Farmers in southern Tulare County will face greater scrutiny for groundwater pumping after the state placed the region on probation following a lengthy hearing in Sacramento on Tuesday....more
9/20/2024
/ California ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farms ,
Groundwater ,
Infrastructure ,
Natural Resources ,
PFAS ,
State and Local Government ,
Water ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Rights ,
Water Supplies
Recent raging winter storms have caved in streets, wrecked piers, collapsed homes and apartment buildings, and submerged property up and down California’s coastline. As sea levels continue to rise from climate change,...more
8/19/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
Chevron ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coastal Real Estate ,
Diesel Bans ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Rising Sea Levels
The city of Fresno announced this week that Shell USA, Dow Chemical, and other oil and chemical companies have agreed to pay the city $230 million to settle the city’s 2007 lawsuit against them for allegedly contaminating...more
8/9/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Dow Chemical ,
Drinking Water ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pesticides ,
PFAS ,
Pipelines ,
Pollution Control ,
Public Health ,
Shell Oil ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Conservation
The U.S. Supreme Court today upended a 40-year-old decision that made it easier for the federal government to regulate the environment, public health, workplace safety, and consumer protections, delivering a far-reaching and...more
7/1/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Chevron Deference ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
PFAS ,
Railways ,
SCOTUS ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Well Drilling
Chemical and manufacturing groups sued the federal government on Monday over a landmark drinking water standard that would require cleanup of certain PFAS, so-called forever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and...more
6/17/2024
/ Agricultural Land ,
Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Contamination ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Insecticide ,
Landfills ,
PFAS ,
Safe Drinking Water Act
A new lawsuit filed in April by public drinking water systems in California against manufacturers of “forever chemicals” is among the first to cite new Biden administration EPA regulations that set strict limits for the...more
5/6/2024
/ California ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Joe Biden ,
Lead ,
National Parks ,
NEPA ,
PFAS ,
San Francisco ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Waste Disposal
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today designated two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have been used in cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stayed new climate-related disclosure requirements pending judicial review, the agency said on Thursday, after criticism from across the political spectrum. The SEC’s...more
4/8/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Clean Air Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Herbicides ,
PFAS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
State and Local Government ,
Stays ,
Water Supplies
The Biden administration issued a final rule this Wednesday aimed at curbing methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands. Adoption of the rule is its latest action to crack down on emissions of...more
4/1/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Cross-Border ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Water Resources ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ,
Well Drilling
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, California Chamber of Commerce, American Farm Bureau Federation, and other groups sued California on Tuesday in federal court over the most sweeping climate disclosure mandates in the nation,...more
2/5/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Dams ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Governor Newsom ,
PFAS ,
Salmon ,
State and Local Government ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
Wastewater
A group of 18 California children – ranging in ages from 8 to 17 – has filed a new constitutional climate case in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...more
The power to enforce a rule intended to slash air pollution associated with warehouses could one day rest in the hands of citizens who are willing to go to federal court. Several Inland members of Congress recently signed a...more
12/11/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Air Quality Standards ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Methane ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Pipelines ,
Reclaimed Water ,
Tribal Lands ,
Water Rights
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene (TCE), which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care, and...more
10/30/2023
/ California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Forestry ,
PFAS ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Quality ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
The California 2023 Legislative Session ended on September 14, 2023 and presented Governor Gavin Newsom with several important changes to California’s water-related statutes. Newsom had until October 14, 2023 to sign all...more
10/23/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Aircraft ,
California ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Governor Newsom ,
PFAS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
State and Local Government ,
Water Resources Control Board
Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen significant environmental bills over the weekend, including a first-in-the-nation law requiring corporations doing business in California with more than $1 billion a year in...more
10/16/2023
/ Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Fines ,
Governor Newsom ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Oil Spills ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Public Notice ,
State and Local Government ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Supplies
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a rule that will provide the agency, its partners, and the public with a dataset of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured and used in the...more
10/9/2023
/ Air Quality Standards ,
California ,
Clean Water Act ,
Drinking Water ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Waste ,
Oil Wells ,
PFAS ,
State and Local Government ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wastewater
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) on Tuesday released a new rule that reduces the number of federally protected waters by more than half following a Supreme Court...more
9/5/2023
/ California ,
Cemex ,
Contamination ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Forest Service ,
Groundwater ,
PFAS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water Pollution ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Waters of the United States
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives for 2024-2027. The list includes first-time initiatives to mitigate exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
Twenty-two attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, urged a federal court this Wednesday to reject a proposed $10.3 billion settlement over contamination of U.S. public drinking water systems with...more
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association said on Thursday that they had reached an agreement, referred to as the "Clean Truck Partnership," that gives new flexibility for...more
7/10/2023
/ Automotive Industry ,
California ,
CARB ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Contamination ,
Disclosure ,
Drinking Water ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Landfills ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pension Funds ,
PFAS ,
State and Local Government ,
Trucking Industry
3M announced on Thursday that it has reached a $10.3 billion settlement with many U.S. public water systems to resolve water pollution claims tied to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as “PFAS.”...more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed the scope of the 1972 Clean Water Act by ruling that an Idaho couple's property does not include wetlands subject to federal oversight under the law. The decision in Sackett v. EPA...more
5/31/2023
/ CARB ,
Clean Energy ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hydropower ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
Well Drilling ,
Wetlands
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to protect composting, recycling, and garbage facilities from cleanup cost liability if they receive and manage solid waste or biosolids containing PFAS compounds....more
In last year’s update, we provided an overview of federal and California regulatory actions designed to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These actions...more
5/2/2023
/ California ,
CEQA ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Housing Developers ,
Office Space ,
Offshore Wind ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
State and Local Government
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering expanding the number of per- and polyfluoroalklyl substances (PFAS) compounds classified as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
4/24/2023
/ California ,
CERCLA ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Groundwater ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PFAS ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
Storm Water ,
Wetlands