A new voluntary self-disclosure policy issued by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) provides incentives for companies that voluntarily report criminal misconduct by their employees or agents....more
4/5/2023
/ Clawbacks ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Compensation ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
EPA’s Big Plans for 2023: Top Air Rulemakings We Are Watching -
An environmental lawyer walks into a cocktail party. An often-asked question is: What is happening at EPA in your world? What should we be watching that...more
4/4/2023
/ Air Quality Standards ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NAAQS ,
NESHAP ,
Ozone ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Rules ,
RCRA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Drinking Water Act
Arguably, the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is one of our society’s most important numbers. The SCC is used in all climate decisions and will now be considered in all significant governmental decisions and federal actions. How...more
3/15/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Waste ,
New Guidance ,
Obama Administration ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
Federal environmental policies are likely to undergo significant changes at DOJ and EPA under the Biden administration, including alteration of many Trump administration enforcement policies. Since many of these existing...more
1/12/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Regulatory Agenda
The United States Department of Justice has terminated its policy of allowing companies to perform supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in lieu of paying civil penalties for violations of federal environmental laws. The...more
The United States Department of Justice has terminated its policy of allowing companies to perform supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in lieu of paying civil penalties for violations of federal environmental laws. The...more
In January of 2018, the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board (“Air Board”) published a proposed rule to establish a CO2 emissions cap and trade program in Virginia (the “Original Proposal”). The regulations set an...more
4/1/2019
/ Audits ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drinking Water ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Flooding ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Governor Northam ,
Landfills ,
PFAS ,
Pollution Control Board ,
Power Plants ,
RGGI ,
Storm Damage ,
Storm Water ,
Waste Management
Three memoranda, two issued by the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and one issued by EPA, mark a significant shift in how the federal government approaches civil and criminal enforcement for violations of...more
2/14/2018
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Interim Guidance ,
Natural Resources ,
New Guidance ,
OECA ,
Third-Party
Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship reported to a California prison on May 12 to begin serving a one-year sentence for willfully violating mine safety standards. His conviction was related to the deadliest United States...more
The news has been full of stories and articles concerning Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR), also referred to as coal ash. CCR became a hot topic in 2008 when a coal ash pond at a utility plant in Tennessee spilled more than 5...more
5/20/2016
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Coal Ash ,
Consent Decrees ,
Deepwater Horizon ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPCRA ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Communication Standard ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Individual Accountability ,
OSHA ,
RCRA ,
Safety Data Sheets ,
Sierra Club ,
Solid Waste ,
SSM Periods ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Training Requirements ,
Utilities Sector ,
Workplace Safety ,
Yates Memorandum
Clean Water Rule Opens Litigation Floodgates -
With much fanfare, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) recently issued a final rule clarifying which bodies of water are “waters of the United States” protected...more
7/21/2015
/ Arsenic ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farm Bureau ,
Farms ,
Form R ,
MATS ,
Michigan v. EPA ,
Mining ,
OSHA ,
Power Plants ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance