On March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in City & County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency and clarified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") and state...more
3/13/2025
/ California ,
City and County of San Francisco v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
San Francisco ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
On December 26, 2024, New York enacted a law requiring certain energy companies to contribute cumulatively $75 billion to a climate "superfund" over the next 25 years....more
1/10/2025
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
New York ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State and Local Government ,
Superfund
The California legislature continues to press forward with the implementation of two of the state's sweeping climate disclosure laws after a proposal to delay the implementation dates by the governor failed to be considered...more
In Ohio et al. v. U.S. EPA, on April 9, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to allow California's 2013 greenhouse gas emissions...more
6/18/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Authority ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
National Highway Safety Administration ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized four rules to regulate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA's stated goal was to provide a framework on which power plants can rely for...more
On April 19, 2024, EPA announced its highly anticipated final rule designating two polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS")—perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS")—as "hazardous substances" under...more
4/22/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized the strictest-ever emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. On March 29, 2024, EPA announced new emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2027...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") announced new stringent emissions standards for automobiles, which the Biden administration has deemed the "strongest-ever vehicle pollution standards" in U.S. history....more
The Situation: In 2019, Congress amended the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA") to require the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to promulgate a reporting rule on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"). EPA...more
12/12/2023
/ Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Importers ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retroactive Application ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
On April 27, 2023, the California Air Resources Board ("CARB") approved a first-in-the-nation regulation that limits the emission of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants from locomotives in the...more
8/18/2023
/ CARB ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
ICCTA ,
Railroads ,
Railways ,
Trains ,
Zero Emission Credits
The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has announced a new proposed rule that would strengthen the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ("NESHAP") for Coal- and Oil- Fired Electric Utility Steam...more
4/10/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Coal-Fired Generation ,
Coal-Fired Plants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
MATS ,
Mercury ,
NESHAP ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Toxic Exposure
On March 14, 2023, the EPA took a step toward imposing federal limits on certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency...more
In Short -
The Situation: In 2021, the Biden Administration signaled its intent to replace the 2020 "Navigable Waters Protection Rule," which was vacated by a federal court, with a new definition of "waters of the United...more
The delegated regulation includes a new comprehensive and unified reporting methodology to direct investments toward environmentally sustainable economic activities....more
3/1/2022
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Net Zero ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Taxonomy
On December 30, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") published a final rule (the "Final Rule") setting revised greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks with model years...more
2/28/2022
/ Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
The California Air Resources Board ("CARB") is conducting public workshops during the fall of 2021 as part of its planning for the next Climate Change Scoping Plan, which will lay out strategies for achieving California's...more
11/5/2021
/ Air Pollution ,
California Air Resources Board ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Background: In recent years, the scientific and regulatory communities have paid increasing attention to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which have been common components for decades in consumer and...more
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
European Commission Announces 2030 Climate Target Plan -
The plan aims to put the European Union on a balanced pathway to reaching climate neutrality by 2050....more
On June 26 and 29, 2020, the petitioners in Union of Concerned Scientists v. NHTSA, Case No. 19-1230 (D.C. Cir.), filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing against the first...more
8/6/2020
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NHTSA ,
Petition for Review ,
Preemption ,
Public Health ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
NHTSA and EPA Finalize the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule -
The new rule completes the rollback of the Obama-era vehicle emissions standards....more
The Situation: Proposed resolutions in Congress and an injunction request in a Ninth Circuit case both seek significant reductions in fossil fuel use throughout the economy.
The Result: In the near term, it is easy to...more
3/15/2019
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Green New Deal ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Trust Doctrine