Michael Nicholls 
💧 Solving one contamination issue can inadvertently amplify another in wastewater treatment. The push to thermally destroy persistent organic pollutants in biosolids is creating an unexpected secondary risk involving heavy metals.
A US Federal Court has forced the EPA to defend its cumulative Hazard Index approach for regulating PFAS mixtures. The ruling has direct implications for Australian practitioners using cumulative risk assessment under the PFAS NEMP 3.0 and Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Active remediation systems in NSW are about to face a stricter approvals pathway. The NSW Environment Protection Authority has launched a review of the Approved Methods for the Modelling and Assessment of Air Pollutants.
🤖 The federal government has moved to formalise the conditions under which AI and data centre infrastructure can be deployed in Australia. New project approvals for these facilities are now directly linked to a five-step national interest framework.
Water Quality Australia has published final ANZG default guideline values for PFOS in freshwater. The 99 per cent species protection value has increased nearly two orders of magnitude, but a new bioaccumulation pathway assessment requirement adds complexity for ecological risk assessments at contaminated sites.
Groundwater modelling is often time-consuming. However, a new interpretable AI framework may soon replace months of traditional calibration with rapid, accurate predictions.
🏗️ The standard desktop environmental assessment is about to become a major liability for Victorian property transactions. Regulators are signalling a sharp escalation in how the Environment Protection Act 2017 will be enforced as we move into 2026.
EPA Victoria has fined Active Farming Pty Ltd $10,175 for illegally burning industrial waste at a Sunbury property. Combined with a VCAT shutdown order initiated by Hume City Council, this multi-agency enforcement demonstrates the escalating regulatory response to illegal waste disposal in Victoria.
🌍 A significant legal challenge in the US is complicating environmental due diligence for Australian firms with global assets. A coalition of 24 states has sued the US EPA regarding the repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding. This rollback removes the scientific determination th
⚠️ The US EPA is now enforcing a 5 micrograms per decilitre blood lead target for residential soil remediation. At the Federated Metals Superfund site, this requires the physical excavation and removal of the top 30 centimetres of soil to meet the threshold. The agency has reject