by Michael C. Ford OSHA has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak with a dedicated webpage that includes guidance for employers. While emphasizing that the current risk for most types of workers remains low, the guidance covers preparing workplaces for COVID-19, preventing worker exposure, as well the OSHA standards that may apply. While no standard specifically […]
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by Andy Hawes A year ago, we blogged about the Senate-proposed Natural Resources Management Act (NRMA) which sought to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The proposed NRMA was developed largely due to the efforts of a number of outdoor recreation and conservation organizations who lobbied Congress to permanently reauthorize the LWCF. […]
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By Kelly Daly, Farris Gillman, and Fabian Eichentopf[1] On January 23, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) adopted the Office of Environmental Projects’ (OEP) Environmental Assessment (EA) of Buckeye XPress, concluding that the project will have “no significant impact” on “the quality of the human environment.”[2] The EA conditions approval on adherence to all […]
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by Michael C. Ford, Lucas J. Narducci and Patrick J. Paul There is no shortage of dramatic, if not predictable, commentary in the wake of the Trump Administration’s release of its “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” (“Rule”) ranging from the indignant to the hyperbolic, and the outright inane: This bulldozing of clean water protections would be […]
by Patrick J. Paul and Michael C. Ford The first few weeks of 2020 have seen regulatory and litigation attention heaped upon what have come to be known as “forever chemicals” or Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), which encompass more than 5,000 chemical substances in total and are found most commonly in household products like nonstick […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On January 9, 2020, in one of the more significant environmental proposals of the current administration, President Trump’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed updates to its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). According to the White House, the rules are designed to modernize […]
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by Patrick J. Paul On January 17, 2020, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1, thirty-two page decision, authored by Arizona’s former Vice-Chief Justice Andrew Hurwitz, dismissed a climate change lawsuit brought by 21 plaintiffs aged 8 through 19 against the federal government for violating their right to a […]
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by Patrick J. Paul and Chris Colyer As previously reported in this blog, on December 4, 2019 EPA published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking information on whether to include certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on the list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and […]
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By Patrick Paul & Chris Colyer Although EPA announced an “action plan” on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) back in February, subsequent actions have been limited, that is, until recently. First created in the 1940s, PFAS are most commonly utilized to make products such as nonstick cookware, grease-resistant food packaging, stain repellents, and firefighting foams. […]
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by John W. Andrews The greater sage-grouse is a chicken-like bird that is currently found in 11 western states. For more than 25 years, there has been considerable controversy concerning whether to list the greater sage-grouse for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Because the sage grouse is widespread among sagebrush steppe habitat, […]
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