California’s drive toward a net-zero carbon economy by 2045 is sparking innovative solutions to harmonize environmental conservation with infrastructure development. Assembly Bill (AB) 550, sponsored by Assembly Member...more
5/9/2025
/ Biodiversity ,
California ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
Clean Energy ,
Conservation ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Housing Market ,
Infrastructure ,
Net Zero ,
Permits ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
State Department of Fish and Wildlife ,
Wildlife Protection
The California legislature continues to advance Senate Bill 601 (SB 601), the “Right to Clean Water Act,” which aims to safeguard protections for California’s streams and wetlands that lost federal protection under the Clean...more
4/22/2025
/ California ,
Citizen Suits ,
Clean Water Act ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Violations ,
Inland Waterways ,
Penalties ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sackett v EPA ,
Water Quality ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On April 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together Services) published a proposed rule to rescind the long-standing definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species...more
4/21/2025
/ Chevron Deference ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Challenging a slew of state climate-related laws and programs, President Trump’s April 8, 2025 executive order (EO) set the stage for more legal fights between the federal government and states. In the new EO, “Protecting...more
4/14/2025
/ California ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Executive Orders ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Social Justice Issues ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
In what should be welcome news to industry and others who generate hazardous waste in California (including contaminated soil), the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the Department of Toxic Substances...more
On December 16, 2024, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requested public feedback to “help inform its work to implement” the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk...more
The western burrowing owl was just recently elevated to a “candidate species” under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). As a candidate species, the owl now...more
11/12/2024
/ California ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
Comment Period ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Infrastructure ,
Listing Standards ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Urban Planning & Development
What Happened -
On Monday, October 14, 2024, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecyle) opened a public comment period on changes to the previously proposed regulations implementing the...more
10/16/2024
/ California ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Plastics ,
Pollution Control ,
Product Packaging ,
Public Comment ,
Recycling ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Waste Management
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized regulations impacting a large swath of refrigeration and cooling equipment industries. The new regulations are the most recent EPA action addressing the use of...more
10/4/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Regulations ,
Pollution Control ,
RCRA ,
Reclamation
A recent conference led by Connecticut Attorney General (AG) William Tong discussed the alleged problems and potential solutions associated with plastics use and waste. Conference attendees included nearly two dozen...more
10/1/2024
/ California ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Plastics ,
Pollution Control ,
Product Packaging ,
Public Health ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
Toxic Chemicals
On March 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the long-awaited Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule (Final Rule), which concluded a nearly decadelong process — spanning three...more
PM NAAQS: Already behind schedule is perhaps the mostly widely impactful rule change EPA has proposed in many years: a lowering of the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). EPA has...more
1/9/2024
/ Air Pollution ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Energy ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
MATS ,
Methane ,
NAAQS ,
Ozone
On December 26, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an Interim final rule updating its October final rule restricting the use of some hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a key substance used in refrigeration...more
1/2/2024
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
HFC Emissions ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Manufacturers ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has proposed listing the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) and the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species...more
11/30/2023
/ Climate Change ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Final Rules ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two landmark bills into law on October 7, imposing stringent new requirements on large companies doing business in California to publicly report their annual greenhouse gas (GHG)...more
10/18/2023
/ California ,
CARB ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
New Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)