On August 25, 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved the Advanced Clean Cars II rule (Rule), requiring all new vehicles sold in California to be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035. Governor Gavin Newsom...more
On November 2, 2021, New York State voters passed a ballot measure enshrining in the State Constitution the right to a “healthful environment.” The new “green amendment” or “Environmental Rights Amendment” (ERA) places New...more
Key Takeaways -
• What Happened: The Biden Administration took a significant step toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from mobile sources by issuing a non-binding “Executive Order on Strengthening American...more
On May 24, the Supreme Court weighed in on an issue that for decades has bedeviled litigants under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA): When can potentially responsible parties...more
5/26/2021
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Consent Decrees ,
Contribution Claims ,
Cost Recovery ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Remediation Costs ,
Guam ,
Guam v United States ,
Hazardous Waste ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
U.S. Navy
Key Takeaways What Happened:
Earlier this year, the European Commission adopted a series of amendments that expanded the scope of anti-circumvention provisions to ecodesign regulations for a number of product categories....more
It’s no secret that President Biden plans to prioritize action on climate change. During his presidential campaign, Biden identified climate change as one of his top four priorities, and announced he would seek to put the...more
Key Takeaways -
• What Happened: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued a “Dear Manufacturer” letter encouraging vehicle and engine manufacturers to voluntarily self-disclose regulatory violations in a variety of...more
Five major automobile manufacturers – BMW of North America, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen Group of America, and Volvo – and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently entered into voluntary framework agreements to reduce...more
Key Takeaways -
• Regulatory Action: Vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards will increase in stringency by 1.5 percent per year from Model Years (MY) 2021-2026, as compared to MY 2020 levels. But this...more
On November 4, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a statute of limitations bill designed to make it easier for public water providers to file lawsuits relating to alleged contamination of their water supply...more
On September 18, 2019, President Trump announced on Twitter that his administration was “revoking California’s Federal Waiver on emissions in order to produce far less expensive cars for the consumer, while at the same time...more
In a case that may make it easier to prove causation in Maryland lead paint cases, the Maryland Court of Appeals held that neither direct evidence of the source of lead nor expert testimony was necessary when a trier of fact...more
Illustrating the limits on damages available to North Carolina landowners in toxic tort cases, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s order capping damages at the diminution in the value of the...more
In a decision that may make it more difficult to sustain medical monitoring claims in Pennsylvania, a federal district court dismissed as untimely a putative class action alleging workplace chemical exposure. Blanyar v....more
On May 12, 2016, EPA issued three final rules to reduce methane emissions from new, reconstructed, and modified sources in the oil and gas sector by 2025. These rules create significant new obligations to reduce emissions of...more
In perhaps the most well-publicized environmental release incident since Deepwater Horizon, Southern California Gas Co. faces a number of toxic tort-based lawsuits stemming from a natural gas leak at one of its storage wells...more
In a victory for toxic tort class action plaintiffs, an Iowa trial court certified a class covering approximately 4,000 residents who alleged property damages due to air emissions from a nearby corn milling plant. See...more
During the week of January 18, 2016, the Department of Energy & Environment of the District of Columbia (“Department”) released a pre-draft proposal of its much-anticipated synthetic minor permitting regulations. The proposal...more
Sixth Circuit Rules that Clean Air Act Does Not Preempt State Tort Claims
- In a decision that may leave facilities open to private tort liability despite compliance with federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements, the...more