Environmental Law Advisor

Proponents of more comprehensive climate regulations who are frustrated by the federal government have increasingly turned their attention to state litigation.

There is significant potential that the Congressional Review Act (CRA) will play a prominent role in the early weeks of the Trump Administration. Below, we will break down what the CRA is, when it applies, and how it may be deployed by the incoming US Congress to further Trump Administration regulatory priorities.

As the Biden Administration comes to a close, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned two commonly used chemicals under the 2016 Lautenberg Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce the addition of Partner Elizabeth L. Horner to its Government Relations practice in the firm’s Washington, DC, office. Elizabeth previously worked on the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), where she served as Chief Counsel under Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Senior Counsel under Chairman John Barrasso, M.D. (R-WY).

The Biden Administration has put environmental justice (EJ) issues at the forefront of its policy agenda for nearly four years. More comprehensive guidance on how policymakers should evaluate “cumulative impacts” has been a long-promised part of these EJ efforts.

In a departure from past jurisprudence, a recent DC Circuit decision questioned whether the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) had the legal authority to issue key regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The decision, which evaluated federal planning related to tourist flights over national parks, interpreted CEQ’s NEPA regulations, which prescribe how federal agencies must comply with NEPA and have set the standards for federal agencies’ consideration of the environmental impacts of major federal actions for decades. The decision could impact how many agencies conduct and interpret environmental assessments in areas including biotechnology and agriculture.

While a dispute over the Clean Air Act’s (CAAs) venue provision may seem arcane, a forthcoming US Supreme Court decision will affect core principles of the separation of powers and constitutional due process in ways that may perpetuate judicial efforts to reshape administrative law.

Environmental regulations targeting potential impacts of warehousing facilities continue to be in the spotlight.

Addressing so-called “environmental justice” (EJ) issues was a major focus for the Biden Administration from the time it took office. But, as we prepare for a new administration, the Biden Administration’s primacy in advancing EJ issues has waned, if not disappeared.

Republican lawmakers are continuing their antitrust push against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investor initiatives by investigating a prominent climate coalition that is focused on getting companies to curb emissions.

Back in the 1970s, US Congress passed laws that allow private parties to bring citizen suits to enforce federal environmental laws.

On September 11, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took final action approving a revision to California’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) to include the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Warehouse Indirect Source Rule (ISR).

Come September in a presidential election year, the policy world feels like a “winner take all” scenario with the election’s outcome determining how — or this year whether — we are regulated.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just announced an eight-month postponement of the start of a major reporting requirement for past use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products due to its own reporting software issues.

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) include various synthetic chemicals that have been used in products ranging from cookware to clothing and carpets to cosmetics for decades.

Often motivated by the lack of federal engagement on environmental issues, various states have evaluated adding “Green Amendments” to their state constitutions. The practical impact of these amendments will be borne out as they are used and challenged in state courts.

On June 27, the US Supreme Court issued an opinion in SEC v. Jarkesy that limits the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ability to administratively seek civil penalties against defendants for securities fraud.

Discussion of administrative law usually doesn’t happen at the dinner table. But a series of recent US Supreme Court decisions may have changed this introducing talk of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the importance of ‘Chevron’ deference to normal people far outside the legal academy.

On the final day of its term, the US Supreme Court rejected the principle of “administrative finality,” an additional blow to federal agencies after the Court rejected “Chevron deference” the previous day.

Governments are increasingly discussing climate change, including resilience to climate impacts and how to promote the energy transition.

On the second-to-last day of its term, the US Supreme Court issued its decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Dep’t of Commerce.

A recent US Supreme Court decision, which grabbed headlines because it involved an abortion-related drug, with potential repercussions in litigation far-removed from health care due to the decision hinging on “standing,” i.e., when parties have been injured in a manner permitting them to sue.

On May 26, the Illinois legislature passed comprehensive carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) legislation.

ESG stands for “environmental, social, and governance.” Though often overlooked, two recent cases — Spence v. American Airlines and Exxon v. Arjuna Capital, LLC — focus on G’s place in the ESG initialism.

On May 15, BIC USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court concerning allegations that some of its razors contain per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals.”