Good morning! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
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
EPA floats sharply increased social cost of carbon - E&E News – November 21 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new estimate for the social cost of carbon emissions, nearly quadrupling an interim...more
Historically, environmental issues have been front and center for major project development throughout the world. But for projects in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) increased focus on the...more
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” The Executive Order directs the Environment...more
News stories and campaign rhetoric frequently create expectations of immediate shifts following an administration change, but most changes in the federal government happen slowly, and the constraint on resources and time...more
Overview of the current energy mix, and the place in the market of different energy sources - Due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. total energy consumption in 2020 is on pace to decline for a second straight...more
Our latest summary of some recent developments in the courts and the federal agencies includes a unique case involving salt marshes adjacent to San Francisco Bay....more
TSCA/FIFRA/TRI - EDF Reports That EPA Has “Muzzled” SACC: The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published a September 16, 2019, blog item entitled “EPA’s latest move to deflect criticism of its TSCA risk evaluations: Muzzle...more
New Sulfur Caps for Shipping Fuels Will Help Make the Shale Boom Even Bigger "Now the shale revolution will help shippers across the world comply with the International Maritime Organization's 2020 standards, called "IMO...more
As Storm Looms, 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Dominion on Coal Ash Pollution at Chesapeake Site - "Water pollution from a coal ash landfill and settling ponds at a closed power plant in Chesapeake is not a violation of...more
Focus - California commits to eliminating all carbon sources of electricity by 2045 - REUTERS - Sep 10 Governor Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law Senate Bill 100, which requires the state to source electricity from...more
New Source Review (“NSR”) remains a focus of enforcement for EPA. Between last year and now, EPA finalized eight settlements with manufacturers and one with a utility, asserting NSR violations for allegedly not obtaining a...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - Court blocks Dept. of Interior’s move to delay Obama-era methane leak rule - The Hill - Oct 4 - On Wednesday a federal court set aside an effort by the Department of the Interior...more
EPA Releases TSCA Assessment Documents For Flame Retardant Chemicals: On August 18, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for public comment three Problem Formulation and Initial Assessment documents...more
Environmental and Policy Focus: Clean Water Act rule faces challenges from both sides - Courthouse News Service - Aug 18: A widely publicized new rule clarifying the definition of ’waters of the United States’ under the...more