I thought everyone would be interested in the following update from the Illinois Manufacturers' Association concerning fracking legislation in the Illinois General Assembly: "Following another marathon negotiating session that resulted in little movement between industry and the environmental community, several key state lawmakers met privately and intend to develop their own proposal that will...

The Illinois Pollution Control Board recently issued its Environmental Register for October 2012.  The Environmental Register features a letter from Board Chairman Thomas Holbrook, which summarizes the activity that the Board has conducted in several rulemaking dockets. The Environmental Register also contains a rulemaking update, including a summary of the Board's adoption of final a...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled claims alleging Clean Air Act violations against Carmeuse Lime, Inc., which has a lime manufacturing facility located at 3245 E. 103rd Street in Chicago. According to EPA's press release announcing the terms of the Consent Decree, "EPA and the city of Chicago conducted a joint investigation at the Carmeuse facility in response to complaints ...

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently signed a bill passed in the General Assembly, Public Act 097-0945, that amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the Environmental Protection Act to align Illinois air regulations with federal air regulations: "[T]he [Illinois Pollution Control] Board shall adopt ambient air quality standards specifying the maximum permissible short-term and long...

The U.S. EPA recently announced a tough 10-year sentence for a man convicted of criminal violations of the Clean Air Act relating to asbestos: Duane “Butch” O’Malley, 59, of Bourbonnais, Ill., who was convicted by a federal jury on September 26, 2011, for the illegal removal, handling and disposal of asbestos from a Kankakee building in August 2009, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by ...

I encourage you to register for the National Spring Conference on the Environment, titled "Reframing the Conversation: Examining the Tension Between Environmental Regulation, Job Growth and the Economy."  This event is will take place this Friday, June 1st at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in Baltimore.  The event is organized by the American Bar Association's Sec...

On March 21st, I spoke at the Chicago Bar Association's "Environmental Law & Practice" seminar, featuring excellent speakers providing updates on the main environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (also known as "EPCRA") and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also k...