Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
In a January 2025 nationwide class-action suit, consumer plaintiffs alleged a leading smartwatch maker was using perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) in its fluoroelastomer sports band products for its smartwatches and that it did not warn consumers of risk. The smartwatch maker then moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to …
On April 29, 2026, the California Sixth Appellate District unanimously affirmed a 2023 defense judgement issued by the trial court in the case of Jones v. Monsanto Co. in which the plaintiff, Bruce Jones, alleged that glyphosate exposure from decades long use of Roundup caused him to develop Non‑Hodgkin lymphoma and that Monsanto knew or should …
To effectively regulate and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, gathering clear, accurate, and verified corporate emissions reporting data is essential. New York’s Senate Bill S9072A, known as the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA), aims to do just that. In February 2026, the bill passed the Senate and moved to the Assembly for consideration. If …
As artificial intelligence, data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities proliferate across the United States, communities in which companies are looking to place these operations are beginning to push back more forcefully. Indeed, as municipalities and towns throughout the country have learned, the activities going on at these centers are not only noisy, but monopolize power …
As previously reported by ELM (here), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida last year enjoined the federal government from “installing any additional industrial-style lighting … or doing any paving, filling, excavating, or fencing; or doing any other site expansion” of the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The District Court further …
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday unanimously held that the dozens of pending environmental damage lawsuits against oil and gas companies in Louisiana belong in federal court under the federal officer removal statute. Over the past decade, several Louisiana parishes filed lawsuits in state court against various oil and gas companies alleging the companies violated …
On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal seeking to reverse a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that denied an oil and gas pipeline owner’s efforts to transfer from state court to federal court a lawsuit filed by State of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel seeking to shut down a pipeline between …
On April 6, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register its draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL), which lists contaminants currently not subject to any national primary drinking water regulations. These contaminants are either presently known or in the future will appear in public water systems and may be subject …
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) are federal air pollution regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Air Act. Finalized in 2012 and effective beginning in 2015, MATS establish technology‑based emission limits for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) emitted by coal‑ and oil‑fired power plants. In 2024, the EPA finalized …
California Senate Bill 1137 (S.B. 1137), enacted in September 2022 and implemented in June 2024, establishes a 3,200-foot health protection zone around homes, schools, hospitals, parks, retirement homes, and other similarly sensitive locations. Within this zone, the legislation prohibits the drilling of new oil and gas wells, as well as the redrilling or deepening of …