Insights

Washington – August 17, 2023: The 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 47 firm lawyers as "Best Lawyers" and 41 lawyers as “Ones to Watch.”

Detroit – August 10, 2023: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International City/County Management Association awarded Crowell & Moring partner Elliott P. Laws its Charlie Bartsch Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his role as administrative trustee of the Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust.

Washington – August 18, 2022: The 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 54 firm lawyers as "Best Lawyers" and 32 lawyers as “Ones to Watch.”

For the RSL, EPA regions should now use an RSL of 200 parts per million (ppm). (Before this new guidance, the RSL was 400 ppm.) However, EPA regions should use an RSL of 100 ppm if an additional source of lead is identified (e.g., lead water service lines, lead-based paint, or non-attainment areas where the air lead concentrations exceed National Ambient Air Quality Standards [NAAQS]). The recommended RSL of 100 ppm considers aggregate lead exposure and increased risk to children living in communities with multiple sources of lead contamination.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to release by the end of this year guidelines for analyzing cumulative risks that result from an aggregation of environmental hazards. EPA says the revisited and further developed cumulative risk assessment guidance will serve as an additional tool to guide EPA’s regulatory decision-making and enforcement efforts, especially as it pertains to its environmental justice (EJ) goals.

On April 20, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, et al., allowing Montana landowners to pursue state law claims for damages within an EPA-managed Superfund site, but requiring EPA approval of any remedial work beyond the originally selected remedy. Many commentators and legal scholars have suggested the case opens a veritable Pandora’s Box of new litigation. We submit that the consequences will likely be less dramatic, in part because of the unusual legal remedy under Montana law for a landowner whose property becomes contaminated by another party is not widely available outside Montana.

The 2018 International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference will be held in Rome, the Eternal City. As the saying goes ‘all roads lead to Rome’ and the conference will bring together delegates from all over the world for the largest and most prestigious event for international lawyers, providing an abundance of business and networking opportunities, not to mention the chance to explore one of the most fascinating cities on Earth.

The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ 46th Spring Conference program is built to explore topics and issues facing the environmental lawyer today. It is an unmatched opportunity to hear from the nation's leading top lawyers, government officials, in-house counsel, and academics who will weigh in on timely and significant topics effecting natural resources law. Los Angeles provides the backdrop for our two day CLE program at the Loews Hollywood Hotel on March 29-31, 2017.

This advanced one-day course of study gives its registrants the opportunity to acquire an in-depth understanding of the laws governing hazardous substances, as well as up-to-date information on federal enforcement of statutes regulating them and remediation actions.

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.