This alert was first published on May 8, 2025, and has been revised based on recent developments.
Key Takeaways -
The Maryland General Assembly concluded its spring 2025 legislative session on April 7, 2025. The...more
Key Takeaways The Maryland General Assembly concluded its spring 2025 legislative session on April 7, 2025. The General Assembly spent a considerable portion of the session attending to the State’s pressing budget issues. As...more
Background on the Building Energy Performance Standards -
After the Maryland General Assembly passed the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 (CSNA), MDE engaged in a series of rulemakings; the current regulations were...more
What Happened?
On June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court narrowly held that three states could not enter a consent decree to settle their interstate water dispute without the support of the intervening federal government. The...more
In Brief: Entities subject to EPA regulation are closely watching the U.S. Supreme Court’s potential reframing of the Chevron deference doctrine. But they should also pay close attention to EPA’s extra-regulatory scientific...more
Key Takeaways -
• What Happened?
1. MDE proposed regulations for Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). Covered buildings would be required to measure and report energy use, and meet interim and final...more
The Protecting Communities from Plastics Act (S. 5163/H.R. 9388), introduced late last week by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Representative Alan Lowenthal...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) commitment to its controversial Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) value for Ethylene Oxide (EO) remains unwavering as two recent developments reflect. The first is...more
Key Takeaways -
• Ethylene Oxide (EO) remains a high priority for the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from both a risk and an environmental justice standpoint. Expect that spotlight to continue next year and...more
On December 22, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized long-anticipated revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule—the first major revision since the rule was promulgated in 1991. While the final rule maintains...more
On May 6, 2020, a Montana federal court ruled that an insurer was not obligated to cover $1 million in cleanup costs incurred by an umbrella policyholder after spilling 238 barrels of crude oil and 1,200 barrels of production...more
On October 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its long-awaited proposed revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule—the first major revision since the rule was promulgated in 1991. The proposal maintains...more
On January 25, 2019, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a provision in an insurance policy did not limit coverage for Anadarko’s defense expenses related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill where the provision only capped...more
Highlighting limits on pre-trial motions arguing CERCLA preemption of state common law claims, a New Mexico federal court denied a motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ tort claims arising from a 2015 release of impounded water from...more
Illustrating limits on Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) preemption of state tort claims, a Mississippi federal court concluded that the state’s toxic tort claims were not preempted by federal law. ...more
After two judges from the Northern District of California reached different conclusions in similar cases, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will be next to determine whether climate-change-related tort actions may be...more