Legislation recently enacted to raise the federal debt ceiling (the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 or FRA) includes major permitting reforms with the potential to streamline federal environmental reviews under the National...more
The Biden Administration’s Executive Order 14096, “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All,” launched significant new policies to further integrate environmental justice throughout the federal...more
The Biden-Harris Administration continues to build on early efforts to integrate environmental justice with federal agency actions through a new executive order, Executive Order 14091, Further Advancing Racial Equity and...more
Recent actions by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aim to institutionalize environmental justice as a key agency function and support development of tools, guidance and policies to advance it. A newly formed...more
Future federal environmental settlements are likely to include more creative remedies to address the impacts of violations on communities, thanks to recent policy changes at the US Department of Justice (DOJ)....more
7/25/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Environmental Violations ,
New Rules ,
Regulatory History ,
Settlement ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy
The path to advancing environmental justice (EJ) just got a lot clearer, thanks to a new digital mapping tool created by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). CEQ released a “beta” version of the Climate and...more
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan recently announced a series of significant actions to advance environmental justice. The U.S. Department of Justice...more
5/12/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Public Comment ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy ,
Tribal Lands
Today marks the 52nd Earth Day celebration, initially commenced in 1970 as citizens around the nation, and the world, gathered to demand stronger protection for the environment: cleaner water, air and land. As in 1970, the...more
4/25/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Risk Factors ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Yesterday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) proposed groundbreaking rules intended to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosure requirements for public companies. The SEC’s climate...more
3/23/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Upon taking office in January, the Biden Administration immediately prioritized climate change and environmental justice, fulfilling President Biden’s campaign promise. In the past two weeks, President Biden reiterated those...more
11/16/2021
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
IFRS ,
Infrastructure ,
International Standards ,
Methane ,
Paris Agreement
On November 5th, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency regulation that assigns US employers a central role in the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Several...more
11/9/2021
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Comment Period ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employer ,
Employer Mandates ,
Motion for Relief ,
OSHA ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Preemption ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Stays ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Tenth Amendment ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
The Biden Administration’s “whole of government” approach to advancing environmental justice (EJ) continues apace, with agencies and courts pursuing focused enforcement and environmental review strategies that could affect...more
9/20/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CalEPA ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
NEPA ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
A new study by the U.S. Department of Energy supports a dramatic expansion in solar energy development, finding that solar energy could comprise as much as 40 percent of U.S. electricity supply within the next 15 years. The...more
9/14/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
FERC ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Research and Development ,
Solar Energy ,
Tax Credits ,
Transmission Planning
In response to one of the worst outbreaks in the COVID-19 pandemic, attributable largely to the highly contagious Delta variant, President Biden on September 9 announced his six-prong Path Out of the Pandemic plan. To...more
9/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
Interest in US offshore wind development is at an all-time high, as the Biden Administration and lawmakers continue to create renewable energy project incentives and opportunities, shareholders demand action from companies to...more
8/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Funding ,
FERC ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Wind ,
Operational Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Wind Power
In its first six months, the Biden Administration has taken tangible steps to advance environmental justice (EJ) across the federal government. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have...more
On March 4, 2021, the US Supreme Court held that draft biological opinions prepared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) were subject to the deliberative process privilege...more
3/15/2021
/ Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FOIA ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Privileged Communication ,
Privileged Documents ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Agencies ,
Public Records ,
SCOTUS ,
Sierra Club ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service v Sierra Club
The Biden Administration is seeking to advance “environmental justice” (EJ) through its policy and regulatory priorities in a way that no administration has before. Environmental justice - which seeks to address...more
2/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Black Lives Matter ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Minorities ,
National Environmental Policies ,
Native American Issues ,
Popular ,
Public Health
On January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued updated guidance aimed at helping employers implement COVID-19 Prevention Programs to better identify workplace risks that could lead to...more
2/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Executive Orders ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety