District of Columbia AG Brian L. Schwalb settled with Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) for $57 million, the largest environmental settlement in D.C. history, to resolve allegations that the energy company released toxic...more
A 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report, authored by various governmental agencies, found that global mean sea levels could rise between one and seven feet by 2100. This would me significant impacts to the more...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in the January 12th Federal Register a Request for Public Comment on the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (“NECIs”) it is proposing for fiscal...more
In GreenRoots, Inc. v. Energy Facilities Siting Board, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), for only the second time, had an opportunity to interpret the Environmental Justice Policy (EJ Policy) promulgated by the...more
On New Year’s Eve, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York’s “Cumulative Impacts” bill into law, making New York the second state in the nation to require assessment of “cumulative impacts” affecting certain...more
In July 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 158 into law, which established the Board of Environmental Safety (BES)—an agency charged with overseeing the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s (DTSC) hazardous waste...more
Starting November 1, 2022, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will require applicants who are applying for a new registration, permit, or activity, or making certain changes to an existing registration, permit,...more
In his latest report, the sixth in a series of thematic reports, Professor David Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment celebrates a turning point in the evolution of human rights: the October 8,...more
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Regan issued a statement on March 28th in response to the Biden-Harris Administration’s budget submitted to Congress for fiscal year 2023. The...more
On October 1, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its new Draft Strategic Plan for 2022 through 2026 (Strategic Plan). EPA is required to develop the Strategic Plan to communicate EPA’s priorities...more
New Jersey has been a leader in addressing the most significant environmental problems of the day. Decades ago, for example, four years before the enactment of CERCLA, the state’s Spill Compensation and Control Act prohibited...more
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its “EJ 2020 Action Agenda.” EPA confirms that it will three basic goals: - Deepen the environmental justice (“EJ”) practice within EPA programs... ...more
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance recently proposed changes to its National Program Manager (NMP) Guidance that, in part, would revise EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives (“NEIs”) for federal fiscal...more
On September 15, 2015, EPA solicited public comment on its upcoming cycle of National Enforcement Initiatives (NEI) for fiscal years (FY) 2017-2019. EPA is proposing to adopt three new enforcement initiatives and is...more