Business Better Podcast Episode: An Update on Environmental Justice Under the Biden Administration
On-Demand Webinar | Planning and Funding Climate Resilient California Coastal Infrastructure
Natural Resource Damages & Environmental Justice
Drinking Water on Tap: Money, Morality, and More with Tracy Mehan from the American Water Works Association - Reflections on Water Podcast
Williams Mullen Manufacturing Edge: Environmental Enforcement in the Current Regulatory Climate
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
This blog posting is derived from an article I recently published in the University of Missouri, Kansas City Law Review at the invitation of our Fellow and friend Irma Russell, to whom I am indebted for much guidance and...more
A hallmark of the Biden Administration’s approach to environmental justice has been using preexisting authorities to advance its agenda, none more so than Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. That approach now faces several...more
This is the fourth in a series of six eAlerts examining the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2024 (Final Rule) by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The...more
Massachusetts has become the first state to require analysis of cumulative impacts for certain air quality permits in or near communities with environmental justice (EJ) populations. On March 29, 2024, the Massachusetts...more
The Biden Administration’s efforts to address environmental justice (EJ) concerns continue. This month, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced modifications to EPA’s Equity Action Plan....more
State and local governments have weighed in at increasing frequency in past years. While some environmental issues are global in scope, local governments are progressively engaged on issues affecting climate, waste disposal,...more
Environmental and energy issues were in the headlines for much of 2023. We had several major US Supreme Court cases, Canadian wildfires that produced haze in many American cities throughout the summer, and continued attention...more
The EPA is seeking comments on a newly released, revised guidance document regarding the consideration of environmental justice (EJ) concerns in the rulemaking process. The guidance document updates a 2016 version and...more
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea held a series of public hearings that started September 11, 2023 following a request submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change (COSIS) to clarify...more
Environmental justice is the meaningful and fair involvement of all people in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental policies, regulations, and laws. Community Benefit Agreements, can facilitate...more
On October 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) released its Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy Report (Report). The Report outlines what OEJ considers to be...more
Yesterday, Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer issued a report detailing how “to implement the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis.” The report identifies...more
On July 25, 2023, Representative Ted Lieu and 19 other Democratic lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice...more
More so than any other issue, environmental justice (EJ) remains a central pillar of the Biden Administration’s regulatory agenda. Below, we’ll answer three EJ-related questions that the regulated community may struggle with...more
Though environmental justice (EJ) has been a focus of federal and state activity in the environmental sector for several decades, a surge of regulatory and funding activity began in 2020 and spans executive orders, updated...more
Consider these three statements: I experience odor or discoloration in my tap water, English is not the primary language spoken in my home, and I live near industrial activity....more
On April 21, 2023, the eve of Earth Day, President Biden continued his Administration's spotlight on environmental justice issues by signing Executive Order 14096, entitled "Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to...more
On June 8, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality, on behalf of the Ocean Policy Committee (OPC), published a Federal Register request for information seeking public input on the development of a new “Ocean Justice...more
Right on the heels of Earth Day, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14096, titled “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All”....more
In Minnesota and around the country, agencies and legislatures are working to formally incorporate concepts of environmental justice and cumulative impacts into permitting decisions and enforcement....more
US President Joseph Biden recently issued an executive order (EO) announcing additional environmental justice (EJ) initiatives. Most notably, the EO directs all agencies to take affirmative steps to identify and address EJ...more
Recent action by the Biden administration has made clear once more that advancing equity, environmental justice, and civil rights is a key component of the environmental agenda that it seeks to address through a “whole of...more
On April 17, the first day of Earth Week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the final adoption of regulations to implement the state’s Environmental Justice Law. According to the Office of the Governor, the Environmental...more
Following decades of regulatory actions and lawsuits concerning the definition of “waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act, on December 30, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Missouri are escalating initiatives to reduce lead exposure across the nation, focusing on schools and environmental justice communities. The agencies'...more