From liability in Alabama to water withdrawals in Virginia, this month’s state regulatory updates.

Alabama - Company Liability Expanded

Companies in Alabama face increased liability risks in the wake of a recent state Supreme Court ruling that expanded the statutory limitations for personal injury actions (Griffin v. Unocal Corporation et al.) The plaintiff, whose husband worked at a tire-manufacturing plant in Tuscaloosa, filed a wrongful death action alleging that her husband’s illness and eventual death was caused by exposure to various chemicals, including benzene, during his 20-year employment at the facility. He was diagnosed with leukemia 10 years after he left his employment and died approximately 5 months after his diagnosis.

Colorado - Roadside Emissions Testing Begins

A trip to a vehicle emissions testing facility for registration renewal may be a thing of the past, as some residents of the Denver metropolitan area are discovering. Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment has begun an implementation phase of identifying high-polluting and low-polluting vehicles using roadside testing equipment. Under the program, identified clean-operating vehicles are exempt from standard on-site emissions inspection.

Georgia - EPA Approves Peach State SIP

The federal EPA has approved revisions to the Georgia State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the Georgia DNR. The revisions include modifications to the state’s air quality rules for enhanced inspection and maintenance (I/M). Enhanced I/M was required for 1-hour non-attainment areas classified as serious and above, under the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act.

Illinois - Radon Public Awareness Law

Those selling residential property already know that the law requires disclosure of lead-based paint information, but do they know that they also have to provide information about radon exposure? The Illinois Radon Awareness Act, which took effect Jan. 1, requires sellers to provide anyone buying a home, condominium or other residential property in Illinois with information about indoor radon exposure, and the fact that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause overall.

Massachusetts - MMS Favors Wind Project

Cape Wind Associates and those in favor of the Cape Wind Project welcomed a draft environmental impact statement from the Minerals Management Service, which found no substantial reason to block the project on environmental grounds. The Cape Wind Project has been endorsed by government and environmental groups as the prototypical renewable energy project. The project would erect 130 wind turbine generators in Nantucket Sound about 5 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. The turbines are expected to have a capacity sufficient to meet the electricity needs of about 75 percent of the population of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Rhode Island - New Septic Rules Effective

The Rhode Island DEM’s new rules for septic systems took effect on Jan.1, 2008. But the concrete pre-cast industry has one year after the effective date of the rest of the rules to diminish and adjust their existing inventory. The provisions for new or revised standards for construction of grease tanks, septic tanks, holding tanks and pump tanks will take effect on Jan. 1, 2009.

Virginia - Surface Water Withdrawals Permit Finalized

The Virginia DEQ recently finalized regulations regarding water protection permits, in particular the general permit for minor surface water withdrawals. At the heart of the changes to the regulations is a clarification of which water withdrawals are excluded from the permit requirement. This is accomplished in part by establishing a distinction between major (90 million gallons per month or greater) and minor (less than 90 million gallons per month) surface water withdrawals and providing regulatory exclusions for certain surface water withdrawals from permit requirements.