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Oct 12020

October 1, 2020

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”) has finalized its enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level (“MCL”) drinking water standards for a group of six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) after proposing similar regulatory provisions in December 2019. Under the new regulations, the MCL is set at 20 nanograms per liter (i.e., 20 parts per trillion) for the sum of the concentrations of these six distinct PFAS contaminants: perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”); perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”); perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (“PFHxS”); perfluorononanoic acid (“PFNA”); perfluoroheptanoic acid (“PFHpA”); and perfluorodecanoic acid (“PFDA”). No later than December 31, 2023, and every three years thereafter, MassDEP will review the science and state of PFAS analytical/treatment methodologies to determine whether these drinking water standards should be amended.

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Joseph T. Zaleski

jzaleski@sidley.com

Sep 292020

California Governor Directs State to Develop Near-Future Zero-Emission Vehicle Sales and Operation Mandates

CAA, California, CARB, Electric Vehicles, EPA, Executive Order, GHG, Greenhouse Gases, Mobile Sources, ZEV

Joseph T. Zaleski

September 29, 2020

On September 23, 2020 California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20, expressing the goals that:

by 2035, 100% of all in-state sales of new passenger cars and trucks will be zero-emission vehicles (“ZEV”);
by 2045, 100% of all medium-and heavy-duty vehicles in the state be zero-emission for all operations where feasible (and the same goal for drayage trucks by 2035); and
by 2035, the State will transition to 100% zero-emission off-road vehicles and equipment (where feasible).

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