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
In recent years, there has been no shortage of interest and commentary dedicated to a group of chemicals known collectively as PFAS. As one example, the potential designation of certain PFAS — PFOA and PFOS (perfluorooctanoic...more
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 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
On December 1, 2020, Singaporean shipping company Pacific Carriers Limited (“PCL”) entered a $12 million plea agreement to resolve criminal charges that it knowingly failed to record illegal discharges of oil waste and...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 April 14, 2020, for the first time, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published a list identifying all corporate monitors actively engaged by companies as a part of criminal resolutions with the Criminal Division’s Fraud...more
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