The US Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a proposed rule and accompanying press release announcing its intent to repeal both the 2015 greenhouse gas emissions standards for new fossil fuel-fired power plants...more
After nearly two decades of silence, the US Supreme Court on May 29, 2025, weighed in on an issue that has tremendous significance for permitting of complex infrastructure and other development projects—the depth and breadth...more
The first few months of the new US administration have brought sweeping changes to the country’s environmental regulatory landscape. Through a spate of executive orders, agency directives, and staffing restructurings, the...more
The US administration issued the executive order “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach” on April 8, 2025, directing the US Attorney General to identify and challenge state- and local-level energy and climate...more
President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address identified making America “energy dominant again” as one of four America First Priorities. Having issued several statements and executive orders in January that focused on...more
The US Supreme Court held in City and County of San Francisco v. EPA that the US Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority under the Clean Water Act to include “end-result” limitations in National Pollutant Discharge...more
President Donald Trump’s early executive actions have rescinded environmental justice initiatives dating back more than 30 years as a part of the US administration’s broader objective of eliminating considerations of race,...more
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders and memoranda reversing many of his predecessor’s climate policies and launching a promised transformation of the nation’s...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on November 21 published the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution (the Strategy). Through the Strategy, EPA aims to address plastic pollution and its effects on human...more
The two-judge majority opinion in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration effectively invalidates the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ’s) longstanding regulations implementing the National...more
The US Supreme Court’s opinion in the Loper Bright v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Commerce cases overruling the rule of deference to agency interpretations of federal statutes established by its decision 40 years ago in...more
7/5/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
At a time marked by themes of “push” and “pull,” organizations across all sectors and jurisdictions are grappling with the pursuit of innovation within an increasingly complex regulatory framework. Over the next 12 months,...more
One of the primary goals of bankruptcy law is to provide debtors with a fresh start by imposing an automatic stay and allowing for claims of reorganizing debtors to be discharged. In environmental law, a primary goal is to...more
US President Joseph Biden recently issued an executive order (EO) announcing additional environmental justice (EJ) initiatives. Most notably, the EO directs all agencies to take affirmative steps to identify and address EJ...more
Recent action by the Biden administration has made clear once more that advancing equity, environmental justice, and civil rights is a key component of the environmental agenda that it seeks to address through a “whole of...more
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on November 2 the final version of its fifth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 5) that significantly expands the draft CCL’s definition of per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
The US Supreme Court’s recent invalidation of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan under the “major questions” doctrine could make it more difficult for the Environmental Protection Agency to craft a similar regulation in the...more
The Biden-Harris administration recently affirmed its commitment to advancing environmental justice, issuing a sweeping guidance document on May 26, 2022. At first glance, the guidance from the US Environmental Protection...more
The global impact of our planet’s changing climate garnered significant attention in 2021. The United States rejoined the Paris Agreement at the beginning of the year, and in November, during the United Nations Climate Change...more
The updated model of the remedial design/remedial action consent decree and statement of work seeks to streamline and quicken CERCLA settlement negotiations and address environmental justice concerns of Superfund sites in...more
In a move that is expected to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced their intent to revise the definition of “waters of the United States”—a...more
6/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Water Act ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tribal Lands ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
Reversing the US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit, a unanimous US Supreme Court held that Guam’s settlement of Clean Water Act liabilities did not give rise to and trigger the statute of limitations to bring a Comprehensive...more
6/1/2021
/ CERCLA ,
Clean Water Act ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Consent Decrees ,
Contribution Claims ,
Cost Recovery ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Remediation Costs ,
Guam ,
Guam v United States ,
Hazardous Waste ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
U.S. Navy
US President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have consistently framed their policies with what they call the four major “crises” facing the nation: COVID-19, the economy, climate, and inequity. ...more
4/30/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Reform ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Relief Measures ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tax Reform
The Biden-Harris administration has set its sights on an ambitious environmental policy agenda, focusing on climate change and environmental justice as key initiatives, and intends to implement its agenda through an “all of...more
4/23/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
Regulatory Agenda
Much of the attention in President Joseph Biden’s executive actions in his first 100 days has been focused on his numerous executive orders on topics ranging from climate and COVID-19 to race and gender. Although these...more