As the United States seeks to maintain primacy in data processing and artificial intelligence, the Trump Administration is taking steps to reduce the regulatory burdens for development of data centers necessary to sustain...more
1/8/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Brownfield Properties ,
Clean Water Act ,
Data Centers ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FOIA ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
As the United States seeks to maintain primacy in data processing and artificial intelligence, the Trump Administration is taking steps to reduce the regulatory burdens for development of data centers necessary to sustain...more
1/7/2026
/ Brownfield Properties ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Data Centers ,
Data Processing Rules ,
Data Processors ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Trump Administration
Owners and operators of facilities subject to permitting under the Clean Air Act’s Title V permit program have cause for rejoicing. Title V permittees have just seen their fortunes improve, if only in a narrow way, with the...more
10/22/2025
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Clean Air Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Noncompliance ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Title V
On September 4, 2025, the White House published its Semiannual Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions in which it discussed EPA’s plans regarding the issuance or revocation of regulations under certain environmental...more
10/21/2025
/ Brownfield Properties ,
Clean Air Act ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Solid Waste ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Trump Administration ,
Waste Management
In a final rule published on May 17, 2024, and to become effective June 17, 2024, EPA has added seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the...more
On March 18, 2024, we issued an alert addressing Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (VDEQ’s) recently proposed Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook, Version 1.0 (Handbook). The proposed Handbook is available...more
3/25/2024
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Handbooks ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Utilities Sector ,
Waste Management
In January 2024, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) released the Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook, Version 1.0 (Handbook). The Handbook provides guidance to implement construction stormwater...more
3/19/2024
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
FERC ,
Interconnections ,
Public Comment ,
Solar Farm ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Utilities Sector ,
Waste Management ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality
Virginia’s construction stormwater discharge permit program continues to evolve on various fronts, including program implementation guidance. Indeed, stormwater regulatory stakeholders have much to digest from recent activity...more
North Carolina Proposes New Guidance for Vapor Intrusion Assessment and Mitigation -
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has drafted new and revised guidance documents for the assessment and...more
6/30/2023
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Industrial Storm Water Permit ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Vapor Intrusion Guidance ,
Wastewater
Siting and permitting renewable energy projects in Virginia have become increasingly challenging as federal and state environmental laws, regulations and guidance have evolved in recent years. In particular, HB 206...more
4/28/2023
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Easements ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Water ,
Virginia ,
Webinars ,
Wetlands
Virginia’s construction stormwater discharge permit program appears to be undergoing major transformation over the next six to nine months, and reception to these changes from stakeholders is likely to vary given the...more
8/29/2022
/ Chesapeake Bay ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Solar Farm ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Waste Management ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Quality
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is poised to unleash in 2022 a flood of new stormwater-related regulatory actions and related procedural and technical guidance for development projects and...more
8/17/2022
/ Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Review ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Environmental Review ,
Industrial Discharges ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Solar Farm ,
Storm Water ,
Waste Management ,
Wastewater
On April 14, 2022, Michael Rolband, the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), issued a memorandum addressing the framework for the implementation of more stringent stormwater management...more
Conducting environmental due diligence and considering a project’s impact on the environment are essential in acquiring or permitting utility-scale solar projects in Virginia. This was underscored by the Virginia Department...more
4/11/2022
/ Department of Environmental Quality ,
Due Diligence ,
Easements ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
New Guidance ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Renewable Energy ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Solar Energy ,
Storm Water ,
Utilities Sector ,
Virginia ,
Webinars
On March 29, 2022, Michael Rolband, the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), issued a memorandum implementing a new and much more stringent post-development stormwater management policy for...more
On January 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted an appeal to reconsider the extent of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction involving wetlands on a couple’s property in Idaho. The appellants (the Sacketts)...more
3/28/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Mercury ,
PFAS ,
Public Utility ,
Sackett ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On January 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court granted an appeal to reconsider the extent of federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction involving wetlands on a couple’s property in Idaho. The appellants (the Sacketts)...more
A combination of federal wetland regulatory actions presents substantial uncertainty for regulated parties as they navigate wetland delineation and permitting processes for their projects. These concerns are compounded in...more
New Approach: Proposed PFAS Regulation Erodes TSCA Exemptions -
EPA’s proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may be...more
1/21/2022
/ ASTM ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Motor Vehicles ,
PFAS ,
RCRA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) has just given notice on its website that, effective immediately, it has stopped issuing so-called “comfort letters” as part of its brownfield program. Such comfort...more
Can you still build a bulkhead along the shoreline in coastal Virginia to protect your property? Well, it depends, but now the answer is more likely to be “no.”...more
7/26/2021
/ Chesapeake Bay ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Economic Development ,
Flooding ,
Navigable Waters ,
NOAA ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
Sea Levels ,
State and Local Government ,
Wetlands
Can you still build a bulkhead along the shoreline in coastal Virginia to protect your property? Well, it depends, but now the answer is more likely to be “no.” Major changes to how Virginia tidal waterfront property owners...more
7/23/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Biden Administration ,
Boiler MACT Rule ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Permits ,
Property Owners ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
Sea Levels ,
Trump Administration ,
Wetlands
Recent legislation and just proposed regulatory amendments present a new opportunity, but also potential concerns, for implementing climate change resiliency measures on properties subject to Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay...more
3/16/2021
/ Chesapeake Bay ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Land Preservation ,
NOAA ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Resource Management ,
Water Control Board ,
Wetlands
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
The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides various means of enforcement against violators of its permitting programs, including sanctions for those guilty of criminal negligence. The chief programs in this regard are the National...more