From executive orders to state laws, elements of ESG are being transformed.
Podcast hosts David Colvin and Karen Davis, who also co-chair the firm’s ESG Practice Group, explore the impact of the New York Climate Change...more
A recent shift in EPA funding approvals has raised questions about potential delays in environmental projects, disaster response and clean energy initiatives. According to an AP report, all EPA division directors and deputy...more
3/13/2025
/ Compliance ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Funding ,
Fraud Abuse and Waste ,
Funding ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Efficiency ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy
Raising questions about the future of U.S. anti-corruption policy, President Trump has temporarily paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA),. An Executive Order (EO) signed on Feb. 10, 2025, Pausing...more
Amid uncertainty over future staffing and funding levels, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a new priority list for the agency titled the “Powering the Great American Comeback...more
2/10/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Oil & Gas ,
OMB ,
Permits ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
On December 26, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law S02129B, also known as the New York Climate Change Superfund Act (Act). This law is modeled after the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
2/5/2025
/ CERCLA ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Liability ,
New York ,
Oil & Gas ,
Responsible Party ,
Superfund
New EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will need to hit the ground running to keep up with the requirements and deadlines set in motion on the first day of the Trump Administration. Four executive orders (EOs) issued by the Trump...more
On November 14, 2024, EPA issued its third annual progress report on its PFAS Roadmap reporting on the agency’s three years of progress against its overarching goals of restrict, remediate, and research PFAS. The...more
In March 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced with great fanfare the creation of its Climate and ESG Task Force to proactively identify ESG-related misconduct. Three years later, the SEC quietly shuttered...more
On June 28, 2024, in its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises, et al. v. Raimondo, et al., the U.S. Supreme Court held that its longstanding precedent granting deference to administrative agencies established in the 1984...more
As we have previously reported, EPA has designated perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability...more
As previously reported, on April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released the pre-publication notice of its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid...more
On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released the pre-publication notice of its final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as hazardous...more
On April 8, 2024, the EPA Administrator signed the final rule establishing drinking water standards, also known as MCLs, for six PFAS (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, GenX (HFPO-DA), PFHxS, and PFBS). The final MCLs for PFOA and PFOS are...more
On April 4, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pressed the pause button on the implementation of its recently approved climate disclosure rules for public companies until several legal challenges can be...more
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final climate risk disclosure rules on March 6, 2024, nearly two years after the controversial proposed rules generated intense interest and debate. The Enhancement and...more
By statutory enactment, Maine intends to ban the sale, marketing, and distribution of products or product components containing intentionally added PFAS, effective January 1, 2030. 38 M.R.S. § 1614. This follows Maine’s...more
On February 8, 2024, EPA published a proposed rule to list nine PFAS, their salts and their structural isomers, as hazardous constituents under RCRA regulations. If the proposed rule is finalized, the nine PFAS (PFOA, PFOS,...more
The Sixth Circuit ruled that a complaint on which a trial court had certified a class that included every person subject to the laws of Ohio must be dismissed. The complaint was filed by Kevin Hardwick, a firefighter,...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law two core bills of the state's “Climate Accountability Package, Senate Bill 253 (SB 253) and Senate Bill 261 (SB 261).
As they currently stand, these laws impose...more
In March 2022, a putative class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against L’Oreal U.S.A., Inc. alleging that the company had violated a host of state consumer protection...more
More than a year and a half after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its controversial and groundbreaking Proposed Rule for the disclosure of climate-related risks, its much-anticipated release of the Final...more
Media reporting on the ESG "backlash" has grown as lawmakers in some states pursue legislation to prevent government entities from doing business with investment firms and other businesses that consider environmental, social...more
Get excited for Climate Week NYC with Rich Deming, CEO of East Energy Renewables, and episode host Karen Davis, Co-Chair of Fox Rothschild’s ESG Group.
Listen to a sneak peek of the topics to be discussed in the Fox...more
On August 17, 2023, EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) released its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECI) for FY 2024-2027, which include addressing exposure to PFAS as an enforcement...more
As part of the PFAS Strategic Science Vision for the U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”) and consistent with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which identified activities related to PFAS where USGS...more