[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
The Accidental Chemical Release Rules have an effective date of May 10, 2024, and includes a number of situations requiring compliance, generally by May 10, 2027. The new Clean Water Act facility response plan...more
Proposed rules would increase the stringency of Clean Air Act standards applicable to facilities that burn 250 tons or more of municipal solid waste per day. Among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") latest...more
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday revived a Trump-era Clean Water Act regulation, finding that U.S. District Judge William Alsup erred when vacating a Trump administration revision of the “Clean Water Act 401 Certification...more
Introduction - In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court confirmed a robust “major questions” canon of construction that will restrain administrative agencies’ ability to regulate on issues of “vast economic and...more
What Happened: West Virginia v. EPA - In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jones Day client, the North American Coal Corporation, and determined that the EPA did not have clear authorization from...more
On June 30, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in West Virginia v. EPA, a case challenging the scope of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) authority to regulate...more
On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided West Virginia et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, holding that the EPA lacks authority under Section 7411(d) of the Clean Air Act to limit greenhouse gas emissions from...more
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions based on shifting from existing generation sources under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA)....more
In a 6-3 opinion, the high court struck a major blow to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), ruling the EPA cannot provide states with the right to issue regulations reducing the amount of carbon...more
On June 29, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an arcane portion of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), infrequently used by the EPA, could not serve as appropriate delegation of legislative authority to regulate greenhouse gas....more
The Supreme Court severely limited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) asserted authority to regulate greenhouse gases from existing emission sources such as coal-fired power plants. While devastating to EPA's...more
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey Announces Run for Governor As widely anticipated, Massachusetts Attorney General Healey formally announced she will run for governor in 2022. General Healey’s decision will likely...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training publishes an Environmental Case Crimes Bulletin (“Bulletin”) that summarizes publicized investigative activity...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Matt Brewing, Co., Inc. (“MBCI”) entered into a September 21st Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”) addressing alleged violations of the regulations...more
As climate change rightly has dominated recent discussions of environmental policy, it’s been easy to forget how much progress has been made in the past fifty years. I was reminded of the extent of that progress by the story...more
The Chesapeake Legal Alliance recently won a notable victory for the Assateague Coastal Trust in a successful challenge to the Maryland Department of Environmental Protection’s issuance of a state NPDES general permit for...more
New EPA rule aims to limit tough clean air measures under Biden - The New York Times – December 9 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this Wednesday completed a rule that could weaken federal authority to...more
On August 13, 2020, EPA released two rules changing the volatile organic compound (“VOC”) and methane emissions requirements for new sources in the oil and gas sector, which alter or roll back some of the requirements put in...more
Deregulation was one of the primary promises of President Trump’s campaign, and in 2018, the administration continued to roll back environmental regulation. The recent shutdown of the federal government has slowed...more
EPA has announced a new compliance policy that some will view as providing welcome relief to industry and others may view as providing unwarranted concessions. The subject line of the EPA memo announcing the new policy is...more
New Source Review (“NSR”) remains a focus of enforcement for EPA. Between last year and now, EPA finalized eight settlements with manufacturers and one with a utility, asserting NSR violations for allegedly not obtaining a...more
Ever since President Trump took office in January 2017, several questions have arisen within the environmental community regarding how his administration will change the legal and enforcement priorities of the United States...more
A trilogy of recent federal and state enforcement actions show just how far agencies will go to enforce environmental regulations. Now may be a good time for a compliance audit....more