The Biden-Harris Administration recently issued a suite of new rules aimed at addressing water and air quality, reducing methane emissions, protecting environmental justice communities, and accelerating the nation’s...more
6/12/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Ash ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
MATS ,
Methane ,
New Rules ,
Offshore Wind ,
Power Plants ,
RCRA ,
Renewable Energy ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Wastewater ,
Water Quality
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent rulemakings for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have far-reaching implications for a broad range of industries, regulated entities, and regulatory bodies. First,...more
5/2/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
Public Health ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Quality
On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that the term “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”)—as used in the federal Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1362(7)—means “streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes” and...more
6/8/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Significant Nexus Test ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
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
In one of the most significant environmental opinions of our time, the Supreme Court held in West Virginia v. EPA that Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to...more
7/11/2022
/ Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory History ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
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
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
/ Biden Administration ,
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
/ Biden Administration ,
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
Over the weekend, major news outlets announced that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Biden and his running mate, Vice Predident-elect Kamala Harris, pledged throughout the...more
11/10/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Deregulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Infrastructure ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Methane ,
Paris Agreement ,
Presidential Elections ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sustainable Projects ,
Trump Administration
Adding to the many regulatory initiatives undertaken to aid the nation’s COVID-19 response and provide enforcement relief to the regulated community, on April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued...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