Skip to main content

SEC Revises (and Weakens) Climate Disclosure Rules

by  Patrick Paul; Shawane Lee; John Habib On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final climate disclosure rules sparking a range of reactions within the business and environmental communities. These changes represent a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for public companies, particularly regarding the reporting of climate-related risks and […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: , , ,

EPA Announces Removal of Existing Natural Gas Plants from Proposed Carbon Rule

On February 29, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a significant delay in the implementation of its proposed carbon rule for existing natural gas power plants. This decision has drawn criticism from both environmental and industry groups, highlighting the complex interplay of environmental justice, political considerations, and regulatory challenges.  EPA first proposed the […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , ,

Enforcement of the South Coast AQMD’s Warehouse Rule Is Coming

Two recent developments indicate that enforcement of California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Warehouse Indirect Source Rule is coming soon. Two years ago, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (the “District”) adopted its Warehouse Indirect Source Rule – Rule 2305. The rule requires warehouse operators to account for truck trips to and from […]

EPA Issues Emergency New Rule on Waters of the United States

Using a rarely invoked exception to the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement for public notice and comment prior to issuing a new rule, the EPA set forth a new rule governing jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Believing that this new rule was urgently needed in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court eviscerating the […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , , ,
MK

Two Idaho Homeowners Finally Clarify Scope of Clean Water Act

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court curtailed the federal government’s powers to regulate private property under the auspices of the Clean Water Act (CWA).  The Court in Sackett v. EPA held that “the CWA extends to only those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their […]

| 3 min read | Tagged: , , , , ,
JH
Associate

Perchlorate…. It’s baaaack

While various States have enacted various regulations covering a wide variety of differing standards over the years, the EPA never created a national standard for remedial or drinking water levels. Finally, after decades of considering proposals and counter proposals, the EPA made a “final” determination in July 2020 during the Trump administration that perchlorate was […]

| 2 min read | Tagged: , ,
MK

EPA Orders Derailment Clean Up

by Patrick J. Paul On February 21, 2023, less than three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, less than a mile from the Pennsylvania border, EPA issued a 77 page Unilateral Order to the company requiring it to remediate the chemicals spilled.  EPA had previously sent the railroad a letter […]

| 2 min read | Tagged:

EPA Announces $42 Million PFAS Aid to Arizona

by  Patrick J. Paul According to EPA’s press release, $5 billion is scheduled for investment over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water.  The initial allotment of $42 million to Arizona can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like […]

| 1 min read | Tagged: ,

USEPA Proposes New Particulate Matter Air Quality Standard

by Amanda Reeve The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced on January 6, 2023, that it is proposing to modify the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5).  The current annual primary (health-based) NAAQS for PM2.5 is set at 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3); but it could soon […]

| 1 min read | Tagged: , , ,
AR
Environmental & Regulatory Policy Advisor

EPA’s Clean Power Plan Struck Down by SCOTUS

by Michael C. Ford In 2015, EPA published a rule under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) targeting coal-fired electricity generators designed to force their shift from coal generation to gas, solar and wind production.  The “Clean Power Plan” (“CPP”) rule was projected to reduce the reliance on coal for electricity generation from 38% (2014) to […]

| 4 min read | Tagged: , , ,