On 13 January 2026, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certification Rule (the Proposed Rule) that would narrow state and tribal authority to review and...more
2/2/2026
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Native American Issues ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Section 401 ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Water Pollution
The recycling industry, traditionally seen as stable, is in an era of innovation and growth. A class of advanced recycling technologies is emerging to address plastics that conventional recycling methods cannot process,...more
1/15/2026
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Plastics ,
Proposed Rules ,
RCRA ,
Recycling ,
SNUR ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Waste Management
California’s Draft Zero Waste Plan (the Draft Plan) lays out an ambitious strategy to eliminate waste and transform material use, reuse, and management across the state. For businesses—including manufacturers, retailers,...more
12/8/2025
/ California ,
Environmental Policies ,
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) ,
Infrastructure ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Recycling ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Authority ,
Sustainability ,
Waste Management
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new rule to revise how it evaluates the risks of chemicals currently in use under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This initiative follows a review prompted...more
10/13/2025
/ Chemicals ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Imports ,
Manufacturers ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Vermont has become the first state in the nation to implement a household hazardous waste extended producer responsibility law. This is an important development for two key reasons....more
Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources is busily working to implement a first-in-the-nation household hazardous waste extended producer responsibility law. Although federal law sets requirements for hazardous waste generated...more
Responding to the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Sackett v. EPA, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a final rule (Sackett Rule), effective 8 September...more
In November 2022, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a memo regarding the management of discarded hand sanitizer under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which was discussed in a prior...more
It is rare for the U.S. Supreme Court to construe a statutory phrase on multiple occasions. And yet now, for purposes of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act), it has rendered no less than four interpretations of the...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) recently released a “Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution.” Depending on its ultimate composition, the final strategy could materially affect the...more
When COVID-19 hit, many companies with commercial connections to alcohol wanted to make hand sanitizer. The United States Food and Drug Administration relaxed its regulatory rules and companies began manufacturing a literal...more
This client alert is the third in a series that discusses the significant changes instituted by the passage of a new federal Toxic Substances Control Act. The first alert addressed broadly the law’s myriad of changes. The...more
In 2007, the Supreme Court told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it was wrong to conclude that it lacked the authority to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted from vehicles, because GHGs are an “air...more
On June 6, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision in Delaware Riverkeeper Network, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, that could significantly impact efforts to expand...more
On May 19, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a long-delayed final rulemaking regulating cooling water intake structures at existing facilities under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act (CWA). For more...more