On March 13, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would move forward with reconsideration of the Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding (Endangerment Finding) as directed in President Trump’s Executive Order...more
On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed legislation disapproving the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The Joint...more
The Biden administration's rule requiring the payment of a fee for methane emissions has effectively been rescinded, although, for now at least, the statutory provision imposing the fee remains in effect along with other...more
The Biden administration introduced wide-ranging environmental regulations with profound and far-reaching effects on the environment and the economy. In its first two weeks, the Trump administration has signaled an attempt...more
Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: •Bipartisan AGs to Disposable E-Cigarette Companies: You’re...more
A group of 23 Republican AGs filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit of the EPA’s Final Rule requiring charges on certain oil and gas producers exceeding Congressional methane emissions...more
The final regulations retain the general framework of the proposed regulations, with some important modifications based upon comments from industry members. The acquisition and retirement of energy attribute certificates...more
With unified control of Congress and the White House, Republicans are primed to use the CRA to swiftly overturn regulations promulgated in the final months of the Biden Administration. The Congressional Review Act (CRA)...more
Coming up on a month since the presidential election, some things are starting to become clearer, though many questions remain. We will release a Viewpoints article in the next week that will be a more in-depth assessment of...more
One of the Bay Area’s largest reservoirs is about to get bigger thanks to a partnership between local water agencies and the federal government. The San Luis Reservoir Dam, between Los Banos and Gilroy, will be raised 10 feet...more
On November 12, 2024, the Biden administration announced a final rule to reduce methane emissions from high-emitting oil and gas producers. Enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act (the “Act”), EPA will now collect Waste...more
California officials have been working on a plan to preserve the state’s leading edge environmental and climate policies, in the event that former President Donald J. Trump returns to the White House and follows through on...more
At its October 10 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) unanimously found that a petition to list the western burrowing owl as an endangered or threatened species in California provides sufficient...more
On October 4, 2024, without opinion and no recorded dissents, the United States Supreme Court handed the Biden Administration two wins on notable climate change regulations, denying emergency stay applications against...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued an Enforcement Alert (“EA”) titled: EPA Finds MSW Landfills are Violating Monitoring and Maintenance Requirements....more
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
A California Superior Court judge ruled last week that Sonoma County must do more to ensure responsible groundwater pumping under the state’s Public Trust Doctrine, which holds that rivers, creeks, and other waterways are...more
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to issue a rule updating its Clean Air Act emission standards for new and existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills to cut methane and other harmful landfill gas emissions....more
On July 9, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) declined to stay a new Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) rule that seeks to limit methane emissions in the oil...more
Final Rules for Prevailing Wage & Registered Apprenticeships at Clean Energy Projects - The Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced final rules implementing the prevailing wage and...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on June 21, 2024, released a $850 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas...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
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) gave the federal government new authority to “tackle” the problem of methane emissions. On May 6, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued final revisions to...more