A judge has temporarily blocked a plan by a California state water board to take over monitoring groundwater use in a portion of the crop-rich San Joaquin Valley, according to a copy of the decision obtained on July 16. Kings...more
This article summarizes some of the most significant amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that were enacted in 2023. Some housing laws that relate to CEQA are discussed in the article, “Recently...more
Republican attorneys general from 20 U.S. states sued the Biden administration on Tuesday, seeking to block new reforms to the U.S. environmental review process for major projects such as transmission lines and wind and solar...more
In 2022, Pennsylvania became the 12th member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”). Pennsylvania joined RGGI pursuant to a 2019 executive order and a subsequent rulemaking promulgated by the state’s Department of...more
Ms. Demetria Kimbrough, MPH, has been named Associate Director of the Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality’s (“DEQ”) Office of Air Quality. Ms. Kimbrough replaces David Witherow,...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in the August 22nd Federal Register Notice a proposed rule that would approve portions of the revisions to the Arkansas State Implementation Plan (“SIP”)....more
As we predicted, North Carolina’s House Bill 130 became law on midnight, June 24, 2023, as a result of Governor Roy Cooper electing not to take action on the ratified house bill. Ben Smith highlights the important facts of...more
On April 12, 2023, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced it has officially withdrawn a proposal for a variance to a state law regarding the use of diesel generators as backup power for data centers...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and the City of Beedeville, Arkansas (“Beedeville”) entered into a February 16th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an...more
As noted in a February 20th post several Requests for Hearings were filed before the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission (“Commission”) addressing an application seeking to modify a permit for an open-cut mining...more
On November 17, 2022, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (“IRRC”) approved the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board’s (“EQB”) new safe drinking water maximum contaminant levels (“MCLs”) for perfluorooctanoic...more
In 1994, under Executive Order 12898, environmental justice was recognized as a federal initiative administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Since then, the environmental justice movement has expanded,...more
While Oregon has enjoyed a relatively mild spring, summer is right around the corner—and with it comes the risks of extreme heat and wildfires. Although Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA)...more
The Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (“Corps”), in coordination with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (“VDEQ”), is proposing two Virginia State Programmatic General Permits (“SPGP”)...more
As noted in an April 27th blog post, the Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States...more
House Bill 4116 directs the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to identify sources of pollutants and develop strategies to reduce pollutants in order to respond to harmful algal blooms. HB 4116 also directs the...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Town of Tollette, Arkansas (“Tollette”) entered into an October 20th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged...more
When Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 951 on Oct. 13, 2021, North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast — and one of the first in the country — to authorize significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from...more
Ms. Julie Linck has been appointed by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to serve as Chief Administrator of the Environment of the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (“E&E”). The Chief Administrator has statutory...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and City of Tuckerman (“Tuckerman”) entered into a June 24th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of...more
The Virginia Code requires a site suitability determination for all projects seeking air emission permits. Va. Code 10.1-1307.E. While this provision has been in place for decades, it has never received significant attention,...more
The Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board (Air Board) took its first measurable step toward a change in air permitting by creating a Subcommittee on Public Participation Processes (the Subcommittee) on June 21, 2019. The...more
In an effort to centralize and simplify regulatory and licensing oversight of the cannabis market, California has created the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). With the passage of Assembly Bill 141, the DCC...more
For the first time since the May 13 crossover date, the General Assembly returned to a normal pace, with the Senate holding votes Tuesday through Thursday and the House of Representatives holding votes Wednesday and Thursday....more
This week, we saw the beginnings of the budget process, as the House hosted a series of Appropriations subcommittees. Nearly all of the committee rooms were packed with visitors attending to see if an unannounced House budget...more