Jeffrey Talbert

December 17, 2024 | New York Law Journal

The Biden Administration made environmental justice a priority of its environmental programs, even creating new councils focused specifically on environmental justice. It issued new initiatives and guidance for agencies on how to consider environmental justice in existing environmental statutory schemes, and made significant funding available. What will happen to all of these initiatives when Donald Trump takes office in 2025? What does this mean for environmental justice efforts in New York and New Jersey?

By Jeffrey Talbert and Laura Jensen

5 minute read

November 18, 2024 | New York Law Journal

Litigation related to plastics and microplastic pollution is on the rise. Plaintiffs have brought claims under numerous theories of liability. The state of New York’s common law nuisance claims against PepsiCo were recently met with disdain. The court summarily dismissed New York’s case calling it a “predatory lawsuit” that without a statutory claim was “simply policy idealism.” Some parties have raised the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) as a statute to regulate microplastics. But is CERCLA really applicable to microplastics?

By Jeffrey Talbert and Laura Jensen

10 minute read

October 30, 2024 | New York Law Journal

Superfund Sites are notorious for taking a long time to resolve. But are they ever really closed? Superfund settlements are intended to provide settling parties with finality. The incorporation of reopener clauses in Superfund settlement agreements, typically required by EPA, and changes in the regulation of contaminants can undermine this goal. EPA's recent decisions to list certain PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances, revise the risk evaluation for 1,4,-dioxane, and lower risk levels for lead have dramatically increased the likelihood that Superfund Sites across the country may be reopened.

By Jeffrey Talbert

10 minute read