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Monday, we published our client alert A Boost for Business: Time to Reaffirm or Secure Terrorism Insurance. The Alert discusses H.R. 26, a bill signed into law on January 12, 2015 by President Obama enacting the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TRIPRA of 2015). TRIPRA provides a federal backstop for insurance against risks of terrorism and extends until 2020 the Terrorism Insurance Program established under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002, which expired at the end of 2014. The measure lifts a cloud of uncertainty that was proving difficult for property owners, especially in major metropolitan areas, as there was insufficient capacity in the private insurance market to meet their needs.

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UPDATE: On May 14, 2015, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed Senate Bill 456 into law. This new law is effective July 1, 2015.

On January 22, 2015, Florida Senate Bill 456 was introduced, proposing to revise the methods by which a labor pool may pay day laborers. If signed into law, Senate Bill 456 would permit a labor pool to compensate day labors, paying them in cash, using a commonly accepted negotiable instrument that is payable in cash, on demand at a financial institution, and without discount, using a payroll debit card, or by electronic fund transfer to a financial institution designated by the day laborer.
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The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that ICG Hazard, LLC’s Clean Water Act (CWA) general permit defense, located in the CWA at 33 U.S.C. 1342(k), shielded the mining company from a CWA enforcement lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club. The case is Sierra Club v. ICG Hazard, LLC, decided January 27, 2015. Relying on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal’s 2001 ruling in Piney Run Preservation Association v. County Commissioners, 268 F.3d 255 (4th Cir. 2001), a divided panel of the Court of Appeals held that the general permit issued pursuant to delegated authority by the Kentucky Division of Water shielded ICG Hazard from this lawsuit. The pollutant in question is selenium, and the Court of Appeals held that the agency was aware of the potential for discharges from ICG Hazard’s surface mining operations. The Court of Appeals also held that the permit shield applies to both individual and general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permits. Moreover, the provisions of the CWA presumably trump contrary provisions of Surface Mining Act.
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The Nevada State Contractors Board has an Overview of Contractor License Requirements for Nevada that addresses commonly asked questions about the general requirements for applying for a contractors license and the corresponding answers.

The topics addressed in the overview include:

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The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) warns contractors that even if they have received a notice from the Department of Revenue stating: “If you are a contractor whose only business is to enter into contracts with the owner of real property for the maintenance, repair, replacement or alteration of existing property, beginning January 1, 2015, you do not need to have a transaction privilege tax (TPT) license,” Arizona Revised Statutes § 32-1122(B)(1)(h) requires all contractor license applicants and licensees to provide the ROC with a TPT license number to obtain or renew a contractor license. The ROC confirmed that it has asked the legislature to make these laws more consistent by removing this TPT requirement. However, it cautions that, until this change is made, contractors need to maintain their Arizona TPT license.

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Recently, the California Contractors State License Board posted a link to the 2015 edition of the California Contractors License Law & Reference Book. This is an incredibly helpful resource if you are currently a contractor, subcontractor or materials supplier in California or if you may become one in the near future.

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In a very long opinion (111 pages), making rulings on motions for summary judgment and the controverted exclusion of expert witness testimony, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington held that the manure management practices of a number of large dairy operations in Washington State generated dangerous amounts of what the District Court determined to be solid waste regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). In doing so, it concluded that the defendants in a RCRA Citizen Suit have violated RCRA’s open dumping and substantial and imminent endangerment prohibitions. The case is Community Association for the Restoration of the Environment, Inc., et al., v. Cow Palace, LLC, et al., and this decision was issued on January 14, 2015. This ruling makes the point that even innocuous, non-hazardous waste management practices can have adverse consequences if the waste is not properly managed and monitored for compliance.
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Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided the case of Hobart Corporation, et al., v. Waste Management of Ohio, Inc., et al., 758 F. 3d 757 (2014), holding that the statute of limitation applicable for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) cost reimbursement actions is 3 years from the effective date of an administrative settlement with EPA. Yesterday, the Supreme Court denied Hobart’s petition for certiorari.

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Yesterday, I posted my client alert Reversing Course, EPA Tightens Its RCRA Hazardous Waste Recycling Rules. This Alert discusses the EPA’s harder line on its interpretation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act rules that govern industrial recycling following years of relative easing into these rules. A recently issued regulation makes recycling almost as heavily regulated as other hazardous waste management activities under the RCRA.

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Today, the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) issued an Industry Bulletin confirming that, in recent months, it “has been seeing an increase in the number of out-of-state solar manufacturers entering into contracts with licensed Nevada contractors to perform solar installation services for Nevada residents.” It noted that many of these out-of-state manufacturers do not possess a Nevada contractor’s license and the Nevada contractors performing installation services for such businesses are being disciplined by NSCB for aiding and abetting an unlicensed contractor.
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