Environmental Litigation and Regulation

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On Friday, June 10, 2005, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) enacted an Emergency Rule to adopt the 8-hour primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and to revoke the 1-hour standards (both primary and secondary standards). The rule also establishes special Nonattainment New Source Review provisions for the 5-Parish Baton Rouge Nonattainment Area (Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston and West Baton Rouge Parishes). The rule becomes effective on June 15, 2005, the same date that the federal 1-hour ozone NAAQS are revoked.
Continue Reading Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Adopts Emergency Rule for Baton Rouge Nonattainment Area

The Louisiana Fourth Circuit, in a decision sure to be appealed, recently upheld a lower court’s award of compensatory damages – and reduced the lower court’s punitive damage award – as a result of the defendants’ alleged contamination of the plaintiffs’ land with naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Grefer, et al. v. Alpha Technical, et al., 2002-CA-1237 (La. App. 4th Cir. 3/31/05); appeal from, Civil District Court, Orleans Parish.
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Upholds Lower Court’s Award of Compensatory Damages, Reduces Punitive Damage Award in Property Restoration Case

Environmental managers are not often popular with company CFO’s as more often than not, their proposed projects to install pollution control measures involve large expenditures with little prospect of cost-recovery. However, a review of various state decisions on what constitutes “pollution-control” may enable the thrifty EHS manager to soften the blow with creative mechanisms such as pollution control tax credits.
Continue Reading Pollution Control Tax Credits – “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned”

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began a pilot program for Expedited Penalty Agreements in mid-2004 which is continuing until June 10, 2005, and may be renewed. This pilot program establishes fixed penalty amounts for common environmental violations of minor to moderate significance – for instance, failure to report RQ releases, late submittal of air and water reports, missed sampling events, sanitary sewer system problems, UST requirements, waste oil requirements and the like.
Continue Reading Effective Use of DEQ Expedited Penalty Agreements Saves Money

If you think that Louisiana’s environmental penalty settlement process is already political – you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Representative Wayne Waddel of Shreveport has introduced House Bill 347 in the 2005 Louisiana Legislative Session to amend the environmental statutes to require that ten percent of any fine imposed by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality…

On February 3, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) responded to two issues raised in petitions for reconsideration filed in response to EPA’s rule to implement the 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). See, 70 Fed. Reg. 5593. The federal agency also proposed to revise two aspects of the implementation rule first…