United States v. Union Carbide Corp., No. 1:24-cv-01463 (D. Colo. May 23, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CERCLA defendants must pay $600,000 to reimburse response costs incurred at the Uravan Uranium Project Superfund Site in Montrose County, Colorado, and to comply with institutional controls and other requirements for property owned within the site. 

United States v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., No. 4:23-cv-00517 (N.D. Ohio May 23, 2024). In connection with the February 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a proposed consent decree requires a settling CWA and CERCLA defendant to (1) reimburse all response costs incurred by the United States; (2) pay a civil penalty of $15 million; (3) establish a $25 million community health program for qualifying members of the public impacted by the derailment; (4) implement an array of specified rail safety procedures; (5) develop and adopt programs for coordination of rail track restoration and vent and burn procedures; (6) implement a $6 million local waterways remediation plan; (7) pay $175,000 for natural resource damages; and (8) implement compliance and future monitoring requirements. 

EPA updated the regulatory framework governing the management and protection of environmental, fish and wildlife, other surface resources, and special areas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

EPA designated two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), including their salts and structural isomers—as hazardous substances under CERCLA. 

United States v. French Limited, Inc., No. 4:89-cv-2544 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 26, 2024). A fourth modification to a 1990 consent decree under CERCLA concerning contamination at the French Limited Superfund Site near Crosby, Texas, revises work requirements, provides for the reimbursement to EPA of certain response costs, and provides for the disbursement to members of the working group of funds received by EPA in a bankruptcy settlement payment for the site.

CEQ finalized its “Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule” to revise its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA. 

DOE revised its NEPA implementing procedures to add a categorical exclusion for certain energy storage systems and modify categorical exclusions for upgrading and rebuilding powerlines and for solar photovoltaic systems, as well as to make conforming changes to related sections of the Department’s NEPA regulations. 

United States v. San Diego, City of, No. 3:23-cv-00541-LL-BGS (S.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CERCLA defendants must collectively pay $2,412,029.89 for reimbursement of response costs incurred in connection with the release of hazardous substances at the former Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. 

The Federal Transit Administration announced the availability of a programmatic assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from transit projects. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) adopted the Department of the Air Force's categorical exclusion for supersonic flying operations over land and above 30,000 feet mean sea level, or over water and above 10,000 feet mean sea level and more than 15 nautical miles from land under NEPA to use in NASA’s program and funding opportunities.