Environmental and Sustainability Law Archives

Feb 17, 2021

Environmental Groups File Suit to Overturn “Do Nothing” (Ozone Standards)

Environmental groups have sued the EPA to overturn its December 31st rule retaining Obama Era National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The suit alleges that the Trump EPA ignored science and mounting evidence that serious health harms occur due to ozone exposure at levels below the current NAAQS. Litigation is likely to focus heavily on the truncated NAAQS review process used by the Trump administration which allegedly failed to properly analyze the latest science on health risk, resulting in a predetermined outcome favored by industry which did not propose tighter regulation. The EPA, in its December rule, retained… Read more

Feb 3, 2021

TSCA to Receive Broader Interpretation Under Biden Administration

The EPA is expected to use its authority under TSCA to make chemical manufacturers provide more information about toxicity, exposure and other data about chemicals manufactured and imported into the U.S. market. A wide range of industries ranging from airplane and auto manufacturers to the oil, gas and rubber industry, should prepare to turn over more information about chemical releases into the environment, the presence of those chemicals in consumer products, and worker exposure to industrial and commercial substances. TSCA requires the EPA to determine whether new chemicals’ intended, known, or reasonably foreseeable uses may put people’s help or the… Read more

Jan 20, 2021

OEHHA Proposes Amendments to Prop 65 Short Form Warnings

On January 8, 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking with respect to Article 6, Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations, which adopt Proposition 65’s safe harbor warning methods and content. The proposed amendments apply specifically to the short form warning, and would limit the use of the short form warning to labels with a total surface area available for consumer information of 5 square inches or less and a package shape or size that cannot accommodate the full-length warning. The proposed amendments would also change the safe harbor… Read more

Jan 6, 2021

DuPont Motion for Mistrial in PFAS Verdict Denied

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday denied DuPont’s request to declare a mistrial after a jury awarded damages of $50,000,000 to Plaintiffs for exposure to a type of PFAS produced by DuPont. PFAS, which are known as “forever chemicals” for their ability to persist in the environment, have been linked to cancer and other serious health problems. DuPont’s failed mistrial Motion is the latest development in a wave of litigation with hundreds of cases pending across the U.S. against chemical companies who produced PFAS. The Ohio case is part of a long running collection… Read more

Dec 17, 2020

Ten Northeastern States to Divide $120,300,000 in Proceeds from Cap and Trade Program

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”), a multistate Cap and Trade Program, sold carbon allowances for $7.41 in the final quarter of 2020 – recognizing revenue of $120,300,000 which can be used to reinvest in energy efficiency and renewable programs in the 10 participating northeastern states. Participating states have benefited from RGGI’s bipartisan, market-based approach to climate change, while consumers across participating states have benefited from local investments in clean energy and efficiency. Prices for carbon allowances are expected to grow as more states petition to join RGGI, and as more states attempt to “decarbonize” their energy production. For more… Read more

Dec 2, 2020

Representative Dingell Will Make Regulation of PFAS Chemicals Top Congressional Priority

Representative Dingell (D-MICH) said on Tuesday, November 17th that legislation which would require the EPA to regulate the so-called “forever chemicals” will be reintroduced in January as soon as Congress begins its new session. Dingell was the sponsor of the PFAS Action Act that passed the House last January, and has indicated her intention to reintroduce the bill. If the bill passes, it would require the EPA to set cleanup standards and enforceable drinking water limits for at least some PFAS chemicals, and would also ban the chemicals from materials that could touch food and cosmetics. Representatives in Congress will… Read more

Nov 18, 2020

Real Estate Investors Increasingly Considering Climate Risk in Investment Models

According to a report from the Urban Land Institute, real estate investors and developers are increasingly considering climate risk factors when deciding where to buy or build. One major component of this analyses is looking at how prepared local governments are to face such climate change events. According to the report, investors are looking beyond the individual assets and assessing a city’s preparedness for climate change, but the models and metrics they need are still in their infancy. The growing concern among real estate professionals is shared by many in the broader investment community as well. In July, nonprofits, pension… Read more

Nov 4, 2020

U.S. Trade Court Blocks Trump Administration Bid to End Solar Tariff Loophole

On Saturday, October 24, a U.S. Trade Court temporarily blocked the Trump administrations’ attempt to close a tariff loophole for double-sided solar panels. The 2018 tariffs were an attempt by the Trump administration to get tough on China which dominates the solar panel manufacturing industry, and to boost the U.S. industry. The administration approved four years of tariffs on solar panel imports, starting at 30%, and being reduced by five percentage points each subsequent year. The tariffs granted the exclusion for bifacial panels, as those panels were considered a niche product at the time. The administration now claims that it… Read more

Oct 21, 2020

EPA Proposes New Aircraft Emission Standard

For the first time, the EPA has proposed a rule setting an emission standard for nearly all commercial aircraft for greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA’s proposed standard closely follows the standard adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2017, which was the world’s first global design certification standard governing CO2 emissions for aircraft. The EPA standard would apply to all covered aircraft for which a new design type certificate is requested on or after January 1, 2020, and would apply to in-production aircraft beginning January 1, 2028. The proposed rule is expected to have little impact on manufacturers as… Read more

Oct 7, 2020

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Procedural Challenge to Climate Change Cases

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court added to its docket a climate change case filed by the City of Baltimore against major oil and gas companies seeking to recover the cost of local climate impacts including flooding and heat waves. Baltimore’s claims, filed in state court under state common law, mirror allegations against the oil and gas industry in lawsuits from state and local governments in California, Colorado, Rhode Island and elsewhere. Defendants in the case are seeking to remove the cases from state court to federal court where they believe the court will be less willing to entertain expansive… Read more