This paper attempts to provide a definition and context for the term, Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), explain how and why it is used, demonstrate how investors are driving the proliferation of ESG reporting,...more
12/10/2020
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
GAO ,
Human Rights ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Nasdaq ,
NYSE ,
Popular ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
SASB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Sustainability ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Uniformity ,
United Nations
Several years into EPA’s mobile source enforcement initiative, the agency recently issued an updated enforcement policy addressing vehicle and engine tampering and aftermarket defeat devices (the “Tampering Policy”). The...more
U.S. EPA’s final rule reversing its 25 year old hazardous air pollutant “once in/always in” policy will soon be published in the Federal Register and will become effective 60 days thereafter. While first announced in a...more
On September 23rd, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a precedent-setting executive order cementing California’s continued effort to take the lead on clean vehicle policy. Executive Order N-79-20 establishes as a goal that, where...more
10/2/2020
/ Automotive Industry ,
California ,
CARB ,
Clean Air Act ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Waivers ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
This summer, California announced a plan that could significantly reshape all levels of the transportation industry from manufacturing and logistics to electric vehicle charging infrastructure. On June 25, 2020, the...more
In a piece of good news for regulated sources, on August 4, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) issued guidance clarifying the flexibility and reduced permitting burden available to sources...more
On April 23rd, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Foundation, holding that the Clean Water Act regulates a release to groundwater that indirectly pollutes surface water if the...more
Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting sharp economic pullback has caused BlackRock to temporarily pause the prioritization of its ESG focus for issuers on climate change and related risk, Public Company boards...more
On April 21, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) published in the Federal Register the so-called “Step Two” rule revising the definition of...more
4/24/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Land Developers ,
Mitigation Banking ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Permits ,
Rapanos v US ,
SCOTUS ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wastewater ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On Thursday, March 26, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“U.S. EPA”) released a much anticipated enforcement discretion policy that provides temporary and limited enforcement discretion for certain violations...more
On January 23, 2020, the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule redefining the scope of federal regulatory jurisdiction over “waters of the United...more
Making waves in the financial world on January 14th, Laurence Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, announced that BlackRock will be increasingly disposed to vote against board directors if...more
1/27/2020
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Economic Growth ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
MD&A Statements ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
SASB ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Sustainability
On New Year’s Day in 1970, Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (“NEPA”), creating the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) and proclaiming “that the 1970s must be the years when America pays...more
This past Valentine’s Day, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced EPA’s action plan for regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAs), which are a class of synthetic...more
2/20/2019
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
National Action Plan ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Supplies
On December 11, 2018, U.S. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a new hazardous waste pharmaceutical rule. The final rule retains a proposed requirement, opposed by industry, that prescription pharmaceuticals sent...more
1/15/2019
/ Controlled Substances ,
DEA ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Health Care Providers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
RCRA ,
Safe Drug Disposal ,
Solid Waste
Fulfilling one of President Trump’s campaign promises, on December 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (the Corps) signed a proposed rule to limit the scope of the...more
1/7/2019
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Navigable Waters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water ,
Waters of the United States
While much of the environmental bar was focused on the Waters of the U.S. rulemaking, on December 11, U.S. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the new hazardous waste pharmaceutical rule. The final rule retains a...more
Oilfield operators of every size have been busy implementing the Obama Administration’s labor-intensive requirements to detect and repair vapor leaks from well site equipment, often called the Quad Oa requirements, in...more
Oilfield operators of every size have been busy implementing the Obama Administration’s labor-intensive requirements to detect and repair vapor leaks from well site equipment, often called the Quad Oa requirements, in...more
While much has been made of U.S. EPA’s alleged scaling back of enforcement on various fronts and other policy changes, a wave of enforcement against mobile source engines appears ready to break on the heavy-duty diesel...more
A coalition of states has opened a new front in the ongoing battles between the Trump Administration’s efforts to streamline regulations applicable to industry and the interests favoring additional regulation. In response to...more
The Trump Administration has taken steps to roll back Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions standards applicable to most automobiles in the United States. On April 2nd Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt...more
4/13/2018
/ Automotive Industry ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
NHTSA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
In a major change in air permitting policy, on January 25, 2018 U.S. EPA reversed its longstanding “once in, always in” policy governing what sources are subject to major source regulations for the emissions of air toxics...more
Just before the holiday break, U.S. EPA announced the potential return to “nonattainment ozone status” for a number of locations in the United States, including portions of eastern and southeastern Wisconsin. After achieving...more