Changes in presidential Administration often mean changes in policy priorities and budgeting, but a Maryland federal district court recently held that the executive branch’s ability to pivot on policy has limits....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 full scope of the Trump Administration’s deregulatory efforts in the environmental space was recently made clear with a series of announcements from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin....more
The first weeks of the Trump Administration have been defined by executive orders and new policies that were immediately challenged on constitutional or statutory grounds....more
On February 4, new US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced EPA’s “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” which is intended to achieve EPA’s mission “while emerging the greatness...more
The first day of any presidential administration is filled with both ceremony and bureaucracy. The first day of the second Trump Administration was no different....more
1/23/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Water
There is significant potential that the Congressional Review Act (CRA) will play a prominent role in the early weeks of the Trump Administration. Below, we will break down what the CRA is, when it applies, and how it may be...more
As the Biden Administration comes to a close, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned two commonly used chemicals under the 2016 Lautenberg Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....more
The Biden Administration has put environmental justice (EJ) issues at the forefront of its policy agenda for nearly four years. More comprehensive guidance on how policymakers should evaluate “cumulative impacts” has been a...more
While a dispute over the Clean Air Act’s (CAAs) venue provision may seem arcane, a forthcoming US Supreme Court decision will affect core principles of the separation of powers and constitutional due process in ways that may...more
Addressing so-called “environmental justice” (EJ) issues was a major focus for the Biden Administration from the time it took office. But, as we prepare for a new administration, the Biden Administration’s primacy in...more
On September 11, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took final action approving a revision to California’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) to include the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD)...more
Come September in a presidential election year, the policy world feels like a “winner take all” scenario with the election’s outcome determining how — or this year whether — we are regulated. While, of course, the election...more
9/12/2024
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FERC ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Popular ,
Presidential Elections ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sustainability
Discussion of administrative law usually doesn’t happen at the dinner table. But a series of recent US Supreme Court decisions may have changed this introducing talk of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the...more
7/15/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v Food and Drug Administration ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Ohio v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Public Trust Doctrine ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Interpretation
On the second-to-last day of its term, the US Supreme Court issued its decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Dep’t of Commerce. These decisions overruled Chevron USA. v. National Resource...more
7/2/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Clean Air Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
West Virginia v EPA
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
Federal environmental enforcement can be civil, criminal, or both. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a policy intended to better coordinate its civil and criminal environmental enforcement. The...more
While environmental justice (EJ) concerns continued to drive policymaking in early 2024, EJ efforts increasingly faced headwinds coming from various and sometimes unexpected directions. Below, we will summarize recent...more
4/17/2024
/ City of Chicago ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Human Rights ,
Louisiana ,
NGOs ,
Petrochemicals ,
Plastics ,
Settlement ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
The Biden Administration’s embrace of a “whole of government” approach to address environmental justice (EJ) issues occasioned litigation across the country.
One of the hottest series of disputes has been the tag-team...more
The Biden Administration’s efforts to address environmental justice (EJ) concerns continue. This month, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced modifications to EPA’s Equity Action Plan....more
Historically, regulations under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and related state laws divided the world into “stationary” and “non-stationary sources.” “Stationary sources” included facilities like power plants and factories...more
2/7/2024
/ Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Warehouses
Environmental justice (EJ) issues continue to feature prominently in national headlines in 2024. Below, we unpack two Louisiana EJ-focused court decisions and outline seven takeaways for the regulated community....more
The regulated community faces a complex and evolving landscape. As we head into 2024, our team of energy, environmental, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) attorneys provide insights and guidance on how to...more
12/14/2023
/ CERCLA ,
Chevron Deference ,
Divestment ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hazardous Substances ,
NAAQS ,
Petrochemicals ,
PFAS ,
Plastics ,
Public Disclosure ,
Recycling ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Safe Drinking Water Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
A first-of-its-kind environmental justice (EJ) lawsuit filed by a group of Louisiana churches and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) was dismissed this week.
The court’s decision finding the plaintiffs’ claims to be...more
Costs to clean up environmentally impacted real estate have continued to increase. A variety of factors have caused this trend including: listing of new contaminants, enhanced focus on contamination pathways like vapor...more