At the beginning of 2024, young American climate litigants seemed poised for success. In December 2023, the prominent case of Juliana v. United States (Case No. 6:15-CV-01517) had survived—in part—a motion to dismiss in the...more
The White House revealed its latest strategy to address PFAS, and the EPA extended the reporting deadline for its PFAS reporting rule....more
9/18/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Statutory Deadlines ,
Strategic Planning ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
On July 10, 2024, a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge dismissed a complaint brought by the City of Baltimore against 25 fossil fuel manufacturers, seeking to hold them liable on numerous state-law theories, including for...more
In City of Baltimore v. BP, et al., court holds that nuisance and tort claims are preempted by federal law and beyond the limits of state law....more
8/2/2024
/ BP PLC v Mayor and City Council of Baltimore ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Manufacturers ,
Natural Gas ,
Nuisance ,
Oil & Gas ,
Preemption ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tort
On July 22, 2024, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) released a long-awaited energy permitting reform bill, which aims to accelerate the permitting process for critical energy, mineral, and related...more
7/26/2024
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Review ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Statute of Limitations
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
Recent Evolution of the European Regulatory Framework on Greenwashing -
Two new Directives adopted by the EU in 2024—the "Empowering Consumers Directive" and the "Green Claims...more
6/20/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Human Rights ,
Net Zero ,
Power Plants ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability ,
Tax Credits
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration's ("FHWA") new rule establishing a performance-based method for measuring greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions that are associated with transportation on the National Highway System was...more
On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") filed a complaint for civil penalties against USA Wholesale, Inc. for the illegal import of hydrofluorocarbons ("HFCs"). HFCs are greenhouse gases used...more
Vermont passed a first-of-its-kind law requiring energy companies to pay for part of the damages from extreme weather events, but the law likely will face legal challenges....more
6/10/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
National Emissions Standards ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Severe Weather ,
Superfund ,
Vermont
In what appears to be a new pathway for PFAS litigation, California plaintiffs recently filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of BIC razors stemming from disclosures the company made under Maine's PFAS law, which were...more
5/30/2024
/ Class Action ,
Contamination ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Toxic Chemicals
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized four rules to regulate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA's stated goal was to provide a framework on which power plants can rely for...more
On April 22, 2024, the U.S. government issued a final rule ("Rule") to restructure and update the Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR") to implement a requirement for agencies to procure sustainable products and services to...more
5/7/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
ENERGY STAR Program ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Goods or Services ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Sustainability
On April 19, 2024, EPA announced its highly anticipated final rule designating two polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS")—perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS")—as "hazardous substances" under...more
4/22/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
On April 10, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") announced its highly anticipated final National Drinking Water Regulation ("NPDWR") for six per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which establishes...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized the strictest-ever emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. On March 29, 2024, EPA announced new emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2027...more
With Assembly Bill A3556C, New York joins a growing list of states considering or enacting broad bans on the sale and distribution of products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS")....more
4/1/2024
/ Environmental Policies ,
Importers ,
Industrial Products ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
New York ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") announced new stringent emissions standards for automobiles, which the Biden administration has deemed the "strongest-ever vehicle pollution standards" in U.S. history....more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted much anticipated climate-related disclosure rules....more
3/18/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emissions Trading System ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Highway Administration ,
Financial Institutions ,
Green Buildings ,
Green Energy ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
On February 16, 2024, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") issued an airplane fuel efficiency final rule, which implements reduced CO2 emissions standards into the FAA's aircraft certification rules. See 89 Fed....more
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration's ("FHWA") new rule establishing a performance-based method for measuring greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions that are associated with transportation on the National Highway System ("NHS")...more
For half a century, young people in the United States have played an active role in ongoing efforts to address climate change. Moving into 2024, young climate litigants find themselves in a promising position: They recently...more
On February 8, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") proposed two regulations that would add nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS") to the list of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA")...more
2/15/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Hazardous Waste ,
New Rules ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
RCRA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Toxic Chemicals
In Short -
The Background: As voluntary carbon credits ("VCCs") have grown in popularity, questions about their integrity and quality have arisen for investors and among regulators and lawmakers. For this reason, many have...more
12/14/2023
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Carbon Pricing ,
CFTC ,
Derivatives ,
Designated Contract Markets (DCMs) ,
Energy Market ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Risk Management ,
SEFs
The Situation: In 2019, Congress amended the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA") to require the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to promulgate a reporting rule on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"). EPA...more
12/12/2023
/ Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Importers ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retroactive Application ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
REGULATORY ISSUES & UPDATES -
Mandatory Climate Change Reporting Requirements Under the New European ESRS E1 -
The implementation of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards poses risks for reporting companies,...more
12/5/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Green Initiatives ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Net Zero ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
SFDR ,
State and Local Government ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK