On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive...more
Key Points - EPA designates PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA. The congressional response includes expressions of concern about the breadth of the rule and its impact on “innocents.” The rule has spurred the...more
As federal and state governments race to regulate a class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), their broad efforts sweep in thousands of individual chemicals—from those for which scientific...more
Key Points-
For the first time, the Supreme Court has invoked explicitly the “major questions doctrine”—which requires Congress to speak clearly when authorizing agency action in certain extraordinary cases—to strike...more
Key Points -
U.S. hospitals, health systems, suppliers, pharmaceutical companies and other industry stakeholders are invited to submit voluntary pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase their climate...more
On February 18, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued two interconnected policy statements (the “Policy Statements”) regarding its review and certification of interstate natural...more
In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, or the “Agency”) promulgated national regulations governing the disposal of coal ash generated by coal-fired power plants, or coal combustion residuals (CCRs). Following...more
[co-author: Christina Barone]
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “bill”) is historic bipartisan legislation that will make available $1.2 trillion in funding for infrastructure programs across the...more
Key Points -
In the lead-up to November’s COP26 meeting in Glasgow, the United States has joined much of the rest of the world in its pursuit of a clean-energy economy that reduces emissions and environmental impacts from...more
A major focus of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is rehabilitation of water infrastructure, including ports, recreation and irrigation, but with a particular focus on drinking water. As with other parts of...more
President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate has wrapped up. The event saw world leaders highlighting their countries’ respective climate commitments, calling for collective action, and attending breakout sessions designed to...more
Late last week, newly confirmed Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland took two major steps to advance the Biden-Harris administration’s climate priorities and accelerate the shift to a clean energy future....more
On Earth Day, April 22, President Biden will launch a two-day Leaders Summit on Climate, a key lead-up meeting to this November’s United Nations climate talks in Glasgow. The President invited over 40 world leaders to the...more
On Tuesday, March 2, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee introduced a sweeping climate proposal—the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act—an amended version of...more
Late last week, the Justice Department withdrew nine Trump-era policy and guidance documents that shaped how the Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) enforced environmental law during the past...more
A number of President Biden’s early climate and environmental policies direct federal funding, research and procurement decisions toward infrastructure. In this installment of our series on President Biden’s “Climate Day”...more
Last week’s “Climate Day” actions grabbed headlines primarily for how they respond to climate risk through increased federal coordination. Equally important may be the actions the Biden administration took that day to combat...more
Shortly after inauguration, President Joseph R. Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” This sweeping Executive Order...more
Following years of litigation and a segmented rulemaking process, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized revisions to portions of its coal combustion residuals (CCR) regulations governing, among other...more
- Democrats in the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis have released a Climate Crisis Action Plan that aims to achieve net-zero emissions throughout the United States by 2050 and “net-negative” emissions by 2100,...more
President Trump issued an Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery on May 19. Generally, the Order directs federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 crisis by “rescinding, modifying, waiving, or...more
The U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the scope of federal protection under the Clean Water Act includes any “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge to navigable waters from a point source. The Court’s decision is the...more
4/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA or the Agency) Office of Land and Emergency Management and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance issued Interim Guidance to EPA’s Regional Offices...more
- The COVID-19 crisis has left consultants, lenders, servicers, investors and other users struggling to assess environmental conditions of assets as they question the ability to conduct, and the utility of, phase I...more
In response to requests for leniency as companies grapple with reduced workforces during the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a temporary policy announcing that it will exercise...more