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On Jan. 16, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reclassified ​several counties in southeastern Wisconsin from moderate to serious nonattainment for the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).1 Ozone pollution is an ongoing challenge for the Greater Milwaukee area that affects the environment, the region’s economy, and the public health of approximately one-third of Wisconsin’s population that calls the area home.

Michael Moran, Michigan State 2020, is a staff attorney with the Wisconsin Department of…
Continue Reading Clearing the Air about Serious Ozone Nonattainment in Southeastern Wisconsin

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On Oct. 8 2024, the Biden administration issued its long-awaited final rule, the “Lead and Copper Rule Improvements” (LCRI), requiring drinking water systems across the country identify and replace all lead water pipes within a 10-year period. The LCRI includes requirements for more rigorous testing of drinking water for lead levels, lower thresholds requiring communities to take action to protect residents from lead exposure, and more consistent communication with communities regarding the schedules for pipe replacement and…
Continue Reading EPA Improved Lead Rule to Facilitate Lead Pipes Replacement in the U.S.

The ever-changing landscape of state government requires businesses across all industries to stay informed on the happenings in Madison. Welcome to the November 2024 issue of the Capitol Connection.

In this issue:

Election 2024: State Legislature

After the implementation of new legislative maps, months of campaigning, heated rhetoric, a barrage of unsolicited text messages, and lots of junk mail, the 2024 election has concluded.

After the votes were tallied:

  • Democrats gained 10 seats in the Wisconsin Assembly
  • Republicans maintain

…
Continue Reading Capitol Connection, November 2024

close-up view of water flowing from tap into glass

On October 8, the Biden Administration issued its long-awaited final rule, the “Lead and Copper Rule Improvements” (the “LCRI”), requiring drinking water systems across the country identify and replace all lead water pipes within a 10-year period.[1] The LCRI also includes requirements for more rigorous testing of drinking water for lead levels, lower thresholds requiring communities to take action to protect residents from lead exposure, and more consistent communication with communities regarding the schedules for pipe replacement and…
Continue Reading EPA Issues Final Lead & Copper Rule Improvements with $2.6 Billion Allocated to Support Replacement of All Lead Drinking Water Pipes in the US

Attorney Mederson to present on climate change during State Bar’s Annual Environmental Law Update
Attorney Jessica C. Mederson will present with a panel of other experts during the State Bar of Wisconsin’s 36th Annual Environmental Law Update on Thursday, September 12, 2024. Jessica and the other panelists’ portion of the Environmental Law Update promises to be “a lively panel discussion about climate change [where the audience will] receive guidance on ethical questions with a unique environmental law perspective.” Register…
Continue Reading Attorney Jessica Mederson Presents at State Bar of Wisconsin’s 2024 Environmental Law Update

Wisconsin has over 15,000 lakes, and summer often is filled with swimming, boating, and enjoying the state’s waterways. It is also a time where the importance of understanding riparian rights, property rights associated with Wisconsin’s lakes, rivers, and waterways, is heightened. Disputes between riparian owners (lake and river property owners) have become increasingly common as new construction, crowded shorelines, and changes in watercraft have led to increased contact and increased conflict. The latest iteration of this conflict centers around…
Continue Reading Trends in Riparian Rights: Update

close-up view of water flowing from tap into glass

Law Clerk Klara A. Henry assisted in the drafting of this blog post.

On April 10, 2024, the EPA issued a highly anticipated final rule establishing legally enforceable limits for five types of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called “forever chemicals”). The rule sets individual limits for these five forms of PFAS, as well as limits on two or more of the substances mixed together. The larger class of PFAS substances consists of almost 15,000 synthetic chemicals, many…
Continue Reading EPA Finalizes First-Ever National Drinking Water Standard for PFAS

As of February 13, 2024, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1527–21 “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” is now required when Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) are conducted by environmental consultants to qualify for the innocent landowner defense, or the bona fide prospective purchaser or contiguous property owner liability protections, under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (see: 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).

The goal of…
Continue Reading Use of the ASTM E1527-21 Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard Practice is Now Required to Meet CERCLA Liability Protections

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While some people have been eagerly anticipating college basketball’s March Madness, others have been anticipating the SEC’s long-awaited climate disclosure rule, which was finally announced today. As discussed previously (in a climate-related disclosures blog post from a year and a half ago), this rule is highly contentious and will probably face legal challenges.

The SEC appears to be acknowledging the risk of litigation in rolling back what must be reported under this new rule. The European Union requires…
Continue Reading Let March Madness Begin! The SEC Finally Announces its Climate Disclosure Rule

When it reviews a wetland individual permit application, the DNR must consider the impacts of the entire project proposing wetland fill, and not only the physical footprint of the proposed fill itself. DNR’s purview of secondary impacts extends to otherwise unregulated activities of the permitted project where they result in significant adverse environmental consequences.

In its December 5 decision, Kohler Co. v. Wisconsin DNR and Claudia Bricks and Friends of the Black River Forest (2021AP1187), the Wisconsin Court of…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Appeals Court Upholds Rejection of Wetland Fill Permit in Kohler Golf Course Project

United State Department of Education in Washington D.C.
Plaque sign on the outside of the United State Department of Education in Washington D.C.

On November 15, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that it was opening a 60-day public comment period as it considers updates it plans to make to its document entitled: Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis (the “Guidance Document”). Public Comments need to be submitted by January 15, 2024.

It is important to understand that this Guidance Document is not a regulation, but businesses with an environmental aspect (e.g. manufacturers, waste processors, etc) should be…
Continue Reading EPA’s New Push for Environmental Justice: What Small Businesses Should Now Consider

Molecular Structure - Lights Concept
Molecular Structure. Science background. 3D Render

On September 28, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) finally finalized its rule requiring the reporting and recordkeeping of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). The rule was posted on October 10, 2023, and provides the details of what is required to comply with the rule. This article will provide a high-level summary of the who, how, what, and when of this new rule in an effort to provide a basic guideline of what is expected for those…
Continue Reading EPA Announces its Long-Awaited PFAS Reporting Requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act

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In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s
Sackett v. EPA decision,​1 the landscape of wetland protections in Wisconsin has changed. While Wisconsin boasts robust wetland protection statutes
compared to other states, a significant exemption to the permitting regime within those statutes hinges on the federal definition of wetlands. The “nonfederal exemption,” established by
2017 Wisconsin Act 183, is an exemption to the permit requirement when filling or discharging into certain wetlands that are not covered…
Continue Reading An Uncertain Future: 'Sackett's' Impact on the Nonfederal Wetland Exemption in Wisconsin

It is that time of year again. Summer is around the corner, and lakefront and riverfront property owners all across the state are starting to think about when to get their piers back in or what day they want to drop their boat in. Inevitably, this time of year is when neighbors old and new may start to interfere with other waterfront property owners’ rights to access the water. One of the many issues surrounding lake and river property…
Continue Reading What are Riparian Rights & Why are They Important?

The recent proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as “hazardous substances” under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Contamination, and Liability Act (CERCLA or “Superfund”) promises to provide greater information concerning the release of PFAS into the environment, as well as powerful tools to require the cleanup and recover costs for such releases.

However, because of the ubiquity of these so-called “forever chemicals,” the proposed designation also raises a number of…
Continue Reading Implications of the EPA’s Proposed Rule Designating PFAS as Hazardous Substances

Nitrate and nitrite are about to reemerge as groundwater and drinking water chemicals of concern.

Our new research reveals that current nitrate and nitrite drinking and groundwater standards do not reflect a true weight of evidence analysis of the peer-reviewed literature and government documents. As a result, such noteworthy authorities as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the World Health Organization, California EPA, Health Canada, Minnesota Department of Health, and Wisconsin Department of Health Services rely on a curated list…
Continue Reading History Judges Nitrate and Nitrite Standards a Scientific Failure