California's ability to set its own vehicle emission standards under its Clean Air Act waiver of federal preemption is in jeopardy given three joint congressional resolutions signed into law by President Trump on June 12,...more
9/3/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
California ,
CARB ,
Clean Air Act ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Injunctive Relief ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Preemption ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General ,
Waivers
On March 4, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in City & County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency and clarified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") and state...more
3/13/2025
/ California ,
City and County of San Francisco v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Clean Water Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
San Francisco ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
In Ohio et al. v. U.S. EPA, on April 9, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to allow California's 2013 greenhouse gas emissions...more
6/18/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Congressional Authority ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
National Highway Safety Administration ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized four rules to regulate pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA's stated goal was to provide a framework on which power plants can rely for...more
On April 19, 2024, EPA announced its highly anticipated final rule designating two polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS")—perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS")—as "hazardous substances" under...more
4/22/2024
/ CERCLA ,
Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Hazardous Substances ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Superfund ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") finalized the strictest-ever emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles. On March 29, 2024, EPA announced new emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2027...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") announced new stringent emissions standards for automobiles, which the Biden administration has deemed the "strongest-ever vehicle pollution standards" in U.S. history....more
The Situation: In 2019, Congress amended the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA") to require the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to promulgate a reporting rule on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"). EPA...more
12/12/2023
/ Contamination ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Importers ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retroactive Application ,
Toxic Chemicals ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
In Short -
The Situation: The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") recently announced the creation of a regional, cross-agency taskforce, targeting...more
8/7/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Crimes ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Natural Resources ,
Pollution Control ,
Puerto Rico ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) Policy ,
Virgin Islands
In Short -
The Development: On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision inSackett v. EPA, providing new insight into whether wetlands qualify as "waters of the United States" subject to regulation...more
The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") is proposing stringent carbon dioxide emissions standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants....more
The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("ANPRM") addresses seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), including PFBS and GenX. ...more
The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has announced a new proposed rule that would strengthen the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants ("NESHAP") for Coal- and Oil- Fired Electric Utility Steam...more
4/10/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Coal-Fired Generation ,
Coal-Fired Plants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
MATS ,
Mercury ,
NESHAP ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Toxic Exposure
On March 14, 2023, the EPA took a step toward imposing federal limits on certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency...more
In Short -
The Situation: In 2021, the Biden Administration signaled its intent to replace the 2020 "Navigable Waters Protection Rule," which was vacated by a federal court, with a new definition of "waters of the United...more
In Short -
The Situation: The Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") new guidance memorandum to states provides direction on how they can use the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permitting...more
The EPA announced on August 26, 2022, a proposed rulemaking that would designate perfluorooctanoic acid ("PFOA") and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid ("PFOS"), including their salts and structural isomers, as hazardous substances...more
The delegated regulation includes a new comprehensive and unified reporting methodology to direct investments toward environmentally sustainable economic activities....more
3/1/2022
/ Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investment ,
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) ,
Net Zero ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Taxonomy
On December 30, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") published a final rule (the "Final Rule") setting revised greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks with model years...more
2/28/2022
/ Automotive Industry ,
Biden Administration ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Fuel Efficiency ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
The Background: In recent years, the scientific and regulatory communities have paid increasing attention to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ("PFAS"), which have been common components for decades in consumer and...more
On September 23, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-79-20 (the "Order"), setting new statewide goals for phasing out gasoline-powered cars and trucks in California. Under the Order, 100% of...more
On June 26 and 29, 2020, the petitioners in Union of Concerned Scientists v. NHTSA, Case No. 19-1230 (D.C. Cir.), filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing against the first...more
8/6/2020
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Automotive Industry ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NHTSA ,
Petition for Review ,
Preemption ,
Public Health ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
NHTSA and EPA Finalize the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule -
The new rule completes the rollback of the Obama-era vehicle emissions standards....more
The Situation: The Supreme Court held that a discharge through groundwater that is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge to navigable waters requires a Clean Water Act permit.
The Result: Some discharges to...more
5/6/2020
/ Appeals ,
Clean Water Act ,
Direct Discharge ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Functional Equivalent ,
Groundwater ,
Hawaii Wildlife Fund v County of Maui ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPDES ,
Permits ,
Point Sources ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Vacated ,
Waters of the United States
The Situation: The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered, in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, whether the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act ("CERCLA") deprives Montana state courts of...more
4/29/2020
/ Approval Requirements ,
Atlantic Richfield Co v Christian ,
CERCLA ,
Clean-Up Costs ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Land Owners ,
MT Supreme Court ,
Nuisance ,
Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) ,
Reaffirmation ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Site Remediation ,
State Law Claims ,
Strict Liability ,
Trespass