The 2023 redefinition reinstates the “1986” framework defining the reach and scope of navigable waters.
To determine if a regulated body of water is located on the landowner’s property, the agencies acknowledge these...more
The first quarter of 2022 has yielded a number of decisions, reversals and agency adjustments worth note. ...more
3/30/2022
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CERCLA ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FEMA ,
FERC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wetlands
This is a brief account of some of the important environmental and administrative law cases recently decided. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - BP PLC, et al. v Mayor and City of Baltimore The issue the court confronted was a...more
February saw the usual array of significant environmental decisions and federal regulatory notices. THE FEDERAL COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia - Luminant Generation v. EPA - The court will be...more
Here are some significant environmental and regulatory rulings and administrative actions from December 2020. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Texas v. New Mexico On December 14, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a water rights...more
1/14/2021
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
National Park Service ,
NPDES ,
SCOTUS ,
Texas v New Mexico ,
Water ,
Water Rights
As the end of summer approaches, the courts have provided a potpourri of relevant environmental decisions. FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL - Town of Weymouth, et al. v. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) -...more
Some very interesting and fairly complex environmental law rulings have been released in the past few days. U.S. Supreme Court—Trump, et al. v. Sierra Club, et al. On July 31, 2020, in a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court...more
It’s been an active month in terms of recent environmental and administrative law cases decided by the federal appellate courts. Flood Control and the Endangered Species Act. ...more
In a decision that will likely be welcomed by the electrical power, chemical manufacturing, and petroleum and coal products manufacturing industries, on July 19, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...more
The Supreme Court will be deciding some very important regulatory law cases in the new few weeks as the term winds down.
CERCLA Circled -
Last week, the Court granted a petition to review a significant CERCLA case,...more
The latest federal regulatory agenda has been released, which, among other matters, lists proposed and projected environmental regulatory proceedings being considered by different departments and agencies. ...more
5/31/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Coast Guard ,
Comment Period ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NPRM ,
OSHA ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
An unusual Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, known also as Superfund) remedial action has resulted in a broad ruling that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remedial actions and...more
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, housed in the Office of Management and Budget, has issued the Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions to be taken over the next several months by...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s July 18 ruling, in Shell Oil Company, et al., v. U.S., may have brought to an end a long-running dispute over the impact on World War II government procurement contracts on...more
On April 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held, in the case of California Dep’t of Toxic Substances Control v. Westside Delivery, LLC, that a purchaser of land at a California tax sale was not entitled to...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act’s (CERCLA, also known also as Superfund) stringent hazardous substance release reporting requirements are set forth as Section 103 of Superfund. A...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 includes, at pages 1768-1786 of the bill, the “Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2018,” also known as the “BUILD Act.” This is a bi-partisan bill...more
Recently, the Trump Administration released a 53-page Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America of legislative proposals to rebuild American infrastructure, which it defines as surface transportation,...more
2/23/2018
/ Brownfield Properties ,
CEQ ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
On December 29, 2017, the Montana Supreme Court decided an important Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), known also as Superfund, case involving the application of Montana state law...more
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly referred to as Superfund, was enacted in December 1980, and Section 108(b) provides that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall...more
In compliance with the March 28, 2017 Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (EO 13783), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its Final Report on Review of Agency...more
On August 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided the case of ASARCO LLC v. Atlantic Richfield Company, which involves the ongoing liability to clean up the East Helena Superfund Site, located “in and...more
On March 21, 2017, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of National Labor Relations Board v. SW General, Inc. This case concerns the operation and application of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA). ...more
6/21/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
BNSF Railway Co v Tyrrell ,
CERCLA ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Disgorgement ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Employers Liability Act ,
NEPA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB v SW General ,
Oil & Gas ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
Only a few existing federal environmental rules have been set aside or overturned by the new Administration, and these actions were taken by the Congress in accordance with the special procedures of the Congressional Review...more
6/20/2017
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Buy American Act ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FLPMA ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States ,
Young Lawyers
On April 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated thecow-300x234 Environmental Protection Agency’s December 18, 2008 CERCLA/EPCRA Administrative Reporting Exemption for Air Releases of...more