The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Nucor-Yamato Steel Company (“Nucor”) entered into a March 24th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged...more
We anticipate President Trump’s upcoming term will usher in significant shifts in U.S. environmental enforcement priorities and practices. Beveridge & Diamond has helped clients navigate every change in administration since...more
Summary/Key Takeaways - In recent years, federal policy on supplemental environmental projects (SEPs)—voluntary and environmentally beneficial projects resulting from negotiation between the government and an alleged...more
The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality (“MCEQ”) and Mississippi Silicon LLC (“MS”) entered into an August 27th Agreed Order (“AO”) addressing alleged violations of an Air Permit. See Order No. 7349 24....more
Supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) provide one means of addressing environmental violations in alignment with the Biden Administration’s comprehensive environmental justice (EJ) strategy. SEPs were explicitly endorsed...more
There have been numerous policy changes at the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and U.S. EPA during President Biden’s first term. Along with an increased attention to enforcement generally, the policies governing resolution...more
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
The National Association of Clean Air Agencies (“NACAA”) submitted comments on a memorandum issued on May 5th by the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) titled: Guidelines and Limitations for Settlement...more
Future federal environmental settlements are likely to include more creative remedies to address the impacts of violations on communities, thanks to recent policy changes at the US Department of Justice (DOJ)....more
In recent days, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made a series of announcements aimed at addressing environmental justice concerns and enforcement practices. The actions taken by DOJ include the establishment of the...more
On Thursday, May 5, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a “Comprehensive Environmental Justice Enforcement Strategy” which, most notably, restored the...more
On May 5, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the return of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) settlements. SEPs are voluntary projects intended to benefit the environment...more
On May 5, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its new environmental justice (EJ) strategy, which has been a priority to the Biden Administration. While the strategy is comprehensive and involves many federal...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) released its long-awaited Environmental justice (EJ) enforcement strategy today, a priority for the Biden Administration. The enforcement strategy will “advance environmental justice through...more
Much attention has been devoted to environmental policies of the prior Trump administration that are likely to be reversed or altered by the new Biden administration. See, e.g., Biden Administration Could Quickly Adopt Many...more
On Friday, U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division withdrew nine memoranda and policy documents issued by the previous administration related to environmental enforcement. Among those were...more
In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) issued a memorandum ceasing the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) as part of settlements of federal environmental...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and U.S. Pizza Co., Inc., (“U.S. Pizza”) entered into an October 29th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged...more
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into an October 29th Consent Decree (“CD”) with the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado (“Colorado Springs”) addressing alleged Clean Water Act National Pollution...more
The Conservation Law Foundation (“CLF”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging the Environment and Natural...more
The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Welspun Tubular, LLC, (“Welspun”) entered into an August 25th Consent Administrator Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations...more
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) and Moody & Associates, Inc., d/b/a Technical Plating (“Moody”) entered into a Settlement Agreement and Order (“Agreement”) addressing alleged violations of...more
The United States Department of Justice has terminated its policy of allowing companies to perform supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) in lieu of paying civil penalties for violations of federal environmental laws. The...more
Companies should be aware that Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)—voluntary environmental or public health benefit projects in lieu of payment of civil penalties for violation of federal environmental laws—will no...more
Somewhat lost amidst all the (well deserved) COVID-19 pandemic news that comes out daily, is a decision by the Justice Department regarding the settlement of environmental enforcement cases that will likely have profound...more