Providing Industry Room to Breathe While Protecting Our Air Quality: Some Current Thoughts
As a former state air regulator, I understand the complexities of air quality issues. Air permitting and state planning exercises are often times some of the most difficult and time intensive areas of environmental protection. And for good reason. The air we breathe is a precious resource and its…
Air Enforcement: Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality and Jefferson County Military Manufacturing/Depot Installation Enter into Consent Administrative Order
September 14, 2020
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and the U.S. Army, Pine Bluff Arsenal (“the Arsenal”) entered into an August 25th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleging violations of an air permit. See LIS No. 20-169. The CAO provides…
Arkansas School's Restriction on Student Speech Found "Unreasonable" by Eighth Circuit
September 11, 2020
by Devin R. Bates
An Arkansas school had an unwritten policy of restricting tabling to registered student organizations and school departments. At least generally, there was no problem with this policy. However, as applied to one particular group, the Eighth Circuit recently held that the policy’s distinction…
Residual Designation/Stormwater: Conservation Law Foundation Petitions Addressing Two Massachusetts Watersheds
September 11, 2020
by Walter G. Wright, Jr.
The Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) filed two petitions for a determination related to the Neponset River Watershed and Mystic River Watershed: . . . for a determination that certain commercial, industrial, institutional, and multi-family residential property dischargers contribute to water…
COVID-19: Arkansas Department Provisional COVID-19 Enforcement Guide Update
On July 2, 2020, Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (ADEE) Secretary Becky Keogh issued a memo stating the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memo scheduling the termination of the EPA’s Enforcement Discretion under COVID-19 would have no direct impact on the ADEE-issued…