Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
Just days before the 25th anniversary of 9/11, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a press conference on Sept. 8, announcing the release of approximately 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed city records regarding post-9/11 air quality. The documents were made available shortly thereafter via a searchable, September 11 public records portal. The release of …
The second half of 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal period for U.S. environmental policy. Federal agencies and lawmakers are advancing proposals that could significantly alter the regulatory landscape for climate policy, industrial permitting, wetlands protection, and infrastructure development. Together, these efforts reflect a broader shift toward accelerating economic development and project approvals …
On July 14, New York became the first state to implement a statewide moratorium on building new hyperscale data centers. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order banning lawmakers from approving environmental permits for the construction of new data centers 50 megawatts or larger for a period that Hochul expects to last one year – …
The U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming term features several cases with potentially far-reaching consequences for environmental law and regulation. While not all these cases arise in an explicitly environmental context, each one could meaningfully shape how environmental claims are litigated, how agencies enforce environmental requirements, and how procedural rules play out in high-stakes disputes. Below is …
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 …
A little over a month ago, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) approved permits for four new dual-fuel combustion turbines to be used at Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen, a huge coal-fired facility located just a few dozen miles northwest of Atlanta. In response, earlier this week, environmental groups promptly filed a lawsuit (see the petition …
Data centers are specialized facilities that house the infrastructure needed to run an organization’s computers, servers, network equipment, data storage drives, and other hardware essential for processing, storing, and distributing large amounts of data. Data centers are not new; they arose with the invention of the first general purpose computers. However, in recent years, fueled …
A three-judge appellate panel on Jan. 5 affirmed New Jersey’s environmental justice rules challenged by various industry and labor groups. Ultimately, the panel concluded that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) acted within its authority by adopting the legislature’s environmental justice rules (also known as the EJRules). In particular, the panel concluded that …
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently enacted budget bill for 2025-2026 includes several important changes to the New York State Superfund program. The Superfund was created to help enforce state hazardous waste regulations and to investigate and remediate contaminated sites. Overall, the amendments clarify the program and strengthen the state’s ability to enforce hazardous waste laws. Separately, …
While the Trump administration has spent 2025 slamming the brakes on U.S. expansion of renewable energy by defunding solar and wind projects, Americans have seen their electricity costs skyrocket by more than an average of 30 percent, a trend not expected to abate any time soon. The rapid expansion of cryptocurrency mining facilities and artificial …