Environmental Law ReSource : Environmental Lawyer & Attorney : Reed Smith Law Firm : Climate Change, Sustainability

This post was written by Indeg Kerr, Siobhan Hayes and Tim Foster.

UK businesses need to know their carbon footprint because in 2010 the Carbon Reduction Commitment Order will apply. Since our CRC posting in December 2008, draft regulations have been published and are now subject to public consultation. This remains a scheme where businesses using a substantial amount of energy will have to report on their energy consumption, buy carbon allowances based on projected carbon emissions for each scheme year then surrender them at the end of each year when energy use is known. A league table will be published by the Environment Agency (EA) who will administer the scheme showing the relative energy efficiency of all those in the program. The best performing businesses will receive a refund of some of the costs of the allowances plus a bonus but the worst performing businesses will pay a penalty.

Some industries are high intensity energy users and already have to comply with the EU’s Emissions Trading System. The CRC scheme will capture lower intensity energy users who used a significant amount of electricity in 2008 and may include large offices, chains of retail outlets, hotels, banks, chains of restaurants as well as industry.
This posting outlines the types of business that may need to comply with the CRC scheme, the basic requirements of the program, some cost issues, and next steps to consider.
 

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This post was written by David Wagner.

On May 9, 2009, parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Stockholm POPs) agreed to add 9 new substances to the treaty’s annexes of banned or restricted substances. The Stockholm POPs treaty is an international agreement that initially targeted 12 substances to be eliminated from global commerce, and this month’s decision is the first addition of chemicals to the treaty since the original listing was adopted in 2001.

The decision to add substances was made at the 4^th conference of the treaty’s parties. The additions include PFOS, a chemical used in many electronic applications, such as semiconductor chips, photo imaging, textiles, and fire fighting foam; lindane, a pesticide that has been used to combat head lice; chlordecone, an agricultural pesticide; and hexabromobiphenyl, an industrial chemical that has been used as a flame retardant.

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This post was written by Steve Nolan and Lou Naugle.

On May 4, 2009, in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed two issues under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. §9601 et seq. (CERCLA), which it had never reached before. The first issue was the reach of the useful product defense, which has been generally recognized in principle by the lower courts. The second was the question of what showing is required of defendants to avoid joint and several liability that, for more than 25 years, the lower federal courts have imposed almost as a matter of course.

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This post was written by Indeg Kerr and Siobhan Hayes.

In the UK, the High Court issued judgment at the end of March in the civil litigation to decide on liability following the 2005 explosion at the Buncefield oil storage depot. The judgment raises a number of practical management issues to be considered by anyone operating a facility covered by the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH) or simply managing hazardous substances in significant quantities. This article provides an overview of the judgment and outlines significant issues to consider.

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