Environmental

TRG Attends ELI Annual Review Conference

On Friday, April 6, associates of Taylor Research Group (TRG) attended the 11th annual Environmental Law & Policy Annual Review Conference in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and Vanderbilt University Law School, the event focused on cutting-edge legal issues in the environmental field.

Balancing the Public’s Right to Know with Private Industry’s Right to Protect Confidential Business Information in the Wake of Disasters

When Hurricane Harvey battered the Gulf Coast region in August of last year, communities worried about its devastating, lasting impact – from the significant personal loss felt by families to the staggering financial clean-up costs that threatened to overwhelm towns and cities. And, in addition to the loss of human life, flooded homes as well as entire neighborhoods, not to mention the indefinite shuttering of businesses, communities were forced to confront serious environmental concerns in real time as the storm raged in the area that is a well-known hub of the petrochemical industry.  

Historical Research: Its Role in Environmental Due Diligence Prior to Business Transactions

A recent article from Thompson Coburn LLP that provided tips for environmental due diligence for buyers in business transactions caught our attention. Why? Conducting research into historical environmental problems is one of our specialties at Taylor Research Group.

Another Lead-Related Crisis: East Chicago, Indiana

There are, of course, some big differences. The affected West Calumet Complex in East Chicago falls within an already designated EPA Superfund site where years before companies “smelted, dealt with or processed lead for decades,” according to CNN. The EPA has since sued several of these Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs). But attorneys will now have to determine to what extent governmental agencies share in ongoing remedial efforts.

Implications of the Clean Power Plan on Historical Research

We’ve been closely tracking litigation related to the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), which seeks to reduce carbon pollution from power plants and includes state-by-state mandates. Recently, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the plan until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit completes its review.

The Ongoing Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan

Last week, citizens of Flint, Michigan filed two class-action lawsuits against Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and other government officials.  These follow a declared state of emergency in Flint, a pending investigation from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan, a declared federal emergency by President Obama, and an emergency order issued from the EPA to the state of Michigan.

Creating a Timeline of Fossil Fuel Disasters in America

As mentioned in a previous case study, much of the work we do in support of environmental law and toxic tort cases involves compiling comprehensive site histories. We work with our clients to come up with cost-efficient research strategies to answer their most pressing environmental and historical questions for litigation. Rarely do we get the chance to work outside our normal realm of legal clients and beyond the scope of a single site history, but that is exactly what happened over the past year in this unique case involving research into fossil fuel disasters in the United States for a non-legal client.

Understanding the Historical Environmental Story Behind the EPA’s Animas River Spill

It’s been over a week since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inadvertently released an estimated three million tons of toxic wastewater into the Animas River, which temporarily turned the river orange. The long term effects on the 126 mile-long waterway that flows south from Colorado’s San Juan Mountains to Farmington, New Mexico where it joins with the San Juan River, are yet to be discovered.