Many environmental suits have provisions that allow citizens and environmental groups to sue for violations. Even if the Trump administration is less aggressive in environmental enforcement, companies face a continued risk...more
A federal district court in Louisiana has rejected as unlawful President Joe Biden’s withdrawal in early January 2025 of historically large portions of the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) from eligibility for leasing of oil...more
On September 18, 2025, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published its latest proposed policy in an active year for the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) program. On June 17, 2025,...more
Federal government enforcement continues to pose commercial and reputational risks to companies and individuals that operate in highly regulated environments. Vinson & Elkins is pleased to offer this round-up of recent...more
9/10/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FERC ,
Government Agencies ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Risk Management ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
A series of recent actions undertaken by President Biden, near the end of his term, and President Trump, in the early days of his presidency, have called into question a key issue under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act...more
3/27/2025
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed legislation disapproving the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The Joint...more
Despite the Biden administration’s public support for carbon capture and sequestration (“CCS”), we saw neither faster CCS permit approvals from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) nor a significant push towards...more
On February 19, 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) released a pre-publication version of an interim final rule (the “Interim Rule”) to rescind all of CEQ’s previous and current regulations implementing the...more
2/24/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
In his first two days in office, newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump signed a flurry of Executive Orders, including several aimed at supporting the traditional energy industry. The Unleashing American Energy Executive...more
2/17/2025
/ CEQ ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
NEPA ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
In early March 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finalized its climate-related disclosures rule (The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors) (the “Final Rule”)....more
The incoming Trump Administration is expected to prioritize the rollback of Biden-era endangered species regulations, aiming to reduce the regulatory burden on land-intensive businesses and enhance energy independence. This...more
1/10/2025
/ Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wildlife Protection
On December 16, 2024, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) released a notice soliciting comments on a number of specific questions to inform its implementation of the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (“CCDAA”...more
During the 2024 campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised his supporters that he would direct federal agencies on day one to “immediately remove every single burdensome regulation driving up the cost of goods.” For the...more
12/5/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
COP ,
Deregulation ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy ,
Trump Administration ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
The first half of 2024 was eventful in the world of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”). Although ESG continued to lose the market tailwinds that have pushed it forward in recent years, regulatory pressures both...more
10/18/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Greenwashing ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability
On August 14, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) released a redacted copy of its opinion in Sinclair Wyoming Refining Co. LLC v. EPA, in which the D.C. Circuit...more
On May 20, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a final rule listing the dunes sagebrush lizard (“DSL”) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”).1 The change in the DSL listing status, which...more
On May 1, 2024, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published the final version of Phase 2 of its National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) rulemaking (“Phase 2 Rule”). The Phase 2 Rule is the culmination of the...more
On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published the final version of its revisions to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (“GHGRP”) regulations for the oil and gas sector, often referred to as...more
The United States electric grid is becoming increasingly stressed as the nation navigates the energy transition and demand for electricity rises. On May 1, 2024, recognizing the stress on the grid and the need for additional...more
New and additional bonding requirements for certain companies operating on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”) will take effect in June as a result of a recent rulemaking. These new requirements will be phased in over a...more
After much anticipation, on March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) released its Final Rule—The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors—mandating...more
3/29/2024
/ Business Development Companies ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Form S-8 ,
MD&A Statements ,
PSLRA ,
Regulation S-K ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On February 8, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published two proposed rules that would expand its regulatory authority over PFAS: one to list nine PFAS as hazardous constituents subject to the Resource...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a host of new obligations for upstream and midstream oil and gas owners and operators. These new source performance standards (“NSPS”) and emission guidelines (“EG”) for...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released proposed and final rules that will regulate methane emissions from oil and gas operations, implement a methane emissions tax, and change greenhouse gas reporting...more
2/23/2024
/ Continuing Legal Education ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Events ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published a proposed rule to assess and collect billions of dollars in methane “waste emission charges” from the oil and gas sector....more