On March 27, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) issued three sets of final rules revising the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations. The...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) continues to focus on protections for bat species that have been ravaged by white-nose syndrome. In 2023, the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB) was uplisted to endangered status. The FWS...more
Effective April 12, a new eagle take permitting regime will be in place. The eagle take permitting scheme has been criticized because of its overly conservative and burdensome requirements. These concerns culminated in a...more
At the end of January, a federal judge issued a ruling in a high-profile environmental justice case, Louisiana v. EPA, brought by Louisiana against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice...more
2/12/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Disparate Impact ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Louisiana ,
State Agencies ,
Title VI
PM NAAQS: Already behind schedule is perhaps the mostly widely impactful rule change EPA has proposed in many years: a lowering of the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). EPA has...more
1/9/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
MATS ,
Methane ,
NAAQS ,
Ozone
In 2020, New Jersey enacted a first-of-its-kind environmental justice statute, the Environmental Justice Law (EJ Law). The EJ Law requires that permit applicants for certain water, waste, and air facilities located, wholly or...more
On April 21, President Biden signed Executive Order No. 14096 (EO), titled “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice For All.” The EO builds on prior executive orders by President Biden related to...more
On June 28, a coalition of 11 environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Clean Air Act to address the alleged failure of Texas Commission for...more
On October 7, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to revise its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to...more
Environmental justice moved to the forefront of sociopolitical discussions in the country in 2020, receiving increased attention from politicians, community groups, and environmental agencies. Although this concept is not...more
10/1/2021
/ Clean Air Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
NEPA ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health
Last week, Washington became the latest state to address environmental justice (EJ) through legislation by adopting the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act and the Climate Commitment Act into law. The HEAL Act, which is...more
The Biden administration has already taken several actions that signal its intention to shift to a more federally focused environmental enforcement approach. Although the Trump administration generally adopted a “hands off”...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated fiscal concerns of water and sewer service providers, with many states imposing a moratorium on the collection of delinquent bills and the termination of service. The affordability of water...more
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. FWS, 139 S.Ct. 361 (2018), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a series of proposals to refine the scope, meaning, and...more
Environmental justice has received greater attention in 2020, both because it is an election year, but also because of the increased focus on racial inequality since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. Many states are...more