It has taken a year to obtain greater certainty of what is required to satisfy the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) all appropriate inquiries (AAI) rule (40 CFR part 312). Earlier this year, EPA issued a direct...more
At its Dec. 14, 2022, meeting, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) voted to obtain public comment on potential revisions to its Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides or Guides). The...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-anticipated ruling on June 30, 2022, regarding the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power...more
7/1/2022
/ Administrative Authority ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SCOTUS
Montgomery County, Maryland, signed Bill 16-21 into law on May 2, 2022, as an amendment to the County's Building Energy Use Benchmarking Law (Benchmarking Law), Article 6 of Chapter 18A of the Montgomery County Code. Bill...more
"Record breaking" is how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) described its whistleblower program results in FY 2021, and it's not hard to see why. The agency continued to receive tips from all corners of the...more
1/27/2022
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Statements ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Every eight years, ASTM International's standard-setting committees are required to reevaluate existing ASTM standards. The ASTM E1527-13 Standard Practice on Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) is required to be...more
7/9/2021
/ ASTM ,
CERCLA ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Hazardous Waste ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Working Groups
The Biden Administration on May 20, 2021, issued its latest and long-awaited Executive Order (EO) on climate-related financial risk. This EO reflects how the administration is continuing to take a "whole of government"...more
6/1/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Net Zero ,
OMB ,
Risk Assessment ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Holland & Knight's Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Industry Sector Group invites you to read the Climate Week Report, which provides insights and analysis of the important developments from U.S. Climate Action Week, held...more
The past several months have taught us a lot about the interplay between global risks and the economy. With lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to evolve, climate change has earned a new spotlight as an analogous...more
1/21/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Economic Downturn ,
FHFA ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Stability Board ,
Information Reports ,
Insurance Industry ,
IOSCO ,
Popular
ASTM International (ASTM) has proposed redefining a Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition (CREC). The ASTM's definition, as drafted, confuses risk-based decision-making with the implementation of institutional...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued important guidance (EPA's Guidance) on June 15, 2020, clarifying the recently amended exemption of state and local governments from the definition of an "owner"...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 29, 2020, issued a memorandum titled COVID-19 Implications for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program: Addendum on Termination (Termination Addendum), which...more
In Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, a decision issued on April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that state courts may hear state common law claims seeking to compel remediation beyond what the U.S....more
5/21/2020
/ Approval Requirements ,
Atlantic Richfield Co v Christian ,
CERCLA ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Land Owners ,
MT Supreme Court ,
Nuisance ,
Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Site Remediation ,
State Law Claims ,
Strict Liability ,
Trespass
On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) issued Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions...more
The Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) in Washington, D.C., has announced its intent to propose significant changes to its flood hazard regulations at Title 20 DCMR Chapter 31. These changes are designed to make the...more
Jurisdictions across the United States are responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the federal, state and local levels by issuing emergency stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders (Orders) that generally...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 26, 2020, issued a memo called the COVID-19 Implications for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program. EPA's temporary policy is that it will exercise...more
• The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) imposes strict, joint and several, retroactive liability on property owners and operators for releases of hazardous substances. However,...more
8/8/2019
/ Brownfield Properties ,
CERCLA ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Interim Guidance ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
New Guidance ,
Property Owners ,
Strict Liability
The Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow's America Act (LIFT America Act or the Act), H.R. 2741 – 116th Congress, was introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) on May 15, 2019. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is...more
5/21/2019
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Brownfield Grants ,
Brownfield Properties ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fiscal Year ,
Infrastructure ,
PFAS ,
Proposed Legislation ,
RCRA ,
Site Remediation ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Feb 7, 2019, released companion resolutions that provide a framework for prospective legislation on a Green New Deal (GND), an ambitious climate...more
• Proposed changes to the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority's System Availability Fee (SAF) regulations would provide developers credits for providing new affordable housing units.
• Proposed sewer service...more
• The Trump Administration released an ambitious $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan on Feb. 12, 2018 – a plan that includes many provisions focused upon encouraging the reuse of contaminated brownfields and Superfund sites.
...more
2/21/2018
/ 404(c) Plans ,
Agency Consolidation ,
BFPP ,
Bonds ,
Brownfield Properties ,
Budget Cuts ,
Categorical Exclusions ,
CEQ ,
CERCLA ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Drinking Water ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Grants ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Flood Control ,
Incentives ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Financing ,
Injunctive Relief ,
NAAQS ,
National Priorities List (NPL) ,
NEPA ,
NHPA ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Railroads ,
RCRA ,
Risk Management ,
Rural Development ,
Section 404 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Storm Water ,
Strategic Planning ,
Superfund ,
TIFIA ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Utilities Sector ,
Wastewater ,
Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act ,
Water Supplies ,
WIFIA
The Trump Administration unveiled significant rollbacks in funding for federal agencies when it released its Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again on March 16, 2017. The President's proposed budget priorities would...more
3/25/2017
/ Budget Cuts ,
Bureau of Land Management ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Climate Change ,
ENERGY STAR Program ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Budget ,
Fracking ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NOAA ,
OMB ,
Superfund ,
Tribal Lands ,
Trump Administration ,
United Nations
Earlier this year, Freedom Partners, a conservative advocacy group, released A Roadmap to Repeal containing a list of former President Barack Obama's regulations that the group argued should be repealed quickly after the...more
2/7/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Justice Scalia ,
Methane ,
Midnight Rules Relief ,
Neil Gorsuch ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stream Protection Rule ,
Trump Administration
In the initial week of the Trump Administration, a lot has happened and more changes are planned. Here are the highlights from Week One:
Confirmation Hearings -
Confirmation hearings were conducted for Scott Pruitt...more
1/27/2017
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Freeze-Out Mergers ,
Keystone XL Pipeline ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Native American Issues ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pesticides ,
Pipelines ,
Public Communications ,
Renewable Fuel ,
Risk Management ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Tribal Lands ,
Trump Administration