Summer 2017: Indoor Environment

Environment

An Introduction to the Complexities of Lead in Drinking Water

The challenges posed by lead in drinking water infrastructure are not new. Learn about the history of this compound, the complexities of its potential release into water, and associated management considerations.

Environment

Indoor Airborne Particulate Matter: Unregulated, but a Major Contributor to Our Everyday Exposure

Christopher M. Long and Peter A. Valberg

The majority of our daily PM exposure occurs indoors, yet outdoor PM remains the major focus of regulations targeting potential health risks of inhaled PM.

Environment

The Invisible Issue in America’s Classrooms: Addressing Indoor Air Quality through the Law

Roger Hanshaw

Maintaining a healthy indoor atmosphere in America’s classrooms is the subject of much scrutiny leading to lawsuits, rulemakings, and a heightened awareness of the imperative to monitor the indoor environment.

Environment

PCBs: The Unknown Building Material That Can Cost Millions to Address

Patricia L. Boye-Williams

Consider suggestions for managing the risks associated with testing for PCBs, which are prevalent in older buildings.

Environment

This Old (Pre–1978) House: Lead-Based Paint Regulation and Enforcement under TSCA

John Jacus and Dean Miller

Federal and state regulators have aggressively enforced EPA’s renovation, repair, and painting rule against home renovation firms when their work disturbs lead-based paint.

Environment

Into the Woods: Does EPA’s Formaldehyde Rule for Wood Products Go Too Far?

Shani Harmon

EPA’s formaldehyde rule reduces emissions in wood products—but imposes a costly third-party certification program and regulates some products unnecessarily.

Environment

Vapor Intrusion: Acute Exposure Regulatory Developments and Litigation Trends

J. Tom Boer and Suedy Alfaro

Increasingly focused on vapor intrusion at cleanup sites, regulators recently turned to acute risks. Questionable science underlies this focus, leading to exposure to third-party lawsuits.

Environment

Vapor Intrusion: When Fear Interferes with Management of a Contaminated Site

Ellen Ivens

Fear can prevent access to conduct a vapor intrusion investigation at residential sites. Learn strategies to overcome it.

Environment

Chemical Hazard Communication: What U.S. Employers Need to Know about Globally Harmonized System Standards

From manufacturer to end user, each entity in the chemical supply chain should understand its hazard communication and training requirements under OSHA’s Globally Harmonized System before enforcement activity increases.

Environment

Vantage Point

Patrick J. Paul, Issue Editor

This “Indoor Environment” themed issue marks the first time the Natural Resources & Environment editorial board has devoted an entire edition to matters of interior exposures and risks. When we think about the environment, we tend to think about the air we breathe, water we drink, and ground upon which we walk and grow. And yet, while that perspective is understandable, much of our lives actually are spent indoors.

Environment

Perspectives: Selling Environmental Law and Policy

Blake Burgher

How much longer will we survive? How will the decisions that society makes today affect the quality of life for future generations? Environmental law, perhaps more so than any other field of law, directly impacts the answers to these questions, which are arguably some of the most significant conundrums facing humanity today.

Environment

Literary Resources

JoAnne L. Dunec

Books

Environment

The Back Page: Cover Story

Jonathan P. Scoll

Runoff from farm fields is a primary cause of high levels of nitrate, phosphorus, and other nutrient pollution in many U.S. watercourses. Defined in the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 502(14), 33 U.S.C. §1314(f), as a nonpoint source, such runoff is exempt from direct control under the CWA.

Environment

Environmental Law at the Borders

J.B. Ruhl

The environmental law of the president’s Project XL pipeline permit and proposed border “wall” might surprise you—arguably, there isn’t any.

Environment

Jury Trials under Environmental Statutes

Douglas A. Henderson and Justin T. Wong

Under the Clean Water Act and other environmental statutes, the right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment is available only for limited issues.

Environment

The Buzz: EU Steps Up on Bee Protection

Madeline June Kass

A comparison of U.S. and EU efforts to address alarming declines in bee populations evidences a shift in global environmental leadership.

Environment

A Dent in the Clean Water Act’s Permit Shield

Douglas J. Crouse

Recent federal court decisions cast doubt on the scope of the Clean Water Act “permit shield” defense in relation to pollutant discharge permits.

Environment

Ninth Circuit Applies Winters Doctrine to Groundwater

Jessica Duggan

Water districts will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether a Native American tribe has a federally established right to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation.

Environment

A Fresh Air Look at CERCLA Acquisition Structures

Kevin R. Murray

Buyers of real property must take precautions to protect themselves from environmental liability. Use of an air lease with surface easement may be an option.

Environment

Storm Water Violations and Tips to Avoid Them

Mark D. Johnson

Develop an understanding of storm water permit requirements under the Clean Water Act, common violations, and how to maintain compliance and avoid citizens’ suits.