I-23- Stunning End-Of-Year NLRB Developments: An Extensive Interview With Former NLRB Associate General Counsel Barry Kearney
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox issued a memorandum on April 28, 2022, addressing EPA's revised guidance for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in National...more
Is federalism alive and well? Has the federal government decided to give up “piling on” and “overfiling” in environmental enforcement actions? It seems so. On July 27, 2020, in an effort to promote federalism, U.S. Department...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency announced in a November 26th memorandum that it would allow the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (“Fund”) to be used for purchasing rights or access to new sources of...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a December 2nd memorandum titled: Revised Policy on Exclusions from “Ambient Air” (“Memorandum”) - The December 2nd Memorandum was transmitted from EPA...more
Chances are if you have been on either side of a settlement for an environmental violation over the past 20 years, you have discussed and/or negotiated a supplemental environmental project (SEP) as part of the overall...more
EPA Administrator Wheeler has distributed a “Revised Policy on Exclusions from ‘Ambient Air’”. Here’s the short version. EPA has long defined “ambient air” as outside air “to which the general public has access.”...more
Earlier this month the Trump Administration issued two executive orders limiting federal agencies’ use of informal guidance documents to regulate conduct. "Informal guidance documents" are generally understood to include...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken three steps since June 2017 through August 2019 that severely limit the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in civil environmental settlements. Those actions are...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has issued an important decision that narrowly interprets the types of governmental decisions that may be challenged in court as “final agency action.” In California Communities...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a July 11th memorandum titled: Enhancing Effective Partnerships Between the EPA and the States in Civil Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Work...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a June 5th memorandum titled: National Priorities for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program (“Memorandum”) ...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a March 25th memorandum titled: Implementation of Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) – Related Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments in...more
Through a combination of memoranda and a recently proposed rulemaking, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is moving to affect longstanding and fundamental components of EPA programs. The merits (or lack thereof) may be lost as...more
The California Attorney General filed an April 10th Petition for Review (“Petition”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a recently issued United States Environmental...more
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator E. Scott Pruitt issued a March 30th memorandum titled: Revision to Delegation of Authority 2-43, Section 404 Dredged and Fill Material Permitting...more
A number of environmental organizations filed a March 26th Petition for Review (“Petition”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a recently issued United States Environmental...more
A new policy memorandum from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will impact one of the most common, complex, and fundamental questions regarding air permitting: Will my proposed project be...more
A new policy memorandum means that some proposed projects at large-emitting facilities would not be subject to major clean air new source review obligations. ...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) have recently issued memoranda concerning civil enforcement of violations, including violations of environmental laws. The January...more
Three memos with potentially important implications for enforcement were recently issued—one by EPA and two by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)....more
In a shift of federal policy with potentially sweeping implications for civil enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced it will no longer rely on guidance documents as the basis for bringing...more
Companies regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have long complained that EPA too often uses guidance documents improperly, both to expand regulatory requirements beyond what the law permits and to avoid...more
The Trump Administration is making what might appear to be subtle changes in federal enforcement policies that have the potential to significantly shift environmental enforcement as prescribed by the prior administration. ...more