by Mitchell J. Klein In a memo to agency leadership sent earlier this month, EPA Administrator Michael Regan rescinded practices that were instituted by one of his Trump-era predecessors, Scott Pruitt, to eliminate what has been referred to by some as “sue and settle” tactics. While the settlement of lawsuits is, of course, a common […]
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by Raymond S. Heyman Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought to the forefront the key role that energy policy plays in international relations. Many countries sympathetic to Ukraine, but not wanting to escalate the conflict by sending troops, have discussed or actually imposed economic sanctions on Russia. One obvious target area for sanctions is Russian […]
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by Michael C. Ford “Sackett” may be poised to become a part of the Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional lexicon, joining the likes of Rapanos, significant nexus, relatively permanent, and Solid Waste Agency of Cook County, on the tip of every Clean Water Act practitioner’s tongue. In a surprise move, the Supreme Court of the […]
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by Patrick J. Paul The federal Clean Water Act created federal jurisdiction over “navigable waters” defined as “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Since becoming law in 1972, debate over what is, and is not, WOTUS has been robust. The Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Rapanos v. U.S. epitomized the challenges in finding consensus on […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On January 19, 2021, the last full day of President Trump’s tenure at the White House, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals essentially said “good riddance” to Trump’s “ACE” (the Affordable Clean Energy Rule) in American Lung Association v. EPA, No. 19-1140 (D.C. Cir. 2021). More to the point, the D.C. […]
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by Mitchell J. Klein The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed Aug. 10, contains a provision that would bring back an excise tax that expired in 1995 on a lengthy list of raw chemicals. House Democrats also want it to cover crude oil. In addition to this new tax stream, the House has already approved […]
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by Amanda A. Reeve Arizona’s Senior U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema is credited as being instrumental in negotiating the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, H.R. 3684, entitled “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act (“INVEST in America Act”), as amended, that passed with bipartisan support (69-30) in the U.S. Senate on […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On Wednesday July 21, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the PFAS Action Act of 2021. The bill, H.R. 2467, passed 241-183 demonstrating its bipartisan support, with twenty-three Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in supporting the legislation. H.R. 2467 would regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water, as well as […]
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by Patrick J. Paul In what has been described by some as a landmark environmental justice resolution, on July 13, 2021, Delaware-based companies DuPont, Chemours and Corteva agreed to pay Delaware $50 million according to a settlement reached in connection with contamination to the environment caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, a federal court in South Carolina allowed the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), defining the scope of Clean Water Act jurisdiction, to remain in place while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) work on a replacement […]
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