On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
PFAS: Increasing Regulations and Managing Legal Liability
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
The Current and Future Landscapes of EPA Criminal and Civil Enforcement
On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
One-on-One with David Fotouhi, Acting General Counsel at the EPA
Volatile Times in Vapor Intrusion Regulation: A Legal and Technical Update
[WEBINAR] Fairly (or Unfairly?) Traceable: Are Discharges Through Groundwater Subject to the Clean Water Act?
[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
In general, environmental law seeks to protect public health and the environment by providing for liability, compensation, cleanup, and emergency response to the release or disposal of hazardous substances. And more...more
Louisiana remains at the forefront of environmental justice activity. In just four days from January 19 to January 23, 2024, two courts in Louisiana offered interpretations to environmental justice efforts in the State of...more
Utilities and energy companies can implement strategies to mitigate risks from more frequent environmental disasters and infrastructure failures. In the early morning of June 11, 2023, a tanker truck carrying gasoline up...more
Settlement agreements regarding payments to non-governmental third parties were sharply curtailed by the Trump administration. A recent DOJ policy and rulemaking restores the authority for DOJ to enter into settlements...more
As noted in an April 27th blog post, the Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States...more
In recent days, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made a series of announcements aimed at addressing environmental justice concerns and enforcement practices. The actions taken by DOJ include the establishment of the...more
On May 5, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the return of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) settlements. SEPs are voluntary projects intended to benefit the environment...more
In January, I noted that Ameren Missouri had surrendered in its defense of the NSR enforcement action brought by DOJ with respect to the Rush Island generating facility. Ameren Missouri submitted to the Court a proposal to...more
This week the Massachusetts Attorney General joined the Department of Justice in asking the First Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn what has been the law in the First Circuit for thirty years -- one can't bring a citizen...more
In this episode of Green Earth White Collar, Wiley Associates Grace Mahan and Holly Wilson discuss the trends they’ve seen in EPA criminal and civil enforcement over the last year and share their predictions for EPA...more
While the texts of environmental laws do not change without an act of Congress, executive branch agencies that enforce those laws have a great deal of discretion in what kinds of violations to prioritize for investigation and...more
In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) issued a memorandum ceasing the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) as part of settlements of federal environmental...more
Is federalism alive and well? Has the federal government decided to give up “piling on” and “overfiling” in environmental enforcement actions? It seems so. On July 27, 2020, in an effort to promote federalism, U.S. Department...more
Federal agencies to limit water pollution enforcement where states have taken action - Bullet The Hill – July 27 - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday released a memorandom stating that it will not pursue...more
As companies navigate the unprecedented effects on business operations and supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, complying with local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations has presented new...more
- Effective March 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice is no longer including supplemental environmental projects (“SEPs”) in the settlement of civil enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) recently issued a memorandum stating that settlements, including consent decrees, entered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies can no longer include...more
Most enforcement actions for violations of environmental law are resolved through settlement agreements or consent decrees. A March 12, 2020, memo issued by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resources...more
A Note to Our Readers: Although the coronavirus and its many disruptions are dominating the news, we will continue to publish the California Environmental Law and Policy Update so long as there are newsworthy developments in...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resources Division has announced a major overhaul in the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) - a key penalty mitigation approach commonly used in...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken three steps since June 2017 through August 2019 that severely limit the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in civil environmental settlements. Those actions are...more
Three memos with potentially important implications for enforcement were recently issued—one by EPA and two by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)....more
In a memorandum issued earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) clarified how a policy prohibiting settlement payments to third parties, announced in June 2017, will apply in cases handled by DOJ’s...more
A recently-issued U.S. Department of Justice policy memorandum (“Policy Memo”) substantially narrows DOJ’s authority to approve settlements that include payments to or for the benefit of third-party non-governmental entities....more
A June 5, 2017, Department of Justice (DOJ) policy directive threatens the ongoing availability of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in civil environmental settlements. SEPs have traditionally provided a means by...more