The Legal and Practical Challenges of California's Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation
Nota Bene Episode 101: Catching up with Global Climate Regulation with Nico van Aelstyn
[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
The Biden-Harris Administration recently issued a suite of new rules aimed at addressing water and air quality, reducing methane emissions, protecting environmental justice communities, and accelerating the nation’s...more
Less than a month after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published environmental operational standards and greenhouse gas emission regulations for owners and operators of heavy-duty vehicles, including major freight...more
Environmental regulations, including those under the California Air Resources Board’s (“CARB”) jurisdiction, present a complex compliance challenge for vehicle fleet managers and operations departments across the country....more
On February 7, 2024, EPA finalized a rule lowering the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5 to 9.00 ug/m3. This is a significant reduction from the current 12.00 ug/m3 standard and a victory for...more
What are the top legal and practical concerns stemming from a key California climate-change initative, its Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule that went into effect in October 2023? This initiative by the California Air...more
The first three quarters of 2023 have seen an unprecedented number of rulemakings under the Clean Air Act. The Biden administration has released a new suite of proposed rulemakings with a particular focus on climate change...more
Noise and light can be bad for us just like dirty water and air - The picture-perfect spot to live our healthiest lives would be temperate, with fresh air, sparkling water, and night skies ablaze with stars. It would...more
After Held v. Montana was decided, and I read Peter Vetere’s blog post, I’ve been thinking about the Massachusetts Constitution. Would Massachusetts’ youth have similar success arguing for a guaranteed safe, clean...more
In late April the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (“BAAQMD”) promulgated its revised 2022 CEQA Guidelines (“2022 Guidelines”), available here. Previously BAAQMD had published guidelines in 2012, which were the...more
Need a refresher on key developments in 2022 to prepare you for what’s next in 2023? Here’s a rundown of some high-profile happenings, along with some you might have missed....more
As we reported previously, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has taken a highly anticipated vote on its final proposed plan for addressing climate change. ...more
Late last month, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Midwest Ozone Group v. EPA, the latest challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). The Good...more
Many have characterized West Virginia v. EPA as a decision depriving EPA of an important tool to address climate change under the Clean Air Act. The decision is better viewed as steering EPA away from a flawed regulatory...more
The Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update takes an all-of-the-above approach to decarbonize California. On May 10, 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released its Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update for public review...more
On March 29, 2022, the Government of Canada released the first of a series of emissions reduction plans, entitled "2030 Emissions Reduction Plan – Canada's Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy" (the ERP) under the...more
The goal of the Clean Air Act’s visibility program is to achieve natural visibility conditions by 2064 in federal Class I areas (basically, national parks). States must show that they are making “reasonable progress” towards...more
BAAQMD to Mandate All-Electric Furnaces and Water Heaters - On October 7, 2021 the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (“BAAQMD”) held a workshop to discuss proposed amendments to two of its rules (Rule 9-4 and Rule...more
The Clean Air Act (CAA) depends heavily on regulations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement its broad and often ambiguous terms. However, proposed regulations extending EPA’s authority to new...more
EPA rescinds previous administration’s guidance on Clean Water Act permit requirements - Water & Wastes Digest – September 21 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rescinding its guidance document: “Applying...more
Bay Area air quality regulators adopt stringent refinery particulate emissions standard - Reuters – July 21 - The governing board of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (District) on Wednesday adopted...more
Can you still build a bulkhead along the shoreline in coastal Virginia to protect your property? Well, it depends, but now the answer is more likely to be “no.” Major changes to how Virginia tidal waterfront property owners...more
EPA announced yesterday that it will “reconsider” the Trump EPA’s decision not to change the PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard. I’ve blogged numerous times about the growing body of evidence that exposure to...more
I’ve frequently discussed in recent years the mounting evidence for the need to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM2.5. There is also substantial evidence that PM exposure is an environmental justice issue....more
One thing that is clear from the 2020 election: the Senate will remain closely divided, with slim majority control to be determined by the two January Senate runoff races in Georgia. President Elect Biden has announced the...more
The Earth’s climate is changing. With unprecedented fires in California and the State’s litigation with the federal government, the Brazilian rainforest fires, and the aircraft industry’s inability to curb aircraft emissions,...more