The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted a proposed amendment – Amendment 21 – to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for review and...more
On May 20, 2021, President Biden issued his Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk, stating that it is the policy of the Administration to “advance consistent, clear, intelligible, comparable, and accurate...more
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced that it will solicit public comments on the interim social cost of carbon (SCC) metrics released in February by the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of...more
On March 15th, the SEC issued a detailed request for public comments on potential changes to climate risk reporting, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) disclosures more generally. Comments must be submitted by...more
On February 11, 2021, the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision vacating Nationwide Permit (NWP) 48, Commercial Shellfish Mariculture Activities, in Washington State. As previously discussed, industry appealed...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
On February 6, 2021, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) proposed legislation that would breach four dams on the Lower Snake River while requiring the power, transportation, and irrigation benefits of the dams to be replaced and...more
Last week, California Senate Bill (SB) 260, the Climate Corporate Accountability Act was introduced in the California state legislature. If enacted, large corporations doing business in the state of California would be...more
On February 1st, 2021, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s natural gas ban. Last December, Mayor Durkan sent City Council proposed legislation to update Seattle’s Commercial Energy Code....more
The Oregon legislature is considering House Bill 2065 (Bill or HB 2065), a bill designed to restructure Oregon’s recycling system. The Bill is the result of the Oregon Recycling Steering Committee, a collaborative process to...more
On January 13, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a withhold release order (WRO), effective immediately, to detain cotton and tomato products from China’s...more
On December 3, 2020, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced new measures for electrifying buildings to help achieve the City’s aggressive climate goals. By updating its energy code, Durkan proposes banning the use of natural...more
For certain companies that do business within the United Kingdom (UK), new climate risk reporting requirements are coming down the pipeline. On November 9, 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the UK will...more
On October 15, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a proposed policy statement clarifying that it has jurisdiction over rules incorporating state-determined carbon pricing in wholesale electric...more
In the wake of the Fifth Circuit’s August 2, 2020 decision holding that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) lacked authority to regulate aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico, the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding...more
The Western United States is in the middle of one of the biggest wildfire seasons to date. Not only have these wildfires significantly impacted surrounding communities and ecosystems, but they have threatened carbon offset...more
The western United States is again in the middle of a devastating wildfire season, with states like California experiencing the largest fires in state history. Wildfires are becoming a summertime fixture, bringing with them...more
On July 20, 2020, Senator Josh Hawely (R-MO) introduced the Slave-Free Business Certification Act of 2020 (Act), which would require certain large companies to investigate and report on forced labor within their supply...more
In yet another setback for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Nationwide Permit program, a June 11, 2020 federal court ruling vacated NWP 48 for commercial shellfish aquaculture in Washington State. Center for Food Safety v. U.S....more
On March 25, 2020, Governor Jay Inslee signed HB 2528 into law which recognizes the contributions of the state’s forests and forest products sector as part of the state’s global climate response. ...more
On March 17, 2020, a Washington State Court of Appeals addressed the Washington Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) roles as a landowner and a fire suppression agency in light of the enactment of RCW 76.04.016. See Schulz...more
In October 2019, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published its Draft Outline for a Work Plan for a Federal Aquaculture Regulatory Task Force (Draft Outline) in the Federal Register Notice. The Draft Outline...more
Last week EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that they again will be taking the first step in the long-awaited rulemaking process to redefine the scope of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the...more
B&D’s Carbon Markets Roundup covers domestic and international developments related to carbon pricing and related regulatory programs aimed at regulating or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This edition of Carbon Markets...more
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) released the draft 2020 Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP) for public comment. The draft permit contains a number of changes from the existing ISGP, including adding two...more