United States v. Dow Silicones Corp., No. 19-11880 (E.D. Mich. Apr. 24, 2024). A proposed consent decree modification extends a deadline for a settling CWA defendant’s implementation of a stormwater capacity and pollutant evaluation from January 24, 2023, to January 24, 2026, and also includes requirements to mitigate any environmental harm associated with the extension of the deadline.

EPA revised the water quality standards (WQS) regulation under the CWA to add requirements for states establishing WQS in waters where tribes hold and assert rights to CWA-protected aquatic and aquatic-dependent resources reserved through treaties, statutes, or executive orders.

EPA announced the availability of proposed interim registration review decisions and amended decisions for the following pesticides: Acephate, Captan, Ferbam, Thiram, and Ziram. 

EPA entered into proposed consent decrees in Community In-Power and Development Ass'n Inc. v. EPA, No. 1:23-cv-02715 (D.D.C.) and ACC v. EPA, No. 1:23-cv-03726 (D.D.C.), that would establish deadlines for EPA to take action on subject risk evaluations under TSCA. 

EPA finalized national primary drinking water regulations for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS); the Agency also finalized a Hazard Index of 1 as the maximum contaminant level goal and maximum contaminant level for any mixture containing two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS.

NOAA announced the availability of final evaluation findings for seven state and territory coastal management programs and four national estuarine research reserves under the CZMA. 

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on the Agency’s draft human health and ecological risk assessments for the registration review of formaldehyde and paraformaldehyde. 

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on an update to the interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and materials containing PFAS; the updated guidance builds on information pertaining to technologies that may be feasible and appropriate for the destruction or disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing materials, and identifies key data gaps and uncertainties that must be resolved before EPA can issue more definitive recommendations about PFAS destruction and disposal technologies.

EPA finalized changes to its test procedures required to be used by industries and municipalities when analyzing the chemical, physical, and biological properties of wastewater and other samples for reporting under the NPDES permit program. 

United States v. Villegas, No. 1:24-cv-962 (D. Colo. Apr. 10, 2024). Under a proposed consent decree, settling CWA defendants that discharged pollutants without a permit into waters of the United States must restore impacted areas.