Navigating the Inflation Reduction Act: Insights on Brownfield Energy Community Credits - Energy Law Insights
In recent years, states and municipalities have attempted to hold fossil fuel companies liable for their alleged impacts on climate change. Numerous states and municipalities have sued fossil fuel companies, alleging that...more
The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against New York and several other states, challenging their newly enacted state Superfund laws (Superfund lawsuits). The laws aim to address the environmental damages attributed...more
The Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (“ASTSWMO”) submitted testimony to the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Other Related Agencies. The...more
President Trump’s January 31, 2025, executive order (EO), Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) February 25 interim final rule removing CEQ regulations...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a December 19, 2024 Resource Conservation Recovery Act (“RCRA”) guidance document titled: Improved Procedures for Facility/Site Transfers Between RCRA Hazardous...more
On February 6, 2025, twenty-two states and four energy industry organizations and businesses filed a lawsuit challenging New York’s “climate superfund” law. This law, signed on December 26, 2024 by New York Governor Kathy...more
As climate adaptation and mitigation costs escalate, a wave of state climate superfund legislation is emerging across the United States. This novel approach to climate accountability, pioneered by Vermont and New York,...more
On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law S02129B, also known as the New York Climate Change Superfund Act (Act). This law is modeled after the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act (“CCSA” or the “Act”) into law. The law requires certain fossil fuel producers and refiners with sufficient connections to New York...more
In a “paradigm shift in environmental liability,” some states are seeking to legislate financial responsibility on large coal and oil & gas companies for the public costs associated with strengthening infrastructure against...more
State governments increasingly engage on climate issues. In search of a new source of funding for hundreds of billions of dollars in anticipated climate adaptation costs, a recent New York state law could impose $75 billion...more
Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the federal Superfund law (PFAS Designation Rule) in September...more
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund Program is a cornerstone of the United States’ efforts to remediate contaminated sites and protect public health. The Superfund Program under President-Elect Donald...more
For most of this century, I’ve been asked with some regularity whether Superfund was dead. I’ve always considered that question to be a victory of hope over expectation. Notwithstanding frequent criticism, frequently...more
On July 1, 2024, Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act (S 259) went into effect. The law, which is the first of its kind, imposes strict liability on fossil fuel extractors and crude oil refiners who are accountable for 1 billion...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (“Fourth Circuit”) addressed in a June 25th Opinion an issue involving arranger liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability...more
A report published last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that the former Exide Technologies battery recycling plant and surrounding properties in southeast Los Angeles County qualify for...more
This year, there have been a number of significant legal developments on the regulation of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Expect more as the year unfolds. New studies that show the presence of PFAS in common...more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are at the top of every environmental regulator’s list in 2024 and already this year the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken key steps toward regulating...more
Last week, Vermont became the first state to enact a “Climate Superfund” law. As I noted in January, I fear that this will not end well. It seems odd to model a statute on a law frequently given the accolade – deserved, in my...more
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally published in the Federal Register (89 Fed. Reg. 39124) its long-awaited final rule designating two of the most studied per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
On Friday,19 April 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to designate two common per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid...more
Ten trade associations sent an April 23rd letter to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) addressing an issue regarding the Superfund excise taxes imposed on certain chemicals and imported substances. ...more
On Friday, April 19, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as hazardous substances under the...more
On April 19, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its long-awaited rule designating two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), as “hazardous substances”...more