A multistate coalition of twelve state Attorneys General—California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington—joined by the District of...more
Following the Trump administration’s previously announced commitment to “slash unnecessary red tape and regulations,” the Department of Energy (DOE) proposed a new suite of deregulatory actions that, if successful, will...more
Nearly one month has passed since President Trump’s inauguration, and the new administration is beginning to execute its approach to water and energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment. As was the case in 2016,...more
Overview -
Following our post-election Alert outlining major anticipated themes for environmental and natural resource law and policy in the second Trump administration, leaders from a number of our practices – many of...more
Capping a four-year effort to revitalize enforcement under its Appliance and Equipment Standards Program, earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it had assessed and collected a civil penalty of...more
Key Takeaways:
What Happened: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is making a final push to finalize energy conservation standards and test procedures for a number of categories of consumer, commercial, and...more
Manufacturers and sellers of consumer products in California should be aware that the California Energy Commission (CEC) continues to bring more enforcement actions and assess large civil penalties for violations of its Title...more
On November 5, President Donald Trump was elected President-elect for a second time. We anticipate that President Trump’s upcoming term will usher significant shifts in U.S. environmental and natural resource law and policy,...more
Largely out of public view, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been ramping up enforcement of its “backstop” efficiency standard and sales prohibition regarding general service lamps, including incandescent bulbs. After...more
Key Takeaways -
What’s happening? On May 23, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a public workshop – “Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides” – to discuss “recyclable” advertising...more
Key Takeaways:
• What Happened: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks public comment on a proposed expansion of EnergyGuide labeling requirements to new product categories, and a requirement to include repair...more
Key Takeaways:
• What Happened: DOE finalized rules to apply the 45 lumens per watt “backstop” efficiency standard to general service lamps and to include five categories of specialty incandescent lamps, incandescent...more
Key Takeaways:
• What Happened: DOE finalized rules to apply the 45 lumens per watt “backstop” efficiency standard to general service lamps and to include five categories of specialty incandescent lamps, incandescent...more
Background -
The European Commission (EC) is undertaking an aggressive overhaul and expansion of the Ecodesign Directive to allow for the future regulation of the environmental sustainability of a wider range of products...more
Key Takeaways:
• What Happened: DOE proposed to apply the 45 lumen per watt “backstop” efficiency standard to general service lamps, which would effectively prohibit the manufacture, distribution, and sale of most...more
Key Takeaways:
• What Happened: DOE issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to adopt revised definitions of general service lamps and general service incandescent lamps, which would impose strict energy efficiency standards...more
Key Takeaways What Happened:
Earlier this year, the European Commission adopted a series of amendments that expanded the scope of anti-circumvention provisions to ecodesign regulations for a number of product categories....more
Manufacturers, importers and private labelers of appliances, lighting products and commercial and industrial equipment can expect a much more aggressive federal regulatory approach to energy and water efficiency, as the Biden...more
On September 14, the European Commission (Commission) released the roadmap for its Sustainable Products Initiative (Initiative) – an ambitious new vision for legislative reform that will establish minimum sustainability and...more
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published on May 20 a request for information (RFI) pertaining to potential revisions to the current energy conservation standards for External Power Supplies (EPS). DOE is required to...more
A long-running dispute between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) moved a step closer to resolution, with the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ordering EPA to...more
On September 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a final rule and proposed rule regarding general service lamps and general service incandescent lamps with far-reaching implications for lamp manufacturers...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) appears to have significantly increased its enforcement of the ENERGY STAR Program’s conformity verification rules over the past year. During 2015, under the broad category of...more