Last week’s “Climate Day” actions grabbed headlines primarily for how they respond to climate risk through increased federal coordination. Equally important may be the actions the Biden administration took that day to combat...more
Shortly after inauguration, President Joseph R. Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” This sweeping Executive Order...more
Following years of litigation and a segmented rulemaking process, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized revisions to portions of its coal combustion residuals (CCR) regulations governing, among other...more
- Democrats in the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis have released a Climate Crisis Action Plan that aims to achieve net-zero emissions throughout the United States by 2050 and “net-negative” emissions by 2100,...more
President Trump issued an Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery on May 19. Generally, the Order directs federal agencies to respond to the COVID-19 crisis by “rescinding, modifying, waiving, or...more
The U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the scope of federal protection under the Clean Water Act includes any “functional equivalent” of a direct discharge to navigable waters from a point source. The Court’s decision is the...more
4/27/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA or the Agency) Office of Land and Emergency Management and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance issued Interim Guidance to EPA’s Regional Offices...more
- The COVID-19 crisis has left consultants, lenders, servicers, investors and other users struggling to assess environmental conditions of assets as they question the ability to conduct, and the utility of, phase I...more
In response to requests for leniency as companies grapple with reduced workforces during the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a temporary policy announcing that it will exercise...more
- Weakness in the United States recycling model has been exposed by dramatic action in Asia, prompting a flurry of legislative activity at the local, state and federal level.
- Proposals extend beyond food, beverage and...more
On January 10, 2020, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a proposed rule that would substantially revise its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental...more
1/14/2020
/ CEQ ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process
In 2014, we wrote about efforts by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to require less traditional parties to fund the decommissioning of idle oil and gas wells and related...more
10/1/2019
/ BSEE ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Decommissioned Facilities ,
Deepwater Horizon ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Sector ,
Gulf of Mexico ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Popular
Last week, final rules from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, “the Services”) impacting key components of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were published in the...more
Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, decided June 24, 2019 by the Supreme Court, substantially expands the Freedom of Information Act exemption for confidential business information. The ruling is significant for...more
7/2/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Congressional Intent ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Commercial or Financial Information ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Substantial-Competitive-Harm Test ,
Trade Secrets ,
USDA
On June 7, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued updated guidance to “clarify and provide recommendations concerning the implementation of” Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), which could have...more
6/20/2019
/ Certification Requirements ,
Certifications ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Department of Environmental Conservation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Guidance Update ,
Oil & Gas ,
Section 401 ,
Trump Administration ,
Water Quality
After decades of insisting otherwise and before the U.S. Supreme Court has had a chance to rule on the issue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took steps to limit its interpretation of the Clean Water Act’s...more
6/4/2019
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Jurisdiction ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Statutory Interpretation
On March 22, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will begin to implement its own formaldehyde emission standards as required under the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act, Title VI to the...more
• A federal court recently ordered the CSB to promulgate final accidental chemical release reporting regulations within 12 months.
• The Clean Air Act requires that those regulations be binding on all entities subject to...more
On December 3, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order requesting the Solicitor General to weigh in on a case related to the legal status of some types of groundwater. The catch? The Court’s order comes...more
On September 21, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an expedited mandate to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), forcing the agency to reinstate several provisions of its...more
On September 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule to amend various provisions of a key Obama-era regulation that sought to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas...more
9/13/2018
/ Amended Regulation ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rollbacks
On August 17, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated a rule that delayed the effective date of the 2017 Risk Management Program (RMP) Rule amendments issued by the U.S....more
9/12/2018
/ Amended Rules ,
Appeals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Delays ,
Emergency Response ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Management ,
Safety Precautions ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Vacated
On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, a proposal to replace the Clean Power Plan issued in 2015. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler...more
8/23/2018
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Coal-Fired Generation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Proposed Rules ,
Renewable Energy
On Thursday, August 2, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly proposed a rule to freeze the fuel...more
8/3/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fuel Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
NHTSA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Rules
On July 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a workshop to engage stakeholders in a discussion surrounding the development of a study of the economic impacts of compliance with the North American...more
7/19/2018
/ Air Pollution ,
Diesel Fuel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Register ,
Maritime Transport ,
Oil & Gas ,
Operating Costs ,
Pollution Control ,
Ports ,
Shipping ,
Stakeholder Engagement ,
Vessels