In an extended Earth Day event, President Biden hosted the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate (“Summit”) on April 22 and 23, seeking to unite nations around the world in the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas (“GHG”)...more
4/28/2021
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Brazil ,
Canada ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FSOC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Japan ,
Proposed Legislation ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
As part of his comprehensive climate change agenda, President Biden convened a task force to assess the social cost of greenhouse gases. At the end of February, the task force published an interim report estimating the “cost”...more
3/24/2021
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Carbon Emissions ,
Carbon Taxes ,
Climate Change ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Obama Administration ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published draft guidance on how to apply the “functional equivalent” test created by the Supreme Court in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020). The...more
12/17/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Draft Guidance ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Point Sources ,
SCOTUS
Now that the results of a tumultuous presidential election appear clear, attention shifts to what to expect during President-elect Joe Biden’s first term. It is fair to say that a Biden White House will sharply contrast with...more
11/10/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SAFE ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On June 1, 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a final rule narrowing the ability of states and Indian tribes to formally object to federally permitted projects based on state water quality...more
On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that a federal permit is required under the Clean Water Act (CWA) when a discharge to groundwater is the “functional equivalent” of a...more
4/28/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
On March 31, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation, acting through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), finalized a rulemaking that the agencies described...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a number of rapid-fire legislative, executive, and regulatory responses in the U.S. States, counties, and cities have issued shelter-in-place and other emergency orders, causing certain...more
On January 23, 2020, the Trump Administration issued a final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). The Navigable Waters Protection Rule narrows the...more
2/27/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Final Rules ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
On June 19, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule repealing the Obama-era “Clean Power Plan” (CPP) and replacing it with the “Affordable Clean Energy” (ACE) Rule. While both rules regulate...more
This is the eighth issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from...more
4/1/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Common Law Claims ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
FERC ,
Mercury ,
Methane ,
Obama Administration ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
RCRA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Sierra Club ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Trump Administration ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Utilities Sector ,
Waters of the United States
On February 14, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an Action Plan for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (collectively, PFAS), a group of chemical compounds that has been linked to negative...more
This is the second issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the next 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from across...more
2/8/2019
/ Barack Obama ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
CEQ ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Fuel Standards ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
MATS ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory History ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration
In consideration of a request for a writ of certiorari in the cases County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, No. 18-260 and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners v. Upstate Forever, No. 18-268, the US Supreme Court invited the views...more
1/11/2019
/ Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Kinder Morgan ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Solicitor General
On September 24, 2018, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not require a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the discharges of pollutants to...more
The President is scheduled to sign the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (NDAA) on Monday, August 13 at a ceremony at Fort Drum, New York. Named for Senator John S. McCain (R-Ariz.), the bill authorizes...more
Awareness of the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (a.k.a. emerging contaminants) in public and private water supplies around the country has become a considerable focus of public officials and the general public....more
Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not require that pollutants be discharged directly from a point source into navigable waters for liability to attach. In...more
The natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) process has evolved since its inception in the late 1970s. The innovations keep coming. In 2016, a third-party “credit banking” mechanism was used for the first time to settle...more
On January 22, 2018, the US Supreme Court unanimously held that challenges to the Obama-era Clean Water Rule, commonly referred to as the WOTUS Rule (for “waters of the United States”), must be filed in federal district...more
On December 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will not promulgate a final rule requiring hardrock mining facilities (i.e., facilities for the extraction, beneficiation, and processing of metals...more
A June 5, 2017, Department of Justice (DOJ) policy directive threatens the ongoing availability of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in civil environmental settlements. SEPs have traditionally provided a means by...more
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt last week issued a memorandum revising the existing delegations of authority related to implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more