Environmental Justice (“EJ”) continued to prove a major focus of the Biden administration in 2022. With wide-ranging initiatives across several federal agencies, the administration worked to strengthen enforcement, release...more
2/2/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Clean Air Act ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Title VI
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy (“the Strategy”) on May 5, 2022, pursuant to President Biden’s January 2021 Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at...more
For the second time in as many weeks, the acting head of the EPA’s enforcement office has issued a memorandum (the “Memorandum”) outlining additional actions to advance the EPA’s environmental justice (“EJ”) goals...more
The acting head of the EPA’s enforcement office issued a memorandum on June 21, 2021 (the “Memorandum”), that outlines actions to advance the EPA’s environmental justice (“EJ”) goals in criminal enforcement matters....more
As discussed in this previous post, the state of methane regulation for the oil and gas industry has been in flux over the past few years as federal regulations issued by the Obama administration were challenged in court and...more
4/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Methane ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Obama Administration ,
Oil & Gas ,
Trump Administration ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
The Biden administration has signaled its intention to recriminalize non-purposeful, or incidental, “takes” of birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). The longstanding debate over the scope of criminal liability...more
3/18/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wind Power
On February 5, 2021, the acting head of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) division that brings environmental enforcement cases issued a memo revoking nine policy directives from the prior administration, including...more
While the texts of environmental laws do not change without an act of Congress, executive branch agencies that enforce those laws have a great deal of discretion in what kinds of violations to prioritize for investigation and...more
On January 27, 2021, President Biden released an “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” Among a host of sweeping proclamations and orders involving foreign and domestic policy on climate change,...more
On January 13, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (“the EPA”) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year (“FY”) 2020. The results show that the EPA had a steady year for civil enforcement resolutions and opened...more
While the texts of environmental laws do not change without an act of Congress, executive branch agencies that enforce those laws have a great deal of discretion in what kinds of violations to prioritize for investigation and...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Natural Resources ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
OECA ,
OIRA ,
Performance Standards ,
Renewable Energy ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy
The Biden administration identified environmental justice (“EJ”) as a campaign priority1 and the Biden-Harris team has continually emphasized its commitment to environmental justice, stating that the administration would...more
As companies navigate the unprecedented effects on business operations and supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, complying with local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations has presented new...more
6/5/2020
/ Business Operations ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NGOs ,
Risk Mitigation ,
State Agencies ,
Webinars
On March 12, 2020, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Environment and Natural Resources Division (“ENRD”) issued a memorandum announcing a new policy precluding the use of a vast majority of Supplemental Environmental Projects...more
Last week, the EPA announced two significant settlements for violations of the Clean Air Act relating to emissions of volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) from upstream oil and gas production facilities. These enforcement...more
1/30/2020
/ Air Pollution ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Air Act ,
Compliance ,
Consent Order ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Storage ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Injunctive Relief ,
NAAQS ,
National Emissions Standards ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) ,
Vapor Intrusion ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)