Navigating the Inflation Reduction Act: Insights on Brownfield Energy Community Credits - Energy Law Insights
On Sept. 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) authorizes recovery of natural resource damages for the lost use of...more
Defining the scope of CERCLA natural resources damages is a rare occurrence in the Ninth Circuit, which is what is interesting about the recent decision in the case of Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation v. Teck...more
The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, applying New York law, has determined that an insurer had a duty to defend an insured because a carve-out to the relevant pollution exclusion applied....more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (“Court”) in a May 12th Opinion addressed issues arising out of actions being brought to recover cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
On July 22, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C.) Circuit granted a motion by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lift the abeyance in consolidated litigation challenging the agency’s...more
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (“Court”) addressed in a January 28th Opinion issues arising under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C....more
EPA has been granted a fourth abeyance of pending litigation related to the Biden administration’s designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA....more
Because the risks posed by superfund sites pale in comparison to the risks posed by air pollution and broader water pollution issues regulated under the Clean Water Act, I have been and remain deeply skeptical of the Trump...more
EPA has again obtained extensions of the stays in the litigation challenging the MCLs for six PFAS and the litigation challenging the hazardous substance designation for PFOS and PFOA. EPA requested the U.S. Court of...more
On May 30, the United States District Court for the Central District of California determined that judicial review of whether state response costs are recoverable under Section 107(a)(4)(A) of the Comprehensive Environmental...more
On May 12, 2025, the Sixth Circuit issued a published decision in Georgia-Pacific Consumer Prods. LP, et al. v. NCR Corp. finding that a party previously found liable under CERCLA Section 107 is not entitled to declaratory...more
Environmental litigation is evolving. Once dominated by scientific testimony and regulatory interpretation, it now demands financial clarity as well. From toxic torts and groundwater contamination to disputes over regulatory...more
On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a pivotal decision addressing the timing of contribution claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA),...more
In recent years, states and municipalities have attempted to hold fossil fuel companies liable for their alleged impacts on climate change. Numerous states and municipalities have sued fossil fuel companies, alleging that...more
On May 8, the Middle District of North Carolina granted summary judgment dismissing cost recovery and declaratory judgment claims brought under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act...more
On April 30, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted an additional 30-day abeyance in the challenge to EPA’s Final Rule designating Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) as...more
The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits against New York and several other states, challenging their newly enacted state Superfund laws (Superfund lawsuits). The laws aim to address the environmental damages attributed...more
The PFAS regulatory landscape is evolving fast, and with a new administration on the horizon, major changes in compliance, enforcement, and litigation risks could be imminent. If your business fails to stay ahead, you can...more
In the latest edition of the PFAS Primer Quarterly Update, our roundup of regulatory, litigation, and scientific actions involving PFAS, states exempt PFAS products – except the states that don’t, defendants can remove PFAS...more
“Contaminants Compass” is a monthly newsletter that provides updates, legal observations and actionable tips to navigate the evolving legal “Contaminants Compass” is a monthly newsletter that provides updates, legal...more
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) litigation is rapidly becoming one of the most dynamic and evolving areas of environmental law. With thousands of cases consolidated in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF)...more
On April 17, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal will hear oral argument in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco on a question that has plagued CERCLA NRD practitioners and parties for years, if not decades: whether cultural...more
On April 10, 2025, at the request of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit extended the stay by 30 days in American Water Works Association, et al. v. EPA,...more
Maryland has filed suit against W.L. Gore & Associates (Gore), a downstream user of PFAS-containing materials, alleging that its manufacturing processes contributed to PFAS contamination through its use of...more
In a move that signals potential policy shifts under the new administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted EPA’s requests for 60-day stays in two high-profile cases challenging...more