The New Cold War: Risk, Sanctions, Compliance Episode 24: “Elephants and the Mafia: Combatting Criminal Wildlife Trafficking”
Several “red” states and three energy industry NGOs have filed a motion for summary judgment in their Louisiana Federal Court challenge to EPA's 2023 rule regarding the state water quality certifications required under...more
Sam Hess of Inside EPA has a fulsome report on EPA's everything but the kitchen sink attempt to avoid a nationwide freeze of its most recent definition of Waters of the United States in litigation filed by a North Carolina...more
While environmental justice (EJ) concerns continued to drive policymaking in early 2024, EJ efforts increasingly faced headwinds coming from various and sometimes unexpected directions. Below, we will summarize recent...more
On Tuesday, in Ohio v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied several challenges to EPA’s decision to restore California’s authority under § 209(b) of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions from motor vehicles. It’s...more
Louisiana remains at the forefront of environmental justice activity. In just four days from January 19 to January 23, 2024, two courts in Louisiana offered interpretations to environmental justice efforts in the State of...more
A first-of-its-kind environmental justice (EJ) lawsuit filed by a group of Louisiana churches and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) was dismissed this week. The court’s decision finding the plaintiffs’ claims to be...more
Seventy-nine percent of plastic waste ends up in landfills or the environment, much of which eventually ends up in our oceans. A March 8, 2023 study, estimated the average amount of small plastics in the ocean surface layer...more
While increased enforcement resulting from increased federal focus on environmental justice (EJ) issues poses risk to many businesses, how (and perhaps whether) the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assesses and...more
The “Major Questions Doctrine” (MQD) has been the breakout star of the last two terms at the US Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the Fourth Circuit used MQD in upholding the dismissal of a nongovernmental organization’s...more
This week, in North Carolina Coastal Fisheries Reform Group, et al., v. Capt. Gaston LLC, a three judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a District Court Judge that when shrimpers use nets to catch...more
This week Massachusetts Federal District Court Judge Richard Stearns dismissed two counts of the Conservation Law Foundation's and Charles River Watershed Association's lawsuit against EPA and stayed until September of next...more
Just before the July 4th holiday, I was wondering out loud what was to be gained by having a Federal District Court decide the merits of a challenge to EPA's eighth attempt to determine the reach of the Clean Water Act. ...more
Addressing environmental justice (EJ) issues has been a primary concern for the Biden Administration. Recent developments — one in Chicago and one in Louisiana — show different ways local and state regulators have reacted to...more
Since taking office two years ago, the Biden Administration has emphasized efforts to incorporate environmental justice considerations into federal agency permitting, funding and financial support decision-making....more
President Biden issued an Executive Order on April 21, 2023 titled “Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All” (the “EO”). The EO continues the Administration’s emphasis on environmental justice by...more
Louisiana has been at the center of the past year’s eruption of environmental-justice related enforcement activities. The complaint in Inclusive Louisiana et al. v. St. James Parish et al., found here, is tied to three...more
Inside EPA is reporting that the United States Forest Service is going to work with EPA to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit coverage under the Federal Clean Water Act authorizing it to...more
The regulated community should be considering how Earth-observing satellites may enhance regulators’ and non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs’) ability to detect, measure, and monitor pollution. According to the Land Remote...more
Law360 is reporting that a Federal District Court Judge in South Carolina is allowing NGOs, including the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, to continue their Clean Water Act citizen suit against the Army Corps of...more
Three Judges of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals have dismissed the American Chemistry Council's complaint challenging EPA's interim health advisory levels for PFAS in drinking water. The ACC's case was dismissed, not for...more
What will happen in the environmental and energy space in 2023? The last year saw transformative changes in the environmental and energy space in the form of historic spending through the federal Inflation Reduction Act, a...more
The first two years of the Biden Administration have resulted in a seismic shift in terminology in the environmental space. Environmental justice (EJ), formerly viewed as a theoretical goal, has become unifying federal driver...more
While many of us were focused on the 2022 elections, the Conservation Law Foundation and the Charles River Watershed Association again sued the Environmental Protection Agency because EPA isn't regulating indirect stormwater...more
The EPA’s External Rights Compliance Office recently released Interim Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting Frequently Asked Questions (“the FAQ”). Stressing “that it is time to use the full extent of its...more
Standing is a major issue in nearly all environmental citizen suit cases. A split panel of the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s award of a $14.25 million Clean Air Act (CAA) penalty against a...more