Johnson Controls to Pay $17.5 M to Settle PFAS and AFFF Firefighting Foam Lawsuits
Johnson Controls will pay $17.5 million to plaintiffs in class action and individual lawsuits relating to fire fighting foams used by its subsidiary Tyco Fire Products. The Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) contains polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which have been found to build up in the body through multiple exposures, causing serious illness including cancer. A […]
Judge tosses lawsuit over Trump-era key environmental law reform
A federal judge in Virginia has thrown out lawsuits by environmental groups in the state who were challenging a Trump-era change to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The changes challenged would narrow the scope of the policy, limiting environmental protection. The lawsuit was thrown away because the court felt the issue was not ready […]
New Louisiana law keeps some industrial pollution accidents hidden from the public
A new law signed into effect by Governor John Bel Edwards will allow self audits to be conducted by industrial facilities in certain situations. These audits will be done by the company that owns the facility and the records from them can be kept from the public for up to two years. The certain situations […]
Science catches up to what residents of Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ have been saying about pollution
Race, poverty, and pollution help determine who gets sick. The Tulane Environmental Law Clinic report confirms what we continually see in our practice. Corporate polluters dump toxic pollution on low income communities. Many residents have chronic “nuisance” type symptoms from constant chemical exposures. As the report recognizes, these exposures can eventually cause life threatening cancers.
This session made the 8th consecutive year the Louisiana Legislature heaped praise on Formosa Plastics
Formosa Plastics, a Taiwanese plastic company, is planning a new plastic manufacturing facility in St. James Parish. The economic benefits of the facility are expected to be large but there has been pushback from residents who see it as another large company entering their home polluting it. Due to Louisiana’s strong economic ties to Taiwan, […]
Exxon to invest $240 million in Louisiana refinery
Exxon has announced that it will be updating one of its refineries located in Baton Rouge. The refinery currently does not comply with particulate matter pollution standards set by the EPA but due to a loophole allowing older refineries to continue operating, it was allowed to keep polluting. Now Exxon has decided to put $240 […]
EPA to Consider Strengthening Health Protections for Soot Pollution
In December 2020, the Trump administration refused to strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This decision was made despite the nearly 54.4 million Americans living in counties that experienced unhealthy spikes in particulate matter air pollution. The EPA is now reconsidering this decision, citing the Clean Air Act’s requirement to protect public health […]
“Death by a thousand cuts”: How Congress continues to whittle away at a critical environmental policy
A transportation bill currently passing through congress is set to revitalize American infrastructure with increased funding and reductions to red tape hindering projects. This red tape, though, is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and rollbacks to its authority could be disastrous for the environment. The bill whittles away at NEPA authority with three small […]
NEPA Litigation Update
In July 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued its final rule updating its regulations for federal agencies to implement the National Environmental Policy (NEPA) for the first time since its creation in 1978. These changes have been contested and have been brought to federal courts in California, Virginia, New York, and the District […]
In Two Opposite Decisions on Alaska Oil Drilling, Biden Walks a Difficult Path in Search of Bipartisanship
On Tuesday, the Biden Administration announced that it would be suspending oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). Leasing began in 2017 when the Trump administration opened the wildlife refuge to oil and gas development in an effort to generate revenue. $1.1 billion was projected but the leasing has only realized […]