups are suing a steelmaker for allegedly violating the Clean Water Act at its northwestern Indiana facility more than 100 times in the past five years, including an August spill that killed more than 3,000 fish.

Justices seem uncertain about reach of Clean Water Act

November 7, 2019 | Associated Press

The United States Supreme Court seems uncertain about how to decide a closely watched case from Hawaii about the reach of landmark federal clean-water protections.

Big case hits the big screen: Taft lawyer’s DuPont suit attracts star power

October 16, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

A Taft Stettinius & Hollister attorney who successfully took on one of the world’s most powerful chemical manufacturers in a major toxic contamination case is being featured on the big screen as he continues to bring awareness to an issue he says is a global heath threat.

7th Circuit affirms CERCLA ruling in Beech Grove lead cleanup

August 23, 2019 | Katie Stancombe

The 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s ruling against a Beech Grove manufacturing company over who should bear the costs of cleaning up a contaminated lead smelter site.

Ethanol producer blames Cloverdale plant closure on Trump EPA

August 23, 2019 | Associated Press

The owner of a western Indiana ethanol plant is blaming its shutdown on the Trump administration allowing some refineries to not blend ethanol with gasoline as required under federal law.

In contamination case, 7th Circuit cleans up messy preclusion fight

August 9, 2019

Even though none of the businesses disagreed over who contaminated a manufacturing site, the question of who should pay for the cleanup became a fight over claim preclusion that ended with the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals offering instructions on how the lawsuit should have been defended.

Charlestown zoo owner must keep big cats during animal-rights case

July 29, 2019 | Olivia Covington

A federal judge is doubling down on an animal-rights ruling that prohibits the owners of a southern Indiana zoo from moving its large cats out of its possession, though the judge stopped short of issuing sanctions for an alleged failure to follow that order.

US won’t impose rule to protect against coal ash spill costs

July 3, 2019

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it won’t require electric utilities to show they have money to clean up hazardous spills from power plants despite a history of toxic coal ash releases contaminating rivers and aquifers.

Ex-EPA chief Pruitt registers as energy lobbyist in Indiana

April 19, 2019

Scott Pruitt, the scandal-ridden former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, registered as an energy lobbyist in Indiana on Thursday as fossil-fuels interests there are fighting to block the proposed closure of several coal-fired power plants.

SCOTUS to determine when permits are necessary to pollute navigable waters

March 5, 2019

The US Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court ruling that seemingly expands the Clean Water Act. Under the 9th Circuit’s decision, any pollutant found in navigable water that is “fairly traceable” to a permittable discharge source is subject to permitting requirements, even if the source of the pollutant does not discharge directly into a navigable water.

EPA expands public comment period on East Chicago lead cleanup

January 31, 2019

Federal regulators are expanding the public comment period for a proposed cleanup of the site of a former housing complex in northwestern Indiana.

Group seeks 2nd hearing on tainted East Chicago site’s cleanup

December 10, 2018

East Chicago community group is asking for a second public hearing on the proposed cleanup of the site of a public housing complex that was evacuated and demolished because of industrial contamination. The East Chicago Calumet Coalition Community Advisory Group says many residents didn’t get to speak at a Nov. 29 hearing about a $26.5 million project to remove tainted soil from the site of the West Calumet Housing Complex.

Indiana joins 21-state coalition supporting Trump energy plan

November 7, 2018

Indiana joined a 21-state coalition in support of President Donald Trump’s proposed replacement of the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era effort to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Proposal to sunset Ohio River pollution standards yields flood of concern

September 4, 2018

Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission members, including three from Indiana, are preparing to vote on a proposal that would sunset the organization’s pollution control standards. That proposal has yielded thousands of pages of public comments from proponents who say ORSANCO’s standards are redundant and, more significantly, from opponents who fear water quality in Indiana would suffer.

EPA begins cleanup of toxic Indianapolis commercial property

August 30, 2018

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced it has begun cleaning up a south-side Indianapolis property that has been soaked in hazardous waste for decades. The 1.35-acre property known as the AA Oil Site has been abandoned since 1993.

Jury awards $289M to man who blames Roundup for cancer

August 13, 2018

A San Francisco jury’s $289 million award to a former school groundskeeper who said Monsanto’s Roundup left him dying of cancer will bolster thousands of pending cases and open the door for countless people who blame their suffering on the weed killer, the man’s lawyers said.

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