For decades, California has been granted unique deference in setting Clean Air Act (CAA) emissions limitations for California-sold vehicles through use of a state-specific waiver....more
US Supreme Court Clean Air Act (CAA) decisions often result in big-picture changes to administrative law. Two CAA decisions this term deal with CAA’s venue-related provisions which specify where cases challenging US...more
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a federal statute that outlines how federal agencies must review the environmental impacts of their regulatory actions. The regulated community has often viewed NEPA as an...more
Shortly after taking office, President Trump froze funding already allocated to various parties, citing the Administration’s disapproval of issues including climate change and social equity. Additionally, executive agencies...more
In recent years, environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local governments have increasingly sued gas, oil, and energy companies, challenging their historic messaging on climate change, plastic recycling, and...more
On April 22, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to begin to unwind “disparate impact” regulations that were established under federal civil rights laws. In the...more
Public companies can face significant liability based on past operations. While most industrial companies have long-term experience evaluating potential remediation obligations imposed by laws such as the federal...more
4/11/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Violations ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenwashing ,
Jury Awards ,
Liability ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
State and Local Government
Proponents of more comprehensive climate regulations who are frustrated by the federal government have increasingly turned their attention to state litigation....more
Governments are increasingly discussing climate change, including resilience to climate impacts and how to promote the energy transition. Less common are governmental commitments to take concrete steps to address climate...more
On May 15, BIC USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court concerning allegations that some of its razors contain per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes referred to as “forever...more
Environmental and energy issues were in the headlines for much of 2023. We had several major US Supreme Court cases, Canadian wildfires that produced haze in many American cities throughout the summer, and continued attention...more
12/7/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Water Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
PFAS ,
Pollution Control ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sackett v EPA ,
State Constitutions ,
Student Loans
A DC Circuit decision related to the US Environmental Protection Agency’ (EPA) hydroflurocarbons (HFC) phase out illustrates that federal regulations face significant scrutiny when reviewed in court even where the regulations...more
The past few years have seen “ESG” — referring to environmental, social, and governance factors that influence decision making — move from being a fringe shareholder proxy issue to a front-of-mind C-suite issue....more
Consent decrees play a major role in environmental litigation. This week, Maine People’s Alliance v. Holtrachem Manufacturing Company, one of the nation’s longest-running cases under the Resource Conservation and Recovery...more
8/12/2022
/ Appeals ,
CERCLA ,
Consent Decrees ,
Contamination ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Remediation Costs ,
Future Claims ,
Mercury ,
NGOs ,
Site Remediation ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Unmanned Aircraft Systems ,
Water Pollution