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Counterintuitive Questions Raised by Recent DOE Electric Emergency Orders

“Energy security,” the principle that when you flip a light switch the lights will turn on, is something that most Americans take for granted. But the mechanics behind it incorporate both century-old transmission towers and...more

Recent Rulings Against Trump Administration Funding Freezes

Shortly after taking office, President Trump froze funding already allocated to various parties, citing the Administration’s disapproval of issues including climate change and social equity. Additionally, executive agencies...more

Four Trump Administration Steps to ‘Deregulate’ With a Reduced Workforce

For decades, businesses have focused on “doing more with less,” maximizing efficiency by optimizing resources and streamlining processes to achieve greater output with fewer inputs. This effort often involves leveraging...more

New White House Guidance Moves ‘Social Cost of Carbon’ Metric to Side Burner

For decades, regulators have tried to quantify harm related to emissions, including the “social cost of carbon” (SCC), but that approach has now changed. The Trump Administration recently released a memorandum seeking to...more

ESG Litigation Update: Environmental NGOs and Local Governments Target ‘Climate Deception’

In recent years, environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local governments have increasingly sued gas, oil, and energy companies, challenging their historic messaging on climate change, plastic recycling, and...more

Three Environmental Law Takeaways on President Trump Ordering DOJ to Rescind Civil Rights ‘Disparate Impact’ Regulations

On April 22, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to begin to unwind “disparate impact” regulations that were established under federal civil rights laws. In the...more

Three Takeaways From $745 Million Louisiana Verdict Against Chevron for Coastal Wetland Damage

Public companies can face significant liability based on past operations. While most industrial companies have long-term experience evaluating potential remediation obligations imposed by laws such as the federal...more

ESG Update: Corporate Directors May Be Obligated to Assess Political Risk

Right now, much about the world is uncertain. Risks posed by political changes dominate the headlines and also weigh heavily on many decisions made by corporations, their advisors, and their stakeholders....more

EPA Announces ‘Greatest Deregulation in History’

The full scope of the Trump Administration’s deregulatory efforts in the environmental space was recently made clear with a series of announcements from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin....more

Two New Procedural Wrinkles That May Disincentivize Challenges to Federal Policies

The first weeks of the Trump Administration have been defined by executive orders and new policies that were immediately challenged on constitutional or statutory grounds....more

ESG Update: Texas Federal Court Cites Loper Bright in Upholding Biden-Era ESG 401(k) Investing Rule

A Biden-era US Department of Labor (DOL) Rule permitting consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when choosing investments as a “tiebreaker” was recently upheld by Texas federal Judge Matthew...more

Trump Administration Outlines Plans for a ‘Golden Era’ of American Energy

The Trump Administration is beginning to roll out its policy plans to “dominate” the global energy space. These plans tackle energy transition issues in a dramatically different manner than did the Biden Administration,...more

Context for the Five Pillars of EPA’s ‘Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative’

On February 4, new US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” which is intended to achieve EPA’s mission “while emerging the greatness...more

ESG Update: Political Pressure and Courts Roll Back Corporate ESG Efforts

The second Trump presidency has arrived. With it – and particularly the Trump Administration’s push back on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming at many levels – many organizations are under increased pressure...more

Court Halts Trump Administration Order Pausing Government Grants (For Now)

Many parties are rightly concerned about the impact of yesterday’s announcement that nearly all federal funds will be frozen for an indeterminate period. Minutes before it was intended to go into effect today, a federal judge...more

Four Takeaways From New York’s New ‘Climate Superfund’ Law

State governments increasingly engage on climate issues. In search of a new source of funding for hundreds of billions of dollars in anticipated climate adaptation costs, a recent New York state law could impose $75 billion...more

Three Takeaways From the Montana Supreme Court Decision Guaranteeing a Right to a Stable Climate

Proponents of more comprehensive climate regulations who are frustrated by the federal government have increasingly turned their attention to state litigation....more

Why the Congressional Review Act May Play a Major Role in Early Weeks of the Trump Administration

There is significant potential that the Congressional Review Act (CRA) will play a prominent role in the early weeks of the Trump Administration. Below, we will break down what the CRA is, when it applies, and how it may be...more

EPA Enacts Bans on Two Common Chemical Solvents

As the Biden Administration comes to a close, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned two commonly used chemicals under the 2016 Lautenberg Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....more

Environmental Justice Update: EPA Issues Draft Cumulative Impacts Framework

The Biden Administration has put environmental justice (EJ) issues at the forefront of its policy agenda for nearly four years. More comprehensive guidance on how policymakers should evaluate “cumulative impacts” has been a...more

DC Circuit Questions Validity of Longstanding Council for Environmental Quality Regulations Implementing NEPA

In a departure from past jurisprudence, a recent DC Circuit decision questioned whether the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) had the legal authority to issue key regulations under the National Environmental...more

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