Welcome to your quarterly rundown of the latest legal, policy, and market happenings in the cannabis and hemp industry. The Cresco and Columbia Care Fallout: How Credit Monitoring Could Have Prevented It - The Cresco and...more
A flurry of recent federal legislative and regulatory action has put per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) on center stage in 2019. PFAS chemicals were once widely used in manufacturing processes, but recent research...more
Per- and polyfluorinated substances (“PFAS”) are not all alike. Two – perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluoroctane sulfonate (“PFOS”) – are relatively well known and studied. And then there are the rest: by various...more
On February 14, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released its long-awaited Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (“PFAS”) Action Plan (“Action Plan”). Once widely used in manufacturing processes because of...more
While most regulatory attention to date has focused on perfluorinated chemical substances (“PFAS”) in drinking water, pressure is growing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to designate at least some PFAS...more
In a divisive political climate, one issue many Republicans and Democrats seem to agree upon is the need to take action on per- and poly-fluorinated chemical compounds (“PFAs”). These chemicals include, but are not limited...more
The natural resource damages (“NRD”) process empowers federal, state, and tribal “trustees” to act on behalf of the public, bringing legal claims intended to restore or replace natural resources injured by hazardous waste...more
On May 25, 2018, EPA extended its comment deadline to August 16 on a regulatory reform proposed rule on Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science (“Science Transparency Rule”). The two aspects of the proposal that...more
On April 9, 2018, the heads of numerous federal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding Implementing One Federal Decision Under Executive Order 13807 (“MOU”) aimed at expediting and coordinating environmental review of...more
For decades, tax regulations have been viewed as exempt from required regulatory review under Executive Order 12866 of October 4, 1993, on Regulatory Planning and Review. That Executive Order (“EO”) directs federal agencies...more
From the earliest days of the Trump Administration, the White House and new leadership in key federal agencies have pushed to increase the volume and pace of infrastructure projects and eliminate regulatory roadblocks. With...more
Inevitably, a change in Administrations leads to changes in policies and priorities of regulatory agencies. Most media coverage has focused on opposition to the Trump Administration's efforts to revise existing or proposed...more
In one of its first actions upon taking office, the Trump Administration issued a Presidential Memorandum on Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing on January 24, 2017. That...more
In recent actions, the Trump Administration reinforced its commitment to making significant changes in the way federal environmental reviews and authorizations are managed for infrastructure projects. As discussed in a...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency will hold nine teleconferences to solicit public comments and recommendations on revising the definition of "Waters of the United States" under the...more
Since its earliest days, the Trump Administration has focused on eliminating delays in infrastructure projects, portraying environmental reviews and permitting as major choke points requiring change. On January 24, 2017, the...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a process for replacing the Obama administration's 2015 promulgation of a revised regulatory definition of "waters of the United States."...more
In a June 22, 2017 Federal Register notice, the Department of Interior (DOI) became the most recent federal department or agency to initiate a comment cycle to solicit public input on regulations that should be repealed,...more
The latest development in the consideration of H.R. 1430, the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017" ("HONEST Act"), introduced by Rep. Smith, Lamar [R-TX] and strongly supported by the new Administration,...more
On April 26, Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced a bipartisan bill, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 that would codify several existing Executive Orders ("EO") and impose new requirements...more
EPA continues to create mechanisms for stakeholders to use in submitting rule candidates for repeal, replacement, or modification, in implementation of the Trump Administration's regulatory reform Executive Orders (see...more
The Trump Administration issued its most recent major Executive Order ("EO") on regulatory reform on February 24, EO 13777 on Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda. That directive added structural and enforcement mechanisms to a...more
Clark Hill's previous Alerts on the major regulatory reform initiatives launched by the Trump Administration covered the key points of those executive orders and directives. After assessment of the collective orders, this...more
President Donald Trump issued, on February 28, 2017, an Executive Order ("EO") aimed at rescinding and revising the Obama Administration-issued final rule entitled "Clean Water Rule: Definition of 'Waters of the United...more
Continuing a Trump Administration series of Executive Orders, Presidential Memoranda, and Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") guidance documents that direct federal agencies to fundamentally change their rulemaking...more