[Podcast] Catching Up on Canadian Environmental Regulation
The Great Green North: A Discussion on Canada’s Environmental Regulations
Recent Actions on Ag Biotech by EPA’s Emerging Technologies Branch
This week, we discuss the first settlement between a state and a group of young plaintiffs who claimed that their government’s inadequate climate policies violated their constitutional right to a healthy environment. We...more
As discussed in our earlier Client Alerts, California recently passed several laws requiring certain climate-related corporate disclosures, including, for example, regarding emissions and climate-related financial risk. As...more
In a recent report, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) describes steps the EPA should take to increase air monitoring at marine ports and neighboring communities. While not agreeing to...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
The City of Boston is advancing three companion regulatory efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for medium-sized and large buildings. As addressed in our 2021 advisory, the Boston Emissions Reduction and Disclosure...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed a rule change that would formally repeal a 2008 rule and require all existing major industrial facilities to include “fugitive” emissions in preconstruction evaluations...more
A recently-issued multi-agency report highlights a path for the U.S. government to replace fossil fuel-based jet fuel with renewable sources to address climate change and encourage infrastructure development. The U.S....more
Despite California’s most recent, two-year legislative session ending on September 1 with a flurry of new bills aimed at fighting global warming getting passed, one noticeable bill failed to pass on the last day. Senator...more
Citing a lack of standing and no final agency action, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit dismissed the petition of an association representing businesses that make and sell aftermarket racing parts seeking review of a...more
In June 1989, then-President George H. W. Bush proposed revisions to the Clean Air Act designed to reduce what were perceived as three of the largest threats to the environment at the time: toxic air emissions, acid rain, and...more
On the last day of its 2022 term, the Supreme Court curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to cut carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants. The court held that the “generation shifting”...more
As part of its legislative arsenal to combat climate change, France adopted the Climate and Resilience Law on August 22, 2021 ("Climate Law"), providing for a large number of binding measures against greenhouse gas ("GHG")...more
On March 29, 2022, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, supported by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, tabled Canada’s new 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (the “Plan”). The Plan describes the existing and new measures...more
Energy innovation and transformation is front and centre at all levels of government and industry as society collectively tackles climate issues. Interest in the development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)...more
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) guidance, issued Sept. 30, 2021, revoking the Trump-era Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction (“SSM”) guidance signals difficult permitting decisions ahead for emitters across...more
As states continue to revise state implementation plans (SIP) to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA), two recent decisions out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are likely to affect how contingency measures...more
Biden Promises to Cut U.S. Emissions in Half from 2005 Levels - The Biden administration kicked off their two-day Climate Leaders’ Summit on Earth Day, April 22, 2021, and concluded the event on April 23, 2021. The intent...more
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (“SCAQMD”) is pursuing a new rule to regulate distribution warehouses. The SCAQMD’s focus is not on emissions generated by the warehouses or their equipment. Rather, its focus...more
New EPA rule aims to limit tough clean air measures under Biden - The New York Times – December 9 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this Wednesday completed a rule that could weaken federal authority to...more
On August 4, 2020, the EPA issued new guidance addressing the issue of Plantwide Applicability Limits (PAL) under the New Source Review (NSR) program of the Clean Air Act. The PAL guidance is intended to expedite facility...more
As industrial facilities go, distribution warehouses are clean, non-polluting operations. They generally do not operate industrial furnaces, boilers, compressors, pumps, tanks or other major stationary sources of air...more
When roads heat up during the summer, the asphalt poisons urban air - Fast Company – September 8 - In the summer, dark asphalt roads and roofs absorb heat from the sun and then put it back into the air, which is...more
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PDEP”) and Range Resources-Appalachia, LLC (“Range”) entered into an April 9th Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty (“Consent Assessment”) addressing alleged violations...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Mahle Engine Components USA, Inc. (“Mahle”) entered into a March 20th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced it is proposing to retain the current Clean Air Act National Ambient Air Quality Standard (“NAAQS”) for particulate matter (“PM”). The PM standard includes...more