On June 28, the Supreme Court released its opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises et. al v. Secretary of Commerce (Loper), which regulatory practitioners have been anxiously awaiting to see whether the Court would allow...more
The Supreme Court clarified the scope of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in a long-awaited decision regarding which wetlands are subject to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Declining to exercise...more
5/31/2023
/ 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
In 2022, health and safety agencies' focus continued to shift away from the near-constant COVID-related discussions of the past few years. COVID-19 is not in the rearview mirror, but the Biden Administration's comprehensive...more
1/10/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SCOTUS ,
Severe Violators Enforcement Program (SVEP) ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions based on shifting from existing generation sources under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA)....more
7/7/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Pollution Control ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Resource Management ,
SCOTUS ,
West Virginia v EPA
In prior alerts, we detailed the scope of the interim final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) announced by the Occupational Safety and Health...more
1/14/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Biden v Missouri ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
National Federation of Independent Business v Department of Labor and OSHA ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The saga of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) continues. On Friday night, December 17, a three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an Opinion...more
12/20/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Motion to Dissolve ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund case in April 2020, the legal landscape of "navigable waters of the U.S." has eroded quickly. With Maui, the Supreme Court created a test for...more
9/30/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Natural Resources ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
SCOTUS ,
Waters of the United States
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, regarding whether the discharge of pollutants via groundwater requires a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit. This holding...more
4/25/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
The appointments of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have been widely expected to rein in the broad discretionary powers that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies have enjoyed. The...more
8/25/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Article I ,
Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Delegation of Discretion ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Waters of the United States