Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration plans to stop assigning dollar values to the human health benefits resulting from the imposition of national ambient air quality standards....more
1/14/2026
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Clean Air Act ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NAAQS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
I think that any honest practitioner of administrative law would acknowledge that judicial deference in review of decisions under the Administrative Procedure Act has historically been a flexible concept. Judges inclined to...more
The House of Representatives has passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act (the “SPEED Act,” H.R. 4776), which now moves to the Senate. If enacted, the SPEED Act would consolidate front end...more
Last year, when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a mandamus petition and ordered that the complaint in Juliana v. United States be dismissed for the second time, I acknowledged that I had become more skeptical...more
10/21/2025
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
Injunctions ,
Standing ,
Trump Administration
Last month, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) to solicit stakeholder input on future proposed regulations for closed-loop...more
8/15/2025
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Clean Energy ,
Comment Period ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Geothermal Energy ,
New York ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Stakeholder Engagement
On Tuesday July 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a proposed rule to repeal its 2009 finding that greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions from new motor vehicles contribute to pollution and endanger...more
8/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
On July 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a direct final rule and companion proposal extending several compliance deadlines related to coal combustion residuals (“CCR”). The direct final...more
Because the risks posed by superfund sites pale in comparison to the risks posed by air pollution and broader water pollution issues regulated under the Clean Water Act, I have been and remain deeply skeptical of the Trump...more
On May 29, 2025, a unanimous Supreme Court (voting 8-0, with Justice Gorsuch recused) held that federal agencies need not consider the environmental effects of “upstream” and “downstream” projects that are separate in time or...more
On May 16, in Texas v. EPA, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected EPA’s nonattainment designation for two counties in Texas. What I find most interesting about the case is the reaction to it. Inside EPA (subscription...more
5/27/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Air Pollution ,
Appeals ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Judicial Review ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Texas
As we have noted previously, a number of states have enacted legislation and/or brought claims against fossil fuel producers seeking payment for damages resulting from climate change. Legislative efforts include New York...more
5/12/2025
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
Amidst continued optimism from the Trump Administration on geothermal energy as compared to other renewable energy sources, some private companies are looking to achieve their stated clean energy goals by turning to...more
Earlier this week, my colleagues Adam Kahn and Kevin Chen posted about the proposed rule issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that would rescind the definition of “harm” under the...more
On April 8, the White House issued an Executive Order aimed at “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.” While the direct effects from this Executive Order are hard to assess, the Trump Administration clearly intends...more
On Monday morning, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Juliana v. United States. The cert. denial leaves in place the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that ordered the case dismissed for lack of standing. At least for...more
We previously reported on New York State’s enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act (the “Climate Superfund Act” or the “Act”), groundbreaking legislation that seeks to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel producers for...more
3/12/2025
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New York ,
Oil & Gas ,
Superfund
I’ve always taken the position that, no matter how much I disagree with the President, the Senate should confirm his executive branch nominees (nominations to the Judicial Branch are different, since judges don’t work for the...more
3/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Agencies ,
Nominations ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
As readers of this space will have noted, geothermal energy is one of the few renewable sources treated positively by early Trump Administration efforts to attain “energy dominance.” Given the favorable treatment of...more
President Trump began his second term by issuing a barrage of executive orders, memoranda, and other directives, many of which targeted U.S. energy policy and the federal employees who implement it. Trump had campaigned on...more
1/24/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Offshore Wind ,
Paris Agreement ,
Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
Wind Power
On January 14, 2025, President Biden signed an Executive Order to advance the United States’ leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This comprehensive directive underscores the critical role of AI in...more
1/17/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Clean Energy ,
Data Centers ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Geothermal Energy ,
Infrastructure ,
National Security ,
Renewable Energy
Last week, we posted about New York State’s enactment of the Climate Change Superfund Act. We promised to continue to monitor developments concerning climate superfund legislation and to update readers as necessary. It’s been...more
1/14/2025
/ California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CERCLA ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Public Health ,
State and Local Government
With the incoming Trump administration poised for an attack on federal environmental regulations, states are quickly emerging with actions on climate change. On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into...more
1/10/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
State and Local Government ,
Superfund
Earlier this week, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of plaintiffs in a climate case based on certain provisions of the Montana constitution. Specifically, the court ruled that:
- The...more
12/20/2024
/ Citizen Suits ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Injunctions ,
Montana ,
MT Supreme Court ,
Permits ,
State Constitutions
Earlier this week, in what almost certainly has to be the most fractured appellate decision in the history of the United States courts, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, affirmed via per curiam decision the...more
Last week, EPA released two final rules under TSCA. The first rule bans all uses of trichloroethylene (TCE). The ban is subject to several temporary exemptions for certain uses under § 6(g) of TSCA. The second rule bans...more
12/12/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Chemicals ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contamination ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)