This past year was a year of transition at the federal level as a new administration began to shape their vision for environmental management. As this new vision unfolded, we saw significant, and potentially substantive, changes for the regulated community.
Notable Environmental Developments
We saw (1) considerable changes in how Superfund is addressed, (2) amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, (3) changes to (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act) SARA Tier I and II reporting, and (4) battles over CERCLA/EPCRA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act/Environmental Planning and Community Right to Know Act) reporting for agriculture, to name a few.
For the regulated community, which is encompassing a larger group of companies (i.e., it’s not just “smoke-stack companies”), this means you have to be ever watchful.
Relative to environmental compliance, we have continued to see enforcement at a wide variety of companies, including DIRECTV ($9.5 million), Exxon Mobil ($2.5 million), and, more recently, Macy’s ($375,000).
Further emerging, changing, or developing were federal and state concerns related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and vapor intrusion.
Practical Environmental Considerations
How these changes impact your business and, ultimately, how they play out in 2018 is yet to be seen. However, here are a few considerations:
- If you are buying/selling commercial property, environmental due diligence must consider the potential for vapor intrusion.
- For agriculture, you not only have to consider the potential application of reporting under CERCLA, but the fate and transport of nutrients.
- The breadth of PFAS has yet to be determined, but certainly airports, Department of Defense sites, landfills, platers, and sites where publically-owned treatment works may have applied bio-solids should keep a “keen eye” on developments.
Providing Environmental Assistance
My colleagues at Dragun have been involved (in some cases involvement has included litigation support) in all of these issues above. To that end, if you need additional information about any of the issues mentioned, contact Jeffrey Bolin, M.S., CHMM at 248-932-0228, ext. 125.
With all of this as background, and in an effort to help you maintain environmental compliance, we are again providing our 2017 Environmental Compliance Calendar for Michigan.