In late December, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the “Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory Actions” just a few days before the Calendar turned to the year 2020....more
On November 21, 2019, EPA released a pre-publication copy of its Reconsideration of the revised Risk Management Program (RMP) Rules....more
Meant to enhance fairness and transparency in federal administrative enforcement, the new presidential EOs will significantly affect the practice of administrative law.
Two recent Executive Orders will curtail use of...more
11/26/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Executive Orders ,
Fairness Standard ,
Guidance Documents ,
Notice and Comment ,
Notice Requirements ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two important environmental cases—one that could change the approach to routine maritime charters and another that could introduce a potentially punishing...more
Two recent decisions from federal appeals courts illustrate once again that the courts will extend significant judicial deference to federal agencies that are grappling with controversial and complicated issues subject to...more
The federal government has long encouraged the development and use of alternative fuels by enacting legislation that promises tax credits for such use....more
The pre-publication version of the final rule to be promulgated by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to repeal the 2015 redefinition of the Clean Water Act’s term “Waters of the United States” which is the...more
The federal courts have recently decided two significant Clean Water Act (CWA) cases: State of Georgia, et al. v. Wheeler, where the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia held that the 2015 rulemaking...more
This is a brief survey of many of the environmental and regulatory laws passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by the Governor in the 86th Regular Session of the Legislature, which ended in May 2019....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals or the District of Columbia has recently issued two important rulings on the Clean Air Act in particular and administrative law in general: California Communities Against Toxics, et al., v. EPA and...more
On August 13, 2019, in a case that may have an impact on the leasing of federal lands for energy development in the future, the U.S. District Court for the Missoula, Montana Division, issued a ruling in the case of Western...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided the case of Allegheny Defense Project, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on August 2, 2019. ...more
In January 2017, the outgoing Solicitor of the Department of the Interior issued a memorandum which reaffirmed the Department’s “long-standing interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that the MBTA prohibits the...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
On July 2, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided the case of California Communities Against Toxics, et al. v. EPA. In this decision, the court rejected the latest petition to strike or...more
As usual, the last month of the Supreme Court’s term generated significant rulings on all manner of cases, possibly presaging the new directions the Court will be taking in administrative and regulatory law....more
7/9/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Atomic Energy Act ,
Auer Deference ,
Department of Commerce v New York ,
FCC ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Iancu v. Brunetti ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Knick v Township of Scott Pennsylvania ,
Lanham Act ,
Liquor Licences ,
Manhattan Community Access Corp v Halleck ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Parker Drilling Management Services Ltd v Newton ,
PDR Network LLC v Carlton & Harris Chiropractic Inc ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
Takings Clause ,
TCPA ,
Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v Thomas ,
Veterans' Benefits ,
Viewpoint Discrimination ,
Virginia Uranium Inc v Warren
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
In just the past few weeks, three states have used their Clean Water Act 401 authority to delay, for an indefinite period, FERC-authorized pipeline expansion projects....more
State of Texas, et al. v. US EPA. The revised regulatory definition of “Waters of the U.S.” continues to generate litigation in the federal courts....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
Federal Courts of Appeal -
Dam Claims Collapse -
On May 7, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided the case of Navelski, et al. v. International Paper Company....more
On May 3, 2019, the Texas Supreme Court issued a significant administrative law ruling in the case of Mosely v. Texas Health and Human Services Commission. ...more
In an important ruling for Texas businesses, the Texas Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the TCEQ misapplied the Texas property tax’s exemption for specified pollution control equipment....more
Besides showers, this April brought a number of notable new environmental decisions issued by the federal courts. ...more
After much study, EPA has decided against changing its current RCRA Subtitle D rules affecting the state regulation of oil and gas exploration & production waste. ...more