President Donald Trump on April 9, 2025, issued an executive order (EO) titled "Protecting American Energy from State Overreach." The EO aims at "unleashing American energy" by removing legal restrictions imposed by state...more
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on Feb. 5, 2025, held a markup on the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 347), where the legislation was unanimously reported to the full Senate. To date,...more
Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the federal Superfund law (PFAS Designation Rule) in September...more
11/26/2024
/ ASTM ,
CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
EPCRA ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Natural Resources ,
PFAS ,
Settlement ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals
In response to a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) updates to its lead paint hazard standards were deficient because they improperly took...more
11/8/2024
/ Abatement ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Lead ,
Lead Paint ,
Public Health ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add 16 new, individually listed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list as "chemicals of...more
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws represent a pivotal shift in environmental and sustainability compliance, placing the onus of end-of-life product management on Producers, the parties that produce the products...more
10/18/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Data-Sharing ,
Distributors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Manufacturers ,
Plastics ,
Product Packaging ,
Self-Certification ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability ,
Waste Management
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Sept. 6, 2024, announced the availability of $6.5 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding and $1 billion in State Infrastructure Financing...more
9/20/2024
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Domestic Corporations ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Loans ,
Financing ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Joint Venture ,
Partnerships ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
Project Finance ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Lands ,
Trusts ,
Water ,
Water Supplies
While product importers were spending the summer poring over the Instructions for Reporting PFAS Under TSCA Section 8(a)(7) (May 2024), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was working on a Direct Final Rule and...more
The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) on July 19, 2024, published a proposed rulemaking (Proposed Rule) to adopt amendments to the District's Flood Hazard Rules (Rules) contained in Chapter 31, Title 20 of the...more
7/31/2024
/ Comment Period ,
Construction Project ,
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ,
FEMA ,
Flood Management ,
Flood Maps ,
Flood Zones ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Real Estate Development ,
Urban Planning & Development
Just past the halfway point of 2024, it's already been a busy year for those following regulatory developments related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Building on its plans in the 2021 PFAS Strategic Road Map...more
7/19/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Corrective Actions ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Hazardous Waste ,
PFAS ,
RCRA ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a far-reaching and important final rule (Rule) on Oct. 11, 2023, requiring comprehensive reporting of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and...more
6/27/2024
/ Compliance ,
Data Collection ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
NDAA ,
PFAS ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 19, 2024, announced its Final Rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds – perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid...more
4/29/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Compliance ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Supplies
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 6, 2024, adopted a new slate of standardized climate-related disclosure rules for public companies and foreign private issuers. Adopted by a 3-2 vote, the final rules...more
3/11/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Reporting ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in October delivered a clear message to companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and their advisers: Acquiring companies will not be penalized for timely voluntary disclosure...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) (collectively, the Agencies) on...more
11/6/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Collection ,
Executive Orders ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Joint Statements ,
New Guidance ,
OCC ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Strategic Planning ,
U.S. Treasury
The California Legislature has sent two landmark bills to Gov. Gavin Newsom for approval that will have global repercussions. Bundled with Senate Bill (SB) 252 as part of the Climate Accountability Package, SB 253 and SB 261...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 27, 2023, published its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, which is intended to update the public about the agency's plan to review, propose and issue regulations over the...more
8/3/2023
/ Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FIFRA ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
NPRM ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
RCRA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs) ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
For the first time since 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) is actively evaluating potential updates to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides or Guides) to provide clarity...more
6/29/2023
/ Advertising ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Green Guides ,
Green Marketing ,
Greenwashing ,
Marketing ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Recycling ,
Rulemaking Process
The District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed Rule) to adopt a new Chapter 16 – Discharge of Groundwater to the Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer...more
6/6/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection ,
Groundwater ,
Municipalities ,
NPRM ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Meetings ,
Storm Water ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Surface Water
In accordance with its directives under the Title III of the Clean Energy Omnibus Amendment Act of 2018 (CEDC Act), the District of Columbia's Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) established its Building Energy...more
Companies should be thoughtful and strategic about how they structure their voluntary and mandatory climate disclosures. There are many climate disclosure standards – as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
2/3/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Multinationals ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
United Nations
It has taken a year to obtain greater certainty of what is required to satisfy the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) all appropriate inquiries (AAI) rule (40 CFR part 312). Earlier this year, EPA issued a direct...more
At its Dec. 14, 2022, meeting, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) voted to obtain public comment on potential revisions to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides or Guides). The...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-anticipated ruling on June 30, 2022, regarding the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power...more
7/1/2022
/ Administrative Authority ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SCOTUS
Montgomery County, Maryland, signed Bill 16-21 into law on May 2, 2022, as an amendment to the County's Building Energy Use Benchmarking Law (Benchmarking Law), Article 6 of Chapter 18A of the Montgomery County Code. Bill...more