1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |EPA's Coal Ash Rule Effective Today

EPA's Coal Ash Rule Effective Today

Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.19.15

Today marks the effective date for EPA's rule governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals ("CCR," also known as "coal ash") generated as a by-product of coal-fired electricity generation. Under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the CCR Rule for the first time places enforcement authority primarily in the hands of citizens, who may access compliance information online in accordance with EPA's Next Generation (NextGen) compliance initiative. Although many of the Rule's requirements have future compliance deadlines, today owners or operators of CCR landfills and surface impoundments must finalize their fugitive dust control plans, begin weekly inspections, initiate monthly monitoring of surface impoundment instruments, conduct required recordkeeping, provide required notifications to state or tribal authorities, and establish their publicly accessible websites in accordance with 40 C.F.R. §§ 257.80, 257.83, 257.84, and 257.05-257.07.

Corporate counsel who wish to learn more about the CCR Rule and its enforcement and litigation risks can review our "10 Key Points" on the Rule by clicking here.

Insights

Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25

From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors

Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003)....